Readings: Acts 11:1-18; Psalm 148; Rev 21:1-6; John 13:31-35
RCL readings (landscape, A4): COCU35C.Easter5C.RCLReadings
Helpful resources:
re-Worship for Easter 5C compiled by Christine Longhurst
Sacredise by John van de Laar
Textweek
Singing from the Lectionary – Natalie Sims
West Epping Uniting Church
On Sunday we had another fantastic Intergenerational service, focusing on Jesus’ commandment to love one another. After listening to the story Empty Fridge by Gaetan Doremus, we learnt that we love one another by sharing what we have with each other, so all can enjoy. We then shared in the preparation of a very special morning tea, with decorated biscuits, crackers and dip, fruit skewers and punch – and then ate together after the service!
Gathering/Call to worship (Revelation 21:5)
Come all who are weary
of wealth, of poverty, of power, of struggle, of division
Come all who are heavy-laden
with too much, with too little, with anxiety, with fear, with anger
Come all who have hope
for liberation, for peace, for freedom, for the kingdom
Hear these words
“See, I am making all things new.”
(I Am Making All Things New, by Rosie Venner. Posted on the WSCF Europe website)
Call to worship (inspired by Psalm 148)
Come, praise the eternal God!
All you in the heavens, angels above—praise God!
Sun, moon, and stars in the sky—praise God!
Dolphins and whales, fish in the sea—praise God!
Lighting and thunder, snow and rain—praise God!
Mountains and hills, desert and prairie—praise God!
Fruit trees and cedars, flowers and weeds—praise God!
Kings and presidents, prime ministers and judges—praise God!
Men and women, young and old—praise God!
Let them all praise the name of God!
For God’s name stands alone, above all others;
God’s glory shines over earth and heaven.
Let’s worship God together!
Call to worship
We gather in the name of the living Christ to worship God.
Surely, God is in this place
and calls us to worship in spirit and in truth.
God’s love is for you
and for all people everywhere.
That we may share God’s love and life,
may we be renewed
in the refreshing Spirit of the living Christ.
The living Christ is with us.
Praise the Lord!
(posted on Life in Liturgy)
Prayer of Invocation (inspired by Revelation 21: 1-6)
Speak to us, Giver of Life, and make us new.
We thirst for the waters of eternal life,
we yearn to know ourselves as Resurrection People.
Send your Holy Spirit upon us this day,
and create in us your new heaven and new earth.
Speak to us words of comfort and hope,
words of challenge and courage.
Come: move among us, we pray. Amen.
(Making All Things New: Service Prayers for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, by Rev. Mary Nelson Abbott. Posted on the United Church of Christ’s Worship Ways Archive)
A reflective poem (could be used as contemplation on Psalm 148)
Oh Yes
Can this mind be at peace with the moon and the stars
In my nights?
Will these feelings repose with sun, rain and clouds
All day long?
Could my body relax with trees, flowers, grass
For each dawn?
And at evening light
Are vague hopes made bright
As the glint of childhood eyes?
Oh, yes…
If my moments rejoice
In that generous chorus
Of thankfulness graciously born
(Richard Holdsworth, posted on Progressive Christianity)
“Something there is that doesn’t love a wall. . .” (Robert Frost)
Some One there is who ever loves us all,
whose grace declares none of us unclean,
in whose life and death barriers come down:
Jesus is one who doesn’t love a wall.
To love our neighbour, near and far, our call,
and more: to love as Jesus loved, for that,
he said, will truly mark his followers.
Jesus is one who doesn’t love a wall.
And this Peter discovered in the fall
of a rigid prejudice held so long
only the voice of God could shake it loose –
our Lord is one who doesn’t love a wall.
May this, too, be our vision, seeing all
as God sees, undivided by our fears,
resentments, our old sinful selfishness,
God-graced to share the gospel without walls.
(Andrew King)
Prayer of Confession (inspired by Acts 11:1-18)
God of the clean and the unclean,
we too easily think we can see from your point of view.
We exclude, hold grudges and nurse contempt,
all the while hiding ourselves
for fear we too would be found wanting.
We think we are justified
because we are made holy by your love,
and we assume holiness means more like us.
We forget, or never really knew,
that all you touch is holy,
and that you created all that is.
So when we exclude, we exclude you.
When we hold grudges, we hate you.
When we show contempt,
we are contemptuous of those you love.
May we be made holy in truth,
loving as you love, clean and unclean alike.
(Rev. Doug Hagler, posted on LiturgyLink)
In his final speech, Martin Luther King Jr. shared a vision of a renewed love and capacity for change:
It’s all right to talk about “streets flowing with milk and honey,” but God has commanded us to be concerned about the slums down here, and God’s children who can’t eat three square meals a day. It’s all right to talk about the new Jerusalem, but one day God’s preacher must talk about the new New York, the new Atlanta, the new Philadelphia, the new Los Angeles, the new Memphis, Tennessee.
Prayer of Intercession (based on Revelation 21)
John writes in Revelation 21:
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth;
for the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
‘See, the home of God is now among the people.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the old order of things have passed away.’
And the one who was seated on the throne said,
‘See, I am making all things new.’
Also, he said,
‘Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.’
Then he said to me,
‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega,
the beginning and the end.
To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.’
We pray for those who are lonely.
We hope in the promise that the home of God will be among people:
that God will dwell with us,
that we will be his people and that God himself will be with us.
We mention in our hearts those we know who are lonely or isolated.
Pause
Lord you said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’
‘Amen, make all things new!’
We pray for those who are crying;
the sad, the depressed and the anxious.
We hope in the promise that God will wipe every tear from our eyes.
We mention in our hearts those we know who are sad and who know tears.
Pause
Lord you said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’
‘Amen, make all things new!’
We pray for those who are experiencing the consequences of death,
the bereaved and those who are mourning.
We hope in the promise that death and mourning will be no more.
We mention in our hearts those we know
who are affected by death and mourning
Pause
Lord you said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’
‘Amen, make all things new!’
We pray for those who are in pain,
suffering from illness either physical or mental.
We hope in the promise that crying and pain will be no more.
We mention in our hearts those we know who are ill or in pain.
Pause
Lord you said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’
‘Amen, make all things new!’
We pray for those who are thirsty for truth, love and grace;
those who seek God and his life with earnest hearts.
We hope in the promise that God will give water to the thirsty without cost
from the spring of the water of life.
We mention in our hearts those we know who hunger and thirst for God.
Pause
Lord you said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’
‘Amen, make all things new!’
Lord, your words are trustworthy and true.
You are the Alpha and the Omega,
the beginning and the end.
We pray all this in the powerful and hopeful name of Jesus Christ,
Amen.
(Sara Hargreaves, EngageWorship)
Prayer for Mercy (Revelation 21: 4)
A prayer of lament and petition from Cameroon.
God will remove all of their sorrows,
and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain.
For the old world and its evils are gone forever. Revelation 21:4
God of love, God of mercy, God of all power!
Why do you let your people die—
your people whom you have redeemed?
Why do you let the earth suffer—
the earth you have created in your sovereign power?
Lord, look and see the misery of the famine that is ravaging your people;
Look and see these children, these women and men,
who are dying of hunger and who cry to you in their need.
Give them, we pray, according to your grace
and according to their need to the glory of your name. Amen.
(In A Journey with Worshipping Communities around the World, written by John D. Witvliet. Posted on Reformed Worship)
Prayers of the People (John 13: 31-35)
Loving, listening God, ever-attentive to the voices of those in need,
we call on your name so that we might live.
Now hear our prayer:
For the church that bears Christ’s name,
that the world may know we are his disciples
by the love that we have for one another.
Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
For leaders of nations and all persons in positions of authority,
that their lives may be marked by Christ-like service and love.
Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
For all who are oppressed and living in captivity,
that they may escape from evil and death
to find the land of freedom you have promised.
Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
For those who are hungry and thirsty this day
and for those who have too much,
that we may learn to share your generous gifts, O God.
Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
For those who are dealing with loss or facing death,
that the presence of Christ may bless and keep them.
Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
(other silent or spoken prayers are offered)
Answer us in the day of trouble, O God,
so that we may lift up the cup of salvation
in the presence of your people,
giving thanks for all your goodness to us;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
(Resources for Maundy Thursday, on the Presbyterian Church USA website)
Prayer of Petition (inspired by Revelation 21: 1-6)
Architect and builder of the heavenly city yet to come,
look in judgment on the cities of the world,
where greed forces many to live in squalor and filth;
where indifference condemns many to live alone and unwanted;
where lust tempts many to use others callously,
thoughtlessly and heartlessly;
where hate drives many to crowd together for protection
because their skin, their race or their belief
is unpopular or unwanted.
Look in mercy on those who suffer at the hands of their fellows,
and teach us all that in Christ we can find the power to live
generously, compassionately and lovingly,
that cities of the world may become true reflections
of the city of God;
for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
(Michael Saward. Posted on The Jubilate Group website)
Sending out (inspired by Revelation 21: 1-6)
God invites us into his future,
where the one who makes all things new has made his home among us.
We are called and chosen,
together embraced by the God in whom tears,
mourning, crying, pain and even death will be no more.
Remember God’s future, for this is our story.
Our Lord says, “See, I am coming soon!”
Come, Lord Jesus! Amen..
(posted on the Mennonite Church Canada website, adapted)
Closing Commission (based on John 13: 31-35)
Christ has given us a new commandment:
that we love one another, as Christ has loved us.
By this, everyone will know that we are Christ’s disciples,
if we share that love with the world.
And through this love, all things will be made new.
Go now, and do as Christ commands. Amen.
(Source: Making All Things New: Service Prayers for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, written by the Rev. Mary Nelson Abbott. Posted on the United Church of Christ’s Worship Ways)
Orders of Service (Pilgrim Uniting Church)
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