34C - Easter 4C — 36C - Easter 6C
See also my posts from 2013, 2016, 2019, 2022
PSALM 148 (Jeff’s Version for Today)
Hallelujah!
Praise the LORD from the heavens, and in the high places;
all you great cloud of witnesses, praise the LORD.
Sun and moon, and star strewn cosmos;
edges of the universe, and echoes of creation,
praise the LORD!
Praise the name of the LORD,
who commanded and they were created;
who set them in place for ever and ever;
who gave them order which will never fade away.
Praise the LORD, from the earth,
all sea-creatures and ocean depths;
fire and hail, snow and smoke;
stormy wind, working the word of the LORD;
mountains, and hills;
fruit trees and cedars, all of you;
wild animals, cattle, reptiles and birds on the wing;
kings of the earth, and all peoples,
leaders, and all judges of the earth;
young men — and young women too;
old, and young . . . .
Let them praise the name of the LORD
— because it is raised up above everything —
whose majesty is over the earth and heavens;
who has raised up a horn,
to the glory of all receiving the steadfast love of the LORD;
the people of Israel, a people close to the LORD.
Praise the LORD!
OFFERING
Risen Lord Jesus,
what can we bring,
but what we have already received from you;
love, life and the substance
of our world and work?
Grant us, by your companion Spirit,
the love to use our lives and our gifts
to the glory of your name. Amen
For use in worship, with acknowledgement. © Jeff Shrowder 2000, 2013.
A CREATIVE MOMENT – Reveleation 21:1-6
Furnish the worship centre with a bowl of salty water (representing tears), a swathe of white/gold cloth draped from the bowl onto the floor, white/yellow/gold flowers, and perhaps some large paper cut-out butterflies.
A brief explanation of the symbols, either written or spoken, could be given to the congregation. The reading lends itself to more than one voice; they could be “antiphonal pairs”, perhaps with older and younger voices for contrast to emphasis “all things new”. The bowl of “tears” could be removed at the appropriate moment in the reading and, a few verses later, a large glass jug or pitcher of fresh water brought in – “water as a gift from the spring of the water of life”.
Click here for some ideas for worship in Lent and Easter gleaned from the pages of “On the Move” (now out of print), published by the Joint Board of Christian Education, Melbourne, Australia.
THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
(A prayer to gather the spoken and silent concerns/joys/thanks expressed by the congregation and lead into a more structured Intercession with connection to the lections for the day. Sometimes this prayer borrows lightly from other sources e.g. Uniting in Worship 2 or publications of the Iona Community.)
Risen Jesus, loving like no other;
as you have loved
so may we try,
not just among one another
but also among those whom we name
in word and silence…
and where we cannot
there may your spirit of grace be,
company to the lonely…
comfort to those weighed down with grief…
those we have forgotten…
those whose troubles are known only to you..
(The Prayers of the People continue)
Looking for contemporary music and song resources?
Try David MacGregor’s Together to Celebrate
| HYMN SUGGESTIONS FOR EASTER 5C |
|
| Let all the world in every corner sing: | TIS 105 |
| Glory be to God the Father | TIS 142 |
| Give me the wings of faith to rise | TIS 438 |
| Lead us, heavenly Father, lead us | TIS 580 |
| Acts 11:1-18 |
|
| All hail the power of Jesus’ name | TIS 224 |
| I am the church! you are the church! | TIS 467 |
| Jesus shall reign where’er the sun | TIS 207 |
| Lord, let me see, see more and more | TIS 681 |
| There’s a wideness in God’s mercy | TIS 136 |
| Psalm 148 |
|
| All creatures of our God and King | TIS 100 |
| All things praise you, Lord most high | TIS 148 |
| Come, O God of all the earth | TIS 181 |
| Glory to God on high! | TIS 221 |
| Glory to God above | |
| Joyful, joyful, we adore you | TIS 152 |
| O worship the King, all-glorious above | TIS 133 |
| Praise God from whom all blessings flow | TIS 768 |
| Praise to the Holiest in the height | TIS 141 |
| Sing praise to the Lord! praise him in the height | TIS 96 |
| When God almighty came to be one of us | TIS 281 |
| When morning gilds the skies | TIS 227 |
| Revelation 21:1-6 |
|
| Christ is made the sure foundation | TIS 432 |
| For all the saints, who from their labours rest | TIS 455 |
| In Christ there is no east or west | TIS 459 |
| Lord Jesus, joy of loving hearts | TIS 499 |
| Love Divine all loves excelling | TIS 217 |
| Made in God’s likeness, moved by the Spirit | TIS 671 |
| Robe yourself, my soul, with gladness | TIS 503 |
| Spirit, divine, attend our prayers | TIS 406 |
| This, this is the God we adore | TIS 220 |
| Wake, awake! for night is flying | TIS 266 |
| John 13:31-35 | |
| A new commandment I give unto you | TIS 699 |
| Christ from whom all blessings flow | TIS 440 |
| Filled with the Spirit’s power, with one accord | TIS 411 |
| Help us to accept each other | TIS 648 |
| Love divine, all loves excelling | TIS 217 |
| Where there is charity and love | TIS 434 |