Order of Worship

Opening Voluntary – “Prelude in Classic Style” by Gordon Young

Welcome/Greetings

Choral Introit

*Opening Hymn #304 – “Easter People, Raise Your Voices”      REGENT SQUARE

Call to Worship

L:  When doors were shut, and the world was kept out,
P:  resurrection found the disciples.
L:  When the church gathers, and the world waits outside,
P:  resurrection finds us.
L:  When fear grew, and new questions were found,
P:  resurrection found the disciples.
L:  When faith leads us to new questions about life,
P:  resurrection finds us.
L:  When suffering remained, and the city was hostile,
P:  resurrection found the disciples.
L:  When Christ gathers with his followers in living worship,
P:  resurrection finds us.  Come, let us worship God!

*Opening Prayer

Jesus of the Cross, Jesus of the Resurrection, we rejoice in you.  For long before the experience of the cross, you defeated the powers of sin, pain, and death in the hurting people around you.  And then you were struck down.  But you defeated the cross and stood before your beloved disciples, as you are present today—alive again.  We rejoice in you, Risen Savior, for you open before us your life-giving peace and power.  You are our Lord and our God.  Alleluia!  Amen.

Prayer of Confession

Jesus Christ, our Brother, our Savior, sometimes we are bold and sure that you are the Living One who defeated death and destruction for us all.  Sometimes we wonder at the ancient stories of your resurrection, and we are not so sure that things happened the way stories tell them.  Amid our doubts, bless us with your peace.  Bless us with the joy and assurance of your presence, wherever we are in our journey of faith.  In your compassionate name, we pray.  Amen.

Words of Assurance

“Peace be with you!” Jesus said to his disciples, both those who saw and believed and the one who questioned.  Today Jesus Christ also bestows his peace and presence upon us: “Peace be with you!” Amen.

Passing of the Peace of Christ

Long ago, Jesus Christ gave his peace to disciples who were locked in a room and sorely in need of peace.  Let us pass this peace to all who join us today with the words, “Peace be with you!”

Children’s Message           Rev. Eumin Kim

Scriptures

Old Testament – Psalm 16 (New International Version – NIV)

¹ Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge.  ² I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.”  ³ I say of the holy people who are in the land, “They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.”  ⁴ Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more.  I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods or take up their names on my lips.  ⁵ Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure.  ⁶ The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.  ⁷ I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.  ⁸ I keep my eyes always on the Lord.  With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.  ⁹ Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, ¹⁰ because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay.  ¹¹ You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

L:  The Word of God, For the People of God.  P:  Thanks be to God.

*Gospel Reading – John 20:19-23 (NIV)

¹⁹ On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”  ²⁰ After he said this, he showed them his hands and side.  The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.  ²¹ Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”  ²² And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.  ²³ If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

L:  The Word of God, For the People of God.  P:  Thanks be to God.

*Hymns before Sermon (Faith We Sing Hymnal)

  #2070 – “He Is Exalted”  and  #2071 – “Jesus, Name above All Names”

Sermon – “Commissioned and Empowered”              Rev. Prumeh Lee Kim

Pastoral Prayer

Lord’s Prayer

Invitation to Tithes and Offering

We are blessed with what the psalmist calls a “goodly heritage.”  We are disciples and heirs in the family of Jesus Christ, our Lord and our God.  Let us give generously, so that others may know the faithfulness of Jesus, alive in our lives, alive in their lives, the very source of healing, joy, and delight.

Chancel Choir – “Thine Be the Glory (JUDAS MACCABEUS)” by G. F. Handel

*Hymn No. 95 – Presentation of the Offering

*Prayer of Dedication

Jesus our Protector and Savior, we thank you for every gift you have given us that brings us delight and joy in this life.  We thank you for every gift that comes to us in times of despair to lift us up and tend to our sorrows.  May these gifts reach out to our world, that others may know your joy, your caring, your deep understanding of despair—and your Life that-defeats death.  Amen.

*Closing Hymn#370 – “Victory in Jesus”        HARTFORD

*Dismissal with Blessing

Closing Voluntary – “Guiting Power (Postlude)” by Paul Leddington Wright