Sunday, November 4, 2018

For All The Saints - Nov 4, 2018

Worship on Sunday, November 4

 We began our seasonal focus on Thanksgiving – “An Attitude of Gratitude” –  with the Festival Sunday of All Saints! 

 For All The Saints!

In our series – “Loving God, Loving Others” – we dive deep in understanding the fullness of self-giving love, even as it expresses itself in the lives of Christian martyrs.
╬ All Saints, the Feast of All Hallows, is a day of remembrance.  In the life of the church it has traditionally been a time to celebrate the lives of people of faith who have passed into glory.  Scripture is clear in naming all the host of believers – especially those living today – as “saints.”  Paul says it is the “great cloud of witnesses” that are the saints of God.  So our celebration is expanded with remembrance of those who have gone before us, those of the living Body of Christ today, and the generations to come, as well.  Today we remember, we hallow, and we give thanks for this cloud of witnesses of which we are a vital part!

 Below are the Prayer of the Day and Readings. 

 Looking forward to celebrating with you in a time of remembrance, of thanksgiving and of hope for the years to come!

 - Pr. Brad Highum
bhighum@abidinglove.org

 PRAYER OF THE DAY ----------------------
God of every time and place, we give you thanks for the saints who dwell with you in light. We give you thanks for the saints who form the living Body of Christ in the world today, and we give you thanks for the saints who will live for you in the time to come.  Amen.

 READINGS -----------------------------------

 First Reading:  Isaiah 25:6-9
6 On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear.  7 And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; 8 he will swallow up death forever.  Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.  9 It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us.  This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

 Psalm 34:1-8
1 I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad.
3O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.
4I sought the LORD, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.
5Look to him, and be radiant; so your faces shall never be ashamed.
6This poor soul cried, and was heard by the LORD, and was saved from every trouble.
7The angel of the LORD encamps around those who revere him, and delivers them.
8O taste and see that the LORD is good; happy are those who take refuge in him.

 Second Reading:  Revelation 7:9-10,15-17
9After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. 10They cried out in a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!"  15For this reason they are before the throne of God, and worship him day and night within his temple, and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them.  16They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; 17for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

 Gospel:  John 3:11-21
11 "Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. 16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.  17 "Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
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