Sixth Sunday of
Easter
25 May 2014
The Gathering of the
Community
Entrance
Hymn
‘This Is the Day the Lord Hath Made’ Common Praise #373
Greeting
Alleluia!
Christ is risen.
The
Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!
May his grace and peace be with you.
May
he fill our hearts with joy.
Canticle
‘Alleluia No. 1’ Common Praise #405
Collect
of the Day
Let us pray.
Trinity of love,
you invite us to abide in you:
may we follow the Spirit of truth
through desert wild and city street,
rutted field and snowbound height,
battleground and market square,
so that your demanding love
might speak to the heart of a searching world;
The Proclamation of the
Word of God
The
First Reading
A Reading from Ezekiel (34.1-7a).
The
word of the Lord
came to me: Mortal, prophesy against the
shepherds of Israel: prophesy, and say
to them — to the shepherds: Thus says
the Lord God: Ah, you shepherds of Israel who have been
feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds
feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you
clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings; but you do not
feed the sheep. You have not
strengthened the weak, you have not healed the sick, you have not bound up the
injured, you have not brought back the strayed, you have not sought the lost,
but with force and harshness you have ruled them. So they were scattered, because there was no
shepherd; and scattered, they became food for all the wild animals. My sheep were scattered, they wandered over all
the mountains and on every high hill; my sheep were scattered over all the face
of the earth, with no one to search or seek for them. Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of
the Lord.
Hear what the Spirit is saying to the
church.
Thanks
be to God.
The
Psalm of the Day
Psalm 115 with Refrain from Songs for the
Holy One
Refrain (twice): All
who revere the Holy One, trust God’s faithful love.
1 Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
but to your
name give glory; *
because of your love and because of
your faithfulness.
2 Why should the heathen
say, *
”Where
then is their God?”
3 Our God is in heaven; *
whatever God wills to do, God does.
4 Their idols are silver
and gold, *
the
work of human hands.
Refrain:
All who revere the Holy One,
trust God’s faithful love.
5 They have mouths, but they cannot speak; *
eyes have they, but they cannot see;
6 they have ears, but
they cannot hear; *
noses,
but they cannot smell;
7 they have hands, but they cannot feel;
feet, but
they cannot walk; *
they make no sound with their
throat.
8 Those who make them are
like them, *
and
so are all who put their trust in them.
Refrain: All who revere the Holy One,
trust God’s faithful love.
9 O Israel, trust in the Lord, *
who is your help and your shield.
10 O house of Aaron, trust
in the Lord; *
who
is your help and your shield.
11 You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord; *
who is your help and your shield.
12 The Lord has been
mindful of us and will bless us; *
blessing
the house of Israel and the house of Aaron;
Refrain: All who revere the Holy One,
trust God’s faithful love.
13 those who fear the Lord will be blessed, *
both small and great together.
14 May the Lord increase
you more and more, *
you
and your children after you.
15 May you be blessed by the Lord, *
the maker of heaven and earth.
16 The heaven of heavens
is the Lord’s, *
but
the Lord entrusted the earth to its peoples.
17 The dead do not praise the Lord, *
nor all those who go down into
silence;
18 But we will bless the
Lord, *
from
this time forth for evermore.
Hallelujah!
Refrain: All who revere the Holy One,
trust God’s faithful love.
The
Second Reading
A Reading from the Acts of the Apostles (17.22-31).
Then
Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, “Athenians, I see how extremely
religious you are in every way. For as I
went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I
found among them an altar with the inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I
proclaim to you. The God who made the
world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live
in shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he
needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all
things. From one ancestor he made all
nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their
existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they
would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him — though indeed he
is not far from each one of us. For ‘In
him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have
said, ‘For we too are his offspring.’
“Since
we are God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like gold, or
silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals. While God has overlooked the times of human
ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has
fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness by a man
whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him
from the dead.”
Hear what the Spirit is saying to the
church.
Thanks
be to God.
Hymn
before the Gospel
‘Spirit of the Living God’ Common Praise #647 (sung twice)
The
Gospel
The Lord be with you.
And
also with you.
The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ
according to John (14.15-21).
Glory
to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
[Jesus
said,] “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give
you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world
cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and
he will be in you.
“I will not leave you orphaned; I am
coming to you. In a little while the
world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will
live. On that day you will know that I
am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them
are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I
will love them and reveal myself to them.”
The Gospel of Christ.
Praise
to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
The
Sermon
An
Affirmation of the Resurrection
Let us affirm the message of the
resurrection.
Goodness
is stronger than evil;
love
is stronger than hate;
light
is stronger than darkness;
life
is stronger than death;
The Prayers of the
Community
Intercessions,
Petitions and Thanksgivings
The
Exchange of the Peace
May the peace of the risen Christ be with
you all.
And
also with you.
The Holy Communion
Offertory
Hymn
‘Jesus, Where’re Thy People Meet’ Common Praise #474
The
Prayer over the Gifts
Let
us pray.
Blessed
are you, O God, ruler of heaven and earth.
Day by day you shower us with
blessings.
As you have raised us to new
life in Christ,
give us glad and generous
hearts,
ready to praise you and to
respond to those in need,
through Jesus Christ, our
Saviour and Lord. Amen. [iii]
The
Thanksgiving at the Table
The
Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift
up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let
us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks
and praise.
Blessed
are you, gracious God,
creator
of heaven and earth;
we
give you thanks and praise
for
the glorious resurrection of your Son
Jesus
Christ our Lord;
for
he is the true paschal lamb
who
has taken away the sin of the world.
By
his death he destroyed death,
and
by his rising to life again
he
has won for us eternal life.
Therefore,
joining our voices
with
the whole company of heaven,
we
sing our joyful hymn of praise
to
proclaim the glory of your name.
Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might.
Heaven and earth are full of
your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the
name of the Lord.
Blessed
are you, O God of the universe.
Your
mercy is everlasting
and
your faithfulness endures from age to age.
Praise
to you for creating the heavens and the earth.
Praise
to you for saving the earth from the waters of the flood.
Praise
to you for bringing the Israelites safely through the sea.
Praise
to you for leading your people
through
the wilderness to the land of milk and honey.
Praise
to you for the words and deeds of Jesus, your anointed one.
Praise
to you for the death and resurrection of Christ.
Praise
to you for your Spirit poured out on all nations.
In
the night in which he was betrayed,
our
Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks;
broke
it, and gave it to his disciples, saying:
Take
and eat; this is my body, given for you.
Do
this for the remembrance of me.
Again,
after supper, he took the cup,
gave
thanks, and gave it for all to drink, saying:
This
cup is the new covenant in my blood,
shed
for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin.
Do
this for the remembrance of me.
With
this bread and cup
we
remember our Lord’s Passover from death to life
as
we proclaim the mystery of faith:
Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.
O
God of resurrection and new life:
Pour
out your Holy Spirit on us
and
on these gifts of bread and wine.
Bless
this feast.
Grace
our table with your presence.
Come, Holy Spirit.
Reveal
yourself to us in the breaking of the bread.
Raise
us up as the body of Christ for the world.
Breathe
new life into us.
Send
us forth, burning with justice, peace and love.
Come, Holy Spirit.
With
the ever-blessed Virgin Mary,
blessed
Joseph, blessed Faith
and
your holy ones of all times and places,
with
the earth and all its creatures,
with
sun and moon and stars,
we
praise you, O God,
blessed
and holy Trinity,
now
and forever. Amen. [v]
The Lord’s Prayer
As
our Saviour taught us, let us pray,
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin
against us.
Save us from the time of
trial,
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours,
The Breaking of the
Bread
Lord,
we died with you on the cross.
Now we are raised to new life.
We
were buried in your tomb.
Now we share in your
resurrection.
Live in us, that we may live
in you.
The
gifts of God for the people of God.
Thanks be to God.
Communion
Hymn
after Communion
‘Like the Murmur of the Dove’s Song’ Common Praise #635
The Sending Forth of the
Community
The
Prayer after Communion
Life-giving
God,
in the mystery of Christ’s
resurrection
you send light to conquer
darkness,
water to give new life,
and the bread of life to
nourish your people.
Send us forth as witnesses to
your Son’s resurrection,
so that we may show your glory
to all the world,
through Jesus Christ, our
risen Lord. Amen. [vii]
Glory
to God,
whose power, working in us,
can do infinitely more
than we can ask or
imagine.
Glory to God from generation
to generation,
in the Church and in Christ
Jesus,
for ever and ever. Amen.
Closing
Hymn
‘Come Away to the Skies’ Common Praise #225
The
Dismissal
Let
us go forth in the name of Christ.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Thanks be to God. Alleluia, alleluia!
[i]
Steven Shakespeare, Prayers for an Inclusive Church (2009), 24 alt.
[ii]
Desmond Tutu as quoted in Janet Morley, ed., Bread for Tomorrow: Prayers for the Church Year (1992), 117.
[iii] Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), 64.
[iv] Evangelical
Lutheran Worship (2006), #525.
[v] Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), 111.
[vi] Songs for a Gospel
People #12.
[vii] Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), 65.
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