Welcome to ICYMI Worship! ICYMI stands for In Case You Missed It; our ICYMI series gives a brief snapshot of worship each week so that you can worship in your home, on the road, or wherever life takes you.
At Cross of Christ, our basic worship order is based on worship patterns from Hebrew traditions and biblical accounts of the earliest Christians:
We GATHER with songs and prayer,
We HEAR God’s word,
We SHARE a meal of bread and wine,
We are SENT into the world to love and serve.
Let us know how this format works for you.
Today is the Third Sunday of Easter.
Our Gathering song is “Now All the Vault of Heaven Resounds”
Prayer of the Day
Holy and righteous God, you are the author of life, and you adopt us to be your children. Fill us with your words of life, that we may live as witnesses to the resurrection of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
This week’s readings are from Acts 3:12-19, Psalm 4, and 1 John 3:1-7
Acts 3:12-19
After healing a crippled man, Peter preaches to the people how God’s promises to Israel have been fulfilled in Jesus. Through the proclamation of Christ’s death and resurrection, God is offering them forgiveness and restoration in Jesus’ name.
17“And now, friends, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18In this way God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, that his Messiah would suffer. 19Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out.”
Psalm 4
The Lord does wonders for the faithful. (Ps. 4:3)
1 Answer me when I call, O God of my right!
You gave me room when I was in distress.
Be gracious to me, and hear my prayer.
2 How long, you people, shall my honor suffer shame?
How long will you love vain words, and seek after lies?
3 But know that the Lord has set apart the faithful for himself;
the Lord hears when I call to him.
4 When you are disturbed, do not sin;
ponder it on your beds, and be silent.
5 Offer right sacrifices,
and put your trust in the Lord.
6 There are many who say, “O that we might see some good!
Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord!”
7 You have put gladness in my heart
more than when their grain and wine abound.
8 I will both lie down and sleep in peace;
for you alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety.
1 John 3:1-7
God has loved us in order to make us children of God. Though we do not yet know the full details of our future existence, we trust that God will reveal it just as God revealed Jesus to take away our sins.
1See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. 3And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
4Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 5You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him. 7Little children, let no one deceive you. Everyone who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.
This week’s Gospel text is from Luke 24:36b-48
In this account of an appearance after his resurrection, Jesus opens the minds of the disciples to understand him as Messiah. Jesus convinces them that he has been raised and sends them on a mission to proclaim the message of repentance and forgiveness.
36bJesus himself stood among [the disciples] and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 37They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. 38He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 40And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43and he took it and ate in their presence.
44Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” 45Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, 47and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48You are witnesses of these things.”
Pastor Judy’s Sermon Snapshot: “Funny Fish”
The Song of the Day is “Jesus Lives, My Sure Defense”
Prayers of the People – 4/15/18
Holy God, you call us to unity as fellow followers of Jesus. We pray for the church and its many expressions. Bless and inspire the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Northwest Washington Synod, and the East King County Cluster congregations with which we affiliate. Today we pray for St. Luke’s Lutheran Church and Pastor Mark Griffith. Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
Creating God, you call us to be caregivers of the world you brought into being, and to shepherd for the benefit of all land, sea, air, and creatures. Grant us wisdom to use our power to develop sustainable farming and housing practices. Slow down our rush to consume. Embolden us as defenders of endangered species and vanishing wilderness. Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
Compassionate God, you call us to care for one another. Enable us to show your love to all in need. We pray for the sick, injured, and disabled. We pray for all who have not been granted the healing they desire and for all who cannot access the care they need. Today we lift to you our members and their loved ones who have asked for public prayers: Ann Baseler, Anna Bero, Brian Constable, Ellie Dennison, Linda Ernst, Pastor Richard Kraiger, Heidi Fine, Phyllis Hahn, Claire Huehnerhoff, Eileen Johnson, Priscilla Kanestrom, Leona Lenschow, Marlys Paulson, John Paulson, Vernette Rae, and Marilyn Van Brero. Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
Providing God, you call us to share generously of the gifts you entrust to us. Bless the finance, budget, and stewardship teams of this congregation. Make us joyful givers of the time, talents, and treasures you have first given us, that ministries may flourish, needs may be met, and the gospel shared. Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
We entrust all our prayers to you, gracious God. Receive them by the power of the Holy Spirit, for the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The Communion song is “Around You, O Lord Jesus”
On 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.
All are welcome to receive Christ’s Body and Blood in the Bread and Wine of the Eucharist.
And because there’s always something going on, the Announcements!
Coming soon!
Our sending song is “The Strife Is O’er, the Battle Done”
By God’s grace, through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, we are called to
Worship God
Grow in Faith
Share the Gospel
Serve others, and
Welcome all.
Thanks be to God!
