Easter 7, May 29, 2022
In today’s readings, we catch a glimpse of the glorious unity of God’s people. We read of freedom from bondage, extravagant divine power and sovereignty, the eternal and eschatological reign of Christ, and the invitation to respond to Christ – to live in the unity and love at the heart of the Christian story. As it says in the Gospel “May they be One”. The readings are here.
We had various voices in the service that spoke of the challenges of the work we do together. Prayers, music, and sermon all within the church together the loving care of flowers picked for this service. A wonderful experience today. We have some text and videos to bring these to you.
1 Prayer for Uvalde- For the people of Uvalde, Texas
“Almighty God, hear our prayers of anger and despair over the continuing gun violence in our nation. We pray today for the people of Uvalde, Texas as they mourn for those killed in the school shooting this past week, and as they cry for their children. Pour out your grace and loving kindness on all who grieve; surround them with your love; and restore their trust in your goodness. Even in our despair, we pray in the light of the resurrection, knowing that sin and death, as powerful as they are, have already been defeated, because you are with us, especially in those times where death seems to prevail. We lift up to you our weary and wounded souls and ask you to take away the resignation that infects our hearts. May we join in the Spirit’s work of binding up and healing. Give us the courage to love with all we’ve got, and never to surrender to the darkness. Make us instruments of your peace and your children of the light. In the name of Christ, who is our hope, we pray. Amen.
2 Music – “We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
And we pray that our unity will one day be restored
And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
Yeah they’ll know we are Christians by our love
“We will work with each other, we will work side by side
We will work with each other, we will work side by side
And we’ll guard each man’s dignity and save each man’s pride
And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
Yeah, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.”
3 Sermon – The sermon was about the walk we are making in our lives, becoming more Christ-like as we go. It doesn’t happen at once. Our sharing our life’s experiences with others and living the Gospel’s teachings changes us along with the presence of God moving us along. We can only live in this world with an awareness of the love and presence of God. As we are walking, we are not the same people that we were years ago
Video
“>here. ttp://lectionarypage.net/YearC_RCL/Easter/CEaster7_RCL.html
We had various voices in the service that spoke of the challenges of this work. Prayers, music, and sermon all within the church together the loving care of flowers picked for this service
1 Prayer for Uvalde- For the people of Uvalde, Texas
“Almighty God, hear our prayers of anger and despair over the continuing gun violence in our nation. We pray today for the people of Uvalde, Texas as they mourn for those killed in the school shooting this past week, and as they cry for their children. Pour out your grace and loving kindness on all who grieve; surround them with your love; and restore their trust in your goodness. Even in our despair, we pray in the light of the resurrection, knowing that sin and death, as powerful as they are, have already been defeated, because you are with us, especially in those times where death seems to prevail. We lift up to you our weary and wounded souls and ask you to take away the resignation that infects our hearts. May we join in the Spirit’s work of binding up and healing. Give us the courage to love with all we’ve got, and never to surrender to the darkness. Make us instruments of your peace and your children of the light. In the name of Christ, who is our hope, we pray. Amen.
Video
Video
2 Music – “We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
And we pray that our unity will one day be restored
And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
Yeah they’ll know we are Christians by our love
“We will work with each other, we will work side by side
We will work with each other, we will work side by side
And we’ll guard each man’s dignity and save each man’s pride
And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
Yeah, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.”
3 Sermon – The sermon was about the walk we are making in our lives, becoming more Christ-like as we go. It doesn’t happen at once. Our sharing our life’s experiences with others and living the Gospel’s teachings changes us along with the presence of God moving us along. We can only live in this world with an awareness of the love and presence of God. As we are walking, we are not the same people that we were years ago