May 5, 2024
Prelude - No Longer a Slave
Call to Worship
Loving God, whose touch can heal the broken places of life, touch us today. God of peace, whose spirit of peace can quiet our spirits of confusion and despair, reassure us today. Forgiving God, whose call to repentance promises grace upon grace, place your mercy in our souls today as we join to worship You in Jesus' name. Amen.
Hymn - Great Is the Lord
Invocation and Lord's Prayer
Dear God, may Your name be glorified in us and through us. We ask this through Christ Jesus,
your only begotten son, who is our Lord and our Savior, our brother and our friend, who taught us to pray, saying: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
Scripture Reading - Acts 9:19b-25
Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. 20 At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. 21 All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” 22 Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah.
23 After many days had gone by, there was a conspiracy among the Jews to kill him, 24 but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. 25 But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.
Joys and Concerns
Lord of all, source of health and healing, we come to you with worries, concerns, fears, wrongs, and sins seeking your compassion, turning over to you all that separates us from you, Lord of our hearts, God of our lives, hear our prayers: the sighs, the cries, the joys of our deepest thoughts. We share all our thoughts with you, O God, knowing that you hear and answer us,
providing us with what is best. Come, O God, and hear us now. Amen.
Hymn - One Day
Sermon - Bringing Order and Light
For Video version, click below.
Hymn - A Child of a King
Benediction
Let us go now worshipping our Maker, the Lord God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Postlude - Heaven Came Down