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Reign of Christ A


You can find a YouTube playlist here with many of the songs suggested below.



Gathering


The final Sunday of the Christian year celebrates the Reign of Christ (or Christ the King Sunday) and there are many gathering songs you could use which pick up this theme. There are some great songs inspired by the psalms such as O worship the King all glorious above (CH 127), The Lord is King lift up your voice (CH 129 / MP 656) and Clap your hands, all you nations (PFAS 47D / GSW 15), a joyous setting of Psalm 47 from West Africa which would be very easy to pick up. You could also consider classic hymns such as Rejoice! the Lord is King (CH 449 / MP 575) and Jesus shall reign where’er the sun (CH 470 / MP 379) or Come people of the risen King (MP 1267 / CCLI / Getty) for a contemporary hymn. Some possible worship songs could be My Jesus, my Saviour / Shout to the Lord (CH 531 / MP 1003 / CCLI), High praise (CCLI) or Come and worship Christ the King (Resound).



Word


All people that on earth do dwell (CH 63 / MP 20) is the classic option for the psalm today. However, there are other good settings worth exploring including All people living on the earth (Iona) which has a wonderfully energetic tune, Let every nation on the earth (Iona) which can be sung to Duke Street or Tallis’ Canon, Ae sab Zamiinde loko / With shouts of joy, come praise the Lord (STB 94 / PFAS 100D) from Pakistan, and Worship the Lord (Resound).



Response


The Gospel can suggest songs which call us to act to bring about social justice, such as Heaven shall not wait (CH 362), Christ’s is the world in which we move (CH 724), O God, we bear the imprint of your face (CH 254), Build a longer table (GIA / Scheer), God of all comfort (Resound) which was written for the 75th anniversary of Christian Aid, and the short chant The kingdom of God is justice and peace (Taizé) which could be used as a prayer response.


You could use many of the general songs on the theme of Reign of Christ suggested in Gathering and Sending for the Epistle. A few others worth considering are some classic hymns such as The Church’s one foundation (CH 739 / MP 640) and You, Lord, are both Lamb and Shepherd (CH 355) and some shorter choruses such as He is Lord, he is Lord (CH 443), He is exalted (CH 437 / MP 217) and Alpha and Omega (CCLI).


The Old Testament could link to songs about Jesus as a shepherd, including settings of Psalm 23 such as The Lord’s my shepherd, I’ll not want (CH 14 / CH 15 / CH 16), The Lord’s my shepherd (MP 1008 / PFAS 23F / CCLI / Townend) or The King of love my shepherd is (CH 462) while Your hand, O God, has guided (CH 511 / MP 705) speaks about God’s flock. Hail to the Lord’s anointed (CH 474 / MP 204) would make an explicit link between David and Christ as well as giving a nod towards Advent. As well as the German chorale melody there is a version of the latter for band set to a traditional Irish melody by New Scottish Hymns (New Scottish) and a new version by Indelible Grace (link).



Sending


You could finish by singing praise to Christ the King with hymns such as Crown him with many crowns (CH 459 / MP 109), Christ triumphant, ever reigning (CH 436 / MP 77) and How shall I sing that majesty (CH 128). Alternatively, you could focus more on our calling with worship songs such as Hear the call of the kingdom (MP 1282 / CCLI / Getty), Build your kingdom here (CCLI) and Let your kingdom come (CCLI) or short songs such as Sent by the Lord am I (CH 250) and Sizohamba naye / We will walk with God (CH 803).


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