May 22 @ St. Paul's UMC: Worship

Morning has broken!

Lorie (flute) and Suzanne (piano) practice before worship

Sixth Sunday of Easter

Today’s Meditation Verse: “Jesus answered, ‘Whoever loves me will keep my word.’” —John 14:23a

Welcome... Pastor Charles

Prelude... Lorie Courier / “Abide with Me”

*Call to Worship (Psalm 67, The Message)...Amy Abshire

Leader: God, mark us with grace and blessing! Smile! People: The whole country will see how You work; all the godless nations see how You save. Leader: God! Let people thank and enjoy You. Let all people thank and enjoy You. People: Let all far-flung people become happy and shout their happiness because You judge them fair and square, You tend the far-flung peoples. Leader: God! Let people thank and enjoy You. People: Let all people thank and enjoy You. Leader: Earth, display Your exuberance! You mark us with blessing, O God, our God. People: You mark us with blessing, O God. Earth’s four corners—honor God!

*Hymn... “On the Day of Resurrection” (UMH #309)

Prayer of Confession (Bread for the Journey, Ruth Duck, ed., p. 59)...             Amy Abshire

O God, we come into Your presence confessing our sin and our indifference to the sin and suffering of our world. Our lives are fragmented with mundane concerns: paying bills, washing clothes, shuffling papers, buying groceries, typing emails, attending meetings, reading, and sleeping. We are easily overwhelmed by consideration of pandemic responses, political prisoners in China, people struggling for a just society in Afghanistan, and for survival in the urban ghettos of our own land. We come into Your presence admitting our humanness yet emboldened by the knowledge that we stand before the Ruler of all peoples, who continues to call us to join in the struggle for justice,    peace, and liberation, personal and corporate, here and around the globe. Strengthen our resolve, and free us to be fully human with our siblings on the planet earth, in the name of Jesus Christ the Liberator.

*Offering/Doxology (UMH #94)

Community prayer requests, concerns, and celebrations                                Pastoral Prayer / The Lord’s Prayer... Pastor Charles

First Lesson: Acts 16:9-15... Amy Abshire

Special Music... Lorie Courier and Suzanne Polacek /                                                                                     Bach-Gounod’s “Ave Maria”

Second Lesson: Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5... Pastor Charles                                      

Pastor: This is the Word of God for the people of God.                                          People: Thanks be to God.

Sermon... Pastor Charles / “Bank on it”

*Hymn... “Up from the Grave He Arose” (UMH #322)

*Words for the Journey... Pastor Charles

*Postlude... Lorie Courier / “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands”