For the week of April 28 – 5th Sunday of Easter
Morning Prayer: Merciful One, You know when we are afraid to love; You know when we are too cowardly to show mercy. Remind us again that perfect love casts out such fears. Surround us and strengthen us with Your perfect love, even in the face of our imperfections. Imbue us with a love so strong, with such growth toward perfection, that we may cast aside our pride and embrace the power of love. Amen. (Discipleship Ministries)
Opening Hymn #261 Lord of the Dance
And I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun,
And I came down from heaven and I danced on the earth.
At Bethlehem I had my birth.
Refrain: Dance, then, wherever you may be; I am the Lord of the Dance, said He.
And I’ll lead you all wherever you may be, and I’ll lead you all in the dance, said He.
- I danced for the scribe and the Pharisee,
but they would not dance and they would not follow me;
I danced for the fishermen, for James and John;
they came to Me and the dance went on.
- I danced on the Sabbath when I cured the lame, the holy people said it was a shame;
They whipped and they stripped and they hung me high;
and they left Me there on a cross to die.
- I danced on a Friday and the sky turned black;
it’s hard to dance with the devil on your back;
They buried My body and they thought I’d gone, but I am the dance and I still go on.
- They cut Me down and I leapt up high, I am the life that’ll never, never die;
I’ll live in you if you’ll live in Me; I am the Lord of the Dance, said He.
Psalm 22:25-31
From You comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will pay before those who fear Him.
The poor shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek Him shall praise the Lord. May your hearts live forever!
All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord; and all the families of the nations shall worship before Him.
For dominion belongs to the Lord, and He rules over the nations.
To Him, indeed, shall all who sleep in the earth bow down; before Him shall bow all who go down to the dust, and I shall live for Him.
Posterity will serve Him; future generations will be told about the Lord,
and proclaim His deliverance to a people yet unborn, saying that He has done it.
Children’s Time 1 John 4:18-21
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because He first loved us. Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from Him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.
Children’s Message
One of my favorite Bible verses begins, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.” I was thinking about that verse and wondering just how great God's love is and how we could measure it. This morning I brought several things that we often use to measure stuff. I thought they might help us measure God's love.
Sometimes we measure ingredients. If I were making some cookies, which of these would I use to make sure that I put in exactly the right amount of flour, sugar, and milk? (Allow kids to pick between the measuring cup, a tape measure, and a watch.) That’s right, we would use a measuring cup for cookies, but I wonder if we might use a measuring cup to measure God's love? The Bible says, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want....my cup runneth over" (Psalm 23:1,5). Well, if our cup runs over with God's love, I guess we couldn’t use a measuring cup to measure it.
If we were building something, which of these would I use to measure the length, width, and height of different things? (Allow kids to pick between the measuring cup, a tape measure, and a watch.) That’s right, a tape measure, but I wonder if we might use a tape measure to measure God's love? The Bible tells us that God's love is higher than the heavens (Psalm 108:4). If God's love is higher than the heavens, I don't think we could use a tape measure to measure it, could we?
Which of these would I use to measure time? (Allow kids to pick between the measuring cup, a tape measure, and a watch.) We use a watch to measure time. There will probably be some people here this morning who will use their watches to measure how long the pastor's sermon lasts. I wonder if we could use a watch to measure how long God's love will last. The Bible tells us that God's love is from everlasting to everlasting (Psalm 103:17). Wow! If God's love is from everlasting to everlasting, I guess we couldn’t measure it with a watch.
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). How do you measure a love like that? We can't measure it. We don't need to, but we do need to experience it.
My prayer for you today is, "That you may understand how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love really is. May you experience it, though it is so great you will never fully understand it" (Ephesians 3:18-19).
Dear God, we thank You for Your love—a love so great that You gave Your one and only Son so that we could have eternal life. In Jesus’ name, amen. (sermons for kids. com)
Prayers of Intercession: Thank You, Lord, for hearing our prayers for those dear to our hearts. We now pray as You have taught us: 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 sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us, not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Offering spotlight: With the space provided by your offerings, the LUMC crafters meet Wednesday mornings, preparing prayer shawls and hats for oncology patients and also for others who need a tangible reminder of the love of Jesus. In the past 5 years they sent 195 prayer shawls with their prayers to Geisinger’s oncology department; plus 151 hats. The women have formed a sisterhood through fervent prayers and diligent use of time to benefit charitable organizations and individuals. The hands of these women are the hands of Jesus.
Offering prayer: Gracious God, as we offer our gifts today, we reflect on the wisdom in the words from John’s gospel. In this imagery, we recognize our role as branches, connected to You, the source of our strength and vitality. Help us stay rooted in Your love, producing fruit that brings glory to Your name. May these gifts signify our commitment to abide in Your teachings and work joyfully in response to Your love. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen. (Discipleship Ministries)
Hymn of Preparation #397 I Need Thee Every Hour
- I need Thee every Hour, most gracious Lord; no tender voice like Thine can peace afford.
Refrain: I need Thee, O I need Thee; every hour I need Thee; O bless me now, my Savior, I come to Thee.
- I need Thee every hour; stay Thou nearby; temptations lose their power when Thou art nigh.
- I need Thee every hour; in joy or pain; come quickly and abide, or life is vain.
- I need Thee every hour; teach me Thy will; and Thy rich promises in me fulfill.
- I need Thee every hour; most Holy One; O make me Thine indeed, Thou blessed Son.
Message Scripture: John 15:1-8
”I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in Me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit He prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in Me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in Me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from Me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in Me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become My disciples.
Message: Pastor Becky
The “I AM” statements of Jesus in John.
I am the bread of life- 6:35
I am the light of the world- 8:12
I am the gate of the sheep- 10:7
I am the good shepherd- 10:14
I am the resurrection and the life -11:25-26
I am the way and the truth and the life - 14:6
I am the true vine - 15:1
The “I AM statements of Jesus” are why I am so attracted to the gospel of John. I am drawn to these intimate conversations between Jesus and His disciples. We have the incredible privilege to read them, hear them, and imagine ourselves at Jesus’s feet. We have the words of Jesus directed to us, for our learning and for the benefit of the world.
Jesus is talking, these are the words just before leaving for the garden of Gethsemane. Biblical scholars refer to chapters 13-17 in John as Jesus’s farewell discourse. Jesus is spending His last hours saying everything He needs to say. The trouble is, the disciples aren’t necessarily hearing or understanding everything Jesus is saying. Yet, Jesus is offering them the reassurance the disciples need. It is the promises of constant presence and the Holy Spirit. He doesn’t want their hearts to be troubled or afraid.
So Jesus begins with imagery the disciples are familiar with, the vine. They are familiar with the vineyards of the hills around the region and how Israel, the people of God are the vine.
“I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard. My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vine. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes.” Isaiah 5:1-2
The vine of Psalm 80 that was brought out of Egypt is Israel. The disciples will recall what the prophets had said about the vine turning bad and the destruction that ensued for Israel. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, Hosea, Zephaniah, and Micah called out to Israel for the sins of the community, the sins of the governments, and the sins of the Kings, and the sins of the temples. The bad vine could only yield sour grapes.
Jesus is changing that narrative. Jesus is the vine. This vine is firmly rooted in God. This vine is incorruptible. This vine can only yield what God desires because Jesus and God are interconnected, intertwined and distinct, yet inseparable. This vine has come out of God. It’s strong, eternal and committed to the Kingdom of God.
And Jesus says to His disciples, YOU are the branches and to US, YOU are the branches. It is the only I AM statement that names what we are and invites us into a continuing relationship with Jesus, abide in Me.
It is a declaration of permanence. Their relationship isn’t ending, it is “you are the branches”. It isn’t you were the branches ending the relationship, it isn’t you will be the branches at a later time. It is a now and ongoing relationship and that relationship flourishes in connection with Jesus.
For us, our connection to Jesus is above all else. We stay connected through our study of the scriptures, prayers, acts of mercy, and worship. We aren’t abiding in, connected with Jesus out of a fear of being pruned or cut off. We abide to bear fruit, so others would come to know Jesus, so suffering is eased, injustice rectified, oppression destroyed all so that human worth and dignity would be upheld, peace ushered in, joy abounds and the Kingdom comes here. Amen.
Closing Hymn #170 O How I Love Jesus
- There is a name I love to hear, I love to sing its worth;
it sounds like music in my ear, the sweetest name on earth.
Refrain: O how I love Jesus, O how I love Jesus, O how I love Jesus, because He first loved me!
- It tells me of a Savior's love, who died to set me free;
it tells me of His precious blood, the sinner's perfect plea. (Refrain) - It tells of One whose loving heart can feel my deepest woe;
who in each sorrow bears a part that none can bear below. (Refrain)
Go into your week with the blessings of The Father, The Son, The Holy Spirit.
