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INTRODUCTION

Jesus does not abandon his followers. Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus comes to abide with his disciples of every generation. As Pentecost draws near, we are reminded that the risen Christ dwells in us as the Spirit of truth. We receive this Spirit in baptism and pray that in our gathering around the Lord’s table the Spirit will transform us to be the body of the risen Christ in the world.

ANNOUNCEMENTS 

PRELUDE Come, You Faithful, Raise the Strain    (Nelson)

*THANKSGIVING FOR BAPTISM

Blessed be the holy Trinity, ? one God, by whose hand we are given new birth, by whose speaking we are given new life. Amen.

Joined to Christ in the waters of baptism, we are welcomed, restored, and supported as citizens of the new creation. Let us give thanks for the gift of baptism.

Holy God, holy and merciful, holy and mighty, you are the river of life,

you are the everlasting wellspring. In mercy and might you have freed us from death and raised us with Jesus, the firstborn of the dead. In baptismal waters our old life is washed away, and in them we are born anew.

Glory to you for oceans and lakes, for rivers and streams. Honor to you for waters that wash us clean, quench our thirst, and nurture both crops and creatures. Praise to you for the life-giving water of baptism, the outpouring of the Spirit of the new creation.

Wash away our sin and all that separates us from you.

Empower our witness to your resurrection.

Strengthen our resolve in seeking justice for all.

Satisfy the world’s need through this living water. Where drought dries the earth, bring refreshment. Where despair prevails, grant hope. Where chaos reigns, bring peace. We ask this through Christ, who with you and the Spirit reigns forever.  Amen.

* PRAYER OF THE DAY

Let us pray. 

Almighty and ever-living God, you hold together all things in heaven and on earth. In your great mercy receive the prayers of all your children, and give to all the world the Spirit of your truth and peace, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

GATHERING SONG     Alleluia! Sing to Jesus (ELW 392)

FIRST READING: Acts 17:22-31

22Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, “Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way. 23For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, 25nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things. 26From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, 27so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him—though indeed he is not far from each one of us. 28For ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, 

?‘For we too are his offspring.’

29Since we are God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals. 30While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31because he has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

PSALM: Psalm 66:8-20

?8Bless our | God, you peoples;

??let the sound of | praise be heard.

?9Our God has kept us among the living

??and has not allowed our | feet to slip. 

?10For you, O God, have | tested us;

??you have tried us just as silver is tried.

?11You brought us in- | to the net;

??you laid heavy burdens upon our backs.

?12You let people ride over our heads; we went through | fire and water,

??but you brought us out into a place | of refreshment.

?13I will enter your house | with burnt offerings

??and will pay | you my vows—

?14those that I promised | with my lips

??and spoke with my mouth when I | was in trouble.

?

15I will offer you burnt offerings of fatlings with the | smoke of rams;

??I will give you oxen and goats.

?16Come and listen, all you | who believe,

??and I will tell you what God has | done for me.

?17I called out to God | with my mouth,

??and praised the Lord | with my tongue.

?18If I had cherished evil | in my heart,

??the Lord would | not have heard me;

?19but in truth | God has heard me

??and has attended to the sound | of my prayer.

?20Blessed be God, who has not rejected my prayer,

??nor withheld unfailing | love from me. 

SECOND READING: 1 Peter 3:13-22

13Who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? 14But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, 15but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; 16yet do it with gentleness and reverence. Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame. 17For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God’s will, than to suffer for doing evil. 18For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, 19in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, 20who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. 21And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you—not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.

Gospel: John 14:15-21

The holy gospel according to John. Glory to you, O Lord.

[Jesus said to the disciples:] 15“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. 17This 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 you.

?18“I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. 19In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. 20On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21They 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.”

The gospel of the Lord.  Praise to you, O Christ.

MEDITATION Pastor Wende Bleam

HYMN OF THE DAY We Know That Christ Is Raised (ELW 449)

With the whole church, we profess our faith using the Nicene Creed  

We believe in one God,

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,

PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION

United in the hope and joy of the resurrection, let us pray for the church, the world, and all in need.

God our faithful companion, you promise to never leave us and to send your Spirit to guide us in wisdom and truth. Send your people into the world to serve as mirrors that reflect and magnify your love. Hear us, O God.

Your mercy is great.

All the earth sings praises to you. Grant your care to the creatures, plants, and places that are suffering, and equip us to respond to their song. Make us agents of restoration and refreshment for all your beloved creation. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.

You call all people of the world your children. Judge the nations justly, show mercy to all who are oppressed, and speak truth to power through your prophets. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.

Lord, we pray for the Ukrainian people that they be surrounded by your love and protection against the attacks on their country.  Lift them up, and protect, them, end this war against them and let your peace reign.  Send your help to those affected by floods, and volcanic eruption. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.

Nurturing Lord, you sent your Spirit to grant us peace. Make your presence known to those who feel abandoned or alone, and to all who are sick or grieving. We pray especially for  the family of Arlene Baumann, the Knoell family, Ray, Ashton, Justin, Lois, Kathy and Rich McLaughlin, Carol, Connor, Ana, Helen, Jose, Hoon, Connie, Pat, Hazel, Deb, Joe, Ruth, Lisa, Rick, Dick, Alisia, Jacklyn, Lillian, Alexis, Jim and those we now raise before you in our hearts.  We pray for those affected by the Covid virus in mind, body or spirit.  Grant them healing and wholeness.  Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.

You hold us in your loving care. We pray for mothers and mother figures. Console all who long to be mothers, children estranged from their mothers, anyone grieving the death of a mother, and mothers who have lost a child. Support all for whom this day is difficult. Hear us, O God.

Your mercy is great.

Almighty God, you give life and breath to all things. We give thanks for the apostle Matthias and all your saints. Sustain us by your love until we join the saints in glory. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.

Rejoicing in the victory of Christ’s resurrection, we lift our prayers and praise to you, almighty and eternal God; through Jesus Christ, our risen Lord.

Amen.

* LORD'S PRAYER

Gathered into one by the Holy Spirit, let us pray as Jesus 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 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 and ever. Amen.

PEACE

The peace of Christ be with you always. And also with you.

OFFERING OF TITHES AND GIFTS TO GOD

Please place your offering in the plate near the Sanctuary door any time during or following worship. Your offering and tithes may be made on line through our  website:   stjohnslutheranfolcroft.org  or sent by mail to

St. John’s Lutheran church, 1500 Glen Avenue, Folcroft, PA 19032.

* OFFERING PRAYER

Generous God,

in this meal you offer your very self.

We give thanks for these gifts of the earth.

In the breaking of this bread

reveal to us the Risen One.

In the pouring of this wine

pour us out in service to the world;

through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

   

* THE GREAT THANKSGIVING

The Lord be with you.  And also with you.

Lift up your hearts.  We lift the to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.  

It is right to give our thanks and praise.

It is indeed right, our duty and our joy, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks and praise to you, almighty and merciful God, through our Savior, Jesus Christ.  With all the choirs of angels, with the church on earth and the hosts of heaven, we praise your holy name.

* HOLY, HOLY, HOLY

In the night in which he was betrayed,

our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks;

broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying:

Take and eat; this is my body, given for you.

Do this for the remembrance of me.

Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks,

and gave it for all to drink, saying:

This cup is the new covenant in my blood,

shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin.

Do this for the remembrance of me.

* INVITATION TO COMMUNION

Come and know Christ, broken and poured out for you.

COMMUNION SONG

CHOIR ANTHEM    Eat This Bread   (Berthier)    

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION

Gracious God,

in you we live and move and have our being. With your word and this meal of grace, you have nourished our life together. Strengthen us to show your love

and serve the world in Jesus’ name. Amen.

*BLESSING

The God of all, who raised ? Jesus from the dead, bless you by the power of the Holy Spirit to live in the new creation. Amen.

* SENDING SONG  The Day of Resurrection!  (ELW 361)

DISMISSAL - Go in peace. Serve the Risen Lord. Thanks be to God.

POSTLUDE:  Fughetta in G    (Bach)    

We hope that this service was meaningful for you and brought God’s peace and comfort into your homes.  Continue to wash your hands frequently and to love others as yourself.  Pray, trust, believe and wait. See you next week.

You are welcome to watch the live service at 10:15 am at https://www.facebook.com/stjohnslutheranfolcroft

Or you can watch live streaming on the St. John's website:  https://stjohnslutheranfolcroft.org

If you are having trouble accessing, please let us know.

The ETERNAL CANDLE is sponsored for the month of May by the Knoell family in loving memory of Bill and Mary.

The Social Ministry Committee would love to hear from you if you have any ideas for small fundraising and/or social ministry events that we could pull off with minimal effort. Challenge us with your ideas!!

 

Upcoming plans include:

 

* Baby Manna Collection for Mother’s Day, May 14

* Strawberry Festival, June 4

* Father’s Day Collection for David’s Drive 831 (t-shirts, underwear, boxer briefs, socks, monetary donations)

With our church building getting older, we need everyone’s eyes and ears to help keep her in good repair. If you see any problems like a burnt out light bulb or more, please let Charlotte, Barb or Bud know or drop a note in the offering plate at church on Sunday. We need to get a jump on current or upcoming problems.

Each week, we collect food for our hungry neighbors in need in our SHARING GOD'S BOUNTY WAGON.  Hunger doesn’t take a vacation.  Please consider making a donation of a food item each week. If you are in need of food, please notify Pastor Wende and she will let you know what we have available.

Many of you know that our choir has recently been singing current musical selections. The music comes from a new supplemental hymnal titled “All Creation Sings”. We already have a few copies but we are asking our congregation if they would like to purchase one in honor of or in memory of someone special. The cost of each hymnal is $15 and your dedication will be added to your book when they arrive. We would like to put an order in by the end of April. Please let Elaine or Lisa know if you are interested in purchasing a hymnals.  You may also send in a check or cash and place in the offering.

YOU CAN HELP!  You can be a good steward AND get your grocery shopping done.  Did you know that if you purchase a grocery food gift card from St. John’s, our congregation will receive 5% of all sales of gift cards.  Please see Ruth Weaver if you wish to purchase and gift cards.  Thank you for helping us raise that 5% for helping to continue our ministry.

Our Financial Response  (April)  

CURRENT

Budgeted costs per month      $   8,510.68

Offering last month      $   6,974.29

Budget required to date (4 months)      $  34,042.72

Total received to date      $  21,991.16

MISSION SUPPORT

Budget required to date (4 months)      $   1,600.00

Total received to date      $   1,649.44

Please continue to support St. John's.  Our expenses continue each month even if we are not all worshipping together inside our building.

Your offering and tithes may be made on line through our  website:   stjohnslutheranfolcroft.org  or sent by mail to

St. John’s Lutheran church, 1500 Glen Avenue, Folcroft, PA 19032.