May 21, 2017

Sunday May 21, 2017

Year A, Sixth Sunday of Easter

Sixth Sunday of Easter :: White ::

Acts 17:22-31  ::Psalm 66:8-20  ::  1 Peter 3:13-22  :: John 14:15-21

 

 

Call to Worship (Responsive)    

Adapted from Psalm 66

L: Bless our God, O people, let the sound of God’s praise be heard,

P: God has kept us among the living, and has not let our feet slip.

L: Come and hear, and I will tell you what God has done for me.

P: We cry aloud to God, and God is extolled with our tongues.

L: Truly God has listened;

P: God has given heed to the words of our prayer.

L: Blessed be God,

P: Who has not removed God’s steadfast love from us.

 Invocation: 

O God of everlasting grace, O God of hope, O God of Peace, O God of love, we come today, singing praises to your name. We come today, offering prayers and petitions before you. We come together, O God, because you have made us to be in community. You call us together and we hear the sound of your voice. Accept our praise, this day, O God, and hear our prayers, for we offer them in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Stewardship Moment:

Peter asks the faithful: “Who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good?” We come together with our tithes and offerings, seeking to do what is good. We bring our gifts in the steadfast belief that none will harm us for doing so. Sadly in too many parts of the world, Christians are still not free to do this. Let us bring our gifts before our Lord with thanksgiving for those who have made it safe for us to do so without worry about being harmed for doing what is good.

Offertory Prayer: 

Gracious and loving God, we are thankful that we are free to freely give. Accept these gifts and use them for your glory. Guide our hearts and hands as we seek to build up your reign on earth, as it is in heaven.

Communion Meditation:

In the fourteenth chapter of John, Jesus says, “If you love me you will keep my commandments.” One of the things Jesus told us to do was to eat bread, and drink the cup in remembrance of Him. This is a table of love. This is a table of remembrance. This is a table for you. Come to the table of the one we all love, and do this, in remembrance of Christ.

 

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Scripture Quotations from the New Revised Standard Version. Online Scripture links a service of the Jean and Alexander Heard Divinity Library, of Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN. Check out all of the awesome resources there at http://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu

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