Seventh Sunday of Easter
WELCOME
CALL TO WORSHIP (adapted from Psalm 47)
Leader: Let us lift our voices to God with songs of joy.
People: Our Lord, the Most High, is awesome, and a great sovereign over all the earth.
Leader: Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
People: God is mighty over all the earth; let us sing praises with a psalm!
Leader: God reigns over the nations; God rules from the heavenly throne.
People: Let us worship God; let us sing praises; and let us rejoice, for the Lord is King!
HYMN Rejoice, the Lord Is King Ken Heischman
Rejoice, the Lord is King! Your Lord and King adore!
Rejoice, give thanks and sing, And triumph evermore:
Lift up your heart, Lift up your voice! Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!
God’s kingdom cannot fail, Christ rules o’er earth and heav’n;
The keys of death and hell Are to our Jesus giv’n:
Lift up your heart, Lift up your voice! Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!
Rejoice in glorious hope! For Christ, the Judge, shall come
To glorify the saints For their eternal home:
Lift up your heart, Lift up your voice! Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!
PRAYERS OF CONFESSION
God of love and mercy,
You have created each of us in Your own image to live in community,
and You have graced us generously with the gifts for service.
Although You have equipped women and men for the work of mission and ministry,
we too often tarnish Your image,
waste our gifts,
refuse to accept Your call to service,
and fail to live at peace with our neighbors.
Have mercy upon us, Lord,
and help us to turn to You
so that You would refashion us into the disciples You created us to be.
Fill us with Your Spirit,
and strengthen us to promote the work of Your church as one people of God,
for we ask these things in the name of Jesus Christ our risen Lord. (Silent)
ASSURANCE OF FORGIVENESS (adapted from Micah 7:18-19)
Leader: Who is like our God, who pardons our iniquities and passes over our transgressions?
People: The LORD will have compassion upon us, and our God will cast all our sins into
the depths of the sea.
Leader: Friends, believe the good news of the gospel.
People: Through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven!
HYMN Seek Ye First Ken Heischman
Seek ye first the Kingdom of God And His righteousness
And all these things shall be added unto you.
Allelu, Alleluia
Ask and it shall be given unto you, Seek and ye shall find,
Knock and it shall be opened unto you.
Allelu, Alleluia
SCRIPTURE Acts 1:15-26
In those days Peter stood up among the believers (together the crowd numbered
about one hundred twenty persons) and said, “Friends, the scripture had to be
fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit through David foretold concerning Judas, who
became a guide for those who arrested Jesus — for he was numbered among us and
was allotted his share in this ministry.” (Now this man acquired a field with the
reward of his wickedness; and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all
his bowels gushed out. This became known to all the residents of Jerusalem, so
that the field was called in their language Hakeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) “For
it is written in the book of Psalms, ‘Let his homestead become desolate, and let there
be no one to live in it’; and ‘Let another take his position of overseer.’ So one of
the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and
out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken
up from us — one of these must become a witness with us to his resurrection.” So
they proposed two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and
Matthias. Then they prayed and said, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us
which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and
apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” And they cast
lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.
MEDITATION “What Happens Next?”
HYMN Lord, When I Came Into This Life Ken Heischman
Lord, when I came into this life, You called me by my name.
Today I come commit myself, Responding to Your claim
Within the circle of the faith, As member of Your cast,
I take my place with all the saints Of future present past.
In all the tensions of my life Between my faith and doubt,
Let Your great Spirit give me hope, Sustain me lead me out.
So help me in my unbelief, And let my life be true;
Feet firmly planted on the earth, My sights set high on You
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
INVITATION TO GIVE
Grace and generosity not only help us to forgive and to heal,
but these virtues also equip us to make peace in the world,
and to share justice and mercy to those in need.
Through our gifts, we infuse life into ministry,
as we build community through our participation in the Akron Area Interfaith Council,
as we share compassion by supporting the work of Gennesaret food ministry,
and as we reach out to our fellow human beings across the globe through our
commitment to national and international missions.
Remembering God’s grace and generosity to all of us,
let us now respond with gratitude
as we continue to promote God’s work through the giving of our financial resources and our
human resources.
May God forever bless you as you give.
BENEDICTION
Now, go forth in peace,
but as you go, remember . . .
that it was in the goodness of God that you were born;
it is in the providence of God that you have been kept to this hour;
and it is in the love of God that you are redeemed.
And may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God the Father,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit
be with you and all those whom you love, this day and forevermore. Amen.