Online Worship – April 19, 2020

Trinity Presbyterian Church
Online Worship Service

for April 19, 2020 – Second Sunday of Easter

Welcome and Announcements

Welcome to Trinity Presbyterian Church’s worship service online! This is the fourth online worship service for Trinity.

Briefly, a word concerning the technical presentation of this service. If you are having difficulty reading the words, look for your web browser’s “Zoom” settings. The keystrokes are typically ‘Ctrl-Shift-+’ to increase the zoom or ‘Ctrl-Shift-(minus)’ to decrease the zoom. Other devices may have a different mechanism (‘finger pinch’), but most support zoom.

Although the sanctuary doors will not be open, we hope you will have a meaningful Sunday worship experience!

The service this day contains:

  • Preparation for Worship
  • A musical prelude “Paean”
  • A Call to Worship
  • Opening hymn #236 “The Strife is O’er”
  • Prayer of the Day
  • A Prayer of Confession
  • Affirmation of Faith
  • Prayers of the People and the Lord’s Prayer
  • Declaration of Forgiveness
  • A Children’s Sermon from Brooke Tucker
  • An Anthem of hymn #254 “That Easter Day with Joy was Bright”
  • Scripture readings for the Second Sunday of Easter
  • Rev Dr Jeff Beebe’s message: “A Living Hope”
  • An opportunity for you to give your Offering
  • And a closing hymn, “Thine is the Glory”


Preparation for Worship

Let us join together now and prepare for worship.

Dear Family of God – these are trying days in God’s beloved world. As Christ’s Church, sustained by the Holy Spirit, we have gifts and a call by which to care for one another and for our neighbors. Worship in which we encounter our living God and know ourselves connected to the body continues. So this day we expand our worship into our homes, knowing that as we read the same Scriptures, and share in the same prayers, we are held together on this Sunday Morning. Let us prepare our hearts and minds to worship the living Lord.


Prelude “Paean”

Heasuk Che performs on the organ.


Call to Worship

Please join in our Call to Worship.

With Mary, whose glad tidings signaled hope

and summoned joy, we proclaim:

We have seen the Lord!

With the disciples, whom Jesus greeted with peace

and freed from fear, we declare:

We have seen the Lord!

Behold! The risen Lord is in our midst!

Let us worship God!


Opening Hymn #236 “The Strife is O’er”

Refrain Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
1 The strife is o’er, the battle done;
the victory of life is won;
the song of triumph has begun.
Alleluia!
2 The powers of death have done their worst,
but Christ their legions hath dispersed:
let shouts of holy joy outburst.
Alleluia!
3 The three sad days are quickly sped;
Christ rises glorious from the dead:
all glory to our risen Head!
Alleluia!
4 Lord, by the stripes which wounded thee,
from death’s dread sting thy servants free,
that we may live, and sing to thee:
Alleluia!
Refrain Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!


Prayer of the Day

Our prayer for this day.

Living God, through Jesus Christ you emptied the power of death and gave us the gift of life in fullness. Now fill us with the breath of your Spirit to tell the good news of the gospel: Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. Amen.


Prayer of Confession

Let us confess our sins before God.

Risen Lord,
you have breathed the Spirit upon us,
and sent us forth to testify
to what we have heard and seen.
Yet we resist this calling,
huddling behind locked doors
rather than stepping out with confidence.
We yearn for more—
more proof,
more courage,
more guidance,
more faith—
and forget that you have given us all we need:
the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Forgive us, we pray.
Free us from fear
and send forth to proclaim:
“We have seen the Lord!”

(Silence for Reflection)


Affirmation of Faith (Apostle’s Creed)

Let us affirm our faith.

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.


Prayers of the People & The Lord’s Prayer

A Prayer to God in Anxious Times
Rev. Cornelius Plantinga, Jr. wrote this prayer in March 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Gracious God, Champion of the Universe, we so often fluff ourselves up. Aren’t we the only creatures who compose masterpieces of music and art? Don’t we govern ourselves, enrich ourselves, promote ourselves? Can’t we dunk basketballs, bat baseballs, spike volleyballs? Aren’t some of us masters of comic irony? Other creatures don’t practice rocket science. We do.

And yet. Here we are, frightened by a thing so small it can’t be seen under most microscopes. It’s not even an animal or a plant. It’s a virus, a mere parasite, dependent on our own living cells to replicate. And yet it has shuttered our schools, cancelled our flights, and emptied our churches. It has consumed the attention of our leading scientists, wrenched our politics out of shape, dominated our conversations, and scared the daylights out of us.

We don’t want to get sick. And we don’t want to die.

We are afraid, O God. Afraid of a microorganism. Afraid of each other.

Great and quiet source of peace, quiet our fears. We are wary, uncertain, strung tight. Quiet our fears. We have no idea what the future will bring, but we do know you will be in our future to hold us there. We cannot quiet ourselves, O God. We cannot comfort ourselves, cannot heal ourselves, cannot help ourselves. All we can do is wash our hands and keep our distance. Our rocket science is no good to us for this threat.

O God, great and quiet source of peace, quiet us, your anxious ones, and let us cling for comfort to your suffering Son, Jesus Christ. Gather us under his wings. Remind us that he suffers with us, but he’s also the great physician. In him, let us not be afraid. Please,let us not be afraid. Amen.

Let us pray together.

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 debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.


Declaration of Forgiveness

Hear the good news! Who is in a position to condemn? Only Christ, and Christ died for us, Christ rose for us, Christ reigns in power for us, Christ prays for us. (Romans 8:34) Anyone who is in Christ is a new creation. The old life is gone and a new life is begun. In Jesus Christ we are forgiven!


Children’s Sermon

Brooke Tucker has a special message for you today.


Anthem of Hymn #254 “That Easter Day with Joy Was Bright”

Performed by Judith Spurrell, Lillian Werner, and Jason Wheeler with accompaniment by Jillian Koenig on flute, and Heasuk Che on piano.


Scripture Reading

For the readings, you may click on the links below. The link will take you to BibleGateway.com. A new window (or tab) will appear. After you finish the readings, you may close the window (or tab) to continue with the service. If you prefer, find your Bible and read the selections.

There are several readings for today. They include readings from the Acts of the Apostles, the Old Testament Book of Psalms, a New Testament collection of letters from the Apostle Peter (1 Peter), and the New Testament Book of the Apostle John. Listen for God speaking to you today as you read along.

The first reading is 1 Peter 1:3-9.

The next reading is Acts 2:14a, 22-32.

And from the Old Testament: Psalm 16.

The final reading is John 20:19-31.


Message “A Living Hope”

The message from Rev Dr Jeffrey Beebe on this Second Sunday of Easter.


Offering

Please continue to give your offering.

God calls us to give all of who we are, and all of what we have to be used in and thru the Church. So let us present our lives. Let us present our gifts unto God. (Offerings can be received in the church by mail or you may utilize online banking options).

You can click the image to the right or this link to give online now. At the online Giving site, select “2020 Pledge” as the Fund to fulfill your 2020 pledge or use another fund if you’re directing your gift elsewhere. Note, the church must pay a small processing fee to receive your contribution via online giving. Increasing your gift would help cover the cost of processing and would be greatly appreciated.

If you’d like to see alternatives to online giving, please take a look at our Contribute page.


Closing Hymn #238 “Thine is the Glory”

1 Thine is the glory,
risen, conquering Son;
endless is the victory
thou o’er death hast won.
Angels in bright raiment
rolled the stone away,
kept the folded grave-clothes
where thy body lay.
Refrain: Thine is the glory,
risen, conquering Son;
endless is the victory
thou o’er death hast won.
2 Lo! Jesus meets us,
risen from the tomb;
lovingly he greets us,
scatters fear and gloom.
Let the church with gladness
hymns of triumph sing,
for the Lord now liveth;
death hath lost its sting. [Refrain]
3 No more we doubt thee,
glorious Prince of life!
Life is naught without thee;
aid us in our strife.
Make us more than conquerors
through thy deathless love;
bring us safe through Jordan
to thy home above. [Refrain]


The Service has Ended

Thank you for joining us on-line! We hope you will join us again as long as we need to be apart. We pray for the day when we can all meet again and worship God in the sanctuary and Trinity Presbyterian Church.

May the Peace of Christ be with you!

1 Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love.
The fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above.

ALL COPYRIGHTS ACKNOWLEDGED



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