May 12, 2024

Seventh Sunday of EASTER

10:00am

 

WELCOME

 

OPENING PRAYER

Holy One,
open us to the possibility that we are being chosen
to be new disciples with new ministries
in Jesus’ name. Amen.

 

PRELUDE                   Praeludium in F Major                     George Boehm

 

CALL TO WORSHIP

Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked.

We delight in God’s Word, we meditate on God day and night.

Our worship grounds us in God, like trees planted by streams of water.

God helps us yield good fruit. We do not wither when we spend time in God’s presence.

 

*HYMN No. 7            “Mothering God, You Gave Me Birth”

1 Mothering God, you gave me birth
in the bright morning of this world.
Creator, source of every breath,
you are my rain, my wind, my sun.

2 Mothering Christ, you took my form,
offering me your food of light,
grain of life, and grape of love,
your very body for my peace.

3 Mothering Spirit, nurturing one,
in arms of patience hold me close,
so that in faith I root and grow
until I flower, until I know.

 

*CALL TO CONFESSION

As this Easter season comes to a close, we turn again to God to confess our sins, the sins of our community and our society, to prepare ourselves to live into the redemption Christ offers.

 

*PRAYER FOR CONFESSION

Savior God, we invite you into our lives for a season, only to forget and neglect you once again. You beckon us, calling for our attention, but we are distracted and busy taking care of other priorities. Remind us, Holy God, that you are the source of our flourishing. You are the living water by which we have been planted. Forgive our neglect. Forgive our unfaithfulness. Focus us on you, your Word, and all that your Spirit provides. Amen.

 

*SILENT PRAYER FOR CONFESSION

 

*ASSURANCE OF PARDON

Christ forgives. Christ transforms. Christ renews. Christ leads us down the path of new beginnings. We are a new creation, ready to sing God’s glory and testify to God’s grace. In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven. Amen

 

*RESPONSE No. 581             “Glory Be to the Father”

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.

 

*PASSING OF THE PEACE OF CHRIST

Although we believe and trust in God, we have forgotten the covenant which God made with our ancestors, and we have sinned. However, God shows the mercy promised to our ancestors, and remembers this holy covenant; giving us the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of our sins. By the tender mercy of our God, the Dawn will break upon us, shining into the darkness and the shadow of death, guiding our feet into the way of peace.

 

Peace be with you.

And also with you.

 

ANTHEM                   “The Light of Glory”             Joseph Martin

 

CHILDREN’S MESSAGE

 

UNISON PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION

Please join me in the unison prayer…

Open us, Holy One, to your Word and your Way. Clear our minds of daily distractions. Fill our hearts with the humility we need to hear and receive the message you intend for us today. Amen.

 

SCRIPTURE               1 John 5:9-13

⁹If we receive human testimony; the testimony of God is greater; for this is the testimony of God that he has testified to his Son.

 

¹⁰Those who believe in the Son of God have the testimony in their hearts. Those who do not believe in God have made him a liar by not believing in the testimony that God has given concerning his Son. ¹¹And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. ¹²Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. ¹³I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

 

Pause…

 

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God!!

 

SERMON                   “Tell Me a Story”

What is your favorite story?

Is it from a fiction?  Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth relationship?

Is it from a movie?  Paul “Muad’Dib” Atreides and Chani Kaynes relationship?

Is it history?  Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew relationship?

Is it Biblical?  The bears and the prophet, Elisha relationship?

Is it Family?  My father and his two brother’s relationship?

What makes a story fascinating?  What holds our attention?  Is there a lesson to be learned from a story?  Do we learn what we believe from stories or memories shared by family members?

The question is – where did you learn everything that you know, or what you think that you know? Where did you learn everything you believe to be true? When you were born, you didn’t know much, right?

So, how did you learn it? John uses the word testimony. Lately even philosophers of knowledge, that is those extremely smart people who spend their lives trying to understand better – how do we know, what we know, have come to realize that we know everything thought testimonies.

That’s the word that John used in his letter. Testimony. We can simply say that testimony is when you learn something from others. That’s their testimony.  That’s their story.  You can learn things from your parents, and grandparents, and siblings, and friends, and teachers, and books, and journals, and today, of course, from the Internet.

All these are testimonies or stories. This is how we have learned what we know and believe to be true. The tricky thing is this – how often do we test these testimonies?  How often do we question the stores that shaped our belief?  How often do we check whether we can trust them?

How often do we evaluate the expertise of people whose testimonies we assume to be true? And, of course, we can’t check everything. Studying geography, or history we hear testimonies, and it is hard to test them.

And the same is true about many other things. But why would then we believe these testimonies, if we can’t check them? The answer is simple. Because we trust the people from whom we hear them.  We believe the people who shared their story with us.

If you trust a person, then you will trust what the person tells you. And the opposite is true as well. If you don’t trust a person, then you won’t believe what the person tells you. It is interesting how John puts it.

“If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son.”

John acknowledges that we receive testimonies from people and believe them.

But then he contrasts testimony of men with the testimony of God. And which one is greater according to John? Of course, the testimony of God is greater. Why so? Because God confirms what God says by doing something that creates trust in Him. We can see it throughout the Bible.  In scripture, we receive the stories that demonstrate God’s on-going relationship with humanity – and for us – specifically the relationship with God’s Only Son: two millennia ago God spoke to us through His Son, Jesus Christ. And He confirmed that that was God’s own testimony. He confirmed it speaking from heaven, He confirmed it through many miraculous signs that Jesus did.

Healing everyone. Feeding thousands. Raising the dead. Controlling the creation. And finally, God confirmed that it is His testimony, by raising Jesus from the dead.

Can we trust someone who for millennia have foretold what He will do in the fullness of time, who have recorded these testimonies for our sake, so that we could read them even today, and then have fulfilled them in Jesus exactly as He foretold.

The Bible is God’s testimony to us. It is written so that we can be assured that we can trust Him, that we can believe what He says. And as John writes, this is the testimony of God “that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.”

This is the testimony of God, – God has given you eternal life. And this life is in His Son Jesus Christ. Whoever has Jesus, has the eternal life, whoever does not have Jesus, does not have the eternal life.

This testimony is as clear as it could be. It was foretold by the prophets. It was taught by Jesus. It was delivered to us by His disciples. As John wrote at the end of his Gospel account:

“Jesus provided far more God-revealing signs than are written down in this book. These are written down so you will believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and in the act of believing, have real and eternal life in the way he personally revealed it.”

Has everyone believed God’s testimony? No… even thousands of people who saw Jesus’ divine powers at work didn’t believe God’s testimony. Nor many people throughout the ages and even today. – And yet…..

And yet… it is a beautiful and powerful story of God’s love.  While there are folks that don’t believe this wonderful story, we are called to share that story with others.  A story that is ours and needs to be proclaimed…

We share stories all the time

Family history

Favorite Netflix series

Best new restaurant

Why not the story of God’s love for humanity?

 

John the apostle lived long life. He was just like us. He too experienced life like us with struggles and disappointment. John none the less writes to encourage the disciples of Jesus. And what an encouragement it is. “Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself.”

Did you notice what John writes? If you believe in Jesus, you have the testimony of God in … yourself. What does this mean? Nothing less than that God, who gives this testimony, dwells with you. Dwells in you and me – and our response should be to share that testimony – share that story!

That’s right, the Holy Spirit who alone can change our hearts and enable us to believe the testimony of God dwells in you. Do you remember, what is the main job of the Holy Spirit? To testify about Jesus. To lead you to Jesus. To make you one with Jesus and the Father. And He does it so well. That’s why you have believed, that’s why you are here among God’s saints.

So what is your favorite story? And are you sharing it with others?

 

Commentary and Liturgy from the Book of Common Worship (PCUSA), “Call to Worship” Website, Michelle L. Torigian, Scott Hoezee, Tara W. Bulger, Teri McDowell Ott, April Fiet, PCUSA Book of Confession, and The New Interpreter’s Commentary

 

*DECLARATION OF FAITH                       “Jesus is our living Lord”

Jesus was dead and buried,
but God raised him from the dead.
The risen Lord appeared to his followers.
They recognized him as their Master
who had been crucified.
Before Jesus left them,
he commissioned them to proclaim to all people

the good news of his victory over death,

and promised to be with them always.

We are certain that Jesus lives.
He lives as God with us,
touching all of human life with the presence of God.
He lives as one of us with God.
Because he shares our humanity
and has bound us to himself in love,
we have an advocate in the innermost life of God.
We declare that Jesus is Lord.
His resurrection is a decisive victory
over the powers that deform and destroy human life.
His lordship is hidden.

 

The world appears to be dominated

by people and systems that do not acknowledge his rule.
But his lordship is real.
It demands our loyalty and sets us free
from the fear of all lesser lords who threaten us.
We maintain that ultimate sovereignty
now belongs to Jesus Christ
in every sphere of life.
Jesus is Lord’
He has been Lord from the beginning.
He will be Lord at the end.
Even now he is Lord.

 

*HYMN No. 14                       “For the Beauty of the Earth”

1 For the beauty of the earth,
for the glory of the skies,
for the love which from our birth
over and around us lies:

Refrain:
Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our hymn of grateful praise.

2 For the wonder of each hour
of the day and of the night,
hill and vale, and tree and flower,
sun and moon, and stars of light: (Refrain)

3 For the joy of ear and eye,
for the heart and mind’s delight,
for the mystic harmony
linking sense to sound and sight: (Refrain)

4 For the joy of human love,
brother, sister, parent, child,
friends on earth, and friends above,
for all gentle thoughts and mild: (Refrain)

5 For thyself, best gift divine
to the world so freely given;
for that great, great love of thine,
peace on earth and joy in heaven: (Refrain)

 

THE PASTORAL PRAYER & THE LORD’S PAYER

Womb of Creation, Wellspring of Life, on this Mother’s Day we give thanks for the way you nurture and care for each of us as your beloved children. We praise you for your comfort and care, for the ways you wrap your divine arms around us and pull us close, for the ways you suffer when we suffer, like a mother aching and grieving over the pain of her child.

 

God of Wisdom, Nurturer of Hope, we also give thanks for the faithful lives of women without children, for the abundant gifts they share, for the fruitful lives they live. For all those for whom “Mother’s Day” is painful, we pray the church can be a place that embraces and celebrates all expressions of love and all those who delight in the care and upbringing of God’s children.

 

God who provides, help us to know and care for people who are need of your mercy and grace. Today, we turn our attention to:

 

The innocent caught in the crosshairs of war …

 

Political leaders seeking paths to peace, but who are stymied by powerful opposition …

 

The grieving, the exhausted, the depressed …

 

The displaced, the threatened, the unjustly persecuted …

 

The sick and those who care for them …

 

Now hear us as we pray together the prayer our Savior taught us saying, “Our Father…”.

 

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 debts, as we forgive our debtors.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

OFFERING OF TITHES & OFFERINGS

With joy and gratitude for all we have been given, let us offer our gifts to God.

 

OFFERTORY

 

*RESPONSE N0. 607                        “Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow”

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
praise Christ, all people here below;
praise Holy Spirit evermore;
praise Triune God, whom we adore. Amen.

 

*PRAYER OF DEDICATION

O God, maker and provider, you have blessed us with many gifts. Use us, and what we have gathered, to feed the world through your love; through the one who gave himself for us, Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

 

*HYMN No. 250                    “In the Bulb There Is a Flower”

1 In the bulb there is a flower;
in the seed, an apple tree;
in cocoons, a hidden promise:
butterflies will soon be free!
In the cold and snow of winter
there’s a spring that waits to be,
unrevealed until its season,
something God alone can see.

2 There’s a song in every silence,
seeking word and melody;
there’s a dawn in every darkness,
bringing hope to you and me.
From the past will come the future;
what it holds, a mystery,
unrevealed until its season,
something God alone can see.

3 In our end is our beginning;
in our time, infinity;
in our doubt there is believing;
in our life, eternity.
In our death, a resurrection;
at the last, a victory,
unrevealed until its season,
something God alone can see.

 

*BENEDICTION

As you go out into God’s world this week, be Easter people! Be those who say, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? Jesus is not here. He is risen.” Be ready to be surprised with what God will do next. Look for the risen Christ in those you meet. Let the Holy Spirit nudge and guide you. The tomb is empty because Jesus is out in the world, and now we must go out into the world too! May the joy and wonder of that first Easter morning live in your hearts today and every day. Amen.