13 May BULLETIN – SUNDAY, MAY 14, 2023
WELCOME to MESSIAH & ST. PETER LUTHERAN CHURCHES
Reverend Nancy Brody, Pastor
Greta Wright, Music Director
Sunday, May 14, 2023
Sixth Sunday of Easter
Happy Mother’s Day
ANNOUNCEMENTS
PRELUDE
CONFESSION and FORGIVENESS Page 56
ENTRANCE HYMN
We Plow the Fields and Scatter #362
APOSTOLIC GREETING Page 57
KYRIE & HYMN OF PRAISE Pages 57-59
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Almighty and ever-living God, you hold together all things in heaven and on earth. In your great mercy receive the prayers of all your children, and give to all the world the Spirit of your truth and peace, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
FIRST READING ACTS 17:22-31
Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, “Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way. For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things. From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him—though indeed he is not far from each one of us. For ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we too are his offspring.’ Since we are God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals. While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”
PSALM 66:8-20
Bless our God, you peoples; let the sound of praise be heard.
Our God has kept us among the living and has not allowed our feet to slip.
For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us just as silver is tried.
You brought us into the net; you laid heavy burdens upon our backs.
You let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us out into a place of refreshment.
I will enter your house with burnt offerings and will pay you my vows—
those that I promised with my lips and spoke with my mouth when I was in trouble.
I will offer you burnt offerings of fatlings with the smoke of rams; I will give you oxen and goats.
Come and listen, all you who believe, and I will tell you what God has done for me.
I called out to God with my mouth, and praised the Lord with my tongue.
If I had cherished evil in my heart, the Lord would not have heard me;
but in truth God has heard me and has attended to the sound of my prayer.
Blessed be God, who has not rejected my prayer, nor withheld unfailing love from me.
SPECIAL MUSIC Brad Crum
SECOND READING 1 PETER 3:13-22
Who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence. Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God’s will, than to suffer for doing evil. For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you—not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION Page 62
GOSPEL JOHN 14:15-21
[Jesus said to the disciples:] “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you. “I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.”
SERMON
HYMN of the DAY
Give to Our God Immortal Praise! #520
PROFESSION of FAITH
APOSTLES’ CREED Page 65
PRAYERS of INTERCESSION
United by hope at your resurrection, we expectantly pray for the church, the world, and all in need. A brief silence.
In the form of the church, you provide family and faithful companionship. Every congregation depends upon your Spirit for guidance, wisdom and truth. Help us continue to search for and find you so that in you: we live, move and have our being. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
In the form of creation, all the earth sings praise while crying out for care. Restore the health and balance of every element so the world not only survives, but thrives ecologically. Make us agents of restoration and refreshment for all your beloved. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
In the form of varied nations, you call all people your children and seek justice. Show mercy to all who are oppressed. May governments stand for what is right, courageously confront injustice, and empower their citizens to implement change. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
In the form of nurturing spirits, you send persons who care for us. Bless those willing to make sacrifices, offer their energy, time and resources so others get what they need. Reward and bless the lifelong commitment of parents, especially moms. Console those who suffer grief related to maternal relationships: disappointment, loss, or difficulty. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
In the form of your heavenly Holy Spirit you make your presence known. Hold in your loving care whoever feels abandoned or alone. Unto all who are sick or grieving (especially those on our prayer list) instill peace. Give them hope. Calm their fears. Teach us all to live well in the allotted time of our existence. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
In the form of saints, you encourage, surround and sustain us. Renew and strengthen the communion of saints both living and deceased, until we’re united properly in glory. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
We love because you love us. We obey because you show us how. We pray because you make faith possible. Help us trust in one God, almighty, eternal, and fully revealed through Jesus Christ who sent the Holy Spirit to abide with and in us. Amen.
EXCHANGE of PEACE
OFFERING & OFFERTORY
Create in me… Page 75
LORD’S PRAYER
BENEDICTION Page 74
CLOSING HYMN
Lord of All Hopefulness #469
DISMISSAL Page 74
POSTLUDE