Worship Resources

Greetings!

Here are the important special events for this next week.

Friday, April 26

8:30 – 9:30am Sort Fresh Food – We can use all the volunteers we can get!

Saturday, April 27

9 – 11am Fresh Food Distribution – Come and give us a hand!!

Sunday, April 28

Compassion Sunday

Tuesday, April 30

11am – 12pm Millie Crawford Celebration of Life @ East Lawn Chapel. There will be no reception afterward. Instead, the family asks that everyone go out to eat with their family and friends and celebrate life together.

Sunday, May 5

Our preacher for the day will be Rev. Jacque Pagel from our Synod Office.

The full week’s schedule is printed at the bottom of this email. Or you can check out the calendar and watch any of our worship services or read our newsletter on our New Website:www.streamstuc.org

Know that you are loved,

Pr Tom

Welcome

GATHERING SONG 10,000 REASONS

Chorus Bless the Lord O my soul O my soul
Worship His holy name

Sing like never before O my soul
I’ll worship Your holy name

Verse 1 The sun comes up it’s a new day dawning
It’s time to sing Your song again
Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me
Let me be singing when the evening comes Chorus

Verse 2 You’re rich in love and You’re slow to anger
Your name is great and Your heart is kind
For all Your goodness I will keep on singing
Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find Chorus

Verse 3 And on that day when my strength is failing
The end draws near and my time has come
Still my soul will sing Your praise unending
Ten thousand years and then forevermore Chorus

(Ending) Worship Your holy name Lord I’ll worship Your holy name
Sing like never before, O my soul I’ll worship Your holy name
Worship Your holy name Worship Your holy name

OPEN THE EYES OF MY HEART

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord,

Open the eyes of my heart,

I want to see You, I want to see You.

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord,

Open the eyes of my heart,

I want to see You, I want to see You.

To see You high and lifted up,

Shining in the light of Your glory.

Pour out Your power and love,

As we sing holy, holy, holy. (repeat)

Holy, holy, holy; Holy, holy, holy;

Holy, holy, holy; I want to see You. (repeat)

CCLI License No. 1207064

COME, NOW IS THE TIME TO WORSHIP

Verse Come, now is the time to worship;

Come, now is the time to give your heart;

Come, just as you are to worship;

Come, just as you are before your God. Come

Chorus

One day every tongue will confess You are God;

One day every knee will bow;

Still the greatest treasure remains;

For those who gladly choose You now

Repeat verse and chorus

Come, now is the time, Come, now is the time, Come.

CCLI-License# 1366369

THE CALL TO WORSHIP

Leader: Rejoice, O people of God, for the Lord is with us in this holy place!

People: Our lives belong to the risen Lord, committed by faith in our baptism.

Leader: Let us always remember our baptism by being ever true to our commitment.

People: And let the light of Christ shine through our lives for all to see.

Leader: Rejoice then, O people of God, and sing praises before the Christ

People: Blessed be the name of the Lord!

WELCOME TO WORSHIP

Equip

PRAYER OF CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS

Leader: Gracious God,

People: on too many occasions we have forgotten the promises and commitment we made in our hearts to be Your faithful followers. Too often, O God, we have seen Your hurting children, yet we did not make time to help them. We have made important decisions about what seems good to us without regard for the needs of others. Forgive us, O Lord. In Christ we pray. Amen.

(Silence for reflection and personal confession)

Leader:God loved us and sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. True love is known, not in our love for God, but in God ís love for us, sacrificing his son o overcome the burden of our sins. Sisters and Brothers, your sins are forgiven; be at peace.

People: Thanks be to God!

PASSING OF THE PEACE

SONG OF PRAISE SO I SING

Chorus

I turned to him, He turned to me

I needed him, He wanted me

I trusted him and he carried me

And so I sing so I sing (repeat)

Verse

I sing thank you Father God

For every good and perfect gift you give

I sing thank you Father God

(repeat Chorus, Verse, Chorus)

Ending

And so I sing, so I sing

CCLI Song #5148127

TODAY’S BIBLE READING

Psalm 22:25-28

²⁵From you comes my praise in the great assembly;
I will perform my vows in the sight of those who fear the Lord.
²⁶The poor shall eat and be satisfied,
Let those who seek the Lord give praise! May your hearts live forever!
²⁷All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord;
all the families of nations shall bow before God.
²⁸For dominion belongs to the Lord,
who rules over the nations.

1 John 4:7-21

We love God and others because God first loved us. We cannot say we love God, whom we have not seen, while hating fellow Christians, whom we regularly see. Love toward God is to be matched by love toward others because the essence of God is love.

⁷Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. ⁸Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. ⁹God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. ¹⁰In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. ¹²No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.
¹³By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world. ¹⁵God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. ¹⁶So we have known and believe the love that God has for us.
God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. ¹⁷Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. ¹⁸There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. ¹⁹We love because he first loved us. ²⁰Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. ²¹The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION THY WORD

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path

And a light unto my path; you’re the light unto my path

John 15:1-8

On the night of his arrest, Jesus taught his disciples about the relationship they would have with him. Those who abide in his word and love would bear fruit, for apart from him, they could do nothing.

[Jesus said:] ¹“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. ²He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. ³You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. ⁴Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. ⁵I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. ⁷If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”

SPECIAL MUSIC

YOUNG PERSON’S MESSAGE

ADULT MESSAGE 5 EASTER – 4.28.24 – JOHN 15:1-8

Some of you may know the story of Dawson Trotman, founder of the Navigators, an organization originally begun with the goal of reaching men serving in the Navy.

Trotman began to meet with a Navy man named Les Spencer, teaching him basic truths from the Bible. After a while, Spencer brought a friend from the ship to Trotman and said, “Dawson, I want you to teach him all you have taught me.”

Trotman refused. He said, “I am not going to teach him; you are going to teach him. If you cannot teach him what I have taught you, then I have failed.”

So, Les Spencer began to teach his friend, and the multiplication process began. Spencer’s friend found someone else who wanted to be taught, and the process continued until on that one ship there were one hundred twenty-five men meeting every week for prayer and Bible study. Those men were shipped off to other ships and bases, until, at the height of World War II, there were groups of believers started by these men on more than one thousand ships and naval bases all over the world.

Soon the FBI heard about these groups on the Navy’s ships with no name or charter and it began to investigate. They went to one participant to find out how they got started, he would say, “I don’t know, I met someone on another ship who started a group.” So, the FBI agents went to that person to question him, and then were referred to someone on another ship.

The investigation went on for three months until they were finally able to find the culprit who started the whole thing: Dawson Trotman. That’s how the ministry of the Navigators began. It is a lesson for us in how to bear fruit for God as our Gospel instructs.

IN THE FIRST PLACE, Jesus tells us we are to bear fruit. That is why we have been called together as a community. We are not here simply to enjoy one another’s company. We are not even here solely to acknowledge God’s sovereignty over our lives. Both of these are vital. But there is a third ingredient in the triad of faith, and that is that we are to prepare ourselves to bear fruit in the community.

Jesus put it as pointedly as possible. The barren tree will be thrown into the fire. What good is a grape vine without grapes? What use is a fig tree without figs?

Why can’t we have a spirit of drive and innovation within the body of Christ? Who says our churches have to become museums? We have what the world desperately needs. Wall Street doesn’t have it. Madison Avenue doesn’t have it. Even Yale and Harvard don’t have it. We have it. We have the Good News of Jesus Christ to share with the world. Why are we not bearing more fruit?

Of course, bearing fruit is an individual responsibility too.

In a Peanuts strip Lucy is parked in her psychiatric booth, and Charlie Brown is sharing his problems with her. “Sometimes I ask myself questions,” he begins. “Sometimes I ask myself, ˜Is this your real life, or is this just a pilot film? Is my life a thirty-nine week series or is it something special?'” In no time at all Lucy analyzes his problem and gives an instant answer: “Whatever it is, your ratings are down., Five cents, please.!”

Poor Charlie Brown. He senses that nothing much is happening in his life. Some of us may feel that way, too. We know our lives should be more vital, more productive, but somehow we cannot seem to get untracked.

The solution to this dilemma is found in the SECOND OBVIOUS TRUTH from our text: fruit bearing is directly proportional to our relationship to the vine. The vine, of course, is Christ himself.

Donald Grey Barnhouse cites an amazing example of lasting fruitfulness. In Hampton Court near London, there is a grapevine under glass; it is about 1,000 years old and has but one root which is at least two feet thick. Some of the branches are 200 feet long. Because of skillful pruning, the vine produces several tons of grapes each year. Even though some of the smaller branches are 200 feet from the main stem, they bear much fruit because they are joined to the vine and allow the life of the vine to flow through them.

If we, the branches, are not bearing much fruit, it may be that we are not feeding as we ought upon the life-giving flow from the vine.

That’s true of a church. A cartoon in The Churchman magazine sometime back showed a small boy standing before a very large church door, and asking the minister in the doorway, “Is God home?” That is a relevant question for our church or any church. Is God home? Churches bear fruit in direct proportion to the number of people who find God there in the worship, in the fellowship, in the service to the community which the church provides. We need spiritual nourishment if we are to bear fruit.

A few years ago, a news article hit the wire service detailing the plight of a Swedish women who had a rare eating disorder. Because of her disease, she was forced to eat thirty pounds of food a day just to stay alive. The old amounts of food she used to eat could not sustain her physically. She would die if she simply ate three normal meals. She always needed more.

Jesus said, “Blessed are those how hunger and thirst for righteousness.” I don’t meet many people like that. For the most part I meet people who have a great emptiness within, a God-shaped emptiness, as one philosopher has called it. That is because we have let our relationship with the vine shrivel and die.

But there is another IMPORTANT TRUTH in this text. That concerns the process of pruning. Adversity and suffering are to be seen by the believer as a part of god’s pruning process.

In his book Where Is God When It Hurts?, Philip Yancey points out that the New Testament describes at least five ways in which suffering can yield spiritual growth. Yancey says that the role of suffering in our faith is that it “turns us to God” when we might otherwise not have been willing to seek and receive God’s help.

Corrie Ten Boom, who never lost her connection to the vine, even in Hitler’s brutal concentration camp, writes:

Often, I have heard people say, “How good God is! We prayed that it would not rain for our church picnic, and look at the lovely weather.” Yes, God is good when He sends good weather. But God was also good when He allowed my sister, Betsie, to starve to death before my eyes in a German concentration camp. I remember one occasion when I was very discouraged there. Everything around us was dark, and there was darkness in my heart. I remember telling Betsie that I thought God had forgotten us. “No, Corrie,” said Betsie, “He has not forgotten us. Remember His Word: ˜For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him.’ Corrie concludes, “There is an ocean of God’s love available there is plenty for everyone. May God grant you never to doubt that victorious love whatever the circumstances.”

There is a degree of faith that many of us do not have. That is why we bear so little fruit. For the person connected to the vine, Christ, adversity and suffering are to be seen as a part of God’s pruning process.

This brings us to THE FINAL THING to be said. God is the ultimate judge of the fruit we bear. An emphasis on bearing fruit could be interpreted as a sermon on “works.” It could also reflect the success syndrome of our day. Someone could leave this service today with a load of unresolved guilt because you feel your fruit is not as acceptable as someone else’s.

James Herriot, the beloved author of All Creatures Great And Small and other best sellers about his life as a veterinarian in rural Scotland, was once being entertained by a wealthy American in Beverly Hills, California. His host had a magnificent home and swimming pool up in the hills. He kept telling Mr. Herriot that despite his wealth, his many travels, and his high society experiences, “Somehow I’ve missed out.” Later Mr. Herriot said, “I’ve stayed put, but thank God, I haven’t missed out.” He knew that his humble service as a rural veterinarian was as noble in the eyes of God as the work of the movers and shakers of this world.

God is the ultimate judge of our fruit. It is He who decides what is to be allowed to flourish and what is to be thrown into the fire. For some of us bearing fruit may simply be a kind word to someone who is hurting. Someone wrote a very painful letter to Ann Landers:

Dear Ann: Last December a pal of mine killed himself. Another friend attempted suicide three times in the past 14 months. I tried to take my own life a few years ago.

We all had promising futures and financial security, but we lacked one thing-the ability to relate to others. I stopped wanting to kill myself when I realized my death would make a difference. That somebody really cared.

If people want to help, they can. Here are a few things everyone can do: Smile more, even to people you don’t know. Touch people. Look them in the eye. Let them know you are aware they exist. Be concerned about those you work with. Listen when they speak to you. Spend an extra minute. If someone has a problem, just listening means more than you’ll ever know.

To those who are in depression, say this: “Everybody has highs and lows. Nobody is on top of the world all the time. You’ll crawl back up again if you give yourself a chance. Tomorrow will be better.”

You could save a life without realizing it by letting a depressed person know somebody cares. I care. What greater fruit can any child of God bear than the fruit of compassion and kindness?

This then is the heart of the matter. Jesus is the vine, we are the branches. Our job is to bear fruit. We are not to lose heart when times get difficult. We are to offer those hard times to God and allow him to use them as an act of pruning that we might bear even more fruit in the days ahead. Only He is the Judge of our fruit. A word of kindness, a deed of compassion, may be judged to be the best fruit of all.

Illustrations and ideas of King Duncan used by permission from

Sermon and Worship Resources @ sermons.com

SERMON SONG THEY’LL KNOW WE ARE CHRISTIANS

1) We are one in the Spirit, We are one in the Lord

We are one in the Spirit, We are one in the Lord

And we pray that all unity, May one day be restored

Chorus

And they’ll know we are Christians By our love by our love

Yes they’ll know we are Christians By our love

2) We will walk with each other, We will walk hand in hand

We will walk with each other, We will walk hand in hand

And together we’ll spread the news, That God is in our land chorus

3) We will work with each other, We will work side by side

We will work with each other, We will work side by side

And we’ll guard each man’s dignity, And save each man’s pride chorus

4) All praise to the Father, From whom all things come

And all praise to Christ Jesus His only Son

And all praise to The Spirit who makes us one chorus

CCLI Song No. 26997

Respond

AFFIRMING OUR FAITH APOSTLES’ CREED

People: I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father, and He will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, 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 CHURCH

L: Rejoicing in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we pray for the witness of the church, the wholeness of creation, and all who are in need.

A brief silence.

L: For homeless youth and rejected children. For isolated grandparents and lonely nursing home residents. For the shamed, the slighted, and the disregarded members of our communities. For all the sick (especially), let us pray.

C: Have mercy, O God.

Here other intercessions may be offered.

L: We entrust all our prayers to you, gracious God. Receive them by the power of the Holy Spirit and the love of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

L: Amen.

WE WORSHIP GOD THROUGH OUR GIVING

Next, we will receive the gifts of forgiveness of sin, life, and salvation from our Lord Jesus, and respond gratefully with our offerings. Offering plates are in the front next to the aisle for your gifts. You may also donate online on the website, by text (the phone number is on the website), by mail, or personally deliver it to the office. Lives are changed through the ministry enabled by your gifts. Thank you for your continued support and partnership in the Gospel. Let us pray

PRAYER OF BLESSING

L: In thanks for the great gift of Jesus’ life within us, we bring this offering to be used to spread the good news of his love. We bring our lives also to be blessed anew by God, praying that the power that raised Jesus from the dead will enliven our spirits and renew our dedication to witness to the gospel not just in word and speech, but in truth and action.

C: Amen.

WORDS OF INSTITUTION

LORDS PRAYER 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 trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

COMMUNION SONG SING ALLELUIA

1. Sing alleluia to the Lord, sing alleluia to the Lord

Sing alleluia, sing alleluia, sing alleluia to the Lord

2. Jesus is risen from the dead

3. Jesus is Lord of heaven and earth

4. He’s coming back to take us home

5. We give thanks to God our King

6. He died for us, we’ll live for Him

CCLI-License# 1366369

Send

BENEDICTION SONG AS YOU GO ON YOUR WAY

As you go on your way may Christ go with you.

May he go before you to show you the way;

May he go behind you to encourage you;

Beside you to befriend you;

Above you to watch over;

Within you to give you peace.

In the name of the Father, Son and Spirit.

Amen.

COMPASSION PRESENTATION

ANNOUNCEMENTS

STREAMS THEME SONG

See the streams of living waters, springing from eternal love,

well supply your sons and daughters,

and all fear of want remove.

Who can faint while such a river ever will their thirst assuage?

Grace which, like the Lord, the giver,

never fails from age to age.

SENDING BLESSING

Leader: Greet your worshiping neighbor. Go in peace and

Serve One Another!

People: Thanks be to God!!!

Friday, April 26

8:30 – 9:30am Sort Fresh Food

Saturday, April 27

9 – 11am Fresh Food Distribution

Sunday, April 28

Compassion Sunday

9:30 – 10:30am Adult Bible Study & Sunday School

10:45 – 11:45am Livestream Worship in-person

11:50am – 12:20pm Building & Grounds – Classroom A

3 – 4:30pm Zoom Bible Study

5:30 – 8:30pm Youth groups

Tuesday, April 30

9 – 11am Streams Food Pantry

10:30am – 12pm NO Bible Study today

11am – 12pm Millie Crawford service @ East Lawn Chapel

7 – 9pm Native American Flute Circle, Streams Sanctuary

Wednesday, May 1

8:30 – 11:30am Workday

9 – 11:30am Quilters – Large Fellowship Hall

11am – 12pm VdC Grouping, Office Conference Rm

5:30 – 6:15pm Friends & Family Dinner & Movie

Thursday, May 2

9 – 11am VdC Grouping, Office Conference Rm

6 – 7pm Bell’s Angels practice

7:15 – 8:30pm Joy Choir Practice

Sunday, May 5

Rev. Jacque Pagel preaching

9:30 – 10:30am Adult Bible Study & Sunday School

10:45 – 11:45am Livestream Worship in-person, Rev. Jacque Pagel preaching

12:20 – 1:20pm Worship & Music Com. – Meeting Room A

3 – 4:30pm Zoom Bible Study

4 – 6pm Streams’ VdC Community Ultreya