Worship Resources for May 2nd
The Fifth Sunday of Easter
Gathering
Call to Worship
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!
If then you have been raised with Christ,
seek the things that are above,
where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
Set your minds on things that are above,
not on things that are on earth.
For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ who is your life appears,
then you also will appear with him in glory.
Grace to you and peace
from him who is and who was and who is to come,
and from the seven spirits who are before his throne,
and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead,
and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
-Colossians 3:1-4
Song
Confession & Assurance
Call to Confession Colossians 3:3
For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
That is both a great comfort and a great challenge. Our life is hidden (secure) with Christ—the great comfort. The great challenge? Let us throw off the sin which so easily entangles, that we might grow more deeply into our “hidden-with-Christ-in-God” life.
Let us confess our sin to almighty God.
Prayer of Confession
Almighty God,
in raising Jesus from the tomb
you have given us the sure sign of your power
to deliver us from sin and death
and to renew your whole creation.
We confess that we still fall into doubt and fear.
We continue to cling to selfish ways
and doubt your power to make all things new.
Forgive our lack of faith.
Have mercy on our weakness.
Raise us from the death of sin
that we may live with Christ in the joy of his resurrection,
now and forever. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon 1 Corinthians 15:20; Romans 8:38-39
But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead.
So I am convinced that neither death nor life,
neither angels nor demons,
neither the present nor the future,
nor any powers,
neither height nor depth,
nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from the love of God
that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The Peace
The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
And also with you.
Installation of Office Bearers
At our 10:30am service, we will ordain and install six new officebearers for three-year terms. To the office of deacon, we ordain Nancy Meyer, Doug Rooks, and Mike Weiss, and to the office of elder, Meika Weiss, Pete Westra, and Norm Steen. On Sunday afternoon, a recording of the ordination will be linked below in the online service, and shared with the congregation via email and Facebook.
Song
Nicene Creed
We believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God,
begotten from the Father before all ages, God from God,
Light from Light,
true God from true God, begotten, not made;
of the same essence as the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven;
he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary,
and was made human.
He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered and was buried.
The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures.
He ascended to heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again with glory
to judge the living and the dead.
His kingdom will never end.
And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life.
He proceeds from the Father and the Son,
and with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified.
He spoke through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church.
We affirm one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look forward to the resurrection of the dead,
and to life in the world to come.
Amen.
Word
Prayer for Illumination
Prepare our hearts, O God, to accept your Word.
By your Spirit, silence in us any voices but your own,
so that we may hear your Word and also do it;
through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Scripture Reading
A reading from the book of 1 Corinthians 15:16-19, 29-34
15 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
29 Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them? 30 And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? 31 I face death every day—yes, just as surely as I boast about you in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32 If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus with no more than human hopes, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised,
“Let us eat and drink,
for tomorrow we die.”
33 Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” 34 Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame.
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Sermon
Resurrection-Shaped Life
Sacrament
Song
Spiritual Communion
For those worshiping with us online, and not able to partake of the sacrament, we invite you to pray the following prayer of Spiritual Communion, knowing that God himself is with you, that Jesus himself feeds you, and that your union with Christ remains unbroken.
O Christ, we love you above all things,
and we desire, at all times and in all ways, to be fed by you.
And since we cannot now come to your Table,
we ask you to come by your Spirit into our hearts.
Unite us to you, together with all your faithful people,
and help us to embrace you with all our affections, body and soul.
Never permit us to be separated from you.
By your goodness we pray, Amen.
Offering
In addition to our various funds (General, Building, Mission, Benevolence, Christian Education), online giving is also now available for today’s special offerings (Calvin University, World Renew & Brothers House II) through the Give button below.
Sending
God’s Parting Words
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you
and be gracious unto you;
the Lord lift up the light of his countenance upon you
and give you peace.
Amen.