24TH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

LAST SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

CHRIST THE KING SUNDAY
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 23RD, 2025​

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INTRODUCTION​

Jeremiah’s promise of the execution of “justice and righteousness in the land”
     finds ironic fulfillment in the execution of Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.
     It appears utterly contradictory that a king should be crucified with a criminal. This
     victory appears for all the world as humiliating defeat. Yet through the gate of
     death Jesus opens the door to paradise.

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PRAYER OF THE DAY

     O God, our true life, to serve you is freedom, and to know you is unending joy.
     We worship you, we glorify you, we give thanks to you for your great glory. Abide
     with us, reign in us, and make this world into a fit habitation for your divine
     majesty, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you
     and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.​

FIRST READING

JEREMIAH 23:1-6
Today’s reading builds on the common, ancient Near Eastern metaphor of the
     king as shepherd. Judah’s unjust rulers have caused their people, their “flock,” to
     be scattered. Nevertheless, God will raise up a new and righteous shepherd who
     will rule a restored Judah.

1 Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says
     the Lord. 2 Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the
     shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock and
     have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to
     you for your evil doings, says the Lord. 3 Then I myself will gather the remnant of
     my flock out of all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back
     to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. 4 I will raise up shepherds over
     them who will shepherd them, and they shall no longer fear or be dismayed, nor
     shall any be missing, says the Lord.

     5 The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a
     righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely and shall execute
     justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved, and
     Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called: “The Lord
     is our righteousness.”

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PSALM

PSALM 46
(Response) I will be exalted among the nations. (Ps. 46:10)

1 God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth be moved,
and though the mountains shake in the depths of the sea;
3 though its waters rage and foam,
and though the mountains tremble with its tumult.
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be shaken;
God shall help it at the break of day.
6 The nations rage, and the kingdoms shake;
God speaks, and the earth melts away.
(Response) I will be exalted among the nations. (Ps. 46:10)

7 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our stronghold.
8 Come now, regard the works of the Lord,
what desolations God has brought upon the earth;
9 behold the one who makes war to cease in all the world;
who breaks the bow, and shatters the spear, and burns the shields with fire.
10 “Be still, then, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth.”
11 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our stronghold.
(Response) I will be exalted among the nations. (Ps. 46:10)

SECOND READING

COLOSSIANS 1:11-20
An early Christian hymn praises the mystery of the political, personal, and
     mystical Christ, the one who was present at creation and is eternally reigning with God.

11 May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious
     power, so that you may have all endurance and patience, joyfully 12 giving thanks
     to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the
     light. 13 He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into
     the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the
     forgiveness of sins.

     15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, 16 for in him
     all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible,
     whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created
     through him and for him. 17 He himself is before all things, and in him all things
     hold together. 18 He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the
     firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything.
     19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him
     God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven,
     by making peace through the blood of his cross.

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​​​​GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
Alleluia. Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is
     the coming kingdom of our ancestor David. Alleluia. (Mark 11:9-10)

GOSPEL READING

LUKE 23:33-43
Amid scoffing and slander from those who sarcastically call him Messiah and
     king, Jesus reveals that to be Messiah and king is to give one’s life for others.
     Here he uses his power to welcome a despised sinner to paradise but puts his
     own death into God’s hands.

33 When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus
     there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34 [[Then Jesus said,
     “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”]] And they cast
     lots to divide his clothing. 35 And the people stood by watching, but the leaders
     scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah
     of God, his chosen one!” 36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and
     offering him sour wine 37 and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save
     yourself!” 38 There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”

     39 One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying,
     “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him,
     saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of
     condemnation? 41 And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are
     getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.”
     42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom.” 43 He

     replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

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LICENSES & EXPIRATION DATES
Worship Service Content is used via permission through Augsburg Fortress Liturgies

Annual License #SB144368. The next Subscription Renewal Date is 2/28/2026.
Our Hymns and Worship Music are used via permission through CCLI One
License #11327166. The next Subscription Renewal Date is 1/31/2026.

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​SERMONS​
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