What does the loving care of God look like? And what does that loving care translate to, in our call to love one another?
Join us throughout this Easter Season as we wonder together what it might mean to life be an Easter people. Join us in our beautiful sanctuary, or right here online. Worship is live-streamed; videos are available here or on Youtube following the service.
4th Sunday of the Easter Season
The Good, Good Shepherd
Psalm 23; John 10:11-18
Union Presbyterian Church
April 21, 2024
Sharing the Light of Christ, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
Liturgist: Karl Wokan Preacher: Rev. Pat Raube
Welcome Rev. Pat Raube
Announcements Karl Wokan
Prelude Choir
“Shepherd Us,” Larry Olson
©2018, Dakota Road Music
Used by Permission. CCLI License #CSPL068847
Here with you there is no wanting,
Lying down in pastures green.
Leading us beside still waters,
Souls restored and free.
Shepherd us, oh Lord.
Keep us safe from harm.
Hold us close. Lead us home.
Shepherd us, oh Lord.
Though we walk in shadowed valleys,
We will not be held by fear.
You bring peace and you give comfort,
You are always here.
Shepherd us, oh Lord.
Keep us safe from harm.
Hold us close. Lead us home.
Shepherd us, oh Lord.
You prepare a wondrous table,
Fill our cups to overflow.
With your goodness and your mercy
Here forevermore.
Shepherd us, oh Lord.
Keep us safe from harm.
Hold us close. Lead us home.
Shepherd us, oh Lord.
* Call to Worship
What more can be said?
In God we have a firm foundation.
“Fear not; I am with you,” says the Lord.
In God we have a loving protector.
“I will not leave you,” says our God.
In God we have a good, good shepherd.
* Hymn #361 PH “How Firm A Foundation”
(Public Domain)
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in God's excellent Word!
What more can be said than to you God hath said,
To you, who for refuge to Jesus have fled?
"Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.
"When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
For I will be near thee, thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.
"When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.
"The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake."
* Call to New Life
* Prayer for Wholeness and Peace
God of love, you are our good shepherd. You know us deeply, thoroughly; nothing we can say or do will surprise you. Why is it, then, that we wander? Why is it we stray, and find ourselves having lost sight of you? We fall short in our attempts to love you with our entire heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love one another as we love ourselves. Heal us, God. Anoint us with the balm of your Holy Spirit. Help us to turn to you fully, and never avert our gaze. We pray in the name of your son, Jesus, our healer and our hope. Amen.
* Words of Assurance
The Lord is our shepherd.
There is nothing we shall want.
God is beside us, before us, behind us;
God is above us, below us, within us.
There is no place we can flee from God’s love.
By God’s mercy and grace,
We are loved. We are forgiven. We are made whole.
Alleluia! Amen.
* Sharing of the Peace
May the peace of the Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us offer one another a sign of God’s peace.
Scripture Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not be in want.
The Lord makes me lie down in green pastures,
and leads me beside still waters.
You restore my soul, O Lord.
and guide me along right pathways for your name’s sake.
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I shall fear no evil for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil, and my cup is running over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Time for Young Disciples Rev. Pat Raube
Music: “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee”
Anthem “Breathe in the Morning Air,” Helen Wiltshire Choir
©2011, Pilgrim Publishing
Used by Permission. CCLI License #CSPL068847
Breathe in the morning air; inhale its fragrancy.
Be still and trust the sacredness that dwells within;
Who’s ever near; who knows our fears;
Whose presence calms our restless souls.
Rest in this sacred space; lie down in pastures green.
Be present to the mystery of this holy place.
Hear singing streams; feel earth’s embrace;
See how our lives are touched by grace.
Walk in the way of love, of justice and of peace.
Bring loving to a world of pain and loneliness.
Reach out in love and gentleness
To heal the hurt of brokenness.
Here in the darkest vale, shadowed by grief and fear,
We sense a loving presence that our hearts sustain.
Our fears subside; our minds are calm;
Our panic flees, and peace remains.
Trust in the love of God; believe that goodness lives,
That hope and joy and beauty will embrace our days.
Pursued by love and touched by grace,
Our thankful hearts will offer praise.
Scripture John 10:11-18
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me, just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.”
Response Holy Wisdom, Holy Word:
Thanks be to God!
Sermon “The Good, Good Shepherd”
* Statement of Faith A Response of Faith for Easter by the Rev. Mary Luti
We believe in the God of Life,
whose breath is in us,
and whose mercy encircles the creation.
We believe in Jesus Christ,
who loved us indestructibly
and who shared our pain.
He is with us now as he promised,
even to the end of the age.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
who welcomes us into the household of faith,
gives us gifts in abundance,
enlivens our hearts with joy,
and urges us into the world
to testify without fear
to God’s justice and grace.
Hoping against hope
for the promised realm of peace,
we love one another while we live,
we honor every creature God has made,
we stand against the powers of sin and death,
and we bless the earth and all that fills it.
Glory, thanks, and praise be yours,
O Living God, now and forever! Amen.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
* Hymn #171 PH “The King of Love My Shepherd Is” (Verses 1- 3)
(Public Domain)
The King of love my Shepherd is,
Whose goodness faileth never;
I nothing lack if I am His
And He is mine forever.
Where streams of living water flow
My ransomed soul He leadeth,
And where the verdant pastures grow,
With food celestial feedeth.
Perverse and foolish oft I strayed,
But yet in love He sought me,
And on His shoulder gently laid,
And home, rejoicing, brought me.
Prayers of the People
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.
Prayer Response
“Glory Be to God, Creator,” Richard K. Carlson
©1996, Hark! Publications, Used with permission
Glory be to God, Creator,
Glory be to God the Son,
Glory be to God the Spirit,
Known as Three, yet God the One.
Call for Offering
The Offering
“Savior, Like A Shepherd Lead Us,” Phillip Keveren.
© 2005, Hal Leonard Corporation.
Used by permission, CCLI License #CSPL068847
* Doxology
“Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow”
(Public Domain)
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise him, all creatures here below;
Praise him above, ye heavenly host:
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
* Prayer of Dedication
* Hymn #171 PH “The King of Love My Shepherd Is” (Verses 4, 5, and 6)
(Public Domain)
In death’s dark vale I fear no ill
With Thee, dear Lord, beside me;
Thy rod and staff my comfort still,
Thy cross before to guide me.
Thou spreadest a table in my sight;
Thy unction grace bestoweth;
And O what transport of delight
From Thy pure chalice floweth!
And so through all the length of days
Thy goodness faileth never;
Good Shepherd, may I sing Thy praise
Within Thy house forever.
* Benediction
May God bless us. May God keep us in the Spirit’s care,
and lead our lives with love.
May Christ’s warm welcome shine from our hearts,
and Christ’s own peace prevail through this and every day,
till greater life shall call. Amen.
Postlude Colin DeLap
"Glory and Praise to Our God,” Mark Hayes.
© 2018, OCP Publications. All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.
License #A-728112. All rights reserved.
Where an * is indicated, please rise in body and/or in spirit.
“W & R” ~ the red Worship and Rejoice hymnal.
“PH” ~ the blue Presbyterian Hymnal
Benediction from A Wee Worship Book, from the Iona Community, Scotland.
Images:
Image 1: Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stubai_-_Tiroler_Bergschaf_-BT-_01.jpg
Image 2: Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flock_of_sheep_in_Vanoise_National_Park_(4).jpg
Image 3: Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rumunia_5806.jpg
Image 4: Peterson, Kathleen. Other Sheep, 21st century, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56573 [retrieved April 18, 2024]. Original source: Kathleen Peterson, https://www.kathleenpetersonart.com.