The Order of Worship – April 28, 2024
This is the 119th Day of 2024.
There are 247 days remaining in 2024.
Filled with the Holy Spirit,
we are a people of prayer
committed to love one another
and equipped to share Christ’s love throughout the world.
Fifth Sunday of Easter
Prelude:
Welcome & Announcements:
This month’s mission focus is the Church Improvement Fund
Bible Study Tuesdays & Thursdays at afaithtalk.com
Call to Worship: Gather Us In…TFWS #2236 (1,2&4)
Responsive Reading: Psalm 22:25-31
25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation;
my vows I will pay before those who fear him.
26 The poor shall eat and be satisfied;
those who seek him shall praise the LORD.
May your hearts live forever!
27 All the ends of the earthshall remember and turn to the LORD;
and all the families of the nations
shall worship before him.
28 For dominion belongs to the LORD,
and he rules over the nations.
29 To him, indeed,shall all who sleep in the earth bow down;
before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, and I shall live for him.
30 Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord,
31 and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn, saying that he has done it.
Praise the Lord
Opening Hymn: Christ is Alive…No. 318
Verse 1
Christ is alive! Let Christians sing.
His cross stands empty to the sky.
Let streets and homes with praises ring.
His love in death shall never die.
Verse 2
Christ is alive! No longer bound
to distant years in Palestine,
he comes to claim the here and now
and dwell in every place and time.
Verse 3
Not throned afar, remotely high,
untouched, unmoved by human pains,
but daily, in the midst of life,
our Savior in the God-head reigns.
Verse 4
In every insult, rift, and war,
where color, scorn, or wealth divide,
he suffers still, yet loves the more,
and lives, though ever crucified.
Verse 5
Christ is alive, and comes to bring
good news to this and every age,
till earth and all creation ring
with joy, with justice, love, and praise.
Affirmation of Faith:
The Apostle’s Creed..No. 881
I believe in God the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth;
and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord:
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified,
dead,
and buried;
the third day he rose from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from thence he shall come to judge
the quick 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.
Gloria Patri…Page 70
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen. Amen.
Praise Song: Amazing Love (E)
I’m forgiven, because you were forsaken
I’m accepted, you were condemned
I’m alive and well, you’re spirit is within me
Because you died and rose again
Amazing love, how can it be
that you my king would die for me
Amazing love, I know it’s true
It’s my joy to honor you in all I do, I honor You.
I’m forgiven, because you were forsaken
I’m accepted, you were condemned
I’m alive and well, you’re spirit is within me
Because you died and rose again
Amazing love, how can it be
that you my king would die for me
Amazing love, I know it’s true
It’s my joy to honor you
in all I do, I honor You.
You are my King
You are my King
Jesus, You are My King
Jesus, You are my King
Amazing love, how can it be
that you my king would die for me
Amazing love, I know it’s true
It’s my joy to honor you
in all I do, I honor You.
In all I do, I honor You.
Pastoral Prayer
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The Lord’s Prayer:
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. Amen.
Anthem: Jesus, Name Above All Names
Offertory
Doxology:
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts;
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen
Children’s Moment & Song (Do Lord)
Verse 1
I’ve got a home in glory land
that outshines the sun.
I’ve got a home in glory land
that outshines the sun.
I’ve got a home in glory land
that outshines the sun;
Way beyond the blue.
Do, Lord, Oh do, Lord,
Oh do you remember me?
Do, Lord, Oh do, Lord,
Oh do you remember me?
Do, Lord, Oh do, Lord,
Oh do you remember me
Way beyond the blue
Verse 2
I took Jesus as my Savior,
you take him too.
I took Jesus as my Savior,
you take him too.
I took Jesus as my Savior,
you take him too;
Way beyond the blue.
Do, Lord, Oh do, Lord,
Oh do you remember me?
Do, Lord, Oh do, Lord,
Oh do you remember me?
Do, Lord, Oh do, Lord,
Oh do you remember me
Way beyond the blue
Prayer for Illumination
Lord, open our hearts and minds by the power of your Holy Spirit, that as the Scriptures are read and your Word is proclaimed, we may hear with joy what you say to us today. Amen.
Acts of the Apostles: Acts 8:26-40
26 Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a wilderness road.)
27 So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah.
29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to this chariot and join it.”
30 So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 He replied, “How can I, unless someone guides me?”And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him.
32 Now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this: “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter, and like a lamb silent before its shearer, so he does not open his mouth. 33 In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.”
34 The eunuch asked Philip, “About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?”
35 Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus.
36 As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?” 37Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” The eunuch answered, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
38 He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.
39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing.
40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.
Leader: The Word of God, for the people of God!
People: Thanks be to God.
Epistle Reading: 1 John 4:7-21
7 Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.
9 God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him.
10 In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another.
12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world.
15 God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God.
16 So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.
17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.
19 We love because he first loved us.
20 Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. 21 The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.
Leader: The Word of God, for the people of God!
People: Thanks be to God.
Gospel Reading & Sermon Text: John 10:11-18
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. 2 He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.
3 You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you.
4 Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.
6 Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.
7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”
Leader: This is the Word of God for the people of God
People: Thanks be to God.
Sermon:“I AM The Vine”
Closing Hymn: My Jesus, I Love Thee (F) No. 172
Verse 1
My Jesus, I love thee, I know thou art mine;
for thee all the follies of sin I resign.
My gracious redeemer, my Savior art thou;
if ever I loved thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.
Verse 3
In mansions of glory and endless delight,
I’ll ever adore thee in heaven so bright;
I’ll sing with the glittering crown on my brow;
if ever I loved thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.
Filled Up and Poured Out
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