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Welcome, Announcements and Sharing
Bells
á Hymn Holy Spirit
(Bryan Torwalt, Katie Torwalt)
There’s nothing worth more that will ever come close
Nothing can compare you’re our living hope
Your presence
I’ve tasted and seen of the sweetest of loves
Where my heart becomes free and my shame is undone
In Your Presence Lord
Refrain: Holy Spirit You are welcome here
Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere
Your glory God is what our hearts long for
To be overcome by Your Presence Lord Repeat Refrain
á Confession and Forgiveness
P Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God, the fountain of living water, the rock who gave us birth, our light and our salvation.
C Amen
P Let us come into the light, the revealing and healing light of God.
Silence is kept for reflection and self-examination.
P God of grace and glory,
C you have brought us through the night of sin into the light of Jesus’ resurrection. Yet our lives are still shadowed by sin. Make us alive in Christ, O God. Make us new as you make all things new. Rescue us from evil and the gloom of sin, renew us in grace, and restore us to living in your holiness, through Jesus Christ, our risen Lord. Amen
P Rejoice with all creation around God’s throne! The light of the risen ☩ Christ puts to flight all evil deeds, washes away sin, restores innocence to the fallen, casts out hate, brings peace, and humbles earthly pride. Jesus Christ loves you and frees you from your sins by his blood. To him be glory and dominion forever and ever!
C Amen
Hymn All Hail King Jesus
Dave Moody
All hail King Jesus
All hail Emmanuel
King of kings
Lord of lords
Bright Morning Star
And for all eternity
I’m going to praise Him
And forevermore
I will reign with Him
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.
P Let us pray…
C God of the unknown,
Your mysteries are astounding. Give us knowledge where you see fit, and let us sit comfortably with that which we can never understand. Amen.
Gospel John 1:16–18
L The Holy Gospel from John in the 1st Chapter
C Glory to you, O Lord
16 From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.
L This is the Gospel of our Lord
C Praise to You O Christ
Kids in the Kingdom
Reading Acts 17:16-31
16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply distressed to see that the city was full of idols. 17 So he argued in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and also in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. 18 Also some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers debated with him. Some said, “What does this babbler want to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign divinities.” (This was because he was telling the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.) 19 So they took him and brought him to the Areopagus and asked him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20 It sounds rather strange to us, so we would like to know what it means.” 21 Now all the Athenians and the foreigners living there would spend their time in nothing but telling or hearing something new.
22 Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, “Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way. 23 For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things. 26 From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, 27 so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him—though indeed he is not far from each one of us. 28 For ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said,
‘For we too are his offspring.’
29 Since we are God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals. 30 While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”
L This is the Word of the Lord
C Thanks be to God
Sermon Brendan Johnston
á Hymn I Have Decided to Follow Jesus
I have decided to follow Jesus
I have decided to follow Jesus
I have decided to follow Jesus
No turning back no turning back
The world behind me the cross before me
The world behind me the cross before me
The world behind me the cross before me
No turning back no turning back
Though none go with me still I will follow
Though none go with me still I will follow
Though none go with me still I will follow
No turning back no turning back
No turning back no turning back
Creed: Martin Luther on the God the Creator
Creed: Martin Luther on the God the Creator
Martin Luther, the reformer of the Church and founder of the Lutheran witness to Jesus, crafted explanations of the basics of faith, called the Catechism. For decades, Lutherans were known for memorizing these Lutheran confessions of faith. For our confession of faith today, we are using Martin Luther’s explanation of the Holy Spirit.
P Do you believe in God the Father?
C Yes, I believe in God the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
P What does that mean?
C I believe that God has created me and all that exists; that he has given me and still sustains my body and soul, all my limbs and senses, my reason and all the faculties of my mind, together with food and clothing, house and home, family and property; that he provides me daily and abundantly with all the necessities of life, protects me from all danger, and preserves me from all evil. All this he does out of his pure, fatherly, and divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness on my part. For all of this I am bound to thank, praise, serve, and obey him. This is most certainly true.
Offering Prayer
P Let us pray,
C Blessed are you, O God, ruler of heaven and earth. Day by day you shower us with blessings. As you have raised us to new life in Christ, give us glad and generous hearts, ready to praise you and to respond to those in need, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
Amen.
Prayers of Bethlehem
During the prayers, there will be an opportunity for you to lift up a thanksgiving, a prayer concern, the name of someone on your mind today. All are encouraged to join in this time of public prayer.
L … Lord in your mercy …
C … Hear our prayer.
Meal
God feeds us with the presence of Jesus Christ
Words of Institution
á Lord’s Prayer
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.
L These are the gifts of God for the people of God
C Thanks be to God
Distribution of Holy Communion
We believe that Jesus is truly present in the elements of communion – and all are welcome to receive Jesus in this food and drink.
Communion in the Pews
Prepackaged communion will be available in pews and as you enter worship. Please open and receive this sacrament after the Words of Institution.
Communion at the Table
Those who wish to receive Holy Communion at the tables in front of the sanctuary will be invited to come forward using the pulpit side aisle, and return to their seat using the piano side aisle.
As you come forward, one at a time, there will be two tables prepared for you. Wafers will be placed on plates on the first table for you to pick up and receive the Body of Christ. Cups of wine or grape juice will be placed on the second table for you to receive the Blood of Christ. Cups can then be placed in a bin.
Children not communing may come forward for a blessing.
á Post Communion Prayer
P Let us pray…
C We give you thanks, O God, that you make your home with us, bringing heaven to earth in this holy meal. Fill us with your Spirit as we go from here, that we may wipe away tears, tend to those in mourning and pain, seek the healing of the nations, and bring to earth the presence of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen
LEAVE TO LIVE THE WORD
á Blessing
P The blessing of the Lord God Almighty, the blessing of ☩ Christ, the Lamb who was slain, and the blessing of the Holy Spirit of truth be among you and remain with you always.
Hymn Here I Am, Lord (#574)
Daniel L. Schutte
“I, the Lord of sea and sky,
I have heard my people cry.
All who dwell in dark and sin
my hand will save.
I, who made the stars of night,
I will make their darkness bright.
Who will bear my light to them?
Whom shall I send?”
Chorus: Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord?
I have heard you calling in the night.
I will go, Lord, if you lead me.
I will hold your people in my heart.
“I, the Lord of snow and rain,
I have borne my people’s pain.
I have wept for love of them.
They turn away.
I will break their hearts of stone,
give them hearts for love alone.
I will speak my word to them.
Whom shall I send?” Chorus
“I, the Lord of wind and flame,
I will tend the poor and lame.
I will set a feast for them.
My hand will save.
Finest bread I will provide
till their hearts be satisfied.
I will give my life to them.
Whom shall I send?” Chorus
Dismissal
P Alleluia. Go in peace. Share the good news
C Thanks be to God. Alleluia.