† Stand as you are able
Organ Prelude
Welcome and Announcements
Choral Introit “Christ Is Risen! Alleluia!” Maker
Christ is risen! Alleluia!
Risen. our victorious Head!
Sing His praises! Alleluia!
Christ is risen from the dead.
†Call to Worship
Come, all who long for a sure path and a steady hope.
We come to trust Christ, our way and our life.
Come, for God is preparing room for love to grow.
We come to worship with gratitude and courage.
Let us worship the God whose promises hold.
Amen.
†Opening Hymn “How Firm a Foundation” UMH 529
Prayer of Illumination
Risen Christ, open our hearts and mind to your living Word. As the stone was rolled away, remove every barrier that keeps us from seeing your truth. Let your resurrection light awaken us, renew us, and draw us into the life you promised. Speak, Lord, your servants are listening. Amen
A Reading from the Old Testament Proverbs 4: 10-18 NRSV
Hear, my child, and accept my words, that the years of your life may be many. I have taught you the way of wisdom; I have led you in the paths of uprightness. When you walk, your step will not be hampered, and if you run, you will not stumble. Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life. Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of evildoers. Avoid it; do not go on it; urn away from it and pass on. For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong; they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble. For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence. But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.
The word of God, for the people of God. Thanks be to God!
Congregational Prayer
God of promise, steady our hearts when the future feels uncertain. When grief, change, or fear unsettles us, remind us that Christ is not absent—Christ is making a way and holding us in love. Shape our faith to be more than words: make it courage in adversity, generosity in scarcity, and hope in the face of what we cannot control. Teach us to live as a people who belong to you and who belong to one another. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Passing of the Peace “Sweet, Sweet Spirit” UMH 334
Sharing Joys and Concerns
Pastoral Prayer
Choral Response “Alleluia” UMH 186
A Reading from the New Testament 1 Peter 2:1-10 NRSV
Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation-if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in scripture: “See, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” This honor, then, is for you who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the very head of the corner,” and “A stone that makes them stumble and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
The word of God, for the people of God. Thanks be to God!
Sermon Reverend. Levon D. Sutton, Pastor
†Responsive Hymn “I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light” UMH 206
Invitation to Offering
Offertory “Jazz Cantate” Beck
Offering Prayer
God of promise, receive our gifts. Use them to build up your church, to serve your community, and to witness to the hope we have in Christ. Amen.
Holy Communion “Let Us Break Bread Together” UMH 618
The Great Thanksgiving UMH 13
The Lord’s Prayer
†Closing Hymn “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” UMH 140
†Benediction
Go in peace. Christ goes ahead of you, making a way. Walk in hope, and let your life proclaim God’s promises. Amen.
†Benediction Response “Hallelujah” Trad., Caribbean, arr. Moore
Hallelujah
Ringing the Bicentennial Bell
Organ Postlude