The sEVENth Sunday of Easter
AN ORDER OF SERVICE FOR USE AT HOME
THE SEVENTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
MAY 12, 2024
THE WORD OF GOD
Opening Hymn: Hail the Day That Sees Him Rise #214
The Opening Acclamation BCP p. 355
Presider: Alleluia, Christ is risen.
People: The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia.
Collect for Purity BCP p. 355
The Collect of the Day
O God, the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven: Do not leave us comfortless, but send us your Holy Spirit to strengthen us, and exalt us to that place where our Savior Christ has gone before; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
The First Reading Acts 1:15-17,21-26
In those days Peter stood up among the believers (together the crowd numbered about one hundred twenty persons) and said, “Friends, the scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit through David foretold concerning Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus–for he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry. So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us–one of these must become a witness with us to his resurrection.” So they proposed two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias. Then they prayed and said, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.
Reader: The Word of the Lord. People: Thanks be to God.
Psalm 1
1 Happy are they who have not walked in the counsel of the wicked,
nor lingered in the way of sinners,
nor sat in the seats of the scornful!
2 Their delight is in the law of the Lord,
and they meditate on his law day and night.
and all the families of the nations shall bow before him.
3 They are like trees planted by streams of water,
bearing fruit in due season, with leaves that do not wither;
everything they do shall prosper.
4 It is not so with the wicked;
they are like chaff which the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked shall not stand upright when
judgment comes,
nor the sinner in the council of the righteous.
6 For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked is doomed.
The Second Reading: 1 John 5:9-13
If we receive human testimony, the testimony of God is greater; for this is the testimony of God that he has testified to his Son. Those who believe in the Son of God have the testimony in their hearts. Those who do not believe in God have made him a liar by not believing in the testimony that God has given concerning his Son. And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.
Reader: The Word of the Lord. People: Thanks be to God.
Sequence Hymn The Head that Once was Crowned with Thorns #483
The Holy Gospel John 17:6-19
Jesus prayed for his disciples saying, “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. While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.”
Reader: The Gospel of the Lord. People: Praise to you, Lord Christ.
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
Rejoicing in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we pray for the witness of the church, the wholeness of creation, and all who are in need.
For ministries that nurture faith formation. For Michael our Presiding Bishop, for Craig our Bishop, and for the ministries of the ECMN. For missionaries and Bible study leaders. For those who are seeking, questioning, or curious. For seminarians, campus ministers, and the newly baptized, let us pray.
Have mercy, O God.
For the beauty and health of the earth. For vineyards and orchards, groves and plains. For rainforests and arctic tundra. For oceans deep and rivers wide, let us pray.
Have mercy, O God.
For spears to be beaten into pruning hooks. For harsh words to be reformed into loving speech. For acts of cruelty and terrorism to cease. For justice and peace in every land, let us pray.
Have mercy, O God.
For homeless youth and rejected children. For isolated grandparents and lonely nursing home residents. For the shamed, the slighted, and the disregarded members of our communities. For all the sick, especially Cathy, Deon, Don, Helena, Jeanne, Judy, Louise, Lyndon, Miriam, Nancy, Ray, Ron, Theresa, and others? (pause), let us pray.
Have mercy, O God.
For all who live with post-traumatic stress disorder and post-partum depression. For all who struggle with eating disorders and anorexia. For all who suffer in silence and all who suffer alone, let us pray.
Have mercy, O God.
In thanksgiving for all who live eternally with you. For those we mourn and grieve. For the fulfilment of your will on earth as it is in heaven, let us pray.
Have mercy, O God.
We entrust all our prayers to you, gracious God. Receive them by the power of the Holy Spirit and the love of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The Confession of Sin
Most merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us;
that we may delight in your will,
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your Name. Amen
The Lord’s Prayer BCP p. 364
A Prayer for Spiritual Communion When We Cannot Receive The Sacrament
In union, O Lord, with your faithful people
at every altar of your Church
where the Holy Eucharist is now being celebrated:
I desire to offer you praise and thanksgiving.
I remember your death, Lord Christ,
I proclaim your resurrection,
and I await your coming in glory.
and since I cannot receive you today
in the Sacrament of your Body and Blood,
I ask you to come into my heart.
Cleanse and strengthen me with your grace, Lord Jesus,
and let me never be separated from you.
May I live in you, and you in me,
in this life, and in the life to come.
Amen
Closing Hymn Alleluia! Sing to Jesus! #460
The Blessing
May God the Father, by whose power Christ was raised from the dead
strengthen us to walk with him in his risen life;
and may the blessing of God Almighty: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
be with us, and remain with us always. Amen.
The Dismissal
Presider: Go in peace to love and serve the Lord. Alleluia, Alleluia.
People: Thanks be to God. Alleluia, Alleluia.