12.05.20 Easter 7B English

Prelude:  Concerto in B-flat Major (Tomaso Albinoni, arr. Johann Gottfried Walther)
Hymn:  Easter Gloria (Marty Haugen/O FILII ET FILIAE, traditional French) GC
Call to Worship

One: Let us love one another, for love is from God.
All: God’s steadfast love endures forever.
One: Let us reach out to those in need, for they are our brothers and sisters in Christ.
All: God’s love calls us to recognize our family, to see Christ in each other.
One: Let us move beyond the margins and out of our comfort zone, into the world around us.
All: God’s perfect love casts out all fear.
One: Come, let us worship our God, who is Love.
All: Come, let us worship in one spirit as the family of God.

Song:  The gift of love (Hal Hopson/O WALY, WALY, traditional English)
Prayer of Confession

One:  Holy One, we confess to You that we have fallen short. We don’t always love our brothers and sisters in Christ. We hold grudges, we judge others, we brush off those who call upon us for help. We do not always see the needs around us and focus on our own busy lives.

All:  Forgive us, O God, for not loving others as You have loved us. Forgive us when we fail to keep Your commandment to love one another. Restore in us the willingness to reach beyond our comfort zone, to seek out those in need, and to let go of grudges and judging, remembering that all of us have sinned. Guide us back to Your ways of love, peace, and reconciliation. In the name of Jesus the Christ, we pray. Amen.

—Silent reflection—

One:  God is love. We love because God first loved us. No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God lives in us, and God’s love is perfected in us. Go forth, sharing God’s love and forgiveness.

All:  Thanks be to God!  Amen.

Song of Praise:  Psalm 34, verse 1 (adapted John Bell/TALLA CRIOSDH, traditional Scots Gaelic) *
Prayer of the Day

Most holy Friend, Three-person’d God, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, please help the family of the church to learn the way of love from you. Bring us together in spirit and action, bearing one another’s burdens and sharing each others gifts, and establishing here on earth colonies of heaven. In the name of Christ, our Brother and Saviour.  Amen!

Song:  Todos juntos (Brotes de Olivo, arr. EM) **
Reading from the Early Church:  1 John 4:7-21 (Easter 5B lectionary)
Sermon
Song:  Love one another (John Bell [1 John 4]/EWALRY, John Bell

Affirmation of Faith

I believe in God, Source of all things seen and unseen:

in a universe where the basic reality is Spirit-Mind,

present in human beings as a reflection of this hidden Spirit,

         

I believe in Christ Jesus, God’s only true Son:

in grace which surpasses all our ideas of justice,

in suffering that redeems the previously unredeemable,

in life that bursts free from graves and all captivity.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, our immanent Friend:

in a world where no human being is ever alone,

in an inner light that opens our eyes to truth,

in a sap which makes the fruitless become fruitful.

I put my trust in God.

I put my trust in Christ.

I put my trust in Spirit.

Amen!

Prayer Song:  Psalm 34, verse 3 (adapted John Bell/TALLA CRIOSDH, traditional Scots Gaelic) *
Prayers of the People
Announcements
Hymn:  Joyful, joyful, we adore you (Henry van Dyke/ODE TO JOY, Ludwig van Beethoven) NCH

*A cappella, the congregation singing the two supporting parts and the soprano cantor singing the melody.
**Sung by the music team in Spanish.

Forces:
Soprano
Tenor/Guitar
Tenor/Bass Guitar
Organ/Piano