Sunday, May 17, 2020, Sixth Sunday of Easter

Welcome and Announcements

Audio: Welcome and Announcements

Introit, If Ye Love Me, Thomas Tallis

Call to Worship

Audio: Call to Worship

Bless the God of Israel, O people, sing!
Let the sound of the praise ring out.
Come and hear what God has done,
The Lord who made everything! LET US WORSHIP GOD.

Hymn, Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise, 12

Prayer of the Day

Audio: Prayer of the Day, Prayer of Confession, Assurance of Pardon, Update from the Reopening Task Force, Prayer for Illumination

Prayer of Confession

Loving God, we do not always keep Your commandments; we fail to love You and care for our neighbors; our conscience is anything but clear. Wash us in the water of Your resurrection life, that we may live a mature existence, through the grace and example of Jesus, the Risen One. AMEN.

Assurance of Pardon

Update from the Reopening Task Force, Jan Myers-Newbury

Prayer for Illumination

Come, Holy Spirit, our helper and advocate: Open our hearts and minds this day, entice us with Your presence. Spark within us a word of life-a message that we share with others as we seek to live Christ’s love in the world. All this we ask in the name of God, who creates, redeems, and sustains us. AMEN.

Time for Children, Jenny Newman

Gospel Reading, John 14:15-21

Audio: Scripture Readings and Sermon

15 “If you love me, you will keep[a] my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate,[b] to be with you forever. 17 This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in[c] you.

18 “I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. 19 In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21 They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.”

Gospel Reading, Matthew 4:18-22

18 As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.

Sermon, “Called, Even in Quarantine,” Rev. Vincent Kolb       

Hymn, If Thou But Trust in God to Guide Thee, 816

Affirmation of Faith, Confession of 1967, 9.32-33

Audio: Affirmation of Faith, Pastoral Prayer, The Lord’s Prayer

The life, death, resurrection, and promised coming of Jesus Christ has set the pattern for the church’s mission. His human life involves the church in the common life of all people. His service to human beings commits the church to work for every form of human well-being. His suffering makes the church sensitive to all human suffering so that it sees the face of Jesus Christ in the faces of persons in every kind of need. His crucifixion discloses to the church God’s judgment on the inhumanity that marks human relations, and the awful consequences of the church’s own complicity in injustice. In the power of the risen Christ and the hope of his coming, the church sees the promise of God’s renewal of human life in society and of God’s victory over all wrong. The church follows this pattern in the form of its own life, and in the method of its action. So to live and serve is to confess Jesus as Lord.                          

Pastoral Prayer, Rev. John McCall

The Lord’s Prayer, 2019 Vatican Update

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;
do not let us fall into temptation,
            but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power
            and the glory forever. Amen.

Closing Anthem, Alleluia, Elaine Hagenberg

Benediction

Audio: Benediction

Announcements

We are an open and affirming community of faith in Jesus Christ. At home in an urban neighborhood of many faiths, we acknowledge that we are not alone on the path to understanding God. In worship, study, and fellowship, we celebrate our Presbyterian roots and find joy in our diversity. We strive for the grace to love one another as we seek deeper understanding of life in the Spirit, working for justice and serving as stewards of God’s wondrous creation.

We are a More Light congregation: “Following the risen Christ, and seeking to make the Church a true community of hospitality, the mission of More Light Presbyterians is the full participation of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people of faith in the life, ministry, and witness of the Presbyterian Church (USA).”

Inclusive Language: Words matter. Jesus Christ, the living Word, reached out to all people to bring all people into God’s fold. The kingdom of God includes all types of people; therefore our language should reflect the inclusivity and equality among the people of God. To the end, when possible, we seek to eliminate the inherent bias of the English language towards the masculine gender without altering passages that reflect the historical situation of ancient patriarchal culture, out of which the Bible originated.

* The Session has closed the building until further notice to observe the governmental restrictions of social distancing.

* Many thanks to Pam Howe, Jan Myers-Newbury, and Rev. John McCall for being part of the service this week!

* Virtual potluck: We are looking to host a virtual potluck for Sixth Church in the coming weeks! With an eye to your schedule for the weeks of May 24 or 29, please let us know your general availability at the following poll: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/6thPotluck

We will share details about the video call and how to share recipes and other fun stuff as we get closer to the date. And don’t worry, we are here to walk you through the tech side of this if you are not familiar; Heather Vallone will follow up. Thanks!

* Graduates: Sixth Church would like to honor your accomplishments. Please send a photo and info for us to share ([email protected]). Congratulations!  

* Want to join Pastor Vincent’s Wednesday morning Bible study on the lectionary texts? Contact the office to get on the email list for connection to the Zoom meeting.

* Zoom confused? Set up a call with Amy, and we’ll work through it together.

* It’s not the same as the thrill of putting the envelope in the plate, but you can still pay on your pledges either through eGive (click here!) or by mailing your check to the church. We continue to need your support in this challenging time!

* Weekly Sunday school lessons and other resources are on Jenny’s Children and Youth blog (click here!)

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