Christ the King Sunday

The Last Sunday After Trinity

November 21, 1999

Pastor: Wayne C. Eichstadt

Pre-Service Meditation: Psalm 45

Pre-Service Prayer:

Dear Jesus, how wonderful it is to live under Your gracious rule! Thank You for coming as my King to go to battle for me and defeat all my enemies. Thank You for continuing to rule over all things in the earth so that they serve to the benefit of Your children. Thank You for making Your home in my heart. Keep the hearts of all Your children ready for Your glorious return. Bless us in worship today! Amen.

On His Head Are Many Crowns

A Service of Word and Song to Christ our King

WELCOME in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior and King Whose reign in our hearts & lives we celebrate and Whose coming we anticipate! We join together this morning in a festival service of Word and Song as we worship in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.

Scripture Reading: Revelation 19:11-16

It is traditional on the last Sunday of the Trinity season to direct our thoughts and praises to the Kingship of our Savior. Christ our King will return on the Last Day to judge the living and the dead and to take us—His believers—to His heavenly Kingdom. In a few short weeks, we will be going in spirit to Bethlehem and there celebrate with joy the birth of Christ our newborn King.

Our first Scripture reading and hymn establish the theme of our worship this morning. It is a theme of praise and fullest glory to Christ our Savior who came as our servant, died as our substitute, and lives and reigns now and forever in the glory He will give to us!

In his Revelation from God, John had seen the great opposition to Christ and His Church, but in chapter 19:11-13 he sees the victorious and conquering Savior in full glory. Jesus is the King of all kings and Lord of all lords—there is NONE more worthy of our devotion, honor, and praise

Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. (Revelation 19:11-16)

Opening Hymn: #341 — Crown Him with Many Crowns!

Confession of Sins: Responsive Reading from 1 John 1 & Psalm 51

Pastor: If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

Cong: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

P: Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your loving kindness;

C: According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions.

P: Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,

C: And cleanse me from my sin.

P: For I acknowledge my transgressions,

C: And my sin is always before me.

P: Against You, You only, have I sinned,

C: And done this evil in Your sight—

P: Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,

C: And in sin my mother conceived me.

P: Hide Your face from my sins,

C: And blot out all my iniquities.

Absolution (Pastor): Lift up your hearts! Jesus, your Savior, Shepherd, King has suffered and died for YOU. Hear His words, "Be of good cheer your sins are forgiven you. Come unto Me, all YOU who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." In Jesus’ name, by His command, and because of His work and promise, I absolve and free you from ALL YOUR sins—they are forgiven completely, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Cong: "Amen."

Part 1
The King of Creation

Scripture Reading & Meditation: Nehemiah 9:5b-6

“His eyes were like a flame of fire and on His head were many crowns…” (Revelation 19:12). Crown Him with many crowns…

When we consider who our King is, we have every right to be excited! OUR King is King of kings! There is none greater! OUR Lord is Lord of lords! There is NONE more supreme!

Oh yes, there are many other kings and lords and rulers, and many of them “plot a vain thing…[and] set themselves…against the LORD and against His Anointed” (Psalm 2:1-2) who is Christ our King. Let them rage, let them plot and set themselves against our King and against us who belong to His kingdom. There is not a single power in the depths of hell nor on this earth that does not have to yield to the greater authority and power of Christ our King!

Let the enemies all rage because God promises “blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.” Our King wears many crowns and each crown is a reason to put our trust in Him; and each one is a source of blessing for all who do. Each crown that John saw Jesus wearing represents full honor and glory—honor and glory which belong to the owner of the crown because of who He is and what He has done.

Jesus is crowned with many crowns because of all the many ways in which He is our King and for all the glorious things He does for us—His people.

Crown Him with a crown of glory and praise because He is THE KING OF CREATION.

“In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God…all things were made through Him and without Him nothing was made that was made” (John 1:1,3). The Son of God, our King, is our Maker. He has given us life! He preserves us in this life! He controls & directs the universe and everything in it for our benefit! He provides for our needs! He has almighty power to help in every need! “He rides the heavens to help you” (Deuteronomy 33:27). He makes the rain come and go. He gives you meteor showers to watch in the starry heavens. He creates the wonder of new life, and every other wonder that this universe holds—those that are known and unknown to man!

Nehemiah 9:5-6 declares: “Stand up and bless the Lord your God Forever and ever! "Blessed be Your glorious name, Which is exalted above all blessing and praise! You alone are the Lord; You have made heaven, The heaven of heavens, with all their host, The earth and everything on it, The seas and all that is in them, And You preserve them all. The host of heaven worships You.”

Jesus our Savior is worthy of all honor, glory and praise because HE IS OUR KING OF CREATION!

Hymn: # 39 – Praise to the Lord, the Almighty

Part 2
The Shepherd King

Scripture Reading & Meditation: Psalm 23

A good and effective king will be powerful, but also compassionate. He will exhibit great strength and might, but also tenderness and love. The strength of a powerful King is able to provide for His people, the heart of a Shepherd makes Him willing to provide the best for his sheep. Our King is also our Shepherd as David writes in Psalm 23:

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.

Jesus our King does as Isaiah says, “come with a strong hand and His arm shall rule for Him” As a mighty warrior-king the reward of victory is with Him. However, Jesus is also the tender Savior who “will feed His flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs with His arm and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young.” (Isaiah 40:10-11).

Jesus our Savior is worthy of all honor, glory and praise because HE IS OUR SHEPHERD KING!

Hymn(with an alternate tune): #431(st. 1,2,4,6) — The King of Love My Shepherd Is

Part 3
The King of Grace

Scripture Reading & Meditation: 2 Corinthians 8:9

It ought to be a fearsome thing to approach God in prayer because we are the creatures who are often failing in rebellion, who are daring approach the Creator. In truth, it ought to be an impossible thing for sinners such as ourselves to approach our holy Creator and claim Christ as our King—at least by human standards because there is no humanly possible way that we as sinners could come before our Savior and a call Him "King" and before our God and call Him "Father."

It is not hard to find people in this world who are haughty, proud, and impressed with themselves and their own greatness. They lord it over other people making sure that the others too appreciate just how great they are. Some one of supposed inferiority wouldn’t care to approach such a person for fear of the scorn. This is not the case as we approach the King of Creation—our Shepherd. This is not the case because not only is He King of Creation and our Shepherd but also THE KING OF GRACE. Our next Scripture read is from Paul’s 2nd Letter to the Corinthians, chapter 8 verse 9.

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9).

The Son of God did not jealously hang onto His divine honor and glory that He had as the glorified Son of God; “but made Himself of no reputation taking the form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of man” (Philippians 2:7). He gladly set that honor and glory aside for a time and became our servant.

As our King, Jesus came to do battle against the Devil and against sin and against all the powers of hell that want to pull us into eternal destruction. He came to do battle and He fought the battle and He WON! He paid the ransom price necessary to get us back from death. The ransom price was His own precious blood. It was a battle Jesus didn’t HAVE to fight. Our destruction was our own doing. The sins were not HIS. They would become His when He took them upon Himself to be our Redeemer, but first they were OURS. It was not Jesus’ battle, but one that He made His battle when He willingly went into it to earn our redemption. It was a battle Jesus willingly fought as part of God’s plan of salvation. By GRACE we ARE SAVED.

Jesus is the King of Grace. He was rich but for YOUR sake He became poor. He is the Son of God from eternity—all power and glory are His! But He became a servant to serve YOU. What rich man on this earth do you know that would set aside riches to make the poorest poorest street person rich like he was? That is exactly what Jesus did!! He is the King of Grace! There was no one who could be higher than HE…no one who could be lower in sin than WE. He is the King of Grace because He came and took on our sin. He died for us. He gave Himself up so that we could be rich in life and live with Him forever. He is KING—all power and glory are HIS, but He didn’t act in selfish interest. He acted for us, with ONE GOAL: That WE be RICH!

The believers gathered around the throne in Revelation say, “you have redeemed us to God by your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation…"(Revelation 5:9). It is a recurring theme that comes from the lips of the believers in Revelation. They gather around the throne and proclaim the wonders of their Savior and gracious King who brought sinners from every tribe and nation to be His own.

Imagine! …a world as wicked as our own, a world so wicked that at one point God destroyed every living thing in a flood except for what He Himself preserved on the ark. …a world in which every single human being is born in sin. …a world that so often rebels and contradicts everything God says, but in that world Jesus has redeemed people from every tribe, every nation, every corner of that wickedness. That is GRACE! That is UNDESERVED LOVE from the KING OF GRACE.

It is no wonder that we give all honor and blessing and glory to Him because of His amazing love for us. We can marvel at the power of King Creation, we can rejoice in the leading of the Shepherd King, but it is the King of Grace which touches us most deeply…God’s Son gave himself for ME that I might LIVE!

Because of this great love, we love HIM. We love our KING. We have every reason to praise Him, every reason to love Him, because HE DIED so that you and I CAN LIVE. HE became POOR so that WE might be RICH.

Jesus our Savior is worthy of all honor, glory and praise because HE IS OUR KING OF GRACE!

Hymn: #352 --- O Savior, Precious Savior

{congregation rise…to sing}

Hymn: On My Heart Imprint Thine Image

On my heart imprint Thine image, blessed Jesus, King of Grace,
That life’s riches, cares, and pleasures, have no pow’r Thee to efface.
This the superscription be: "Jesus, crucified for me,
"Is my Life, my Hope’s foundation, and my Glory and Salvation."

Offering of Thanksgiving

Prayer & Lord’s Prayer

Last week I received the call from Rock of Ages Lutheran Church in Grand Rapids, MI to serve as their pastor. I ask you to keep this matter in your prayers, and this morning we pray for all of our calling congregations and those who are presently considering calls. We also join with our sister congregation, Grace, of Sleepy Eye in praising the Lord for their 40 years of existence. Let us pray…

Lord Jesus, our Savior, Shepherd, King—preserve us all in the faith to which You have called us by Your grace. Sanctify us—separating us from the world and all of its fleshly desires so that day by day our lives may be "living sacrifices" to Your glory, and our bodies be temples for Your Holy Spirit.

Continue to build us up as a habitation for Your dwelling and bless our Christian witness to others. Use us as Your humble instruments in spreading Your kingdom far and wide. This morning, we praise You for granting our sister congregation, Grace in Sleepy Eye, 40 years of grace for working in Your kingdom. Be with and uplift all who celebrate this blessing today, and continue to bless the ministry which you have given Your children to do in Sleepy Eye, Mankato, and around the world!

For those flocks who are presently without an earthly shepherd, give confidence and perseverance in the knowledge that You—the Chief Shepherd—are still watching over them, feeding them, and providing for them and will in due season provide an under-shepherd to serve as well. To that end, move the hearts of many to undertake the blessed work of serving in the public ministry of Your kingdom and through them give good gifts to Your Church. For all who are considering calls, we also pray asking that You give them a rich measure of Your Holy Spirit and guide them with wisdom from above, leading them in the way You choose and establishing that way in their hearts and in their decisions.

Jesus our majestic King, we praise You for setting aside Your glory to become our humble servant! We glorify Your name for your great grace demonstrated to us! Create in each of us a strong confidence to face whatever enters our lives, trusting solely in You—the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who rules over all things for us! All glory be to Your Name! Amen!

Lord’s Prayer

Part 4
The King of Glory

Scripture Reading & Meditation: Daniel 7:13-14, 27

13 "I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him. 14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed. . .27 Then the kingdom and dominion, And the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, Shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And all dominions shall serve and obey Him.’

Our Creator-King, Shepherd-King, Gracious-King is also the King of Glory with whom WE will live and reign forever! Of true glory there will not be, and indeed cannot be, an end.

Upon the completion of Jesus’ work as our self-sacrificing Savior, God exalted Jesus and showered full honor and glory upon His Victorious Son. Paul wrote to the Philippians, “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11).

There is not an accolade our King does not deserve. There is not a single tongue which will not praise Him on the Last Day either by willingness or by the compulsion of the unavoidable truth.

Christ our King’s Kingdom and Word are established! They will remain and rule forever! Jesus our King rules all things NOW and He will continue to do so forever. Right now He is guiding all things and ruling all things to serve for the glory and blessing of His Church. He came and conquered sin and death so that He might establish His Church and that she would live forever and reign with Him in glory. Earthly kingdoms will come and go—the have glory for a while—but Kingdom of our King of our Glory does not end. It will endure.

So we await and we prepare for Savior’s glorious return--ever watchful, ever ready, ever anticipating the joy of what it will be to see our King return in full glory with the angels of heaven shouting His arrival, the sound of the trumpet and all the glory of heaven! Then Jesus will separate believers and unbelievers and say to us, “COME! You blessed of My Father, INHERIT the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (Matthew 25:34).

THERE we will inherit FULL GLORY and enjoy it forever.

THERE will be everything that is glorious and nothing that is sinful.

THERE where there will be NO more TEARS and CRYING.

THERE where there will be no need of sun or moon because the glory of the Lamb of God—OUR KING—will be our Light (cf: Revelation 21:23).

What glories await us in eternity! What glories our KING deserves inour praise for all that He has done! What glories He showers upon us because He is our CREATOR, our SHEPHERD, our GRACIOUS King, and our GLORIOUS King.

Jesus our Savior is worthy of all honor, glory and praise because HE IS OUR KING OF GLORY!

Amen!

—Pastor Wayne C. Eichstadt

Immanuel Grade School Choir: Wake, Awake, for Night is Flying (Hymn #609)

Hymn: #73 (st. 1,2,5) – Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates

Benediction

Cong: "Amen. Amen. Amen"

Pastor: [Jesus says] "Behold! I am coming quickly and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last…I, Jesus…am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star…Surely I am coming quickly! (Revelation 22:12ff).

Cong: "Amen! Even so, come, Lord Jesus!" (Revelation 22:20)

Hymn: #657 – Beautiful Savior

Silent Prayer

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