The Lord in risen! Alleluia!
Song
‘I heard the voice of Jesus say’, sung Wendy Ritchie. If you have problems connecting, try this direct link to YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74kyfROS4q8
Prayer
Let us pray.Â
We thank you that through his Ascension, Jesus is now set free to be Lord of all, no longer bound to a particular place or time, but with us always – able to reach even to the ends of the earth. We thank you that Jesus prepared for his departing, and comes to us, embracing us, by his Spirit.
Be with us, comfort us, and guide us as we worship you today in the name of Christ. Amen.
From the Bible
The Bible reading for today is from the Gospel of John 17:1-11. There is also a video of a dramatic re-enactment of the Gospel reading underneath.
John 17:1-11
After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said,
‘Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do.
So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed. “I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.
I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.’
Dramatic readings from Lumo
Here is the dramatic re-enactment of the Gospel reading by the Lumo group (it includes the rest of the prayer by Jesus). If you have trouble connecting you can go directly to YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q–KHcWiVgs&t=4s
Message
The message is brought to you by Tim Jensen of the Saltbush Community. Jesus’ great hope for the disciples (and us) is that we live in communion with God. That we know we are embraced by God.
What does it mean to you to be embraced by God? How does your church show to others they are embraced by God?
Before a time of prayer you may like to spend some time in silence sitting still. Close your eyes lightly. Sit relaxed but alert. Simply be still and open to God. You may prefer to do this while listening to the ‘Optional reflective music’ below.
Optional reflective music
The reflective music is, ‘Christ has no hands or feet on earth but yours’, by Michael Talbot (based on St Theresa’s Prayer). If you have trouble connecting, go directly to YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqVbLQh-lT0
Prayers for Others
Let us pray,
God of Loving Embrace, we bring to you our prayers for those whom we find it easy to love, we bring to our prayers for those whom we find difficult but know they are loved as we are loved by you, we bring to you our prayers for the stranger for whom we know you are with, embracing them as we know you embrace us.
We pray for:
Your world …
This nation …
Our community …
Your church …
Your Creation …
Ourselves …
In Christ name we pray. Amen.
Blessing
Go out into the world, to love and serve the Lord. Bless us and the people we meet along the way. Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Song
‘Hear our prayer’, courtesy of Emu Music. If you have problems connecting, try this direct link to YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a18n2QcwwXI
Resources
The sermon and prayers for others are based on content in the Saltbush service for this week, which can be found at:
https://saltbushcommunity.uca.org.au/video/the-word/easter-7-embraced-by-god-john-171-11/