Fifth Sunday of Easter Worship Bulletin | 5-7-23
St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church
5TH SUNDAY OF EASTER
05-07-2023 10:00AM “Hybrid” Worship
+ WE ANNOUNCE THE EASTER VICTORY +
OPENING RITE FOR EASTER 5: Trudi Wright
L Sisters and brothers, today Jesus Christ offers you both a promise and a plea:
“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in Me.”
C Oh, it is easy to talk as if we believe, harder still to let true belief shape our lives.
So we confess that, in troubled times, we are often discouraged disciples,
and even the smallest trial or temptation can disrupt or disturb our faith.
L Brothers and sisters, today Jesus Christ reaches out to you with both comfort and a challenge:
“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me,”
C It makes us happy and proud to say, “Jesus is Lord”, harder still to live honestly by it.
We confess that we too often find ourselves
living lives that wander in every direction,
living lives that are not authentically Christian,
living lives that are more decay, destruction, and dying than living.
We long so much for HIS way, HIS truth, and HIS life to become our own!
L Lift up your troubled hearts this morning, turn away from your sin, stop surrendering to death and despair.
God has loved you enough to send you his very best, his own and only Son, Jesus, to die for you!
C And God continues to love us too much to let us go!
Now is the time to be newly alive, truly alive, fully alive, and eternally alive through Jesus Christ!
OPENING SONG: “I Know that My Redeemer Lives” Tan #276
CELEBRATION OF NEW LIFE IN CHRIST: Pastor Gwen
L Friends, once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Through Jesus Christ you have become a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, that you may proclaim the mighty acts of God’s love. I invite you to celebrate here and now the presence, peace, power, and promises of Jesus Christ by making the sign of the cross on your forehead, saying, and believing —
“Receive [+] the sign of the cross. Because HE died, YOU are alive!”
SONG OF PRAISE:
“Lord, I lift your name on high, Lord, I love to sing your praises.
I’m so glad you’re in my life, I’m so glad you came to save us.
You came from heaven to earth to show the way;
from the earth to the cross, my debt to pay;
from the cross to the grave, from the grave to the sky; Lord, I lift your name on high!”
THE PRAYER OF THE DAY: Congregation
Great and loving God, I want to let your Son Jesus Christ show me the way, tell me the truth, and give me life. Lead me and guide me to a place in your Kingdom, both now and forever. Amen.
+ WE PROCLAIM GOD’S SAVING WORD +
FIRST READING: ACTS 7:55-60 [Stephen is not afraid of “falling” for THE TRUTH about Jesus!] Madison
7:55 But filled with the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.
7:56 “Look,” he said, “I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”
7:57 But they covered their ears, and with a loud shout all rushed together against him.
7:58 Then they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him; and the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.
7:59 While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
7:60 Then he knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he died.
SECOND READING: 1 PETER 2:2-10 [Christians stand on the solid rock of THE LIFE that is Jesus!] Darlene Johnson
2:2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation-
2:3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
2:4 Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and
2:5 like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
2:6 For it stands in scripture: “See, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
2:7 To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the very head of the corner,”
2:8 and “A stone that makes them stumble, and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.
2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
2:10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
GOSPEL VERSE: “Oh, how He loves you and me. Oh, how He loves you and me.
He gave His life, what more can He give?
OH, HOW HE LOVES YOU; OH, HOW HE LOVES ME;
OH, HOW HE LOVES YOU AND ME!
Jesus to Calv’ry did go, His love for this world to show.
What He did there brought hope from despair…”
THE HOLY GOSPEL: JOHN 14:1-14 [In life and in death, Jesus is THE WAY!] Herbert Crawford
14:1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.
14:2 In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?
14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.
14:4 And you know the way to the place where I am going.”
14:5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”
14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
14:7 If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
14:8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”
14:9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
14:10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works.
14:11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves.
14:12 Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.
14:13 I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14:14 If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.
THE SERMON: Pastor Gwen or Pastor Neil
SONG SELECTION: All Saints Choir
THE APOSTLES’ CREED:
L Living in the joy and the power of the Risen Lord, let us boldly confess our faith…
C I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. 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 catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
THE PRAYERS… We pray that all people might be transformed by the GOOD NEWS of Easter! Christina Crawford
+ We Share God’s Nourishing Meal +
OFFERING [We want to celebrate and share that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life for a searching world!]
SONG SELECTION: All Saints Choir
THE OFFERTORY SONG: “Get all excited, go tell ev’rybody that Jesus Christ is King! [sing this line 3 times]
Jesus Christ is still the King of kings, the King of kings!”
OFFERING PRAYER led by the Communion Assistant: ?
O God, it is only by your amazing grace that we are Easter-alive today! We dedicate our gifts and our lives to drying tears and sharing good news of peace. Make us bold and eager witnesses to others of NEW LIFE IN CHRIST. Amen.
THE PREFACE… We prepare to celebrate the LORD’S SUPPER with humble joy!
L The Lord be with you. C And also with you.
L Lift up your hearts! C We lift them up in love for God!
L Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. C It is right to give God our thanks and praise.
L The Lord delivers us from sin and death… C … and grants us salvation and eternal life!
L [continues the Preface]… we praise your name and join their unending hymn:
C [singing…] “Holy, holy, holy, holy,
holy, holy, Lord God Almighty!
and we lift our hearts before you as a token of our love,
holy, holy, holy, holy.
Precious Jesus, precious Jesus,
We’re so glad that you redeemed us, precious Jesus…
Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit,
come and fill our hearts anew, O Holy Spirit…”
THE EUCHARISTIC WORDS by the Celebrant, who recalls and re-enacts Jesus’ Holy Meal.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
COMMUNION AND BLESSINGS… All believers in Jesus Christ are welcome at the Lord’s Table!
COMMUNION SONGS: Tan #573 Tan #385
THE COMMUNION BLESSING by the Celebrant after all have communed.
POST-COMMUNION PRAYER by the Communion Assistant. ?
+ WE ARE SENT TO SHOW AND TELL +
THE BENEDICTION… Leave with a message upon your heart, on your lips, and revealed through your daily living! Go in the faith-filled power of the Risen Lord (+) to love God and to serve your neighbor in all that you do.
CLOSING SONG: “When We All Get to Heaven” Tan #594