FREELTON STRABANE UNITED CHURCH
To Live Our Discipleship With Integrity And Grace
Horseshoe Falls Regional Council
Reign of Christ
November 23 2025
Rev. Will Wheeler BA M. Div. E-mail: [email protected]
Organist : Joan Simpson
Call To Worship
One: God reigns; let the people rejoice. God rules over all creation.
All: We praise our great name and come to find direction
One: God fills our lives with hope and anticipation and changes them in the likeness of Christ.
All: We extol your name, O God of all people, for with you there is perfect freedom.
Prayer of Approach
Lord Jesus, we stand before you as our judge and our redeemer. You judge us, Lord, by your words, your deeds. In the light of your love, your sacrifice, and your mercy we stand in awe. You redeem us, Lord, by your words, your deeds. You not only remind us of how far we have fallen from your glory, but you have sympathy with us in our weakness, you forgive our failures, and you heal us of our faults. Lord, it gives us comfort , in our times of honesty and truthfulness about ourselves, to know that the one who sits on the throne judging us, is also the one who hung upon the cross for us and for our forgiveness.
You are the shepherd and we are your sheep and we have been found in your love and are forgiven. Thanks be to you loving God
All: (sung) In God we live and move and have our story.
In love God lives in us and makes us whole
O Jesus may we hear the Word that calls us near.
Your story makes a home within our soul.
Your story makes a home within our soul
Epistle Colossians 1:11-20
Gospel Luke 23:33-43
One The word of God for the People of God
All Thanks be to God.
Prayer
Lord as we ponder your words open our hearts that we may understand and know you. Amen
Sermon
Joni Mitchell wrote in 1966
Yesterday a child came out to wonder Caught a dragonfly inside a jar
Fearful when the sky was full of thunder And tearful at the falling of a star
And the seasons they go round and round And the painted ponies go up and down We're captive on the carousel of time We can't return we can only look Behind from where we came And go round and round and round In the circle game Her classic Circle Game.
How do you define a year. For me there is that New Year thing on January 1 to December. Then there is what I call the Church Year. Which for me runs September to June. Then there is Regional Year which runs from July 1 to June 30. There is the School year and depending on what level of education you are at can very. Your Natal year. Then there is liturgical year. That which moves us on our story of faith. Advent 1 to Reign of Christ. Now of course all of this can depend on what Calendar you follow. Gregorian, Julian, Lunar, Solar Seasonal?
Regardless of what calendar you may hold to they move us forward.
I happened upon an old song by Joni Mitchel from 1966 The Circle Game.
Yesterday a child came out to wonder Caught a dragonfly inside a jar
Fearful when the sky was full of thunder And tearful at the falling of a star. And the seasons they go round and round And the painted ponies go up and down We're captive on the carousel of time We can't return we can only look Behind from where we came And go round and round and round In the circle game. The person who was commenting on the song spoke of the passage of time the inevitability of growing up. The deep poetic sense of the song speak of change loss acceptance. Nostalgia and wisdom gained. How life weeps us alone sometimes eagerly sometimes reluctantly Ultimately the song reminds us to cherish each moment.
Seasons change driving home the other night so early blossoming of Christmas lights. The gospel is crucifixion an ending but not an ending. A path that ends but a path that begins.
The cycle of faith is about to begin again.
To quote King Lear “ The wheel has come full circle.” But for us at least it is a happy full circle. The church year has come to an end and next Sunday the cycle of Birth life death resurrection begins again. We begin once again the journey from the cradle to the cross.
Today we celebrate Jesus’ reign. . Reign of Christ also known as the Feast of Christ the King is actually not that old in regards to a liturgical observance. It was instituted less than 100 years ago in 1925.
It was originally supposed to be the last Sunday of October, just before the Feast of All Saints – which, in 1926, just happened to be October 31st. The focus was on the Last Judgement at Christ’s Second Coming.
In some traditions this is also known as Stir up Sunday Some old pudding recipes require the pudding to sit for several weeks before being cooked. This Sunday became a day that people would traditionally begin preparing pudding for Christians, which includes “stirring it up.”
Jesus was thought to be the new King, the one promised. But Jesus reign was never what people thought it would be. Jesus was not what was expected. The people of his day had a vision of the returning hero and Jesus was not that. As Pilot said “Are you the king of the Jews”?
He stood there before Pilot dirty beaten smelling. Not the image of a king.
Then He was led away a sign nailed above his head King of the Jews.
History filters out the unpleasant. Or at least it did until the gospel of Mel Gibson. Still today we have this very clean picture of Jesus.
The views of Jesus on the cross has been depicted many different ways from terrible agony to serene rapture. All filtered through the eyes and perception of the artist.
The scriptures themselves have been filter in the same way. Over time the line between the Jesus of history and the Christ of Faith have become blurred.
There has been and always will be that search for the Historical Jesus to try to ascertain what he really did and said as compared to what is the creation of the gospeller and the faith.
In the continual pattern of the church year we at times loss site of the glory of Christ’s reign.
Worship and outreach of our church become a work and routine.
Paul is very poetic today in his writing and gives us again a glimpse of the mystery of the faith. The invisible God made visible. Jesus was a real human being as frail as any human can be and yet he was fully God. He was God made flesh the invisible made visible.
There suffering, We see a great out pouring of love, We see Grace given, and faith rewarded.
Yes the sign said, king of the Jews but not of an earthly kingdom, The Crucifixion becomes the coronation of the king of heaven. A reign that will last for eternity.
A sure presence in our lives, offering us that Grace again and again, strengthening our faith.
It is through this continued presence that the faith has continued.
It is through the presence in the world that the faithful were inspired and the gospels written and the church spread.
It is through this faith that we can act faithfully and live with courage although the battles may be tough at times.
It is this that makes us Citizen of a different order
It makes us Christian
Every time you say grace at a meal you are saying that Jesus is lord.
Each time we celebrate communion Christ victory is proclaimed.
Each time we celebrate Baptism we recall how Jesus calls us into unity
Every time we open our doors for a concert, a dinner, an event, we are claiming Christ presence amongst us.
Together they become a statement of our faith and our belief. They proclaim the mystery of the faith and crown Jesus the Christ Jesus the anointed one as our sovereign Lord
And to claim this citizenship to proclaim our king means that we must continually examine what it means to do this.
The cycle of faith is about to begin again.
A time of new birth of renewal of faith of self examination. A time to perhaps see the world new again. To be the child that came out to wonder Caught a dragonfly inside a jar Fearful when the sky was full of thunder And tearful at the falling of a star. In all that we do we must first see Jesus. And in seeing Christ first our Lord we see that in all that we do we are not alone. That Jesus through the Holy Spirit in the love of God is with us. Thanks be to God.
Prayers of the people
Hear our prayer we humbly offer
Grant to us your peace O God
Hear our prayer we humbly offer
Grant to us your peace O God.
Prayers
God of all time and space, we come to you in this moment to asks that you quiet our souls so that we may be with you. In this moment help us to reflect on how we have cared for those in need, but also how we have nurtured our relationship with and with in ourselves. We know that we at times have a tendency to wonder but you are always waiting for us to find our way home to you. We take great comfort in knowing that you are always there for us.
As you have been for us we offer you prayers for those who we will never know. The marginalized the dis enfranchised people of the world. We offer prayers for those that we do know and ask that you continue to walk with them.. Give us courage and wisdom to speak the truths that will keep us in that relationship with ourselves and others.
Finally we give thanks for the many ways that you have walked with us, not just in sorrow but also in joy. Help us to answer your call to service and worked toward being an open and accepting community. Lord hear our own personal prayers. We trust that in your time and in your way they shall be answered. Amen
Offering
We give thee but thy own. The work of the Church continues and there are three ways you can continue to support that work. Consider using PAR, use the donate button on our Web Site or drop your gift at the Manse. Let us make our offering and give thanks.
One: Praise God who from all Blessing flow
Prayer Blessed God for all times you have been the God who has given to us. Here in this time we bring you our gifts and offer the to you for the continued work of your Church in all places and times. Amen.
Sending Forth and Blessing.
One: The holiness of God shines upon you and empowers your witness and service.
All: We will meet God in prayer and walk with god in places of human need.
One: In all times and places God blesses us. We go now to be channels of Gods blessing
Blessing
One: May God the one who brings us comfort surround you, May Christ our Joy walk with you. May the Continued presence of The Holy Spirit illuminate our path and keep us safe until we can gather again in community. Amen
Go now in Peace
Amen Amen Amen
Yesterdaywe honour our heritage.
Todaywe know that we are not alone,that we live in God's world.
Tomorrowwith God,we will discoverthe undiscovered country.
Upcoming Events
