Easter Day
Easter 2B
Easter 3B
Easter 4B
Easter 5B
Easter 6B
Easter 7B
Pentecost
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Easter 5B LECTIONARY GENERATED LITURGY Fifth Sunday of Easter Year B Acts 8:26-40; Psalm 22:25-31; 1 John 4:7-21; John 15:1-8. Recommended text - NRSV Hymns are from the Australian Hymn Book (AHB) or Together in Song (TIS) or Sing Alleluia (SA ) unless otherwise indicated. Worship Leader - normal type. Congregational responses - bold type Permission is granted to churches to use this material in services of worship. This liturgy remains the property of Moira B Laidlaw Additional resources for Easter 5B: AS ONE VOICE, Willow Connection P/L, Dee Why, NSW, 1992; Scripture in Song. CMCAustralasia, Unit 9/147 Marshalltown Road, Grovedale, Victoria 3216 ; Be our Freedom Lord, ed Terry C Falla, Openbook Publisher, Adelaide, 1994; Australian Prayers, Bruce Prewer, Lutheran Publishing House, Adelaide, South Australia, 1983 CALL TO WORSHIP: based on Psalm 22:25-31 NRSV Let our praise for all that God has done resound within and beyond these walls. When all people turn to God and worship God, the poor shall eat and be satisfied, and justice and peace will surely embrace present and future generations. Therefore, in thanksgiving for all that God has done, let our lives and our love proclaim the message of God's gracious and liberating acts TIS 153/AHB 93: "God is love, let heaven adore him" PRAYER We, like the Psalmist, cry out in praise and thanksgiving in response to God's eternal loving-kindness, holding us, guiding us, enfolding us with grace. And, as we gather here as people of God, we pray that our worship will reflect that divine love. We offer our worship today with the remembrance of Easter still filling us with joy, and with the anticipation of Pentecost firing our devotion. Let our praise for all that God has done, is doing and will do, truly resound within our hearts and our homes, within these walls and beyond. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen A WORD WITH THE CHILDREN/YOUNG PEOPLE Pencils/pens possibly required for the following. A children's talk can be based on the Gospel and the 'bearing of fruit'. If you have a printed order of worship, draw a bunch of grapes on the cover and write the fruit of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22, 23 ) within nine of them - leave a number of blank 'grapes'. If you do not have a printed order of service - it would be good to make a bookmark for each member of the congregation - print John 15: 1-8 on it and add the bunch of grapes as above - or simply draw a large bunch of grapes on a piece of cardboard and write the fruit of the Spirit within them as above. Invite adults and children to suggest how to fill in the blank grapes with things that they do which help to produce fruit such as love, joy , peace etc. in their daily lives. You could also make the point that grape vines only bear grapes, they don't bear mangoes or strawberries, or oranges...so, with us, we are to bear the same fruit as Jesus did which is love - out of which the other 'fruit' naturally grow. SCRIPTURE IN SONG 266: "This is my commandment..." AS ONE VOICE 130 "They'll know we are Christians by our love" TIS 104 : "While morning still is breaking" verses 1 and 4 or verse 4 only "You are the vine..." sing to set tune or any familiar 76.76.D metre PRAYER OF CONFESSION: Based on 1 John 4:7-21 NRSV Let us pray: Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. In these words, we learn that our human love becomes possible because of God's love for us. Jesus came so that we might catch a glimpse of that love and learn to love one another as he loves us. It is so easy to say that since God loves us so much, we also ought to love one another, but we confess that it is not always so easy to do. We know in our hearts that the love we have for one another should make God's love visible to the world, but we confess that even in the church, our words and actions are not always grounded in love. We squabble over things which in the light of God's love for us are insignificant and petty. We get caught up in power-struggles and the urge to control, sometimes through deeds and language which make others powerless. (silent confession) We love because God first loved us and those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also. Fill our hearts anew with your love, O God, turn us away from anything which causes pain for you or our sisters and brothers. May Jesus' commandment of love become the chief desire of our hearts, the source of all our thoughts and the inspiration of our lives. Amen WORDS OF ASSURANCE Jesus invites us to dwell in him as he dwells in us and he tells us we have already been cleansed by the word that he has spoken to us. So, hear and believe the good news that through Jesus who dwells in us, we are forgiven. Thanks be to God Alleluia! Amen! PASSING THE PEACE May the love and peace of our risen Lord be always with you. And always with you. Invite people to stand and share the peace with those around about - while still standing sing the following chorus: SCRIPTURE IN SONG 71 "Thy lovingkindness is better than life" FIRST LESSON: Acts 8: 26-40 EPISTLE: 1 John 4: 7-21 GOSPEL: John 15: 1-8 SERMON TIS 641/AHB 401 : "This is my will, my one command, that love should dwell among you all" TIS 665: "Jesus Christ is waiting..." TIS 681/BE OUR FREEDOM LORD Page 432f: "Lord, let me see..." SUGGESTIONS FOR PRAYERS THANKSGIVING AND INTERCESSION Australian Prayers: "Special People" Page 112 and "Planting True Vines" Page 124 THE LORD'S PRAYER OFFERING OFFERTORY PRAYER We bring these gifts as symbols of our love - our love for God - our love for Jesus - our love for one another. We pray God's blessing on these gifts, and pray that we may be blessed and strengthened by the Holy Spirit to be fruitful and loving witnesses of the gospel. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen TIS 473: "Community of Christ, who make the Cross your own" TIS 468/ SA 90: "We are your people... TIS 640/ AHB 561 : "Kneels at the feet of his friends" In AHB 561, invite people to make the hymn more inclusive by replacing "rich men" with "wealthy" and "black men" with "coloured" in verse 2, and by replacing "men" with "these" in verse 3. BENEDICTION: Go, filled with God's everlasting love, Jesus' indwelling presence, and the Holy Spirit's renewing power. THREEFOLD AMEN |