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2020Apr19PastorLou

April 19, 2020 – Pastor Lou

*Call to Worship

Sing a new song! A springtime shout-out to life!

Sing praise to our joyful Easter God
Whose power brings new life out of death!

Immerse doubt and despair in the fountain of new birth
Find refreshment and strength for a future of hope!

For God has taken ordinary things And made them extraordinary:

Sing a New Song!

Opening Prayer

Holy God, 
Nothing is beyond your power to transform!
In a gray dawn, you coax songs of Alleluia!
From the tombs of despair we take refuge in
You call us to wake up and work. 
We praise you for this amazing day! 
Come, Risen Christ, in newness and hope on this

Eastertide morning. Amen.

Prayer of Confession

Redeeming God, with you there is always more life, more hope, more joy. 

When doubt assails us, and we fail to recognize you at work in our lives, 
Lord, have mercy!

When fear impairs our faith, and our eyes and ears and hearts 
do not know you, Christ, have mercy! 

When anger and sorrow stop us from doing the risky work of love, 
Lord, have mercy!

Silent Reflection

Assurance of Pardon

Within every kernel of doubt, there is a spark of life and hope. 
In those times when our faith falters, 
when we cannot recognize the presence of the Holy among us, 
God takes our faith and transforms it, 
patiently showing us the many ways Christ walks among us. 
Look around you: 
as close as your own beating heart, 
and in the eyes of your nearest neighbor, 
grace abounds at the heart of all life. 
You are all God’s children, loved without condition, 
go in that peace. Amen.

Scripture Readings

Psalter Lesson:                                                                                 Psalm 16

Gospel Lesson:                                                                       John 20: 19-31                        

*The Apostles Creed

I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth:

And in Jesus Christ His only Son, our Lord; who was conceived

by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under

Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried; He descended into hades;

the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven,

and sitteth on the right hand of God, the Father Almighty;

from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian church,

the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

*Benediction Follow God’s lead into new life!
Recognize Jesus in unexpected places.
Easter! Christ is Risen! 
May you dance an alleluia dance, and sing a resurrection song. 
Laugh with God and let joy reside in your hearts always. Amen.

For Christ also suffered for sins once for all time, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; — 1 Peter 3:18 (NASV)