Description
John 13:31-35
The time had come for the crucifixion of Jesus and His disciples were probably very concerned. Jesus told them that they could not follow Him where He was going. This was difficult to hear for the men who had been following him for several years and were known as His disciples. So, how could these men follow him if they weren’t allowed to go with Jesus? By loving each other just as Christ had loved them. This way of living would prove to the world that Jesus was still present, but now through the love of his disciples.
We Lift Our Hearts in Worship
[Preservice options include video countdowns, worship song videos, welcomes), CDs, or live music.]
Welcome & Time of Greeting
Time of Praise and Worship
Glorious Day (Passion)
Jason Ingram | Jonathan Smith | Kristian Stanfill | Sean Curran, © Sean Curran Publishing Designee (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing) sixsteps Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing) Sixsteps Songs (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing) Worship Together Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing) worshiptogether.com songs (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing) Fellow Ships Music (Admin. by Essential Music Publishing LLC) Hickory Bill Doc (Admin. by Essential Music Publishing LLC) So Essential Tunes (Admin. by Essential Music Publishing LLC
One Thing Remains (Your Love Never Fails)
Brian Johnson, Christa Black, & Jeremy Riddle, ©2010 Bethel Music (Admin. by Bethel Music Publishing) Mercy / Vineyard Publishing (Admin. by Music Services, Inc.) ChristaJoy Music Publishing (Admin. by Bethel Music Publishing)
In Christ Alone
Keith Getty & Stuart Townend, ©2001 Thankyou Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing)
[Traditional Options]
Love Divine, All Loves Excelling
BH 75 58; BH 91 208; CH 648; CHH 517; EH 657; ELW 631; HWC 92; HFG 21; HLC 5; HGP 3; HSP 24; LBW 315; LSB 700; LW 286; NCH 43; PH 376; RH 34; STTL 507; WC 558; UMH 384; WHM 94; WIS 16
What Wondrous Love Is This
BH 75 106; BH 91 143; CH 314; CHH 200; EH 439; ELW 666; HS 98 860; HWC 177; HPW 25; HFG 283; HLC 137; LBW 385; LSB 543; NCH 223; PH 85; RH 90; STTL 245; WC 212; UMH 292; WAR 257; WHM 201
Lord, Thee I Love With All My Heart
ELW 750; LBW 325; LSB 708; LW 413
Invocation
Pastor I greet you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ who welcomes you and loves you right where you are.
ALL Greetings in the name of Jesus!
Opening Prayer / Theme Introduction
Pastor/Worship Leader speaks
Pastor Let us pray together. Heavenly Father, you don’t care what our personal appearance shows, or what achievements are hanging on our walls. You don’t care what foods we eat and don’t eat, but you do care about our souls and You desire to be in relationship with us. How grateful we are to have a loving Father unlike any other god.
ALL Lord, You are great and mighty and the ultimate Judge. It is not our place to judge
one another. We cast off pride in the name of Jesus and dethrone ourselves from
the throne that belongs to You alone. Open our hearts to You, Lord.
Pastor In Christ’s name we pray,
ALL Amen.
Time of Confession and Forgiveness
[Alternate location: following Message]
Pastor Before we continue, let us confess to the Lord who kindly leads us to repentance.
ALL You’ve blessed both the Jew and the Gentile with the privilege of repenting of their
sins and receiving eternal life through Your Son, Jesus Christ.
Pastor So, we come to you, O Blessed Redeemer and Forgiver of sins with hearts repentant and
undone.
ALL Where we fall short of your glory, forgive us, Lord.
Pastor In all dark, secret, and lonely places, forgive us, Lord.
ALL Your grace knows no bounds, your blood covers sin.
Pastor Thank you for your forgiveness and undeserved mercy.
ALL We praise you, Lord of Lords. Amen.
We Hear God’s Word
[Read aloud both the introduction and Scripture]
First Reading Acts 11:1-18
When news spread throughout Judea that the Gentiles had received the Word of God, the Jews criticized Peter. Peter explained the vision given to him by God and the power of the Holy Spirit who fell on the Gentiles.
Soon the news reached the apostles and other believers in Judea that the Gentiles had received the word of God. 2 But when Peter arrived back in Jerusalem, the Jewish believers[ criticized him. 3 “You entered the home of Gentiles[and even ate with them!” they said.4 Then Peter told them exactly what had happened. 5 “I was in the town of Joppa,” he said, “and while I was praying, I went into a trance and saw a vision. Something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners from the sky. And it came right down to me. 6 When I looked inside the sheet, I saw all sorts of tame and wild animals, reptiles, and birds. 7 And I heard a voice say, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat them.’ 8 “‘No, Lord,’ I replied. ‘I have never eaten anything that our Jewish laws have declared impure or unclean.’ 9 “But the voice from heaven spoke again: ‘Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.’ 10 This happened three times before the sheet and all it contained was pulled back up to heaven. 11 “Just then three men who had been sent from Caesarea arrived at the house where we were staying. 12 The Holy Spirit told me to go with them and not to worry that they were Gentiles. These six brothers here accompanied me, and we soon entered the home of the man who had sent for us. 13 He told us how an angel had appeared to him in his home and had told him, ‘Send messengers to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter. 14 He will tell you how you and everyone in your household can be saved!’ 15 “As I began to speak,” Peter continued, “the Holy Spirit fell on them, just as he fell on us at the beginning. 16 Then I thought of the Lord’s words when he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 And since God gave these Gentiles the same gift he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to stand in God’s way?” 18 When the others heard this, they stopped objecting and began praising God. They said, “We can see that God has also given the Gentiles the privilege of repenting of their sins and receiving eternal life.”
