Sunday, May 3, 2020
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Today we will be sharing the sacrament of Holy Communion in our homes. Each location will be responsible for their own bread and juice. You may substitute for these elements as your grocery supplies allow. I will consecrate elements as we worship together. Anyone in your household is welcome to partake as communion in the United Methodist Church is open to all. If you have neighbors and friends who would be interested, please tell them about our website, www.ripleymethodist.org
God Bless Us All, Dave
CENTENARY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
CELEBRATION OF HOLY COMMUNION
May 3, 2020
MINISTRY OF LIGHT
* CALL TO WORSHIP
We are gathered in spirit this Sunday because the good Shepherd, has called us by name into his flock and encircled our lives with his unconditional love.
The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall never want.
The flock knows the Good Shepherd’s voice; and he calls each of us by name,
He leads me to green pastures and guides me beside still waters.
Our Good Shepherd is with us always, to the end of time and far beyond.
Goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.
* HYMN OF PRAISE “Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us” No. 381
Hymn is available by clicking here
SCRIPTURE READING Psalm 23
Scripture is available by clicking here
MORNING PRAYER
God of teeming galaxies and the great empty freeways of space, Shepherd of the meek,
we approach you with loving awe.
God of mother earth, of sunlit mountains and moonlit deserts, Shepherd of the poor,
we approach you with loving gratitude.
God of countless millennia and the rise and fall of cultures and empires, Shepherd of the merciful,
we approach you with loving faith.
God of incarnation and redemption, of the dying and rising Christ, Shepherd of the lost,
we approach you with loving hope.
As we gather here to worship you, open our minds to your truth, our souls to your beauty, and our hearts to your grace. Through Jesus Christ our Lord;
Amen
CHILDREN’S MOMENTS
God of Jesus, our Good Shepherd, you who know us each by name,
Even though we go astray, your love is with us every day.
We’d like to go outside and play; still keep us safe every day.
Help us go where you lead to love others in word and deed.
Thank you for this holy meal; our souls and bodies it will feed.
Keep us in your care as the farmer tends his sheep today.
Amen!
WORSHIP WITH TITHES AND OFFERINGS may be mailed to the church with thanks to you and our Lord. As you do so, pray, “All things come of thee of God, and of thine own have we given thee.”
SPECIAL MUSIC “Hear, O Lord” Ben Germann
Ben’s solo is available by clicking here
* GOSPEL LESSON John 10: 1-10
Gospel Lesson is available by clicking here
SERMON Rev. David Harper
Message from Rev Harper is available by clicking here
GREAT THANKSGIVING
Pastor: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.
Pastor: Lift up your hearts.
People: We lift them up to the Lord.
Pastor: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People: It is right to give our thanks and praise.
Pastor: It is right, and a good and joyful thing, always and everywhere to give thanks to you, Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. You formed us in your image and breathed into us the breath of life. When we turned away, and our love failed, your love remained steadfast. You delivered us from captivity, made covenant to be our sovereign God, brought us to a land flowing with milk and honey, and set before us the way of life. And so, with your people on earth and all the company of heaven, we praise your name and join their unending hymn:
All: Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
Pastor: Holy are you, and blessed is your Son Jesus Christ. By the baptism of his suffering, death, and resurrection you gave birth to your Church, delivered us from slavery to sin and death, and made with us a new covenant by water and the Spirit. By your great mercy we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of your Son from the dead and to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. Once we were no people, but now we are your people, declaring your wonderful deeds in Christ, who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light. When the Lord Jesus ascended, he promised to be with us always, in the power of your Word and Holy Spirit.
On the night in which he gave himself up for us, he took bread, gave thanks to you, broke the bread, gave it to his disciples, and said:
“Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
When supper was over he took the cup, gave thanks to you, gave it to his disciples, and said:
“Drink from this, all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant,poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
On the day you raised him from the dead he was recognized by his disciples in the breaking of the bread, and in the power of your Holy Spirit your Church has continued in the
breaking of the bread and the sharing of the cup.
And so, in remembrance of these your mighty acts in Jesus Christ, we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving as a holy and living sacrifice, in union with Christ’s offering for us, as we proclaim the mystery of faith.
All: Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.
Pastor: Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here, and on these gifts of bread and wine. Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ, that we may be for the world the body of Christ, redeemed by his blood. By your Spirit make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world, until Christ comes in final victory, and we feast at his heavenly banquet. Through your Son Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit in your holy Church, all honor and glory is yours, almighty God, now and forever.
All: Amen.
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 trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
BREAKING OF THE BREAD
Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf. The bread which we break is a sharing in the body of Christ
SHARING OF THE CUP
The cup over which we give thanks is a sharing in the blood of Christ.
PRAYER OF CONSECRATION
Eternal God, we give you thanks for this holy mystery in which you have given yourself to us. Grant that we may go into the world in the strength of your Spirit, to give ourselves for others, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
CLOSING HYMN “He Leadeth Me: O Blessed Thought” No. 128
Hymn is available by clicking here
BENEDICTION
May the fold of Christ keep you safe from the wild things that are too fierce for you.
Amen!
May the door of Christ open wide for your spirit to go out and experience the sunshine of God.
Amen!
May the foresight of Christ the good shepherd lead you in fruitful pastures and beautiful places.
Amen!
May the blessing of God Most Wonderful be with you as you encounter joys and irritations of a new week.
Thanks be to God. Amen!