Easter 4B
Apr. 22
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Scripture (from the Revised Common Lectionary, with links provided by TextWeek.com – a source for thoughtful worship and preaching throughout the year):
Click on Scripture Lessons below for study links and resources:
Acts 4:5-12 Psalm 23 1 John 3:16-24 John 10:11-18
Suggested Hymns from Chalice Hymnal
275-Christ is made the sure foundation
537-My hope is built on nothing less
558-Savior, like a shepherd lead us
559-All the way my Savior leads me
433-Blest be the tie that binds
416-Here, O my Lord, I see thee face to face
426-The voice of Jesus calls his people
See also 78, 79, 80 for hymns on Psalm 23
More hymn suggestions, as well as helpful references for use of the arts in worship, are available from the United Church of Christ website.
Hymn of the Day from Rev. William Flewelling (© 2018, William Flewelling; All rights reserved)
On 1 John 3:16-24
Adorned by Spirit’s spark of life,
inflected by such holy love
that lays down life for such as we,
we come. We come for sanctity.
Into the name of Jesus faith;
expend in joy life’s brooding care
to thrive in this particular
delight in love’s expenditure.
Oh, certainly, we know the call
the way commandment marks our thrall.
Yes, yes: O Lord our Christ, are we
begun in your ripe, holy love.
Indeed, this calling you provide,
O Jesus, lures that we abide.
So, in this energy of life,
we thus participate in joy.
With wonder, Ah, with awe we rise
to contemplate your truth in love.
We entertain that we might act
in truth of loving unrestrained.
LM Suggested tune: Cromer
Dealing with the Psalm of the Day:
Since Chalice Hymnal does not provide a complete Psalter, there will be occasions when suggestions may be made for alternate Psalm use (or hymn equivalent). A metrical version of the Psalter, for those Psalms not provided in Chalice Hymnal, is being prepared by Rev. David Chafin. Where practical, these may be offered here as well. You may also want to visit http://lectionarypsalms.org/
This week: Psalm 23 is on page 734; hymns 78, 79 80 are also appropriate.
Concerning the Following Items: Except where otherwise noted, items are created or adapted by the editor. If you are aware of source notations which are missing, please bring them to his attention. No copyright infringement is intended, but is sure to happen.
Call to Worship
L: Open the gate! The Shepherd is coming!
P: We hear his glad voice, calling us by name, leading us to green
pastures.
L: No stranger voice will we follow. We follow only the One who brings us home.
P: One door, one flock, one fold, one Shepherd. Open the gate! The Good
Shepherd comes!
Invocation or Prayer of Approach
O shepherd God, you have blessed us with peace as tranquil as a flowing stream; peace that nourishes as food and sleep; peace that is stronger than death. You call us to rest in your care that we may live with courage. Though fears beset us, your love will comfort us again. Though death is no stranger, you shall be our last and best friend. We thank you, Shepherd God, for your love that fills us to overflowing, for we pray in the name of Christ (who taught us to pray, “Our Father…”)
OR
Almighty God, who sent Jesus, the Good Shepherd, to gather us together, may we not wander from your flock, but follow where he leads us, knowing his voice and staying near, until we are safely in your fold, to live with you forever. This we pray in the name of Christ (who taught us to pray, “Our Father…”)
OR
Almighty God, who sent Jesus, the Good Shepherd, to gather us together, receive the praises of your thankful people this day. As we offer ourselves to you that our lives might be re-ordered to meet the days ahead, may we not wander from your flock, but follow where he leads us, knowing his voice and staying near, until we are safely in your fold, to live with you forever. (This we pray in the name of Christ our Lord who taught us to pray, “Our Father…”)
Pastoral Prayer – Prayers of the People – Intercessions
O God, our loving Shepherd, you come to us with the strength and love of a father, and the tender mercies, patience and protection of a loving mother. We see you in the very living of our days, and yet we so often fail to praise you or to offer our burdens to you. Hear us, Lord, as we lift to you our prayers for others and for ourselves.
We pray for those in need–those who hunger or are homeless. We pray for those in pain—the abused, brokenhearted and lonely. We pray for the sick in body and in mind, and for those who grieve.
For the life of this community and all those who put their trust in you for all their todays and all their tomorrows, we pray that your loving-kindness to the world would be offered through our hands, our words, our deeds, our hearts.
Free us, Lord, as your own people, to sing your praise in the work of our everyday lives. In those comings and goings of our simple and complicated living, make us instruments of your peace and grace in weary days with weary people.
Bless our memories, O God, that in our remembering we may partake of the mystery that is eternal life in its fullness. For we pray in the presence of your risen Christ, our Lord and Savior.
OR
Loving God, it is you who gave life and breath to everyone in our world, and in you alone can we find life, breath and meaning for ourselves and our world. For those who have been blessed with an awareness of your shepherding care, who have looked to you for guidance and nurture, we give you thanks, and we pray that you would unite us within your family to be a shepherding influence on others, that they too may enjoy life within your family.
For those who hunger and thirst, who are lost and alone, who yearn to be given new direction, new hope and new life, we pray that you would care for them through us. Let us be seen and known as your faithful flock in this community of faith to which you have given birth. Help us to uphold your name by living with faithfulness and trust in you.
Gather us, Lord, as we lift to you the special needs we bring to this day, in silence. (silence)
Carried upon your shoulders, we find our refuge. In your gentle care we find our home. And in your living Spirit we are united this day, Lord, as we offer to you our prayers in the name of your holy Child, Jesus Christ, the guardian and shepherd of our souls. Amen.
Prayers from Common Worship*
Collect
Almighty God,
whose Son Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life:
raise us, who trust in him,
from the death of sin to the life of righteousness,
that we may seek those things which are above,
where he reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Post Communion
Merciful Father,
you gave your Son Jesus Christ to be the good shepherd,
and in his love for us to lay down his life and rise again:
keep us always under his protection,
and give us grace to follow in his steps;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Additional Collect
Risen Christ,
faithful shepherd of your Father’s sheep:
teach us to hear your voice
and to follow your command,
that all your people may be gathered into one flock,
to the glory of God the Father.
Collect of the Day (from Book of Common Prayer, 1979**)
O God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people:
Grant that when we hear his voice we may know him who
calls us each by name, and follow where he leads; who, with
you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever
and ever. Amen.
Collect of the Day from Rev. William Flewelling (© 2018, William Flewelling; All rights reserved)
John 10:11-18
O Holy Shepherd, good among your flock,
create in us the satisfaction
of following your care.
As you in love surrender for the sheep,
become in us the knowing of your grace
that we entail your gracious ways
about the gist of God.
Service of Table
While all of our congregations navigate the Sacred Board in a different way, it seems, there are common elements in most, which are provided here. We would love to hear if your congregation has variations to these elements which we might address in the future.
Offertory / Invitation to Give
Jesus said, “Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back.” Let us prepare the Table of the Lord with the fruits of our lives and our labors.
OR
One of the favorite texts of God’s people of faith for centuries lies in the heart of the 23rd Psalm, as we recall, as Isaac Watts interpreted, “Your sure provisions, gracious God, attend me all my days; O may your house be my abode, and all my work be praise.” Indeed, all of our work – whatever we do, and however we do it – can be turned to the praise of God as we begin to know ourselves as stewards of God’s grace. Everything we are and everything we have are the gifts of the most gracious Giver, whose provisions are sure, unending, and generous. May we respond out of hearts of gratitude and love as we bring forth the fruits of our lives and labors.
Offertory Prayer
Holy one, your heart abounds with gifts. Receive this offering as a sign of our trust in you and our intention to live surrounded by your mercy, inspired by your Spirit, open to the joy of your presence, hospitable to one another, and generous toward your world. Amen.
OR
May we follow you, Good Shepherd, not only in plains of comfort but also in valleys of difficulty and in pathways of service. Receive these gifts, we pray, as part of that life of service.
Invitation to the Table
Christ the Good Shepherd has prepared a feast for us, even in the presence of our enemies. Indeed, it is offered here, among our friends and strangers and neighbors, week by week, that we might know Christ’s guiding and loving presence, and might be strengthened to share him with the world around us as he calls us each by name. Let us come to the feast of the Risen One.
Prayer of Thanksgiving (Prayers for Bread and Cup)
(The following may be offered as one prayer, or broken between two Elders, if that is the tradition to be followed)
We thank you, God that you have provided for all of us who ever were or ever will be by giving yourself to us in love. If we go to the heights of the mountains, or if we make the grave our bed, you are there with us. If we go to the depths of the sea, your right hand holds us securely.
You are our shepherd. We praise you.
Holy are you and blessed is your Son Jesus Christ. When the time was right, you, the Creator of all that is, sent him to be a creature like us. Instead of a servant, you sent your own Son that he might be servant of all. He alone, who is closest to your heart, made you known to us. He walked among us, ate with us, showed us his glory in signs, and gave to us this feast of joy to be a symbol of our redemption and the promise of our salvation from sin and death.
You are our shepherd. We glorify you. Glory to you, O Lord Most High.
We ask now that you bless us, as we share this bread and cup, that we might be nourished by that same unbounded love and so be encouraged to be your servants in the world, in the example of our Shepherd, your Son Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in your holy church: All your people and all your works glorify and honor you, Father, now and forever.
OR
- We thank you, God that you have provided for all of us who ever were or ever will be by giving yourself to us in love. If we go to the heights of the mountains, or if we make the grave our bed, you are there with us. If we go to the depths of the sea, your right hand holds us securely. Here, in the green pasture of your gathered body, you nourish us with the bread of life. Give us grace to receive this gift with new gratitude.
- We ask now that you bless us, O God, as we share this cup which you offer, that we might be nourished by your unbounded love, and so be encouraged to be your servants in the world, in the example of our Shepherd, your Son Jesus Christ.
Conclusion: Through him, with him, and in him, in the power of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor be to you, O God, now and forever. Amen.
If not previously offered: “And now with the confidence of your children, we offer the prayer our Savior taught us, ‘Our Father…’”
MORE…
Resources from the Jubilee Fund: This stewardship ministry serving the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) offers weekly emails for each Sunday’s service. Visit http://www.thejubileefund.com/ to learn more.
Rev. Tim Graves offers Liturgy Bits with valuable, culturally sensitive and creatively contemplative works, well worth your time.
You may also want to visit Worship Connection at MinistryMatters.com, which offers numerous helps, including electronic versions of print resources for worship and preaching planning.
Intercessions and other helpful planning materials geared to the Lectionary (using Roman Catholic version, but normally quite useful for all traditions) for preaching and worship are supplied for several weeks in advance at The Sunday Website of St. Louis University.
Common Worship Almanac and Lectionary for the year beginning Advent Sunday 2017. Compiled by Simon Kershaw August 2016 from the Common Worship Calendar and Lectionaries using Almanac Maker; compilation © Simon Kershaw 2017; Almanac Maker © Simon Kershaw 2010. The Revised Common Lectionary is copyright © the Consultation on Common Texts 1992. The Daily Eucharistic Lectionary is adapted from the Ordo Lectionum Missae of the Roman Catholic Church reproduced by permission of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy. Adaptations and additions to the RCL and the DEL, together with Second and Third Service lectionaries and the Weekday Lectionary for Morning and Evening Prayer are copyright © the Archbishops’ Council 1997-2010. http://almanac.oremus.org/lectionary
Book of Common Prayer (1979), Public domain.
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