Lessons for November 20, 2005 – Christ the King Sunday

The first lesson

Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24
 
"For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search and find my sheep. 12I will be like a shepherd looking for his scattered flock. I will find my sheep and rescue them from all the places to which they were scattered on that dark and cloudy day. 13I will bring them back home to their own land of Israel from among the peoples and nations. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel and by the rivers in all the places where people live. 14Yes, I will give them good pastureland on the high hills of Israel. There they will lie down in pleasant places and feed in lush mountain pastures. 15I myself will tend my sheep and cause them to lie down in peace, says the Sovereign Lord. 16I will search for my lost ones who strayed away, and I will bring them safely home again. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak. But I will destroy those who are fat and powerful. I will feed them, yes—feed them justice! "Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will surely judge between the fat sheep and the scrawny sheep. 21For you fat sheep push and butt and crowd my sick and hungry flock until they are scattered to distant lands. 22So I will rescue my flock, and they will no longer be abused and destroyed. And I will judge between one sheep and another. 23And I will set one shepherd over them, even my servant David. He will feed them and be a shepherd to them. 24And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David will be a prince among my people. I, the Lord, have spoken!  (NLT)

Psalm 95:1-7a
 
L.  Come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us give a joyous shout to the rock of our salvation! 
C.  Let us come before him with thanksgiving. Let us sing him psalms of praise. 
L.  For the Lord is a great God, the great King above all gods. 
C.  He owns the depths of the earth, and even the mightiest mountains are his. 
L.  The sea belongs to him, for he made it.
C.  His hands formed the dry land, too.
L.  Come, let us worship and bow down.
C.  Let us kneel before the Lord our maker,  for he is our God.
L.  We are the people he watches over, the sheep under his care.  (NLT)

The second lesson

Ephesians 1:15-23
 
Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for Christians everywhere, 16I have never stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, 17asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. 18I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the wonderful future he has promised to those he called. I want you to realize what a rich and glorious inheritance he has given to his people.  19I pray that you will begin to understand the incredible greatness of his power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power 20that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God's right hand in the heavenly realms. 21Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else in this world or in the world to come. 22And God has put all things under the authority of Christ, and he gave him this authority for the benefit of the church. 23And the church is his body; it is filled by Christ, who fills everything everywhere with his presence.  (NLT)

The Gospel Lesson


Matt 25:31-46
31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' 37 "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' 40 "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' 41 "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' 44 "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' 45 "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' 46 "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."  (NIV)