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Planning Ahead: Worship in November

Worship service ideas for the month of November.

Tags:
advent, all saints day/reformation day, christ the king, church year, liturgical calendar, thanksgiving day, worship planning through the seasons, worship service
Article
posted on October 21, 2010

While November may seem to be overshadowed by the Advent season that is about to start, the month is filled with significant occasions to commemorate in worship. The conclusion and climax of the Christian year is Christ the King Sunday, which focuses our worship on the cosmic character of Christ's reign over the world.

Additionally, All Saints Day is an opportunity to remember believers who have gone before us and now surround us in a "great cloud of witnesses" (Hebrews 12). And of course, although Thanksgiving is a civic holiday, many churches find this a fitting occasion to give gratitude to God in worship.

Introduction to Christ the King Sunday

From The Worship Sourcebook:

Christ the King Sunday is celebrated widely in some traditions of the Christian Church, but it is a new idea to others.  The focus of this Sunday is the cosmic character of Christ's reign over the world.  It is a proclamation to all that everything in creation and culture must submit to Christ and an invitation to actively and joyfully submit to his rule.  This fits well with the eschatological emphasis and anticipation of Christ's second coming highlighted during Advent, and prepares worshipers to wait expectantly.

This observance is normally held on the last Sunday before Advent and therefore serves as a transitional Sunday leading directly into Advent, the Christmas cycle, and the new Christian year.  This helps worshipers, who are already thinking about Christmas, remember that Christmas is about much more than a baby in a manger; it is about a sovereign Christ who came to be the “Prince of Peace”.

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