Description
John 14:15-21
Jesus commanded His disciples to love Him by keeping His commands. Jesus promised that He would send the Holy Spirit to help them and to be with them forever. He also promised that anyone who loves Him will be loved by the Father, and He will show Himself to them. This passage teaches us that we must keep Jesus’ commands if we want to demonstrate our love for Him. As believers, we should strive to live in obedience to God’s commands and trust that He will keep His promises to us. We can also be confident that God will show Himself to us if we are devoted to loving Him.
We Lift Our Hearts in Worship
[Preservice options include video countdowns, worship song videos, welcomes), CDs, or live music.]
Welcome & Time of Greeting
Pastor / Worship Leader
Good morning, Brothers and Sisters in Christ.
Worshipers
Good morning, to you.
Pastor / Worship Leader
We are here to celebrate the presence of our Lord here and now.
Worshipers
He is God with us, Immanuel.
Time of Praise and Worship
Christ Is Risen
Matt Maher & Mia Fieldes, © Thankyou Music | spiritandsong.com | Unknown (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing) | (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing)
Battle Belongs
Brian Johnson | Phil Wickham, © Phil Wickham Music (Fair Trade Music Publishing [c/o Essential Music Publishing LLC]) Simply Global Songs (Fair Trade Music Publishing [c/o Essential Music Publishing LLC]) Sing My Songs (Fair Trade Music Publishing [c/o Essential Music Publishing LLC]) Bethel Music Publishing
Love The Lord
Lincoln Brewster, ©2005 Integrity’s Praise Music
[Traditional Options]
Jesus Came, The Heavens Adoring
LSB 353; WC 194
Holy Spirit, Light Divine
BH 75 135; CH 392; ELW 398; HLC 194; LSB 496; LW 166; STTL 306; WC 302
The Lord, My God, Be Praised
LSB 794; LW 174
Invocation
Pastor / Worship Leader
He is Almighty and Everlasting God!
Worshipers
We humble ourselves before God as His people, grateful to Him for His sacrifice. We praise the holy and awesome name of Jesus Christ, our Savior.
Pastor / Worship Leader
Let us open our hearts and minds to receive all that the Lord has for us today.
Opening Prayer / Theme Introduction
Pastor / Worship Leader
Heavenly Father, we thank you for the gift of Your precious Son, Jesus. In all that we do, think, speak, or act upon, may You be glorified. We say,
Worshipers
Holy Spirit, You are welcome here. Reign in this place and in our lives. We submit to Your power and might. May we be open to Your word. Amen.
Time of Confession and Forgiveness
[Alternate location: following Message]
Pastor / Worship Leader
Before moving on, we must pause and confess our sins to our forgiving Father.
Worshipers
The Father gave up His one and only Son to die on the cross for our sin. We are made complete and whole through the broken body and shed blood of Jesus Christ.
Pastor / Worship Leader
Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we have been resurrected into new life!
Worshipers
Hallelujah! We receive God’s assurance of forgiveness.
Pastor / Worship Leader
For if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins.
Worshipers
He purifies us from all unrighteousness. Thank You, Jesus. We accept Your Word. Amen.
We Hear God’s Word
[Read aloud both the introduction and Scripture]
First Reading Acts 17:16-31
In Acts 17:22-31, Paul speaks to the people of Athens and explains that they should not worship idols, but instead they should seek the God who created all things, who is the Lord of heaven and earth. He then goes on to explain that God made all of mankind from one man and that He is not served by human hands but instead He gives life and breath to all people.
16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. 18 A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. 19 Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20 You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.” 21 (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.) 22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you. 24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ 29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”
