The Fifth Sunday of Easter

Enter the Presence of God

Welcome & Greeting

Call to Worship

God calls us into his presence

Psalm 66:1–4 (ESV)

1 Shout for joy to God, all the earth; 2 sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise! 3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you. 4 All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name.” Selah

Prayer of Invocation

Let us pray together:

Almighty God, As we stand in awe of your goodness and mercy today, we invite you to be present amongst us by the power of your Holy Spirit. Father, we declare that we love you. Thank you that you have made the way of love known through your son Jesus Christ. We pray that you would reveal this great love to us all today as we gather to worship. Lead us by your Spirit to praise you. May our hearts overflow with thanksgiving and our mouths proclaim your everlasting greatness. We ask these things in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Please be seated.

Confession of Sin

Psalm 32:5 (ESV)

5 I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”[…]

Brothers and sisters, the proof of God’s amazing love is this: While we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Because we have faith in him, we get to approach God with confidence. In faith and penitence, let us confess our sin before God and one another. Please pray with me during this corporate confession.

Prayer of Confession

Almighty and most merciful Father, we have erred, and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against thy holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; and we have done those things which we ought not to have done; and there is no health in us. But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us, miserable offenders. Spare thou them, O God, which confess their faults. Restore thou them that are penitent; according to thy promises declared unto mankind in Christ Jesu our Lord. And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake, that we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life, to the glory of thy holy name. Amen.

Following our corporate confession, we take a moment to confess our sins in silence.

Assurance of Pardon

For those of us sinners in need of a Savior today, hear these words of promise:

Psalm 32:5 (ESV)

5 […] and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.

Hear the Word of God

Prayer for Enlightenment

Dear Heavenly Father,

As we come together to study your word, we ask for your wisdom and understanding to guide us. We pray for your Spirit to open our hearts and minds to your truth, that we may grow in our knowledge of you and your ways.

Grant us the grace to listen and to learn, to seek your will and to live according to your word. May the light of your truth shine upon us, and may your love fill our hearts and guide our steps.

We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ Our Lord, Amen.

Scriptural Lessons

Acts 17:1–15 ESV

1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” 4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. 5 But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. 6 And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, 7 and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” 8 And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. 9 And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go. 10 The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. 12 Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men. 13 But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds. 14 Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there. 15 Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens, and after receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed.

After the lesson, we respond:

This is the Word of the Lord!

Thanks be to God!

Homily

I grew up playing video games. The Mario or Sonic theme song bring instant nostalgia, as I recall sitting on the floor next to my late brother as I tapped ferociously on an unplugged controller. I would graduate into more violent games in a time before the video game rating system, the Columbine massacre, and the tenuous connection between video games and violent behavior. One such game that took up most of my lower teens was the Quake series. A first-person, 3D shooter, the plot of the game is irrelevant to this illustration. Rather, being an early experiment into 3D environments, the question for the play was, “where do I go?” In the side-scrollers like Sonic and Mario, the answer was simple- left to right. In fact, with Mario, you could not go left. For Quake, though, one could become lost as they progressed through the levels. However, the developers thought of this, and included something to tell you you were going the right way.

Enemies. In fact, the same directional indicator serves as a compass in every game even into modern, triple-A titles. If you are meeting resistance, you are going the right way. If it’s easy, perhaps you need to get your bearings and readjust.

Our reading today speaks of Paul and Silas arrive and preach in Thessalonica, then they are opposed. Then they preach in Berea, and then they are opposed. Paul and Silas clearly did not travel for the purpose of confrontation, certainly not violent confrontation. Indeed, they reasoned from the Scriptures. The violent television show Game of Thrones captures a quote from a conversation with Tyrian Lannister than is relevant here: “Nothing good follows the ‘but’.”

Paul and Silas persuade many that Jesus is the Christ, the Greek word for the Messiah, the promised one, and many Jews, Greeks, and Women join the community of believers. “But,” the text follows, the powers that be “were jealous,” formed a mob and sought them from where they were staying. There’s an allegory here to the Angels visiting Lot in Genesis 19, the rabble calling out to Lot to send the Angels out to the predators. Or perhaps in Joshua 2, as Rahab sheltered the Israelite spies from the mob of her countrymen.

And when the mob couldn’t get to Paul and Silas, they went after Jason, the man who sheltered them. Jason and the rest essentially paid a bribe, bond, bail, or here, “security,” and was released.

Sending them away by night, they went to Berea. In Christian theology, to be called a Berean or a Noble Berean, of some mix of compliments, is an honor. Here was see what it means, to be called a Bereans: one who receives the word with all eagerness; one who examines the Scriptures daily; one who believes.

These Bereans, Jews, Greeks, and Women, once again found the truth of what Paul was teaching, that Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God, the Messiah, who died for their sins. And again, the Jews became agitated and ran them out of town.

Reflecting on this passage, am I willing to get ran out of town for the Gospel, to suffer or die? Absolutely, I would think. But that’s a high bar, that’s an easy answer. Much like our safety brief, addressing the stuff one knows to do (or not do) is low-hanging fruit. Everyone knows, for example, not to drink and drive- but they are left to their own judgement when they can drive after drinking. In this case, am I willing to offend someone with the Gospel, to risk relationships, careers, community relations? This is a lot tougher. The Gospel is offensive. 11 of the 12 Apostles were murdered, martyred for it. Christians would be massacred for it is some of most creative ways, beyond our reconning. The popular firework, the Roman Candle, is such an example.

This isn’t to say to use the gospel as a hammer, destroy your relationships, and turn into a street-corner preacher with no friends left. Or certainly, to imbibe responsibility for the salvation or condemnation of another- salavtion is completely through the Holy Spirit and Jesus’ finished work.

Instead, reflect on Paul in verse two: he went in repeatedly to the synagogue, each week, building rapport and relationships, and he reasoned with them from the Scriptures. He built a foundation and witnessed to them. So as we come to a close, I’d ask you to reflect this coming month, as part of your response to the Great Commission, Mt 28:19-20 “19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you,” who are you building a foundation with and witnessing to in your words and actions, and where in your life can you pursue sanctification to enable and empower your role in building the kingdom of God?

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Respond to God

Prayers of Supplication

Let us pray the prayer that Jesus taught us:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

Following the Lord’s Prayer, we continue with the following responsive prayers.

Be exalted, O Lord, above the heavens;

Let your glory cover the earth.

Show us your mercy, O Lord;

And grant us your salvation.

Clothe your ministers with righteousness;

And make your chosen people joyful.

Give peace in our time, O Lord;

For only in you can we live in safety.

Let your way be known on earth;

Your saving power among all nations.

Lord, keep our nation under your care;

And guide us in the way of justice and truth.

Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;

Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.

Create in us clean hearts, O God;

And revive us by your Spirit.

After a season of guided prayer, we close by saying:

Prayer of Response and Thanksgiving

Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we, your unworthy servants, give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made.

We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life, but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ, for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.

Depart in Peace

Having answered the call to worship, confessed and received assurance of pardon, and having heard the Gospel, the Church is to depart and serve, loving God with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength, and their neighbor as themselves.

Hebrews 13:20–21 (ESV)

Benediction

20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever.

Amen