Welcome to worship at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church!
PRELUDE Lord Our God with Praise We Come J. Wayne Kerr
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid: cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Let us confess our sin in the presence of God and of one another.
Most merciful God,
we confess that we are captive to sin and cannot
free ourselves. We have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what
we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our
whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. For the sake of your
Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that
we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy
name.
Amen.
In the mercy of almighty God, Jesus Christ was given to die for us, and for his sake God forgives us all our sins. As a called and ordained minister of the church of Christ, and by his authority, I therefore declare to you the entire forgiveness of all your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
HYMN Alleluia! Christ Is Risen #377 v. 1,3,5
GREETING
The grace of our Lord, Jesus
Christ, the love of God, and communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
And also
with you.
KYRIE
HYMN OF PRAISE This Joyful Eastertide #391 v.1
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Children's message
First Reading: Acts 8:26-40
26An angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go
toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a
wilderness road.) 27So he got up and went. Now there was an
Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in
charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28and
was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet
Isaiah. 29Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to this
chariot and join it.” 30So Philip ran up to it and heard him
reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, “Do you understand what you are
reading?” 31He replied, “How can I, unless someone guides me?”
And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. 32Now the
passage of the scripture that he was reading was this: “Like a sheep he was led
to the slaughter, and like a lamb silent before its shearer, so he does not
open his mouth. 33In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can
describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.” 34The eunuch asked
Philip, “About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or
about someone else?” 35Then Philip began to speak, and starting
with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. 36As
they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said,
“Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?” 38He
commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went
down into the water, and Philip baptized him. 39When they came
up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch
saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. 40But Philip
found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region, he
proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God
Psalm: Psalm 22:25-31
25From you comes my praise
in the | great assembly; I will perform my vows in the
sight of those who | fear the Lord.
26The poor shall eat | and be satisfied,
Let those who seek the Lord give
praise!
May your hearts | live forever!
27All the ends of the earth
shall remember and turn | to the Lord; all the families of
nations shall bow | before God.
28For dominion
belongs | to the Lord, who rules
over the nations.
29Indeed, all who sleep in the earth shall
bow | down in worship; all who go down to
the dust, though they be dead,
shall kneel before the Lord.
30Their descendants
shall | serve the Lord,
whom they shall proclaim to
generations to come.
31They shall proclaim God’s
deliverance to a people | yet unborn, saying to them,
“The | Lord has acted!”
Second Reading: 1 John 4:7-21
7Beloved, let
us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of
God and knows God. 8Whoever does
not love does not know God, for God is love. 9God’s love was revealed
among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might
live through him. 10In this is
love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the
atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also
ought to love one another. 12No one has ever seen God; if we love one
another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. 13By this we know that we
abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14And we have seen and do
testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world. 15God abides in those who
confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. 16So we have known and
believe the love that God has for us.
God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in
them. 17Love has been
perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment,
because as he is, so are we in this world. 18There is no fear in love,
but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and
whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. 19We love because he first
loved us. 20Those who
say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who
do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they
have not seen. 21The
commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their
brothers and sisters also.
Word of the
Lord. Thanks be to God
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
GOSPEL: John 15:1-8
The Holy Gospel according to Saint John the 15th
chapter. Glory to you O Lord.
[Jesus
said:] 1“I am the
true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. 2He removes every branch
in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it
bear more fruit. 3You have
already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. 4Abide in me as I abide in
you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the
vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. 5I am the vine, you are
the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because
apart from me you can do nothing. 6Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like
a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and
burned. 7If you abide
in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be
done for you. 8My Father is
glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O
Christ.
SERMON
HYMN Christ Is Alive! Let Christians Sing #389
APOSTLES CREED
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ,
God's only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born
of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified,
died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day
he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right
hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy
Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the
forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life
everlasting. Amen
PRAYERS
OF THE PEOPLE
PEACE
OFFERING
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
PEACE, OFFERING, COMMUNION PRAYER
LORD'S PRAYER
Our Father, who art in
heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as
it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our
trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power,
and the glory, forever and ever. Amen
DISTRIBUTION
OF COMMUNION
HYMN I Know My Redeemer Lives! #619
POST
COMMUNION PROCLAMATION AND PRAYER
BLESSING
HYMN Let All Things Now Living #881
POSTLUDE “You Servants of God” Robert Powell
