Liturgy for May 17, 2020

May 17th, 2020 | April Karli

Holy Ghost With Light Divine

by Rowland Hill, arr. Seth Woods

Holy Ghost with Light divine

Shine upon this heart of mine

Chase the shades of night away

Turn my darkness into day

Holy Ghost with power divine

Cleanse this guilty heart of mine

Long has sin without control

Held dominion over my soul

Holy ghost with joy divine

Cheer this saddened heart of mine

Bid my many woes depart

Heal my wounded bleeding heart

Holy Spirit all divine

Dwell within this heart of mine

Cast out every idol throne

Reign supreme and reign alone

Call to Worship

This Easter Season let’s join together
As participants and hosts,
Whether passionate believer or hopeful skeptic,
We gather today, to celebrate our joy that death ends in the resurrection.
If you are new to our liturgy,
we welcome you to be a full participant or a thoughtful observer.
Let’s pause together for a moment of quiet.
(Wait for a short moment of silence)

Come and celebrate!
Shout joyfully to the Lord, your God!
Glorify God with your praise!
Everything on earth will worship you;
they will sing your praises,
shouting your name in joyful songs.
Come and see what our God has done,
what awesome things God has done for us!
Let the whole world bless our God and sing his praise.
For our lives are in God’s hands,
The One who keeps our feet from stumbling.

KIDS SONG

Prayer of Confession

Confession allows us a moment to honestly reveal our hopes and pains.
Let us cry out to God as a community.
Our response will be in bold.

God of Power and Peace,
We have made our plans, perhaps without your guidance.
We have trusted in our abilities to achieve our dreams.
We have wagered everything on our future.
Lord, forgive us when we reject your guidance.

Now we find our dreams shattered.
Now we find fears realized.
Now we find ourselves in unexpected, unfamiliar territory.
Now we are tempted to abandon our God.
Lord, hold us closer than ever when we grieve.
May your truth overwhelm our doubts.
May your kingdom come now and later.
May your risen son breathe new life into our broken hearts.

We pray these things
by the grace of God,
the empathy of the Son,
and the sustaining breath of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Prayers of the People

We now invite you into a time of prayer. This is an opportunity for us to support one another and participate by sharing our prayer requests.

Many may need to share. Please keep your prayers to a sentence or two so that everyone who wishes to share is able to.

We welcome any guests among us and welcome you to pray with us and share a prayer request as well.

If you have a prayer request, let us know in the chat box. We’ll unmute your mic so you can share.

If you have something you’re thankful for, end your prayer with…

“Let us bless the Lord” and we’ll respond together, “Thanks be to God.“

If you have something you’d like prayer for, end your prayer with…

“Let us pray to the Lord” and we’ll respond together, “Lord, have mercy.“

(Then start off with a prayer of your own as an example.)

“With the prayers that have been spoken, and those that are unspoken,

let us finish by praying this prayer together…”

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For yours is the kingdom,

and the power, and the glory. Forever and ever. Amen

Eucharist

(We now come to the center of our Liturgy, the Eucharist. Parents may invite your children back into the room at this time. Today we’ll receive the Eucharist in our homes, separated by space, but knitted together by God’s Spirit. Please examine your hearts and pray this prayer with me. Your responses will be in bold.)

The Lord is with us
He is with us indeed

Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.

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

It is right and good that with hearts and minds and voices
we should praise you, God almighty

On that first Easter morning, as the sun was dawning, Jesus rose triumphantly from the dead. The earth shook as the angel rolled the stone away.
No grave could hold his body down. He is risen. He is risen indeed!

As Mary Magdalene and the other Mary looked on in fear, the risen Lord revealed himself to them, and they departed with great joy.
Rejoice! And again I say rejoice! For Christ Jesus has broken the curse of death and destroyed the power that it once had over us.

The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is now given to those who believe in him.
Let us receive this spiritual power and use it wisely for the liberation of all God’s people!

Let us make a joyful noise unto the Lord. For there is none like him who can break the chain of oppression, evil, and the grave. He is risen and is seated at the right hand of God.
“Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!”

For this is the Passover feast,
when Christ, the true Lamb of God, is slain
whose love consecrates the homes of all the faithful.
Glory to you for ever.

For the moment when you first saved our ancestors,
freeing Israel from her slavery and leading her safely through the sea.
Glory to you for ever.

For this most blessed of all moments! When hatred is cast out,
peace and justice find a home, and heaven is joined to earth
and all creation reconciled to you.
Glory to you for ever.

For Christ the morning star has risen in glory;
Christ is risen from the dead
and this flame of love burns within us!
Christ sheds his peaceful light on all the world!
Christ lives and reigns for ever and ever!
Amen.

—

On the night Jesus was betrayed, the nation of Israel was celebrating their deliverance from slavery in Egypt. In the midst of the meal, Jesus took the symbols of the feast and gave them new meaning.

He took the bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body, which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of Me.”

(Pause for everyone to take the bread together)

Later, Jesus took the wine. Again, He gave thanks, gave it to them, and said, “Drink this, all of you. This is My blood of the New Covenant, which is shed for you. Do this for the remembrance of Me.”

(Pause for everyone to take the wine together)

After Eucharist

Let us finish our time of communion together with this prayer.

Christ, you are risen from the dead.
We are risen with you.
May our life never deny
this eternal life,
this peace and hope and joy.
Praise and glory to the God of life
who is stronger than all kinds of death.
We have seen with our eyes
and touched with our hands
the bread of life.
Strengthen our faith
that we may grow in love for you and for each other;
through Jesus Christ the risen Lord.
Alleluia, Christ is Risen
He is risen indeed, Alleluia!

Offering

We now come to the time where we remember that nothing in this life is truly ours, but that all is a gift from God.

Giving is an act of love for God and for our community. We encourage you to celebrate God’s generosity and to give back as God has given to us online at austinmustardseed.org/giving).

If you are new or participating in our liturgy for the first time, please be our guest this morning.

We will sing one more song together as we prepare to close. This time is now yours, and we invite you to participate in worship.

Closing Song

Christ as a light, illumine and guide me
Christ as a shield, over shadow me
Christ underneath, Christ over me
Christ beside, on my left and my right

This day be within and without me
Lowly and meek yet all powerful
Be in my heart, I reach to Him in my speech
In the dark who speak unto me

This day be within and without me
Lowly and meek yet all powerful

Christ as light, Christ as a shield
Christ beside me
On my left and my right.

Benediction

Austin Mustard Seed, As you leave today:
Go with this truth firmly placed in your heart
That our story does not end in Death.
But that through death we are invited into new life.

You go ahead of us, leading us by your example.
You walk behind us, protecting us from harm.
You walk beside us, speaking truth into our lives.
But most importantly, risen Lord,
You live in our hearts, empowering us to live in your love.

You have met us at the table.
You have revealed your character to us.
Let us go with the assurance that you will never abandon us.
Let us go as a community known for its love.
Let us take this message of hope wherever we go.
Let our hearts burn with a passion for your kingdom.

Go, proclaiming the name of God,
The love of the Risen Son,
and empathy of the Holy Spirit,
Amen.

Go in Peace,
Live the Church,
See you throughout the week online at Community Groups and other meetups. Stick around for an extended Passing of the Peace and say hello before we sign off.

(Prayers today are written by liturgists at Austin Mustard Seed & reWorship. Eucharist prayers are adapted from the African American Lectionary and The Prayer Book of New Zealand)