Bethel 11/21/21 Service

Sources of Information for Today's Online Service
This page has links to information used or encountered in preparing this online service.

The following articles were prepared for last year's online service for this same Sunday. In reviewing them I found them to be just as interesting and informative as last year (perhaps a poor memory helps). Some of the articles have internal links that lead deeper into their topic. I hope you find them worth reading (or reading again) this year.

Christ the King Sunday
Christ the King from (Wikipedia)
Feast of Christ the King from (Wikipedia)

Thanksgiving Sunday
Why is Thanksgiving on Thursday?
Thanksgiving History Facts and Trivia
Thomas Jefferson and Thanksgiving
The "Mother of Thanksgiving"
A History of Thanksgiving
Who Were the Pilgrims
Why Did the Pilgrims Come to America
Five Things You May Not Know about Pilgrims
The First Thanksgiving Meal
Who was There at the First Thanksgiving Meal?
Colonists at the First Thanksgiving were Mostly Men
What's the Difference Between Puritans and Pilgrims?
When Massachusetts Banned Christmas
Thanksgiving (United States) from (Wikipedia)
The making of Thanksgiving in the US from (UMNEWS.org)
A History of Thanksgiving Proclamations

Guidance from UMC Discipleship Ministries

This is the third in a series of three Worship Services from the Discipleship Ministries.
The graphics at the top of this page list the topics for each of the services in the Series.
(Click on an earlier service's graphic to view that service's Resource page.)

Worship Series: "A Life That Matters"
Worship Series

We end this liturgical year with a short series from the gospels. We’ve covered a lot of ground in this Year B and 2020-21. And rightly so; it has been a tumultuous time. Maybe it has been useful for us to reexamine our practices and our patterns in order to move into the new world that is coming into being around us. Maybe the church that has been isn’t the church that is needed today. And our task is to discern that new community and new disciples and how we live into that new promise and new hope. So, what would this new understanding of the life of discipleship look like? What are some of the markers that help us grow into a life that matters, as individuals and as a community of faith and transformation? This series is designed to give some answers to these questions. It is not, however, supposed to be exhaustive; there are a lot of other markers that might be included in such a list. But, guided by the lectionary-assigned gospel texts for these three Sundays in November 2021, we discover three elements out of many that go to make up “A Life That Matters.”

This Week's Theme: "Everyone Who Belongs"
Liturgical Resources

Reign of Christ Sunday is a marker for the end of the liturgical year. It is a way of saying we wrap up a year’s worth of worship by claiming again whose we are. We reiterate our mission – to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. The emphasis this week is in the middle – “of Jesus Christ.” That is the kind of disciple that we are. We aren’t disciples of our own wisdom; we aren’t disciples following the winds of this world. We are disciples of Jesus Christ.

Worship Planning Notes
Preaching Notes

Lectionary Scriptures:
2 Samuel 23:1-7; Psalm 132:1- 12 ; Revelation 1:4-8; John 18:33- 37

Sources of Music for the following hymns are:

- UMH CD.....UDM - DM Accompaniment..... MM/DD/YY - Recorded Service

Hymns Considered For this week: