Today we worship jointly at Olivet United Presbyterian Church 9:45am, in West Elizabeth. There will not be streaming the service on Facebook.
Worship
Service for May 4, 2025
Prelude
Announcements:
Call to Worship
L: Sing to the Lord a new song, a song of
hope and rejoicing!
P: Praise God for wonderful acts of mercy and
kindness!
L: God has remembered God’s faithful ones.
P: God has poured blessing upon blessing upon
us!
L: Praise the Lord, all the earth, shout your
praise!
P: Rejoice, for God is truly with us. AMEN
Opening Hymn – All Hail the
Power of Jesus’ Name #142/43
Prayer of Confession
Easter is such a wonderful
season, Lord. Hope springs anew in our
hearts. As the earth is being refreshed
by the warmth of spring, so we have been refreshed and made new by the
resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. And
we want to stay in this euphoria forever. But You have called us to go into the valley,
to those who need to hear of Your love and to feel Your caring presence. In his words of hope, Jesus prepared his
disciples to be witnesses. We have heard
these words before, but far too often, we have turned our backs to this
message. We don’t quite believe that we
are capable of actually living our whole lives in Your love. So, we act in ways that are often neglectful
and hurtful of others. We take more time
pampering ourselves than we do helping other people. It is easier to justify our selfish desires
than it is to witness to Your transforming love. Stop us in our tracks, O Lord. Turn us around. Help us face our weakness and Your forgiving
grace. Heal us of our sins and place us
again on the paths of peace. We ask this
in Jesus’ Name. (Silent prayers are
offered) AMEN.
Assurance of Pardon
L: God has remembered God’s steadfast love to
all the people. We are healed and called
to again be God’s beloved children and witnesses. Receive that healing love. God is love and in
God there is no darkness or fear.
P: We
trust in the word of the Lord and know that we are forgiven. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Gloria Patri
Affirmation of Faith/Apostles’
Creed
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
Pastoral Prayer and Lord’s
Prayer
Almighty
God, Your strength and might overshadow the darkness of the world. Your presence gives us joy and contentment,
even in the midst of suffering. Hear us
as we cry out to You this day. We ask
that You enter every situation of need with Your life-giving love. Teach us to trust You through every trial and
problem we face, that we might serve as a witness to others of Your unfailing
love and mercy. In the same way You come
to us with compassion and grace, send us to others with the light of Your hope.
In
is the mandate of the church, for its members to care for one another, for us
to reach out to the lost and lonely of this world, to risk the benefit of
ourselves for the betterment of others.
This morning, Lord, we shared our concerns, we lifted up to You the
needs of those around us. We ask for You
to wrap Your ever-loving arms around those who need to feel Your presence. We ask that You build up the strength of
those facing challenges today. We ask
that You encourage those who feel lost.
In those prayers, Gracious God, we lift up….
Hear our inner thoughts Lord as we pray
to You in silence….
In the glorious name of Jesus we pray
these things united as one, saying,, 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. 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.
Hymn – O God, Our Help in Ages Past #210/686 5 vs.
Blue
Scripture Reading(s):
First Scripture Reading – Psalm
30
Second Scripture Reading – John
21:1-19
Sermon – Breakfast
on the Beach (John 21:1-19)
There
are two things in today’s passage from John that I want to concentrate on. The first one that struck me was the
recognition of Jesus. In our passage
this morning, we have several disciples out fishing together; what they had
been skilled at doing, their prior vocation, that thing that they had been
doing before Jesus called them together. There was Simon Peter, Thomas called the twin,
Nathaniel of Galilee, James and John the sons of Zebedee, and two others. When they got back to the shore, a person on
the beach called out to them and seeing that they had caught nothing told them
to cast their net to the right side of the boat, which they did and were
surprised at the number of fish they caught.
Who then recognized that it was Jesus on the shore first? And here’s a hint; it wasn’t Simon Peter.
Throughout
the story of the gospels, Simon Peter is seen as a leader. He was the leader among his band of fishing
crew that Jesus picked up to follow him.
He was often the spokesperson for the disciples. He was part of the inner circle of disciples
when Jesus chose to only take a few of them on special journeys. And he was the one on whom Jesus said that
he’d build his church. If you remember
when Peter acknowledged him as Lord for the first time, Jesus said to him that
you will no longer be called Simon, but Peter which means rock and upon this
rock I will build by church.
But
what did this rock of the new church do prior to Christ’s crucifixion? He denied knowing him three times, didn’t
he? And what was he up to, now that
Jesus was gone? He went back to his old
ways of fishing. He went back to what he
knew. He leaned into his known skills.
But on
the beach that morning, when a stranger from the shore told them to cast their
net out on the water to the right side of the boat and they’d catch fish, someone
recognized that it was the Lord who spoke to them. It wasn’t Peter, it wasn’t the leader of the
group, it wasn’t the one who first recognized Jesus as the Messiah, it wasn’t
the rock of the new church. It was one
of the other disciples – John – who recognized Jesus first, this time. Why is this significant and why do I point
this out?
This
fledgling group of followers that were supposed to be part of a new church
order have just lost their leader, the one upon whom all things had come into
focus and they knew for the first time that their Messiah, the expected one,
had come to them. They were ready for
great things to happen. They were ready
to overthrow Rome. They were ready for
the church to actually prove itself to the world; for good, for justice, for
peace to reign. And now what?
The
unworthy, untested, dubious second-in-command Peter, the rock, proved to be a
coward. He had slunk away in shame from
the crowds who recognized him as one of Jesus’ followers. He denied knowing him three times. He didn’t feel ready to lead the church. He didn’t feel skilled to do what Jesus
did. He didn’t even know where to start
to hang on to the crowds that followed Christ, let alone to begin a movement,
or to build a church. And so, he went back
to doing what he knew how to do – fish. But
even that proved to be a failure, didn’t it.
Imagine, for just a moment, how he felt.
He’s at his absolute lowest. And
then, one of the other followers recognized Jesus first – something he should
have done. Something that was his job to
do and he failed at that, too.
But I
think this is why Jesus made him his rock and upon which his church would be established. Rather than give in to despair, sit down in
the boat and give up, he jumped into the waters to meet his Lord, to find the
strength to face the man whom he’d denied and find the means to fully lean into
the task that Christ gave him to do.
The
second part of this passage is about the breakfast conversation between Jesus
and Peter. When I was a teenager, I participated
in my church’s youth ministry. We attended
a conference at a beach in New Jersey, I think.
On our last morning, we all got up early. It was still dark, but the youth leader
wanted us down at the beach when the sun came up. We built a fire (not even sure if that’s
possible anymore), sang some songs, prayed and watched the sun come up.
As the
light around us brightened and the sun’s deep orange and red colors painted the
ocean, the youth leader gave the following instructions. We were to each come to the center of the
circle and sit with our heads down and eyes closed. Then one by one, if you were interested,
those around the circle would come up behind you and whisper something they
loved about you, something positive and rewarding.
I’d
never experienced something like that before.
I watched as my fellow youth group members went into the center, I took
my turn going to them and saying honest and caring things about each person
that I knew well. But, I didn’t go into
the circle with those I hardly knew because I didn’t know what I’d say to them.
Then
it was my turn to go into the circle.
And suddenly, I was nervous. As I
sat down, closed my eyes, I wondered; what if no one comes into the circle with
me? The self-doubts creep in. I’m not a worthy person. I’m not really someone people should even like. What if I sit there until the sun is beating
down from the sky directly above and no one has anything nice to say to
me?
Of
course, my fears were un-founded and people came, wrapped their arms around me
and whispered nice things. It was one of
the most profound experiences in my life.
It happened over 40 years ago, and I remember it as clearly and vividly
as if it was only yesterday.
That
memory always makes me think of Peter and this dialogue he has with Jesus on
the beach which we read from the Gospel according to John. Peter was not worthy. In Christ’s most demanding hour, when he
needed his friends’ support, Peter had run away. Peter had denied even knowing Christ out of
fear. And then the horrible events of
Good Friday arrived. Peter couldn’t undo
his lack of faith or take back his actions when the grip of fear took over. Then suddenly the surprising news of the
resurrection and Jesus alive, like he said he would be. Peter was not worthy.
Now,
just a short time later, there he was, on the beach and Peter had to face his
Lord – the Christ, the son of the living God – the friend about whom he fled in
fear of being associated with. I imagine
their dialogue was a bit longer than what is recorded in scripture. I imagine the same scenario we had on the
beach with one another, but this time it is Christ wrapping his arms around
Peter, as Peter sits head bowed, eyes closed.
And Jesus whispering in his ear, telling Peter that he is forgiven,
telling Peter that despite his fear he will be a rock upon which the church
will be built, telling Peter that he is worthy of being called a child of
God.
But,
out of the love that Jesus has for Peter and that Peter has for Christ, comes
responsibility; tend, feed, and care for the sheep and lambs.
Last
week, I attended a conference called Discover Renewal down at Montreat, one of
our denominations Conference and Retreat Centers. During the week, I spent long hours in
rediscovering what has made pastoral ministry exciting and rewarding for me. What I realized, specifically, was that being
called to the work of Solo Pastor is a bad choice of words for our
denomination. Because we also believe in
the “priesthood of all believers” taken from 1 Peter 2:9 which means that none
of us have all the skills required to lead a church, but that among us,
we are all called to the work of the church; that it takes a team of
people. Yes, there might be one person
who, is called to lead the church, but all members are called to lend their
gifts and talents to the work of the church.
Although, it might be nice for us to come here on Sunday mornings and
expect one person or an inner circle of people to do the work of the church, we
are all called to that ministry.
However, when the leader of the church, or the rock of the church, like
Peter, fails to do his job – it’s helpful for another disciple to step up and
point to Jesus, to steer the ship back on course, to ground the tasks of the
church back to its foundation when on treacherous seas, the leader, goes back
to an old playbook.
So,
this morning, I imagine another scenario, as well. You are all on that beach, summoned by Christ
for breakfast. Do any of us feel
worthy? Have we done things we are
ashamed of? Are there things we should
be doing? Like Peter, has fear gripped
us in the moment and shaped our actions?
But, as
he welcomes you, Jesus, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, God incarnate -
leans in and whispers the words you’ve yearned to hear in your heart. You are loved, you are forgiven and you are
most indeed worthy to be called a child of God.
Then Jesus asks, “Do you love me?”
What will be your response?
Thanks
be to God. AMEN
Offertory –
Doxology –
Prayer of Dedication –
Gracious
God, you open your hand in blessing and give us life. Signs of your love surround us. Take these gifts we offer and use them for
the glory of your name. Make us living
symbols of your compassion for this world.
However we are able, may we reach out in love and mercy to help bring
your healing and light to this world. AMEN.
Holy Communion
Closing
Hymn – Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise #263/33
Benediction –
Friends, you
have been chosen to go into this world with the message of God’s infinite
love. Bear the fruit of hope and joy,
peace and justice, with all those you meet.
May God’s peace be with you all. AMEN.
Postlude
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