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 17:22-31

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.

 

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.”