First United Methodist ChurchWorship Service

November 22nd (Reign of Christ & Thanksgiving Sunday)“WE GATHER TO PRAISE GOD AND BE CHRIST’S PEOPLE”

“God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24)

“I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.” (Psalm 138:2)

Opening Hymn - “Give Thanks” ---------------------- 2036 (TFWS)

Opening Prayer (Taught by Love, Lavon Bayler)We come with gladness, loving God, drawn by our need and by a desire to praise you and give thanks. Enlighten

the eyes of our hearts that we may be full of hope. Enlarge the circle of our concern that we may see the stranger as next of kin, the hungry person as part of our own family, the one who is sick as a whole individual deserving of our care. Grant us the presence of Christ that we may learn more fully to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Amen.

Communion Song of Preparation --------- “Break Thou the Bread of Life” ------------------------ 599 (UMH)

Serving of the Elements of Communion

Welcome & AnnouncementsGood morning! How are you today? Welcome to the worship of our Lord. Today is the Twenty-Fifth Sunday after

Pentecost and Christ the King/Reign of Christ Sunday. Next Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent. Why did Jesus come? He came to save us from the power of death. Through Jesus’ precious blood, we became his people. As his people, we want to celebrate our king and we want to worship our Lord. That is why we are here today.

1. Advent Study: For our Advent study, we’ve chosen Names for the Messiah by ordained minister and retired seminary professor Walter Brueggemann. We’ll discuss the book using the Zoom platform. The four sessions will take place the first four Tuesdays in December – 1, 8, 15, and 22, at 7:00 pm. Books are $5.00. Contact Debbie for a copy of the book.2. Ric’s Sunday School class is now meeting on Wednesdays at 6:00 PM, via Zoom. When in-person Sunday School resumes, we plan to return to Sundays. Anyone interested in joining can do so at any time by Zoom App.3. Warren Village Christmas Gift Donations: This year, the UMW is coordinating the Holiday Shop and is accepting monetary donations until December 6. You may either drop off cash or checks (made out to “UMW”) in the box in Van Amburg Hall or mail it to the church. If you have any questions, please call Debbie in the office, or one of the UMW members. Thank you for helping to keep this tradition of giving to Warren Village!4. United Methodist Men will hold a meeting via Zoom on Saturday, December 5, 8:00 a.m. to elect a new president andtreasurer. Nominations will be accepted at the meeting, but you are encouraged to pass nominations on to Mark (mjpat1006@msn.com or 970-699-8557) in advance. All men are welcome and encouraged to attend this meeting.5. Update from the Mission Committee: To date the church has donated $850 to United Way of Larimer County for fire relief. Thank you all for your generosity!6. Update on Dare To Dream Grant matching donations: The new equipment should be up and running by the end of November. Thank you for helping to make this much-needed equipment purchase possible!7. The church office will be closed Thursday, November 26 and Friday, November 27 for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Passing the Peace of Christ: Please Greet Each Other in Jesus’ Name – “Peace be with you!”

Hymn - “ To God Be the Glory”----------------------------- 98 (UMH)

Prayers of Joy and Petition It is time for us to open our hearts, and share our joy and concern. We want to pray for one another. We can remember each other in our hearts and in our prayers.Sharing - Please share your joy and concern together. Please do not forget to “give thanks to God.”Meditation – Together

Pastoral PrayerHeavenly Father, thanks for this time, and this place. We are gathered together today as your children, your saints,

and your subjects. We are so thankful that you are near to all those who call on you. Thank You for being with us and even within us. Lord, you are faithful in all your words and kind in all your works, and we are so grateful that we can trust you. We thank you for the gentle voice and promptings of the Holy Spirit that keeps us in the right way and enables us to avoid the hardships and difficulties that come along the way. You are always there even when we are unaware of your presence. When we experience doubts of your goodness, steadfastness, or power because of tragedy in our lives or in the world around us, remind us of your faithfulness in all circumstances. When we are overcome by anxiety, stress, or discouragement, bring to mind your mighty deeds and your constant presence. When we are fighting sickness, fatigue, or burnout, lift us up and be our Strength. Thank you, Lord, for being whom and what you are. You are trustworthy and we can be secure in your everlasting love.

We pray today for those who are in our minds and hearts. We have many people who are suffering from all kinds of hardships and difficulties. There are people who are struggling against their physical matters. We pray that you would bring healing and wholeness to those that need your physical touch. Please be with those that have sicknesses and physical problems. We pray for those who live under the constant pain of broken relationships. Please reinstate human relationships. Please heal our weakness, comfort out sorrow, and restore our joy. Today we celebrate the hope and the grace you have poured into our lives. Your grace causes our cups to overflow. We believe your goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives. We want to dwell in Your house forever. Please help us, protect us, and bless us. We pray in Jesus’ name.

Lord’s PrayerOur father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in

heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever, Amen.

Scripture Reading ------------------------------Psalm 100:1-5------------------------------------ Rev. KyeongSu JungShout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.

Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Special Music ------------------------- “Give Thanks with Cannon” --------------------------------- Annie Jung

Sermon -------------------------------------- “His, His, and His” ------------------------------------ Rev. KyeongSu JungThe Book of Psalms is made up of 150 different songs. And those are divided into different categories based on the

style. The representatives are “Lament Psalms,” “Thanksgiving Psalms,” “Liturgical Psalms” and “Hymnic Psalms.” Among those different styles, the most wonderful style is “Thanksgiving Psalms.” It is the song that “I cannot bear without giving thanks to God because of God’s amazing love and grace.” “I cannot stop giving thanks to God because God gave me the best thing.” “Because we are so happy with God’s blessings, we want to say thank you, God.” It is the main theme of “Thanksgiving Psalms.”

Today’s text is one of the most famous “Thanksgiving Psalms.” In verse 3, the author said, “Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” It is the author’s confession of the faith about why we have to give thanks to God and why we have to praise God’s name. Here, we can find a very interesting expression; “His.” The author used “His” three times- “We are His,” “We are His people,” and “the sheep of His pasture.” Why did the author use “His” three times in one sentence? What did he want to say? From here, we see a very important truth that we have to realize as God’s people. We want to share this truth.

Normally, in the Bible, phrase repetition means emphasis. Jesus also used this expression lots of times. In the Gospel, Jesus said several times, “Verily, verily, I say unto you” when he wanted to emphasize something. It means “I tell you the truth” or “I assure you.” In today’s text, the author intentionally used “His” three times because he wanted to emphasize that part. That is, the author wanted to emphasize the key point, which is “Do not forget we are His.” Verses 1 and 2 say, “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.” It means “When you worship God, worship with joy and gladness. Do not worship God reluctantly.” People came to the temple to worship God, but he found that some people looked unpleasant. During the worship time, their face took on a stiff expression. Although they came to the temple to worship God, they did not look happy. That is why the author said, “worship God with gladness.”

It is not just a problem from that time; these days, many people feel so tiresome during worship because it is not a joyful time. They just wish, “please finish as soon as possible.” Naturally, they cannot praise God with joy and gladness. However, please remember, if anyone unwillingly worships God, it cannot be worship with truth and spirit. In John chapter 4 verse 24, Jesus clearly said, “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” When we worship God with joy and gladness, it is different. When we sing hymns, when we pray for others, and when we share our greetings, we are happy. Worship time is not tiring and not boring. Maybe some people would say, “Is it true?” “Yes, it is true,” because numerous people experienced and confessed.

If so, do you know why? The secret is “to praise God with gladness.” When Israel got back their Ark of the Covenant from the Philistines, David was very happy. He was heartily glad. David danced before the Lord with all his

might, while he and Israel brought up the Ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets. (2 Samuel 6:14-15) At that time, some people, especially Michal, daughter of Saul, could not understand David’s behavior. She thought, “David is the king of Israel. How can the king of Israel dance with the humble people? The king should have dignity.” But, David sang and danced with people because to praise God was the most important thing to him. When Michal asked, David answered, “It was before God, who chose me rather than others. I will celebrate before the Lord.” David knew exactly who owned him.

Basically, when people do their favorite thing, they are happy. To do their favorite thing, people willingly give up other things. Although people do the same things, it is totally different whether they like it or not. We can find the best example by looking at our children. Teenage boys like to play computer games. When they play it, they lose track of time. Time flies. But, when they study, it is different. Time is really slow. That is why recess time seems too short to play while study time is too long to sit in a chair. The difference is “Joy” and “Gladness.” The Bible clearly said, “Shout for joy to the Lord.” It means “Be happy when you worship God, when you pray for others, and when you read the Bible.” How is that possible? The answer is “His.” We are “His” not “Ours.” Many people would ask, “What are you talking about? Do you mean I am not mine? If so, who owns me?” In verse 3, the Bible testified, “We are his.” But another Bible version said, “Not we ourselves.” We are not ours because God paid our debts and “bought us with his own blood.” (Acts 28:20) The Bible testified, “He loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood.” (Revelation 1:5)

God loved us because he made us. But we did not follow God’s way. We lived the way we wanted. We sinned against God. But God could not punish us because he loved us so much. God decided that he will forgive us. God sent his only son, Jesus Christ to save us from the power of darkness and death. To save us, Jesus came here as a human. He died on the Cross as the worst sinner for us. Apostle Paul clearly testified, “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) Paul witnessed, “We are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:24) “Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!” (Romans 5:9) Jesus promised to us, “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12) Because Jesus Christ died for us, we are saved. We are all God’s children. Therefore, we are not ours. We belong to God. We are his. When we believe this amazing grace, we can confess we are “His” and we can lean on him for everything because he is everything to us. That is why we can praise God with “Joy” and “Gladness.”

A man was traveling. Because it was Sunday, he wanted to worship God, but he had no idea which church he could go to because he was a stranger. He stopped the car and asked a policeman, “Hi policeman, I want to go to church. Could you introduce me to a church?” The policeman answered. “OK. I’ll take you. Follow me.” The policeman showed the way to the church. On the way to the church, he saw several churches. But, the policeman did not stop there. When they arrived at one church, he asked the policeman, “On the way to come here, I saw several churches. But you just passed. Why did you lead me to this church? Are you a member of this church?” The policeman answered, “No. I am not a Christian. But, whenever I saw the people’s faces who returned to their home after worship, the people who attend this church look much brighter and happier than other churches. I want you to leave this town with happiness like these church members. That is why I led you to this church.” Even non-Christians can recognize whether our faces are filled with joy and happiness or not.

How about us? When you worship God, are you happy? Can you praise God with gladness? One more, what kind of church do you want to make? Where is our church? Because God loves us so much, he saved our lives, and now he is saying, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.”(Isaiah 43:1) Jesus also says, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.” (John 15:9) Paul testified, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20) We are “His.” The only thing we have to do is give thanks to God and praise God’s name with gladness and big joy. And, please say to God. “I love you, my Lord. We want to live as your children and your faithful disciples. Please help us.” When we confess like this, God will help and will be with us because we are “His.”

Offertory – “Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow” -------------- 94 (UMH)

Offertory Prayer (Taught by Love, Lavon Bayler)God of steadfast love, receive these expressions of our thanks for the glorious inheritance entrusted to us. We

hereby enlist ourselves and our resources toward the realization of your eternal purpose for all humanity. May this congregation become more and more a source of hope for each of us and for all we meet. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Closing Hymn – “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee” ------------------------------ 89 (UMH)

Commission and BlessingWe believe the grace of God, the love of Jesus Christ, And the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.Great is our God, and greatly to be praised.May the Lord continue to bless us and keep us.May the Lord continue to make his face shine upon us and be gracious to us.May the Lord continue to look upon us with favor and give us peace.In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen.