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Woship Resources 2009-2010 — Year C: Live Generously, Love Courageously
Return to Year C: 2009-2010
Resource Index
Sunday, May 16, 2010
To the Ends of the Earth
Seventh Sunday of Easter
Scriptures: Acts 16:16–34; Psalm 97; Revelation 22:12–14,
16–17, 20–21;
John 17:20–26; Alma 15:53; Doctrine and Covenants 162:4a
For the worship center, assemble items that represent people from various
nations and cultures throughout the world: figurines, cultural artifacts, or
flags are some possibilities. Also include seven candles (one for each
continent) and a lighted Peace Candle, which will be used to light the other
candles during the service.
Have the ushers encourage the congregation to gather in silence. During the
welcome, include directions for how the service will proceed.
Mention to the congregation that this is a contemplative service. Encourage
them to focus on the diversity and needs of the church throughout the world. The
use of a small bell, hand chime, or drum, at specific places in the service,
will enable the service to flow without interruption.
Call to Worship: Doctrine and Covenants 162:4a
Call to Prayer
Sound the bell, chime, or drum four times—once for each quarter of the
earth.
Lighting of Candles
The following verses from Psalm 97 should be read before the lighting of
the candles: After reading verse 1—light the first candle; verse 6—light the
second candle; verse 7—light the third candle; verse 8—light the fourth
candle; verse 9—light the fifth candle; verse 10—light the sixth candle;
verse 11—light the seventh candle. Verse 12 should be read together by all
of the candle lighters and the presider after all the candles have been lit.
Then sound the bell, chime, or drum twice with a slight pause between
soundings.
Invitation to Worship
Welcome the congregation and explain that today’s service is a time for
reflection and prayer on behalf of all the peoples of the world. Invite
members of the congregation, including the children, to offer brief prayers
for countries, regions, or continents throughout the world. Lead the
invitations with the phrase, “For the people(s) of …” The presider should
specify the area to be prayed for. At the end of this time of prayer, sound
the bell, chime, or drum once, to signify our hope for unity of purpose.
Prayer for Peace
A sample prayer follows this service outline.
Hymn of Supplication: “Come, Holy Spirit, Come” NS 6
OR “Here, O Lord, Your Servants Gather” SP 29
OR “Jesus, We Are Here” Worship & Rejoice 659
Scripture for Confessional Reading: Alma 15:53
Do we whisper our confession and declare loudly our good
deeds? Repentance and the plan of redemption should be as thunder to all the
earth.
Scripture Reading: John 17:20–26
Words of Encouragement
Based on John 17:20–26
Prayers of the People
Invite the congregation to share their personal prayer concerns and brief
reports of God’s good news in their lives. Before the service, ask two or
three people to pray on behalf of the needs expressed during this time.
Disciples’ Generous Response
Each Sunday, as part of the Disciples’ Generous Response, we ask you to
integrate the message of “share equally” between Local and World Ministries
Mission Tithes. Generosity stories are provided to keep the church in touch
with how contributions to Mission Tithes spread the peace of Jesus Christ.
Please use the stories, testimonies, and up-to-date contribution information
as part of your offertory ministry. Visit
www.CofChrist.org/generositystories to print a copy, or contact your
pastor, congregational financial officer, or worship coordinator for a copy.
Offertory Statement: “A disciple’s financial response, while unique to
individual circumstances, expresses love of God, neighbor, creation, and
oneself.” This is stewardship principle #3 from Becoming a
Generous Disciple (The Presiding Bishopric, 2004), 2. For the expanded
statement, see
www.CofChrist.org/generosity/default.asp.
Receiving and Blessing of Mission Tithes
Music Ministry: “Forgive Us, Lord” HS 103
Have a soloist or small group sing this during the receiving of the
offering.
OR “Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow” HS 43
This could be sung by the congregation as the offering is
presented for blessing.
*Mission Hymn: “Song of Shalom” SP 40
OR “Community of Christ” R-14
*Sending Forth
Leader: “See, I am coming soon; my reward is with me, to repay according
to everyone’s work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last,
the beginning and the end. It is I, Jesus, who sent my angel to you with
this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David,
the bright morning star.”
People: The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let everyone who hears
say, “Come.” And let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes
take the water of life as a gift. The one who testifies to these things
says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
Leader: The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.
—Revelation 22:12–13, 16–17, 20–21
Music Ministry: “Who Will Go Forth and Serve?” HS 499
If possible, have a single instrumentalist (flute, recorder, violin,
etc.) play as the congregation quietly leaves the sanctuary.
Prayer for Peace by Megan Nicholas, Annandale,
Virginia, USA
Amidst the noise and demands of everyday life, it is easy for us to get
distracted and lose our way on the path to God. War and strife creep in,
beating at our spirits. But you are there with us, even in the darkness,
reminding us that your presence stretches over all—even to the ends of the
earth. You give us peace of mind, heart, and soul when we are lost in the
middle of our own troubles.
Today, Lord, we gather to humbly ask your blessing—not only upon this
congregation and the needs of its people, but for those seeking your peace
in many other places throughout the world:
• For those who have turned away from you in the past, that they
may be reminded of your strength and love and find renewed hope for
the future.
• For soldiers in war, on both sides, may your power and love
work in their hearts so peace can be restored.
• For all those, Lord, who are tired and sick—in body or in
mind—and for those who have the power to help them, that they might
be moved to share their gifts with those who need them.
Help us, Lord, to recognize the path we need to take in order to bring
about your kingdom of peace here on earth.
Sermon Helps
Scriptures: Acts 16:16–34; Psalm 97; Revelation 22:12–14, 16–17, 20–21;
John 17:20–26
Exploring the Scriptures
Jesus was given to prayer: in the wilderness; alone all night and long before
morning; choosing the disciples; teaching them to pray; healing or forgiving;
praying over the conflicted city of Jerusalem that would not live up to its
name; pleading in anguish “let this cup pass from me”; interceding for one
crucified with him. Jesus was a man of prayer.
And here we have this most intimate of prayers that testifies of the depth of
unity in the “Abba,” a parent-child relationship of ultimate trust. It
represents the ongoing conversation of long-time familiarity that permits
openness and honesty most of us can only long for. It is a prayer that shows how
central Jesus’ relationship is with God, how much God loves, and how that
assurance of love has shaped Jesus’ sense of self and sense of call. It is also
a plea born out of an immeasurable depth of love that Jesus has for his closest
friends—the Twelve he called, mentored, taught, commissioned, and spent so much
time with day after day.
The desire of Jesus is that people experience the same relationship of love
and unity he has with God. He wants them to know the joy and intimacy he knows.
“The greatest gift of my life, God, is this relationship with you. Please grant
that to them as well. And, may they have that same open, vulnerable relationship
with me.”
Jesus knows there will be no “one,” no “comm-unity” without the “we”
of the Father and the Son. Oneness of community only emerges from the character
of God and is made known through Jesus’ love for God and in Jesus’ life and
death, attested to in and through the community by the Holy Spirit.
Jesus goes farther. Just as he knows that love is for giving away, he prays
not only for the disciples to have such a unifying relationship with God and
with him, but asks that all those who hear the gospel through the disciples will
have that same relationship. He desires that they receive the same glory that
God has given him. And the prayer is not just for the present generation, but
for every person of every succeeding generation who walks the face of the
planet. It is a prayer for each one of us.
This prayer is one of the most powerful expressions of the depth of love for
friends in all recorded history. We are privileged to hear Jesus’ desires in
such an intimate and personal way. This is not instruction to the disciples; it
is a listening in by them, just as we are listening in. At his farewell meal,
and just before going to Gethsemane and crucifixion, Jesus is pouring his heart
out in prayer for himself and his friends. He prays that just as he has been the
incarnation of God’s love in the world, the disciples as a community of faith
will now become the location of that love. We are a community for whom Jesus
prays!
Jesus places the future of the world and the faith community in God’s care,
praying that God’s name will be known to the ends of the earth and to the end of
time. The future is God’s.
Central Ideas
1. Jesus was a person of prayer, and this passage is a uniquely
privileged opportunity for us to “listen in” on Jesus’ intimate conversation
with God.
2. Jesus speaks to God on behalf of the disciples, the faith community,
and all humanity in the threshold moment between his farewell meal and the
moment of betrayal leading to crucifixion.
3. We are a community for whom Jesus prays. Jesus entrusts us to God who
is responsible for nurturing us and leading us into the future.
Questions for the Speaker
1. How can your prayer life reach toward the intimacy and honesty of
Jesus’ relationship with God?
2. How does it impact you to know how deeply Jesus loved the first
disciples and how that love is extended to you and all people?
3. What call do you hear as Jesus prays that all will know the
unity that he has with God and that he longs for with his disciples?
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