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UPCOMING WORSHIP:

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                                                                                      April 21, 2024
                                                                            Fourth Sunday of Easter

                                                                  We Come Together as God’s People

Prelude                                                             Jubilate, Op. 67, No. 2                                            William Mathias
                                                                                                Toccata Giocosa                                                         (1934-1992)
                                                                            Dr. John Allegar, organ

Welcome                                                                                                                            Rev. Christopher A. Henry

Choral Call to Worship                        Make Joyful Music to the Lord                                              Hal H. Hopson
                                                     Sanctuary Choir; Dr. Michelle Louer, conductor                                 (b. 1933)

        Make joyful music to the Lord;
        Come into God’s courts with praise;
        Come with thanksgiving.
        Know that the Lord is God.

        Make joyful music to the Lord;
        Come into God’s courts with praise;
        Come with thanksgiving.
        Sing praise to God.

                        Text: Psalm 100:1-4

* Call to Worship                                                                                                                                      Tom Markey

      One:       Calling, urging, whispering, pleading God,
                      it is your word that makes us human.

      All:         Give us ears to hear, hearts to trust,
                      and most of all a will to follow.

      One:       For it is your word alone that makes us human.

      All:         We gather to hear, to listen, to follow.

      One:       Let us worship the God who calls us.

* Prayer of Adoration

* Processional Hymn                                      Let Us Build a House                                                     TWO OAKS

Invitation to Confession

  Prayer of Confession

      God of unending grace,
            sometimes your ways confuse us,
            and we yearn for wisdom.
      Sometimes your ways are clear,
            and we know exactly what you want from us.
      Yet, knowing your ways does not mean we will be faithful.
      To follow you is not just a matter of the mind,
            it is more a matter of the heart.
      Mend our broken hearts,
            that knowing your will leads us to do your will.
      In the name of Christ we pray. (Silent Prayer)

Assurance of God’s Grace

* Response of Praise                             Alleluia, Alleluia! Give Thanks                                         ALLELUIA NO. 1

* Passing the Peace of Christ

* Hymn #335                                                    Though I May Speak                                               O WALY WALY

                                                                          We Experience God’s Word

The Word with Children

Prayer for Illumination                                                                                                                     Mandy Ernest

First Scripture Lesson                                       1 John 4:20-21                                                             (p. 1112)

Anthem                                                             Alleluia! Christ Is Risen!                                        William Mathias

        Alleluia! Alleluia! Hearts to heaven and voices raise,
        Sing to God a hymn of gladness, sing to God a hymn of praise;
        He who on the Cross a victim for the world’s salvation bled,
        Jesus Christ, the King of glory, now is risen from the dead.

        Christ is risen, Christ the first fruits of the holy harvest field,
        Which will all its full abundance, at his second coming yield;
        Then the golden ears of harvest will their heads before him wave,
        Ripened by his glorious sunshine from the furrows of the grave.

        Christ is risen, we are risen; shed upon us heavenly grace,
        Rain, and dew, and gleams of glory from the brightness of thy face;
        That we, Lord, with hearts in heaven here on earth may fruitful be,
        And by angel hands be gathered and be ever safe with thee.

        Alleluia! Alleluia! Glory be to God on high;
        Alleluia! to the Savior, who has gained the victory;
        Alleluia! to the Spirit, fount of love and sanctity;
        Alleluia! To the Triune Majesty. Alleluia!

                        Text: Christopher Wordsworth (1807-1885)

Second Scripture Lesson                   Jeremiah 29: Selected Verses                                                    (p. 717)

Sermon                                                                                                                              Rev. Christopher A. Henry

                                                                             The Art of Neighboring
                                                        “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord,
                                       plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.”
                                                                                  (Jeremiah 29:11)

Moment of Silent Meditation

                                                                              We Give Thanks to God

* Affirmation of Faith  A Declaration of Faith                                                                 Rev. Gracie H. Payne

      We believe our hope in God gives us courage for the struggle.
      The people of God have often misused God’s promises
           as excuses for doing nothing about present evils.
      But in Christ the new world has already broken in
            and the old can no longer be tolerated.
      We know our efforts cannot bring in God’s kingdom.
      But hope plunges us into the struggle
           for victories over evil that are possible now
            in the world, the church, and our individual lives.
      Hope gives us courage and energy
           to contend against all opposition,
           however invincible it may seem,
           for the new world and the new humanity
           that are surely coming.
      Jesus is Lord!
           He has been Lord from the beginning.
           He will be Lord at the end. Amen.

Prayers of the People and the Lord’s Prayer

      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.

Invitation to Discipleship and Generosity

Offertory                                                     Cor mundum (from Miserere)                           Gaetano Donizetti
                                                                              Jared Slothower, tenor                                             (1797-1848)

        Cor mundum crea in me Deus:                                              Create in me a clean heart, O God,
        et spiritum rectum innova in visceribus meis.                and renew a right spirit within me.

                                                                                We Go Forth to Serve

Service of Confirmation and Baptism

* Closing Hymn #419                          How Clear Is Our Vocation, Lord                                                       REPTON

* Charge and Benediction

* Choral Benediction                    Go in Peace to Love and Serve the Lord                                      Paul Inwood
                                                                                                                                                                               (b. 1947)

        Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
        Go in peace: become the living Word!
        Christ on our lips and Christ in our hearts,
        May we show God’s love to the world.

Postlude                                                                        Postlude                                                               William Mathias