THE SERVICE FOR THE LORD’S DAY
Fifth Sunday After Easter
May 10, 2020
First Presbyterian Church, Fargo
May 10, 2020
First Presbyterian Church, Fargo
The Session and members of First Presbyterian Church, extend a sincere welcome to you! We welcome all persons regardless of race, nationality, disability, gender, or sexual orientation. This includes an open invitation to membership, the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, marriage, funerals, memorial services, and to serve as an officer of the church.
Prelude and Preparation for Worship
Prayer of the Day
Almighty God, in Christ you have shown us the way, revealed to us your truth, and offered to us everlasting life. Keep our eyes upon him, that we may see your path more clearly, know your truth more fully, and receive your life more abundantly; through Christ who dwells with you and the Holy Spirit in eternal glory. Amen.
Almighty God, in Christ you have shown us the way, revealed to us your truth, and offered to us everlasting life. Keep our eyes upon him, that we may see your path more clearly, know your truth more fully, and receive your life more abundantly; through Christ who dwells with you and the Holy Spirit in eternal glory. Amen.
Gathering in Christ’s Presence
Welcome and Concerns of the Church
Opening Sentences
Let us offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God, through Jesus Christ our risen Lord.
Alleluia! Thanks be for God!
Opening Sentences
Let us offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God, through Jesus Christ our risen Lord.
Alleluia! Thanks be for God!
Hymn —God is Here
1 God is here! As we your people
meet to offer praise and prayer,
May we find in fuller measure what it is in Christ we share.
Here, as in the world around us, all our varied skills and arts
Wait the coming of the Spirit into open minds and hearts.
2 Here are symbols to remind us of our lifelong need of grace;
Here are table, font, and pulpit; here the cross has central place.
Here in honesty of peaching, here in silence, as in speech,
Here, in newness and renewal, God the Spirit comes to each.
3 Here our children find a welcome in the Shepherd’s flock and fold;
Here as bread and wine are taken, Christ sustains us as of old.
Here the servants of the Servant seek in worship to explore
What it means in daily living to believe and to adore.
4 Lord of all, of church and kingdom, in an age of change and doubt
Keep us faithful to the gospel; help us work your purpose out.
Here, in this day’s dedication, all we have to give, receive:
We, who cannot live without you, we adore you! We believe!
May we find in fuller measure what it is in Christ we share.
Here, as in the world around us, all our varied skills and arts
Wait the coming of the Spirit into open minds and hearts.
2 Here are symbols to remind us of our lifelong need of grace;
Here are table, font, and pulpit; here the cross has central place.
Here in honesty of peaching, here in silence, as in speech,
Here, in newness and renewal, God the Spirit comes to each.
3 Here our children find a welcome in the Shepherd’s flock and fold;
Here as bread and wine are taken, Christ sustains us as of old.
Here the servants of the Servant seek in worship to explore
What it means in daily living to believe and to adore.
4 Lord of all, of church and kingdom, in an age of change and doubt
Keep us faithful to the gospel; help us work your purpose out.
Here, in this day’s dedication, all we have to give, receive:
We, who cannot live without you, we adore you! We believe!
Call to Confession
Whoever believes in Christ will not be put to shame. Confident in this promise, let us confess our sin before God and one another.
Prayer of Confession
Almighty God, your word offers freedom from sin, be we confess that we have not obeyed your word. We have harbored malice toward our enemies; we have been deceitful in our relationships; we have been insincere in our commitments; through gossip we have slandered our friends. Forgive us our sins and lead us to genuine repentance. Help your children long for your pure, spiritual milk that we may grow into the joy of salvation through Jesus Christ. Amen.
Assurance of God’s Forgiveness
Whoever believes in Christ will not be put to shame. Confident in this promise, let us confess our sin before God and one another.
Prayer of Confession
Almighty God, your word offers freedom from sin, be we confess that we have not obeyed your word. We have harbored malice toward our enemies; we have been deceitful in our relationships; we have been insincere in our commitments; through gossip we have slandered our friends. Forgive us our sins and lead us to genuine repentance. Help your children long for your pure, spiritual milk that we may grow into the joy of salvation through Jesus Christ. Amen.
Assurance of God’s Forgiveness
Hearing God’s Word
Children’s Message
Prayer for Illumination
Lesson John 14:1-14
‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling-places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going.’ Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.’
Philip said to him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, “Show us the Father”? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.
Lesson 1 Peter 2:2-10
Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in scripture:
‘See, I am laying in Zion a stone,
a cornerstone chosen and precious;
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.’
To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not believe,
‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the very head of the corner’,
and
‘A stone that makes them stumble,
and a rock that makes them fall.’
They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Once you were not a people,
but now you are God’s people;
once you had not received mercy,
but now you have received mercy.
Sermon Living Stones — Spiritual Houses
Lesson John 14:1-14
‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling-places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going.’ Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.’
Philip said to him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, “Show us the Father”? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.
Lesson 1 Peter 2:2-10
Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in scripture:
‘See, I am laying in Zion a stone,
a cornerstone chosen and precious;
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.’
To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not believe,
‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the very head of the corner’,
and
‘A stone that makes them stumble,
and a rock that makes them fall.’
They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Once you were not a people,
but now you are God’s people;
once you had not received mercy,
but now you have received mercy.
Sermon Living Stones — Spiritual Houses
Hymn — From All that Dwell Beneath the Skies
1 From all that dwell below the
skies
let the Creator's praise arise:
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Let the Redeemer's name be sung
through every land, in every tongue.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia! Alleluia!
2 In every land begin the song;
to every land the strains belong:
Alleluia! Alleluia!
In cheerful sound all voices raise
and fill the world with joyful praise.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia! Alleluia!
3 Eternal are thy mercies, Lord;
eternal truth attends thy word:
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thy praise shall sound from shore to shore,
till suns shall rise and set no more.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia! Alleluia!
let the Creator's praise arise:
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Let the Redeemer's name be sung
through every land, in every tongue.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia! Alleluia!
2 In every land begin the song;
to every land the strains belong:
Alleluia! Alleluia!
In cheerful sound all voices raise
and fill the world with joyful praise.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia! Alleluia!
3 Eternal are thy mercies, Lord;
eternal truth attends thy word:
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thy praise shall sound from shore to shore,
till suns shall rise and set no more.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Responding to God’s Word
Statement of Faith The Apostle's Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
Prayers of the People, ending with 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.
Call for the Offering, ending with the Prayer of Dedication
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
Prayers of the People, ending with 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.
Call for the Offering, ending with the Prayer of Dedication
Bearing the Word into the World
Hymn —O Christ, The Great Foundation
1 O
Christ, the great foundation on which your people stand
To preach your true salvation in every age and land:
Pour out your Holy Spirit to make us strong and pure,
To keep the faith unbroken as long as worlds endure.
2 Baptized in one confession, on church in all the earth,
We bear our Lord’s impression, the sign of second birth:
One holy people gathered in love beyond our own,
By grace we were invited; by grace we make you known.
3 Where tyrants’ hold is tightened, where strong devour the weak,
Where innocents are frightened, the righteous fear to speak,
There let your church awaking attack the powers of sin
And, all their ramparts breaking, with you the victory win.
4 This is the moment glorious when he who once was dead
Shall lead his church victorious, their champion and their head.
The Lord of all creation his heavenly kingdom brings:
The final consummation, the glory of all things.
Charge and Benediction
To preach your true salvation in every age and land:
Pour out your Holy Spirit to make us strong and pure,
To keep the faith unbroken as long as worlds endure.
2 Baptized in one confession, on church in all the earth,
We bear our Lord’s impression, the sign of second birth:
One holy people gathered in love beyond our own,
By grace we were invited; by grace we make you known.
3 Where tyrants’ hold is tightened, where strong devour the weak,
Where innocents are frightened, the righteous fear to speak,
There let your church awaking attack the powers of sin
And, all their ramparts breaking, with you the victory win.
4 This is the moment glorious when he who once was dead
Shall lead his church victorious, their champion and their head.
The Lord of all creation his heavenly kingdom brings:
The final consummation, the glory of all things.
Charge and Benediction
POSTLUDE