Easter Season | Thursday 02 May 2024
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Opening:
Almighty God,
whom truly to know is everlasting life:
Grant us so perfectly to know your Son Jesus Christ
to be the way, the truth, and the life,
that we may steadfastly follow his steps
in the way that leads to eternal glory;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Then Peter said, “Now I understand
that God doesn’t play favorites.”
(Acts 10:34)
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From Psalms: Psalm 98 – Biblical Hebrew / Hebrew Worship – תְּהִלִּים 98
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OT Reading: Isaiah 49:5-6 (GW)
49:5 The Lord formed me in the womb to be his servant
in order to bring Jacob back to him
and gather Israel to him.
(The Lord honors me,
and my God has become my strength.)
Now, the Lord says,
“You are not just my servant
who restores the tribes of Jacob
and brings back those in Israel whom I have preserved.
I have also made you a light for the nations
so that you would save people all over the world.”
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Light of the World (Sing Hallelujah) – We The Kingdom / Light of the World Music
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NT Reading: Acts 10:1-34 (GW)
Cornelius Has a Vision
10:1 A man named Cornelius lived in the city of Caesarea. He was a Roman army officer in the Italian Regiment. He and everyone in his home were devout and respected God. Cornelius gave many gifts to poor Jewish people and always prayed to God.
One day, about three in the afternoon, he had a vision. He clearly saw an angel from God come to him and say, “Cornelius!”
He stared at the angel and was terrified. Cornelius asked the angel, “What do you want, sir?”
The angel answered him, “God is aware of your prayers and your gifts to the poor, and he has remembered you. Send messengers now to the city of Joppa, and summon a man whose name is Simon Peter. He is a guest of Simon, a leatherworker, whose house is by the sea.”
After saying this, the angel left. Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier, one of those who served him regularly. Cornelius explained everything to them and sent them to Joppa.
Peter Has a Vision
10:9 Around noon the next day, while Cornelius’ men were on their way and coming close to Joppa, Peter went on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted to eat. While the food was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw the sky open and something like a large linen sheet being lowered by its four corners to the ground. In the sheet were all kinds of four-footed animals, reptiles, and birds.
A voice told him, “Get up, Peter! Kill these animals, and eat them.”
Peter answered, “I can’t do that, Lord! I’ve never eaten anything that is impure or unclean.”
A voice spoke to him a second time, “Don’t say that the things which God has made clean are impure.”
This happened three times. Then the sheet was quickly taken into the sky.
While Peter was puzzled by the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found Simon’s house and went to the gate. They asked if Simon Peter was staying there. Peter was still thinking about the vision when the Spirit said to him, “Three men are looking for you. Get up, and go downstairs. Don’t hesitate to go with these men. I have sent them.”
So Peter went to the men. He said, “I’m the man you’re looking for. Why are you here?”
The men replied, “Cornelius, a Roman army officer, sent us. He’s a man who has God’s approval and who respects God. Also, the Jewish people respect him. A holy angel told him to summon you to his home to hear what you have to say.”
Peter asked the men to come into the house and had them stay overnight.
Peter Speaks with Cornelius
10:23 The next day Peter left with them. Some disciples from Joppa went along. The following day they arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called his relatives and close friends together.
When Peter was about to enter Cornelius’ house, Cornelius met him, bowed down, and worshiped Peter. But Peter made him get up. He told him, “Stand up! I’m only a man.”
As Peter talked, he entered Cornelius’ house and found that many people had gathered. He said to them, “You understand how wrong it is for a Jewish man to associate or visit with anyone of another race. But God has shown me that I should no longer call anyone impure or unclean. That is why I didn’t object to coming here when you sent for me. I want to know why you sent for me.”
Cornelius answered, “Four days ago I was praying at home. It was at this same time, three o’clock in the afternoon. Suddenly, a man dressed in radiant clothes stood in front of me. He said to me, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and has remembered your gifts to the poor. So send messengers to Joppa, and summon a man whose name is Simon Peter. He’s a guest in the home of Simon, a leatherworker who lives by the sea.’ So I sent for you immediately. Thank you for coming. All of us are here now in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has ordered you to say.”
Then Peter said, “Now I understand that God doesn’t play favorites.
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Song For The Nations – The Music of Celebrant Singers
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+ O God, our heavenly Father, you manifested your love by sending your only-begotten Son into the world, that all might live through him: Pour out your Spirit on your Church, that we may fulfill his command to preach the Gospel to all people. Send forth laborers into your harvest; defend them in all dangers and temptations; and hasten the time when the fullness of the Gentiles shall be gathered in, and faithful Israel shall be saved; through your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Isaiah 61 Prayer Song to Set the Captives Free
+ Almighty God, you sent your Son Jesus Christ to reconcile the world to yourself: We praise and bless you for those whom you have sent in the power of the Spirit to preach the Gospel to all nations. We thank you that in all parts of the earth a community of love has been gathered together by their prayers and labors, and that in every place your servants call upon your Name; for the kingdom and the power and the glory are yours, for ever and ever. Amen.
Closing: FaithandWorship.com | John Birch
May the risen Christ grant us the joys of eternal life.
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Jesus answered him, “Those who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will go to them and make our home with them. A person who doesn’t love me doesn’t do what I say. I don’t make up what you hear me say. What I say comes from the Father who sent me.
“You are already clean because of what I have told you. Live in me, and I will live in you. A branch cannot produce any fruit by itself. It has to stay attached to the vine. In the same way, you cannot produce fruit unless you live in me.
The Peanut Gallery 