St Ansgar Lutheran Church, London

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Sunday Morning

We invite you to join us for the following worship services:

Sundays
10:30 a.m. Worship service

Hand sanitizer will be available at the entrance and other locations in the church for
your use.

Washrooms will be available for use.

In the service: The service will be shown on the screen. The offering will not be gathered and presented, but there will be an offering plate at the back of the sanctuary where you can put your offering as you enter or leave. Pastor David distributes the communion wafers and an Assisting Minister distributes wine or grape juice in individual glasses.

We have coffee and fellowship time available again in Luther Hall after the service.

We will continue to evaluate our worship service procedures on a monthly basis.

TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, NOVEMBER 16, 2025.

St. Ansgar Lutheran Church, Outline for Worship (with sermon)
Sunday, November 16, 2025 – Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost
Based on ELW Setting Four

GATHERING

WELCOME & ANNOUNCEMENTS

BRIEF ORDER FOR CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS
P: Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God, who forgives all our sin, whose
mercy endures forever.
C: Amen.

P: Let us confess our sin in the presence of God and of one another.

Silence is kept for reflection.

P: Faithful God,
C: you have shown us the ways of your heart, yet we stray from
your paths.
We are stuck in sinful systems of oppression and do not embrace
the freedom of your faithful promises.
We ignore our neighbours. We exploit the earth. We reject your
abundance, trusting our impulses instead of your steadfast love.
Repair our relationships, restore what we have broken,
renew our hearts, and bring us to new life.
Amen.

P: Hear the good news. God the Faithful One loves you, ☩ in Christ Jesus
your sins are forgiven, and by the power of the Holy Spirit you are set free.
C: Amen.

ENTRANCE HYMN - Morning Has Broken (ELW #556)

GREETING
P: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion
of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
C: And also with you

KYRIE
A: In peace, let us pray to the Lord.
C: Lord, have mercy.

A: For the peace from above, and for our salvation, let us pray to the Lord.
C: Lord, have mercy.

A: For the peace of the whole world, for the well-being of the Church of God,
and for the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord.
C: Lord, have mercy.

A: For this holy house, and for all who offer here their worship and praise,
let us pray to the Lord.
C: Lord, have mercy.

A: Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord.
C: Amen.

HYMN OF PRAISE (ELW p. 149)
P: This is the feast of victory for our God. Alleluia.
C: Worthy is Christ, the Lamb who was slain,
whose blood set us free to be people of God.
Power and riches and wisdom and strength,
and honour and blessing and glory are his.
This is the feast of victory for our God. Alleluia.
Sing with all the people of God
and join in the hymn of all creation:
Blessing and honour and glory and might
be to God and the Lamb forever. Amen.
This is the feast of victory for our God,
for the Lamb who was slain has begun his reign.
Alleluia. Alleluia.

PRAYER OF THE DAY
P: Let us pray.
P: O God, the protector of all who trust in you, without you nothing is strong,
nothing is holy. Embrace us with your mercy, that with you as our ruler and
guide, we may live through what is temporary without losing what is eternal,
through Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.
C: Amen

WORD

FIRST READING: Malachi 4:1-2a
1 See, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant
and all evildoers will be stubble; the day that comes shall burn them up,
says the LORD of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.
2a But for you who revere my name the sun of righteousness shall rise,
with healing in its wings.

A: The word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.

PSALM: 98
1 Sing a new song to the Lord, who has done marvelous things,
whose right hand and holy arm have won the victory.
2 O Lord, you have made known your victory,
you have revealed your righteousness in the sight of the nations.
3 You remember your steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel;
and all the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.
4 Shout with joy to the Lord, all you lands;
lift up your voice, rejoice and sing.
5 Sing to the Lord with the harp,
with the harp and the voice of song.
6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn
shout with joy before the king, the Lord.
7 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it,
the world and those who dwell therein.
8 Let the rivers clap their hands,
and let the hills ring out with joy before the Lord,
who comes to judge the earth.
9 The Lord will judge the world with righteousness
and the peoples with equity.

SECOND READING: 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13
6 Now we command you, beloved, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
to keep away from believers who are living in idleness and not according
to the tradition that they received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how
you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with you, 8 and we
did not eat anyone's bread without paying for it; but with toil and labour we
worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you. 9 This was
not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an example
to imitate. 10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this command:
Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. 11 For we hear that some of you
are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. 12 Now such
persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work
quietly and to earn their own living. 13 Brothers and sisters, do not be
weary in doing what is right.

A: The word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
C: Alleluia. Lord, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life. Alleluia.

GOSPEL
P: The Holy Gospel according to Luke 21:5-19
C: Glory to you, O Lord.

5 When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with
beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, 6 "As for these things
that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another;
all will be thrown down." 7 They asked him, "Teacher, when will this be,
and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?" 8 And he said,
"Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say,
'I am he!' and, 'The time is near!' Do not go after them. 9 "When you hear of
wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take
place first, but the end will not follow immediately." 10 Then he said to them,
"Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; 11 there will be
great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will
be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven. 12 "But before all this occurs,
they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues
and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of
my name. 13 This will give you an opportunity to testify. 14 So make up your
minds not to prepare your defense in advance; 15 for I will give you words and
a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict.
16 You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends;
and they will put some of you to death. 17 You will be hated by all because
of my name. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish. 19 By your endurance
you will gain your souls.

P: The Gospel of the Lord.
C: Praise to you, O Christ.

SERMON
Luke 21:5-19
Let us pray: May the words of my mouth, and the prayers of our hearts,
always be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, our Strength, and our Redeemer.
AMEN
Endurance is intimately associated in the New Testament with the state of active
waiting for the “day of the Lord.” In this morning’s Gospel lesson from Luke,
Jesus draws our attention to the urgency, the sense of responsibility,
and the vigilance that the “day of the Lord” awakens in those who are
waiting for it in faith. This is a theme we will hear a lot more about during
the season of Advent which begins in two weeks.
But after introducing this theme in today’s reading, Jesus places the “day of
the Lord” in the background and directs our attention to the foreground of
Christian persecution. Jesus prophesies about the challenges Christians
will suffer at the hands of both the public authorities and those people
closest to them. This is a shift from “out there” in space and time to “right here,”
to up-close and personal events involving everyday encounters that must
take place first.
This shift of perspective is helpful in grappling with just how “out there” this
apocalyptic language can feel. For Luke, this “great day,” this decisive moment,
has individual, communal, and cosmic dimensions that speak to the heart
of Christian experience here and now: death and mortality; change, transition,
and social upheaval; the burdens, losses, and pains that stretch us to the
breaking point. In all these, we feel that our world is ending because, for us,
for the one undergoing the experience, it is. Each and every one of these
crisis moments or crisis chapters calls for the endurance that Jesus teaches:
an endurance that will gain us our souls but can only come through the
wholehearted participation of our bodies.
Limiting the range of this endurance to the direct experience of religious
persecution would be a mistake. We bear affliction for Jesus’ name whenever
we exercise this quality, and endurance is needed in so many contexts.
In Paul’s letter to the Romans we hear, “But if we hope for what we do
not see, we wait for it with patience.” And as we all have experienced,
patience is a form of endurance. In a very different epistle, the Letter of
James, we hear, “When you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing
but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance;
and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete,
lacking in nothing.” And in the eighth chapter of Luke, we are given the
image of seeds in good, receptive soil: “These are the ones who, when they
hear the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with
patient endurance.”
This endurance needs to be differentiated in critical ways from worldly endurance.
The world tells us that endurance as a personal quality is often akin to stamina.
The operative question is: How long can you hold on, with white knuckles,
hardened until you make it to the other side of a crisis?
Thoroughness of preparation for such moments is the usual answer given.
Make sure you have insurance for everything that could be lost, damaged,
or stolen, and for everyone who could die. The will to endure in this way,
through the exercise of strength and preparation, can be admirable.
Insurance seems practical. But the approach is secondary, and may at times
conflict with the kind of endurance Jesus teaches which will gain us our souls.
So, what is the nature of this alternative endurance Jesus teaches?
It seems that “softening” and “allowing” are vital elements in the practice
of Christian endurance. To put it another way: there is a subtle interplay
between striving and trusting, with the accent on trust. Trust calls forth
a softening and allowing of reality as it is, while striving calls for firmness
or rootedness in the face of immense pressure.
Trust: Do not be terrified.
Trust: Make up your mind not to prepare a defense in advance.
Trust: I will give you a word and a wisdom. That none of your opponents
will be able to withstand or contradict.
and...
Strive: You will be betrayed by parents and brothers, relatives and friends.
Strive: Some will be put to death.
Strive: By your endurance you will gain your souls.
I think trusting and striving in the context of what Jesus is saying are like
the cutting motion of the oars on a rowboat through the water. Or like the
air we take in and let out of our lungs. Expand and contract. Lean forward,
lean back. Trust – strive. Strive – trust.
Perhaps you can remember the experience of your body in a moment of
urgency and great responsibility that also called for care, gentleness, compassion,
and being in sync with the emotional and spiritual experience of another.
In my experience of learning to provide spiritual care in a hospital setting,
known as CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education), required of all Lutheran seminarians,
I discovered with personal awe the capacity of my body to hold these two
contrasting fields of physical awareness. There is the intense surge of
adrenaline when the pager beeps in the middle of the night; the alertness;
the hyper-clarity of sense perception; the decisiveness needed to make
the most of every second. In all this there is striving: the unconscious
striving of the sympathetic nervous system as much as any conscious
effort or will. On the other hand, there is that bundle of qualities that the
chaplain must bring: a spaciousness of heart; a deep, listening presence
attuned to words, silences, shifts in mood; a sensitivity to the relationships
of those present. And then there is a simple availability to whatever the
moment summons forth that will enable another to grasp hold of God’s
saving help. None of this happens without trust in God, who uses the
chaplain’s presence to make this possible.
This is true for all of us, in ways we are each called to endure as Christians,
or to seek the face of Christ as we bear witness to the endurance of others.
Strive all we may in some situations, but we will miss the mark if we cling
to a protocol or script or agenda. But trust without striving may present
too much open palm and not a firm enough grip. Christian endurance is
a remarkable synergy of both in and through this flesh, these bodies that
are members of Christ’s suffering yet glorified body.
Jesus’ teaching on endurance here contains details that are particularly
embodied, which a more literal translation brings forth. Where our Biblical
translation reads, “So make up your mind,” the original Greek is, “Put it in
your heart not to prepare your testimony in advance.” Our translation reads,
“I will give you words,” while the original Greek translation is, “I will give you
a mouth and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand
or contradict.” Taken together, these little differences give us a picture of
the instrumental role of bodies in the endurance of Jesus. This involves hearts,
mouths, and the hairs of our heads, not merely words, minds, and the gaining
of souls. This is a far cry from the popular mantra, “mind over matter.” Jesus calls
us to strive and trust amid the heart of matter, and to entrust that matter,
one moment of endurance at a time, back to the one who created and
redeemed it.
In the end, all that Jesus prophesies about his followers in this portion of the
Gospel of Luke comes to pass: First, in his own body-and-soul, and then in the
soul-and-body of his apostles as recorded in the Book of Acts. The endurance
to which we are called is not about cheating death or transcending loss,
but passing with Jesus through it into a heavenly life. “For those who want to
save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it.”
AMEN

Silence is kept for reflection.

HYMN OF THE DAY – Canticle of the Turning (ELW #723)

APOSTLES’ CREED
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.*
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen

PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
A: Gathered with one voice, we offer our prayers for the church, the world,
and all who are in need.
A: God of our church, send forth your Spirit as we pray for our Bishops
Larry and Carla. Empower them with your wisdom to lead the church.
We also pray for the Thames Ministry area, especially Pastor Wallace
Bornhuse and the people of Redeemer Lutheran Church, London.
Hear us, O God.
C: Your mercy is great.

A: God of roots and branches, defend the leaders of your church as they
proclaim the gospel using discernment, wisdom, and brave testimony.
Keep all the baptized on righteous paths in response to Christ’s call.
Hear us, O God.
C: Your mercy is great.

A: God of roaring seas, in a world of earthquake, famine, and plague,
use your mighty power to nurture the land and all that lives upon it.
Restore peoples and places experiencing natural disasters.
Strengthen organizations who provide aid to any in crisis. Hear us, O God.
C: Your mercy is great.

A: God of victory, among quests for power, guide those in government,
courts, law enforcement agencies, and the military. Turn them from war
and violence to actions of care that build up the common good.
Hear us, O God.
C: Your mercy is great.

A: God of healing, where injustice and exploitation result in populations that
are marginalized or underserved, accompany those abandoned by friends,
hurt by family, and harmed by violence or oppression. Care for all who are ill,
anxious, or in pain of any kind, especially Beth, Jean, Mary Margaret,
Kristine, Karen, Emma, Cathy, Lene, Heather, Grethe, Lyra, Donna,
Ahlan, Justin, and those others who are in our hearts. Hear us, O God.
C: Your mercy is great.

A: God of new songs, in a congregation of faithful believers, energize us for
compassionate service and delight us through worship and inspired prayer.
Encourage your people in building equitable community where all are
valued. Hear us, O God.
C: Your mercy is great.

A: Merciful God, we pray for peace as war continues to rage in Ukraine
and in Israel and Gaza. Shelter all living in fear; protect those seeking
refuge in neighbouring countries; sustain families separated by the
horrors of war; tend to those who are injured; comfort all who mourn
their dead. Direct your people into the way of peace. Hear us, O God.
C: Your mercy is great.

A: God of every generation, we remember the saints with steadfast love
and faithfulness. Confident in Christ’s victory over death, may we be
inspired by the example of the faithful. Hear us, O God.
C: Your mercy is great.

A: We offer these and all our prayers to you, O God, trusting in your
grace and unyielding love; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
C: Amen.

PEACE
P: The peace of Christ be with you always.
C: And also with you.

OFFERING PRAYER
A: God of healing and hope, you bless those who are hungry, promising to
fill them with good things. Fulfill that promise through us and these your gifts.
Nourish us with the abundance of your feast and unite us into the blessed
body of Jesus Christ our Saviour, now and forever.
C: Amen.

LORD’S PRAYER
P: Lord, remember us in your kingdom and teach us to pray.
C: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
forever and ever. Amen.

SENDING

BLESSING
P: The love of God the Sovereign strengthen you, God the Son
save you, and God the Holy Spirit anoint you for the week ahead.
The holy Trinity bless you ☩ and grant you
a faithful and courageous heart now and forever.
C: Amen.

SENDING HYMN – When Peace like a River (ELW #785)

DISMISSAL
A: Go in peace. Share the harvest.
C: Thanks be to God.

DISMISSAL HYMN – The Lord Now Sends Us Forth (ELW #538)
Verse 1
The Lord now sends us forth
with hands to serve and give,
to make of all the earth
a better place to live. Repeat (2X)

Verse 2
The angels are not sent
into our world of pain
to do what we were meant
to do in Jesus' name;
that falls to you and me
and all who are made free.
Help us, O Lord, we pray,
to do your will today. Repeat (2X)