Epworth United Methodist Church

Oh Freedom: 07/02/06, Epworth Worship Celebration

4th Sunday after Pentecost (Year B)

Welcome. We continue in our celebration of the season after Pentecost, the time when the Holy Spirit works in each of us in a special way. This weekend we celebrate the appointments of Rev. Jack Abel, our Senior Pastor and Rev. Pat Loughlin, as well as the Baptism of Heather Cross. Our worship this morning includes Holy Communion. The elements we use are wheat bread and unfermented grape juice. All are welcome at the table of the Lord. Consider the gift of Freedom in your life as a Christian, and the need to share that gift with others. How does the spirit of Christian Freedom inspire you to love others in God's world?

Congregational Introit
America (verses 1 & 4)

My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing;
land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride,
from every mountainside let freedom ring!

Our fathers' God, to thee, author of liberty, to thee we sing;
long may our land be bright with freedom's holy light;
protect us by thy might, great God, our King.

Greeting
Psalm 130

From the depths I call to you, Yahweh, Lord, listen to my cry for help!
§       Listen compassionately to my pleadings!
If you never overlooked our sins, Yahweh, Lord, could anyone survive?
§       But you do forgive us: and for that we revere you
I wait for Yahweh, my soul waits, I rely on the promise,
§       My soul relies on the Lord more than a watchman on the coming of dawn,
§       for it is with Yahweh that mercy is to be found.

Gospel Lesson
Mark 5: 21-43

A Dead Girl and a Sick Woman

³⁵

²¹When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. ²²Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet ²³and pleaded earnestly with him, "My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live." ²⁴So Jesus went with him.

A large crowd followed and pressed around him. ²⁵And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. ²⁶She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. ²⁷When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, ²⁸because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." ²⁹Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

³⁰At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?"

³¹"You see the people crowding against you," his disciples answered, "and yet you can ask, 'Who touched me?' "

³²But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. ³³Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. ³⁴He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering."

³⁵While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. "Your daughter is dead," they said. "Why bother the teacher any more?"

³⁶Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, "Don't be afraid; just believe."

³⁷He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. ³⁸When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. ³⁹He went in and said to them, "Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep." ⁴⁰But they laughed at him.

§       After he put them all out, he took the child's father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. ⁴¹He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum!" (which means, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!" ). ⁴²Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. ⁴³He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat. (via)

Sermon - O FREEDOM Rev. Pat Loughlin
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Come the Day: June 4, 2006, Epworth Worship Celebration

Pentecost Sunday (Year B)

Welcome. The Easter season is fifty days, a week of weeks. It culminates in today's Pentecost celebration, in which the church remembers the gift of the Holy Spirit, descending like tongues of fire upon the assembled crowd. Our Pentecost worship includes Holy Communion. The elements we use are wheat bread and unfermented grape juice. All are welcome at the table of the Lord. As we prepare for worship, you may wish to consider your sense of Easter's continued presence, and its influence in you and others. How does the Easter Spirit of Christ inspire you to love in God's world?

Greeting
Romans 8:22-23, 26-27

We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now;
§        and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness;
§        for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.
And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit,
§        because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Historical Bible Lesson
Acts 2:1-21

¹When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. ²Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

⁵Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. ⁶When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. ⁷Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? ⁸Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? ⁹Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome ¹¹(both Jews and converts to Judaism Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!" ¹²Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?"

¹³Some, however, made fun of them and said, "They have had too much wine."

¹⁴Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. ¹⁵These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! ¹⁶No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

¹⁷" 'In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
¹⁸Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
¹⁹I will show wonders in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
²⁰The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
²¹And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.'
(via)

Sermon - Come the Day Rev. Jack Abel
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How Far Can You Travel on Sunday?: May 28, 2006, Epworth Worship Celebration

Ascension Sunday (Year B)

Welcome. Our focus in Easter is the presence of the risen Christ, through which we discover new life for ourselves. Today's keyword is "joy." We celebrate the joy made possible through Christ's ascension to God in heaven, and the gift of the Holy Spirit among us. Rev. Leonard Hatch is our guest preacher. Rev. Jack returns from vacation on Tuesday morning. How does Christ's Spirit manifest itself along the journey of your life? How are we called to joy in God's world?

Welcome
Psalm 47:1, 5-9

"Clap your hands, all you peoples; shout to God with loud songs of joy.
        God has gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.
Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises.
        For God is the king of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm.
God is king over the nations; God sits on a holy throne.
        The princes of the peoples gather as the people of the God of Abraham.
        For the shields of the earth belong to God, who is highly exalted.

New Testament Lesson
Acts 1: 1-12

¹In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach ²until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. ³After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. ⁴On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. ⁵For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."

⁶So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"

⁷He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. ⁸But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

⁹After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

¹⁰They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ¹¹"Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."

¹²Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day's walk from the city.

(via)

Sermon - How Far Can You Travel on Sunday? Rev. Leonard Hatch
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Sharing the Spirit: May 07, 2006 Worship Celebration

4th Sunday in Easter (Year B)

Welcome. The Easter season is fifty days, a week of weeks. Our focus is the presence of the risen Christ, and the resulting discovery of new life for ourselves. Today's keyword is "inspiration." Our celebration includes Holy Communion. The elements we use are wheat bread and unfermented grape juice. All are welcome at the table of the Lord. As we prepare for worship, you may wish to consider your own sense of inspiration this morning, and the inspiration you have witnessed in others. How does inspiration contribute to your practice of love in God's world?

Greeting
Psalm 23

Lord, you are my shepherd, I need nothing more.
You give me rest in green meadows setting me near calm waters
where you revive my spirit.
You guide me along sure paths, you are true to your name.
Though I should walk in death's dark valley, I fear no evil with you
by my side, your shepherd's staff to comfort me.
You spread a table before me as my foes look on.
You soothe my head with oil; my cup is more than full.
Goodness and love will tend me every day of my life.
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord as long as I shall live.

Historical Bible Lesson
Acts 4:5-12

The next day the rulers, elders and teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and the other men of the high priest's family. They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: "By what power or what name did you do this?"

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: "Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. He is the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." (via)

Sermon - Sharing the Spirit Rev. Jack Abel
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