The Bulletin is at: 05-12-2019 -Bulletin
The Service in PDF format is at: 05-12-2019 -Service
or the service is as follows:
FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
Mother’s Day
May 12, 2019
AS WE GATHER…This Sunday in the Church Year is often called “Good Shepherd Sunday.” Jesus is our Good Shepherd because He lays down His life for us. We are His sheep because we hear His voice, and by the power of the Spirit, we recognize His voice and rejoice in Him. He knows us, and we know Him. That is our comfort and our hope. As we find peace in the words of Psalm 23, so do we find hope in its fulfillment in Christ. He shows us the Father, He gives us eternal life, and He keeps us safe in the face of all our enemies.
RINGING OF THE BELL
P: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
OPENING PRAYER
C: Great Shepherd of the sheep, You search us out when we are lost. You pick us up when we are hurt, and You bring us to safe pasture. As we gather for worship this day, help us to clearly see and hear of Your love for us so that we can leave with confidence knowing that, with You as our Shepherd, we have nothing to fear. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
WE CONFESS OUR SINS
P: We confess our sins to God and one another:
C: Gracious Lord God, we confess our sins to You, the sins in our thoughts, words and actions. We confess that we do not always appreciate Your Fatherly love and the love You give to families through mothers and fathers. Help parents to show your love and so bring up their children in a loving Christian atmosphere. Amen.
Silence for Reflection
WE RECEIVE GOD’S FORGIVENESS
P: God is gracious and is more ready to forgive us than we are to receive it thankfully and humbly. As a fellow child of God I declare the forgiveness of all our sins, in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
SONG OF GUIDANE: “The Lord’s My Shepherd” LBW 451
1 The Lord’s my shepherd; I’ll not want.
He makes me down to lie
In pastures green; he leadeth me
The quiet waters by.
He leadeth me, he leadeth me
The quiet waters by.
2 My soul he doth restore again,
And me to walk doth make
Within the paths of righteousness,
E’en for his own name’s sake;
Within the paths of righteousness,
E’en for his own name’s sake.
3 Yea, though I walk in death’s dark vale,
Yet will I fear no ill;
For thou art with me, and thy rod
And staff me comfort still;
For thou art with me, and thy rod
And staff me comfort still.
4 My table thou hast furnished
In presence of my foes;
My head thou dost with oil anoint,
And my cup over-flows.
My head thou dost with oil anoint,
And my cup over-flows.
5 Goodness and mercy all my life
Shall surely follow me,
And in God’s house forevermore
My dwelling-place shall be.
P: The Lord be with You!
C: And also with you!
P: Let us pray. Blessed Good Shepherd, You speak, and we recognize Your voice. You call us through Your voice, and we follow You. You give us eternal life, and we shall never perish.
C: Keep us safe in the palm of Your hand and comfort our hearts from all our fears so that we belong to You forever.
P: For You live and reign with the Father and the Spirit, one God, now and forevermore.
C: Amen.
SCRIPTURE LESSON
The Lamb will be their Shepherd.
After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. “Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
No one can snatch the sheep out of the Shepherd’s hand.
At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”
SERMON HYMN “He Leadeth Me, O Blessed Thought”
He leadeth me, O blessed thought!
O words with heav’nly comfort fraught!
Whate’er I do, where-e’er I be,
Still ‘tis God’s hand that lead-eth me.
He leadeth me, He leadeth me, By His own hand He leadeth me;
His faithful follower I would be, For by His hand He leadeth me.
Lord, I would clasp Thy hand in mine,
Nor ever murmur nor repine;
Content whatever lot I see,
Since ‘tis my God that leadeth me.
He leadeth me, He leadeth me, By His own hand He leadeth me;
His faithful follower I would be, For by His hand He leadeth me.
And when my task on earth is done,
When by Thy grace the vict’ry’s won,
E’en death’s cold wave I will not flee,
Since God through Jordan leadeth me.
He leadeth me, He leadeth me, By His own hand He leadeth me;
His faithful follower I would be, For by His hand He leadeth me.
C: I believe in God, the Father almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
And was born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate.
Was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into hell.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
And is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
The holy Christian Church,
The communion of saints,
The forgiveness of sins,
The resurrection of the body,
And the life everlasting. Amen.
OFFERING
We offer our thanksgiving for what God has first given us—ourselves, our time, our possessions.
COLLECTION OF MITE BOX
P: Let us pray to God Almighty for people everywhere in their various needs, for the Church around the world, for all who are near and dear to us, and for ourselves.
R: The Lord is my shepherd;
C: I shall not want.
P: We pray, O Lord, that wherever people are calling out to You, wanting for food, clothing, or shelter, that You will awaken in us and in government and social agencies care and compassion. Thus may the blessings You have showered on this planet be shared with them, bringing You all the praise. Lord, in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
R: He makes me lie down in green pastures.
C: He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.
P: Sovereign God, we pray for all people who are suffering under the ravages of war between nations, civil unrest and revolution, and terror from extremists of all stripes. Raise up leaders who will work for peace and justice and will seek ways of reconciliation. Move government leaders to look in empathy on all who are denied basic human rights; lead them to make decisions to restore calm and human dignity for all. Lord, in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
R: He leads me in paths of righteousness
C: for His name’s sake.
P: O Holy Spirit, we pray for the Church here and around the world. Grant opportunity for clergy and lay leaders to share the good news, strengthening those who trust in Jesus and leading many to their Savior. Lord, in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
R: Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,
C: for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
P: Lord Jesus, hear us as we pray for those we know who are calling out to You for healing of body or mind, who face this day with sudden crises, are enduring long term illness, or are looking through tears of sorrow, (including…). Grant them days of health, relief, and comfort as You accompany them on their journey. Lord, in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
R: You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
C: You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
P: Heavenly Father, grant strong faith to us and all who come to church this day. Give us the blessings of life and salvation promised from Your Word. Lord, in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
R: Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
C: and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
P: These and any other things You would have us ask of You, heavenly Father, grant to us for the sake of Jesus, Your Son, our Lord, in whose name we pray.
C: Amen.
LORD’S PRAYER
CHOIR ANTHEM: “Train Up a Child”
By Pepper Choplin
Train up a child in the way that he should go that he will never depart.
Train up a child in the way and she will grow with the word in her heart.
Feed them truth, guide the way, teach them promises God has made,
that they may live in God’s love and grace.
Train up a child as you teach him right from wrong, as he follows the word.
Train up a child as you lead her to be strong, be strong in the Lord.
Feed them truth, guide the way, teach them promises God has made,
That they may live in God’s love and grace.
Many voices call, many things may draw them far away.
Though their paths may go far away from home, the word shall remain,
the word will remain in their hearts.
Train up a child; your rewards will go beyond the days you live.
Raise them in love; generations will be blest by the love that you give.
Feed them truth, show the way, teach the promises God has made,
that they will carry on to train up a child,
to train up a child, and they will live in God’s love forever.
CLOSING BLESSING
CLOSING SONG: “Let All Things Now Living” LBW 557
Let all things now living A song of thanksgiving
To God the creator triumphantly raise,
Who fashioned and made us, Protected and stayed us,
Who still guides us on to the end of our days.
God’s banners are o’er us, His light goes before us,
A pillar of fire shining forth in the night,
Till shadows have vanished And darkness is banished,
As forward we travel from light into light.
His law he enforces, The stars in their courses
And sun in its orbit obediently shine;
The hills and the mountains, The rivers and fountains,
The deeps of the ocean proclaim him divine.
We too should be voicing Our love and rejoicing;
With glad adoration a song lets us raise
Till all things now living Unite in thanksgiving:
“To God in the highest, Hosanna and praise!”
DISMISSAL
P: Go in peace! Serve the Lord!
C: Thanks be to God!