The Order of Worship – May 25, 2025

This is the 145th Day of 2025.
There are 220 days remaining in 2025.

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.

Sixth Sunday of Easter

Prelude:

Welcome & Announcements:
This month’s mission focus is Marghum
We’re three weeks from Pentecost, in case you want to plan for it
Bible Study is at afaithtalk.com
No Five Loaves for the Summer

Call to Worship: Joy in the Morning…TFWS #2284

Responsive Reading:Psalm 67
Let all the peoples praise God

¹ May God be gracious to us and bless us

and make his face to shine upon us,

² that your way may be known upon earth,
your saving power among all nations.

³ Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.

⁴ Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,

for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations upon earth.

⁵ Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.

⁶ The earth has yielded its increase;
God, our God, has blessed us.

⁷ May God continue to bless us;
let all the ends of the earth revere him.
Praise the LORD!

Opening Hymn: Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise…130 (G)
Verse 1

Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
in light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise.

Verse 2

Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might;
thy justice like mountains high soaring above
thy clouds which are fountains of goodness and love.

Verse 3

To all, life thou givest, to both great and small;
in all life thou livest, the true life of all;
we blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
and wither and perish, but naught changeth thee. 

Verse 4

Thou reignest in glory; thou dwellest in light;
thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight;
all laud we would render: O help us to see
’tis only the splendor of light hideth thee.

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: Shine, Jesus, Shine (G)

Lord, the light of Your love is shining,
in the midst of the darkness, shining;
Jesus, Light of the world, shine upon us,

set us free by the truth You now bring us.
Shine on me, shine on me.

Shine, Jesus, shine,
fill this land with the Father’s glory;
Blaze, Spirit, blaze, set our hearts on fire.
Flow, river, flow, flood the nations with grace and mercy;
Send forth Your word, Lord, and let there be light.

Lord, I come to Your awesome presence,
from the shadows into Your radiance;
By the blood I may enter Your brightness,
search me, try me, consume all my darkness.
Shine on me, shine on me.

Shine, Jesus, shine,
fill this land with the Father’s glory;
Blaze Spirit, blaze, set our hearts on fire.
Flow, river, flow, flood the nations with grace and mercy;
Send forth Your word, Lord and let there be light.

As we gaze on Your kingly brightness,
so our faces display Your likeness;
Ever changing from glory to glory,
mirrored here may our lives tell your story.
Shine on me, shine on me.

Shine, Jesus, shine,
fill this land with the Father’s glory;
Blaze Spirit, blaze, set our hearts on fire.
Flow, river, flow, flood the nations with grace and mercy;
Send forth Your word, Lord and let there be light.

Pastoral Prayer
Contact us here to add your concern to our prayer list.

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: I’ll Fly Away

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
Children’s Song (Jesus Loves Me Alleluia)

Verse 1:

Jesus loves me this I know.
For the Bible tells me so. 
Little ones to him belong.
They are weak but he is strong.

Chorus:

Boys: Alleluia. Girls: Alleluia, allelu.
Boys: Alleluia. Girls: Alleluia, alleluia
Boys: Alleluia. Girls: Alleluia, allelu.
Boys: Alleluia. Girls: Alleluia, allelu.
All: Alleluia.

Verse 2:

Amazing grace how sweet the sound,
that saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now I’m found,
was blind but now I see.

Chorus:

Boys: Alleluia. Girls: Alleluia, allelu.
Boys: Alleluia. Girls: Alleluia, alleluia
Boys: Alleluia. Girls: Alleluia, allelu.
Boys: Alleluia. Girls: Alleluia, allelu.
All: Alleluia.

Verse 3:

Jesus loves me, he who died,
heaven’s gates to open wide.
He will wash away my sin.
let his little child come in.

Chorus:

Boys: Alleluia. Girls: Alleluia, allelu.
Boys: Alleluia. Girls: Alleluia, alleluia
Boys: Alleluia. Girls: Alleluia, allelu.
Boys: Alleluia. Girls: Alleluia, allelu.
All: Alleluia.

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.

Gospel Reading: John 14:23-29
The Father will send the Holy Spirit

²³ Jesus answered him, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. ²⁴ Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.

²⁵ “I have said these things to you while I am still with you. ²⁶ But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.

²⁷ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

²⁸ You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. ²⁹ And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe.”

Leader: The Word of God for the people of God
All: Thanks be to God

Acts of the Apostles: Acts 16:9-15
Lydia and her household are baptized

⁹ During the night Paul had a vision: there stood a man of Macedonia pleading with him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” ¹⁰ When he had seen the vision, we immediately tried to cross over to Macedonia, being convinced that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them.

¹¹ We set sail from Troas and took a straight course to Samothrace, the following day to Neapolis, ¹² and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city for some days.

¹³ On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there.

¹⁴ A certain woman named Lydia, a worshiper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul.

¹⁵ When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.” And she prevailed upon us.

Leader: The Word of God for the people of God
All: Thanks be to God

Sermon Text: Sermon Text:  Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5
The Lamb is the light of God’s city

¹⁰ And in the spirit he carried me away to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God.

²² I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. ²³ And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb.

²⁴ The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. ²⁵ Its gates will never be shut by day–and there will be no night there.

²⁶ People will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. ²⁷ But nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

¹ Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ² through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month, and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

³ Nothing accursed will be found there any more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him; ⁴ they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. ⁵ And there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.Leader: The Word of God for the people of God
All: Thanks be to God

Sermon:  “A Land Without Temples”

Closing Hymn: Shall We Gather at the River…723 (D)
Verse 1

Shall we gather at the river?
Where bright angel feet have trod
With its crystal tide forever
Flowing by the throne of God
Yes, we’ll gather at the river
The beautiful, the beautiful river
Gather with the saints at the river
That flows by the throne of God

Verse 4

Soon we’ll reach the shining river
Soon our pilgrimage will cease
Soon our happy hearts will quiver
With the melody of peace
Yes, we’ll gather at the river
The beautiful, the beautiful river
Gather with the saints at the river
That flows by the throne of God

Filled Up and Poured Out

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