Order of Worship May 24, 2020 Aldersgate Day / 7th Sunday of Easter / Ascension Sunday
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The worship video will be available at 11:00am.
Prelude………………………..Gregory Dixon, Pianist/Music Director
Greeting……………………………………………………..Pastor Gina
Opening Prayer (Rev. Gina Head Barrow, 5/21/20)
Gracious and loving God, you know what we bring with us today that seeks to get in the way of our hearing you speak a word of conviction, forgiveness, love, and hope. Help us break through our worries, struggles, doubts, and fears so that our hearts and minds are open to hear from you this day. And in so doing, we might have our hearts strangely warmed and praise you with joy and thanksgiving. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Opening Hymn Hail the Day that Sees Him Rise #312-R
1 Hail the day that sees him rise, Alleluia!
To his throne above the skies, Alleluia!
Christ, awhile to mortals given, Alleluia!
Reascends his native heaven, Alleluia!
2 There the glorious triumph waits, Alleluia!
Lift your heads, eternal gates, Alleluia!
Christ hath conquered death and sin, Alleluia!
Take the King of glory in, Alleluia!
3 See! the heaven its Lord receives, Alleluia!
Yet he loves the earth he leaves, Alleluia!
Though returning to his throne, Alleluia!
Still he calls the world his own, Alleluia!
4 See! he lifts his hands above, Alleluia!
See! he shows the prints of love, Alleluia!
Hark! his gracious lips bestow, Alleluia!
Blessings on his church below, Alleluia!
Acts of the Apostles: 1:6-14
Joys: Please post your joys and prayer concerns in the comments.
A Prayer Litany for the Church and For the World (BOW #495)
Lord, in your mercy. Hear our prayer.
Special Music: My Tribute Michael Lester, soloist
Gospel Lesson: Mark 12:28-34a……………………
This is one of the scriptures that John Wesley heard read on the night he felt his heart strangely warmed
Hymn of Preparation: Love Divine, All Loves Excelling #384-R
1. Love divine, all loves excelling,
joy of heaven, to earth come down;
fix in us thy humble dwelling;
all thy faithful mercies crown!
Jesus, thou art all compassion,
pure, unbounded love thou art;
visit us with thy salvation;
enter every trembling heart.
2. Breathe, O breathe thy loving Spirit
into every troubled breast!
Let us all in thee inherit;
let us find that second rest.
Take away our bent to sinning;
Alpha and Omega be;
end of faith, as its beginning,
set our hearts at liberty.
3. Come, Almighty to deliver,
let us all thy life receive;
suddenly return and never,
nevermore thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
serve thee as thy hosts above,
pray and praise thee without ceasing,
glory in thy perfect love.
4. Finish, then, thy new creation;
pure and spotless let us be.
Let us see thy great salvation
perfectly restored in thee;
changed from glory into glory,
till in heaven we take our place,
till we cast our crowns before thee,
lost in wonder, love, and praise.
Sermon ………………………………………………………Pastor Gina
Giving of our tithes and offerings: You can do this with no fee through your bank’s online bill pay option. It is easy to set up for automatic monthly giving. Or, you can use this link: Online Giving
Prayer after receiving (#107 Worship & Song):
We present these gifts, O God, in the confidence that healing, hope, and wholeness will flourish through them and because of them. Amen.
Closing Hymn: Let There Be Peace on Earth#431-R
Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me
Let There Be Peace on Earth
The peace that was meant to be
With God as our Father
Brothers all are we
Let me walk with my brother
In perfect harmony.
Let peace begin with me
Let this be the moment now.
With ev’ry step I take
Let this be my solemn vow
To take each moment and live
Each moment in peace eternally
Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me
Announcements………………………………………..
Dismissal w/ blessing: Go now in peace to serve God and your neighbor in all that you do. And may the blessing of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit be with you and keep you from this time on and forevermore. Amen.
What is Aldersgate Day?
Aldersgate Day is celebrated on May 24 (or the Sunday closest) to commemorate the day in 1738 when John Wesley experienced assurance of his salvation. Wesley reluctantly attended a group meeting that evening on Aldersgate Street in London. As he heard a reading from Luther’s Preface to the Epistle to the Romans, he felt his “heart strangely warmed.” Wesley wrote in his journal that at about 8:45 p.m. “while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.”
Charles Wesley only a few days before had also had a conversion experience in a building that still stands on an adjacent block (John Bray’s house on Little Britain). We do not know whether the building where John Wesley’s experience took place still exists, nor exactly in which building on Aldersgate Street it may have been if it still stands. A monument at the London Museum on Aldersgate Street marks where some believe the building may have been.
Over time, Aldersgate Street has been shortened by common Methodist usage to simply Aldersgate. The word has come to represent both the place and John Wesley’s experience.
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