JESUS CHRIST, THE KING
Christ the King Sunday – Sunday preceding the first Sunday of Advent
Today in the Christian Year calendar is a special day called Christ the King Sunday. It is a day to honor and glorify Jesus as King of our lives . . . and King of this world. This is an important day because we too often relegate Jesus to buddy status. And though he can be considered our friend, we must rightfully acknowledge him as King of kings and Lord of lords.
In a sermon preached on September 13, 1857, the great English preacher Charles Spurgeon said,
“If I had a tale to tell you this day, of some king, who, out of love to a fair maiden, left his kingdom and became a peasant like herself, you would stand and wonder, and would listen to the charming tale; but when I tell of God concealing his dignity to become our Savior, our hearts are scarcely touched.
We know the tale so well, we have heard it so often. And unfortunately, some of us tell it so badly that we cannot expect that you would be as interested in it as the subject demands. But surely, as it is said of some great works of architecture, that though they are seen every morning, there is always something fresh to wonder at; so we may say of Christ, that though we saw him every day, we should always see fresh reason to love, and wonder, and adore.”
Let’s say 2 Corinthians 8:9 together . . .
CONGREGATION:
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that though he was rich,
yet for your sakes he became poor,
so that you through his poverty might become rich.
Let’s not let this wonderful story become old and stale. Tis morning, let’s lift our hearts and voices in praise of Jesus, the King.
Crown Him With Many Crowns
Words by Matthew Bridges (1851); Music by George Elvey, DIADEMATA
Crown him with many crowns,
The Lamb upon his throne.
Hark! how the heavenly anthem drowns
All music but its own.
Awake, my soul, and sing
Of him who died for thee,
And hail him as thy matchless king
Through all eternity.
Crown him the Lord of life,
Who triumphed o'er the grave,
And rose victorious in the strife
For those he came to save;
His glories now we sing
Who died and rose on high,
Who died eternal life to bring,
And lives that death may die.
Crown him the Lord of love;
Behold his hands and side,
Rich wounds, yet visible above,
In beauty glorified;
No angels in the sky
Can fully bear that sight,
But downward bends their burning eye
At mysteries so bright.
Crown him the Lord of years,
The potentate of time,
Creator of the rolling spheres,
Ineffably sublime.
All hail, Redeemer, hail!
For thou hast died for me;
Thy praise shall never, never fail
Throughout eternity.
As we spend time in the gospels, we learn many things about Jesus’ life and the reason he came to earth and the salvation we find, only through him. Ten, in the letters of the apostle Paul, we understand more of Christ’s nature and are instructed on how to respond.
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:5-11
Praise the King
Words and Music by Corey Voss, Dustin Smith, Michael Bryce Jr., Michael Farren
© 2014 Centricity Music Publishing, CentricSongs, Integrity’s Alleluia! Music, Integrity’s Praise! Music
There’s a reason why the curse of sin is broken
There’s a reason why the darkness runs from light
There’s a reason why we stand here now forgiven
Jesus is alive
There’s a reason why we are not overtaken
There’s a reason why we sing on through the night
There’s a reason why our hope remains eternal
Jesus is alive
Praise the King he is risen
Praise the King he’s alive
Praise the King death’s defeated
Hallelujah he’s alive
There’s a reason why our hearts can be courageous
There’s a reason why the dead are made alive
There’s a reason why we share his resurrection
Jesus is alive
The grave could not ignore it
When all of heaven's roaring
Hell where is your victory
Death where is your sting
The world could not ignore it
When all the saints are roaring
Hell where is your victory
Death where is your sting
Jesus left his throne, entered the world he created, became our sacrifice - and in the process, established his victory over the dominion of sin and darkness. And this is not a victory that he keeps to himself, but he shares it with each of us who call him Lord.
Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints, the people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him. Daniel 7:27
Victory In Jesus
Words and Music by E.M. Bartlett (1939)
This Arr. © First Hand Revelation Music (Travis Cottrell)
I heard an old, old story,
How a Savior came from glory,
How he gave his life on Calvary
To save a wretch like me;
I heard about his groaning,
Of his precious blood’s atoning,
Then I repented of my sins
And won the victory.
I heard about his healing,
Of his cleansing pow’r revealing.
How he made the lame to walk again
And caused the blind to see;
And then I cried, “Dear Jesus,
Come and heal my broken spirit,”
And somehow Jesus came and bro’t
To me the victory.
I heard about a mansion
He has built for me in glory.
And I heard about the streets of gold
Beyond the crystal sea;
About the angels singing,
And the old redemption story,
And some sweet day I’ll sing up there
The song of victory.
O victory in Jesus, my Savior, forever.
He sought me and bought me with his redeeming blood;
He loved me ere I knew him and all my love is due him,
He plunged me to victory, beneath the cleansing food.
Offering Prayer
Offertory:
Ancient of Days
Words and Music by Jonny Robinson, Rich Tompson, Michael Farren, Jesse Reeves
© 2018 CityALight Music
Though the nations rage, kingdoms rise and fall
There is still one King reigning over all
So I will not fear for this truth remains:
That my God is the Ancient of Days
None above him, none before him, all of time in his hands
For His throne it shall remain and ever stand
All the power, all the glory, I will trust in his name
For my God is the Ancient of Days
Though the dread of night overwhelms my soul
He is here with me, I am not alone
O his love is sure and he knows my name
For my God is the Ancient of Days
Though I may not see what the future brings
I will watch and wait for the Savior King
Then my joy complete standing face to face
In the presence of the Ancient of Days
Prayer of Illumination
Jesus, King of heaven and earth, open our hearts and minds by the power of your Holy Spirit, that, as the Scriptures are read and your Word proclaimed, we may hear with joy what you say to us today. Amen.
Sermon
The Lord’s Supper
[instrumental music played or congregational singing]
The Mystery of the Faith
And so, in remembrance of these your mighty acts in Jesus Christ, we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving as a holy and living sacrifce, in union with Christ’s offering for us, as we proclaim the mystery of faith.
Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again!
Lift High the Name of Jesus
Words and Music by Keith Getty, Kristyn Getty, Ed Cash, and Fionan De Barra
© 2013 Getty Music Publishing, Alletrop Music, Fionan De Barra
Lift high the name of Jesus,
Of Jesus our King.
Make known the power of his grace,
The beauty of His peace.
Remember how his mercy reached
And we cried out to him.
He lifted us to solid ground,
To freedom from our sin.
Oh sing my soul,
And tell all he’s done,
Till the earth and heavens are filled with His glory!
Lift high the name of Jesus,
Of Jesus our Lord.
His power in us is greater than,
Is greater than this world.
To share the reason for our hope,
To serve with love and grace,
That all who see him shine through us
Might bring the Father praise.
Live high the name of Jesus,
Of Jesus our Light.
No other name on earth can save,
Can raise a soul to life.
He opens up our eyes to see
The harvest he has grown.
We labor in his fields of grace
As he leads sinners home.
Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
Words and Music by Helen H. Lemmel
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in his wonderful face;
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of his glory and grace.
Benediction
Our mission in life is to not only claim Jesus Christ as our Lord and King, but to make his kingdom a reality among us and bring it to those around us by our words and deeds. The way to do this is to live as he lived: for others, in love and service. May Almighty God bless you for this task: the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord, giving shape to his kingdom. Thanks be to God!