Bulletin – Sunday, May 3, 2020

May 3, 2020
Fourth Sunday of Easter / Communion

Approach

Candle Lighting

Call to Worship

We need your presence on the long road, God of the journey.
The road between fear and hope, the road between the place where all is lost and the place of resurrection.

Like the disciples walking the road to Emmaus, we are in need of your company!
Jesus, stand among us, in your risen power, let this time of worship, be a holy time filled with your presence.

Hymn – “Jesus Come to Our Hearts”

Jesus, come to our hearts like falling rain;
Come to refresh, come to renew,
Wash all our sins away.

Spirit, come to our hearts like rushing wind;
Come with your fire, come with your life,
Blow all our doubts away.

Come, God, come to our hearts like shining sun;
Come to reveal, lighten your Word,
Drive all our gloom away.

Glory be to the Lamb that once was slain;
Praise for his life, praise for his death,
Praise that he lives again.

Praises be to our God, the three in one;
Praise for the sun, praise for the wind,
Praise for the falling rain.

Prayer

Meet us, Loving God, on the road to Emmaus, guide us on the path toward our destination, and renew our strength as we continue to walk and commune with you.

Open our eyes so we see the signs of your presence around us; open our hearts, so we may receive your peace and love; and empower us to pass on to others the grace you have shared with us so freely. Yet there are so many times Risen Christ, when we are so busy talking with each other that we fail to find you beside us. We walk on, so focused on our questions that we do not create the silent spaces which would allow you to speak with us and enlighten our journeying.

Stay with us, Loving Jesus. Reach out towards us and invite us to pause and meet with you. As we look at our lives and that of the world around us, we are sometimes too anxious to share our real questions or our doubts and fears. We keep them within us in troubled silence. Stay with us, reach out towards us, and invite us to pause and meet with you, today and every day. Amen.

Words of Assurance

Hymn – “Sing Your Joy”

Sing your joy, proclaim God’s glory!
Rise and sing, the morning has come!
Bless our God and praise all creation;
Song of the earth, and light from heaven:
God is alive!  Hallelujah!

All the earth is filled with rejoicing,
Light and life, the wonder of God!
Christ has triumphed!  Risen forever!
Joy of our hearts, and hope of our dreaming:
God is alive!  Hallelujah!

May we learn to become your kingdom,
May we be your kindness and truth!
Love is our calling, gift of your presence,
Children of God, and spirit of Jesus:
God is alive!  Hallelujah!

Light our way, O God of the living,
May we learn to see with new eyes!
Jesus the Lord, our power and promise;
Light for the blind, and food for the hungry:
God is alive!  Hallelujah!

The Word

Scripture Reading:

Luke 24:13-35

Hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church.
Thanks be to God!

Meditation – “Our Emmaus Story!”

Anthem – “Knowing You”

The Response

Communion

Friends, this is the joyful feast of the people of God! They will come from east and west, and from north and south, and sit at the table in the kingdom of God. According to Luke, when the risen Christ was at the table with his disciples, he took the bread, and blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him. We have been invited to come to God’s table this day together.

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.

Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to God.

Let us give thanks and praise to God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.

It is truly right and our greatest joy to give you thanks and praise, eternal God, our creator. You have given birth and life to all creation through the power of your Spirit. When we have wandered in the wilderness when we were truly no people, you called us to be your people. You brought Israel out of captivity leading them with priests and prophets, poets, and singers. But we once again strayed from your loving embrace, scattering ourselves. From worlds apart, you gathered us together. When we go astray, you welcome us home. Always, your love has been steadfast.

You are holy, O God of love, and blessed is Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord. In love with you and in compassion for all, Jesus healed and taught, challenged and comforted, welcomed and saved. He formed a community, promising to be with his disciples wherever two or three were gathered, and sending them on his mission of hope and healing in the world.

Sung Response – A New Creed

We are not alone, we live in God’s world.
We believe in God:
Who has created and is creating,
Who has come in Jesus, the Word made flesh,
To reconcile and make new,
Who works in us and others by the Spirit.
We trust in God.
We are called to be the Church:
To celebrate God’s presence,
To live with respect in Creation,
To love and serve others,
To seek justice and resist evil,
To proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen,
Our judge and our hope.
In life, in death, in life beyond death,
God is with us.
We are not alone.
Thanks be to God.

Remembering all your acts of love and mercy, we take this bread and this wine from the gifts you have given us and celebrate with joy the power of your love shown to us in your son Jesus Christ.

Gracious God, pour out your Holy Spirit upon us and upon these your its of bread and wine. Let us remember that the bread we break and the cup we bless are here to remind us of your love for us found in Jesus Christ. By your Spirit unite us with the living Christ that we might know your love in our lives and in the lives of those for whom we now lift up in prayer…

We pray that we may all become one in ministry in every place. As this bread is Christ’s body for us, send us out to be the body of Christ in the world.

The Lord Jesus, on the night of his arrest gathered with his friends in the upper room. He took bread, and after giving thanks to God, he broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take, eat. This is the bread of new life, given for you. Every time you eat this bread remember me.

In the same way after they had finished eating, he took the cup, saying: This cup is the new covenant, a covenant of love and mercy, for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink of this cup, remember me.

I invite you all to join me at God’s table. This is the bread of new life, given for each of us…

This is the cup of the new covenant, a covenant of love and mercy…

Prayer after Communion

Gracious God, may we who have received this bread and this cup go forth from this place so may we be strengthened by this meal so that we might bring all gifts that have been given us to the world. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen

Hymn – “Bless Now, O God, the Journey”

Bless now, O God, the journey that all your people make,
The path through noise and silence, the way of give and take.
The trail is found in desert and winds the mountain round,
Then leads beside still waters, the road where faith is found.

Divine Eternal Lover, you meet us on the road.
We wait for lands of promise where milk and honey flow.
But waiting not for places, you meet us all around.
Our covenant is written on roads, as faith is found.

Benediction

May God, who comes to us in the things of this world, bless your eyes and be in your seeing.

May Christ, who looks upon you with deepest love, bless your eyes and widen your gaze.

May the Spirit, who perceives what is and what may yet be, bless your eyes and sharpen your vision.

May the Sacred Three bless your eyes and cause you to see.

And may you know the presence of the 3 in 1 God in your life each and every day. Amen.

Response – “Like a Rock”

Like a rock, like a rock, God is under our feet.
Like the starry night sky, God is over our head.
Like the sun on the horizon, God is ever before.
Like the river runs to ocean, our home is in God evermore.