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Dear Church Family,
We are delighted to gather for worship over the phone or in person for our Simple Prayer Service. We share with you
the Order of Worship that we will use on the evening of
Wednesday, May 14, 2025.
We will begin the service at 7 PM. Please join us by using our Conference Call. We want everyone to have the opportunity
to worship. We are so happy to have you join us.
Welcome to St. Matthew’s UMC!
Conference Call
Please Dial-in: 267-807-9601
Use access code: 111-576-270#
Simple Prayer for May 14, 2025
Wednesday OF THE 4th WEEK OF EASTER
Greeting and Welcome
*Lucenarium: Lighting of the Christ Candle
Leader: Jesus Christ is the light of the world
All: A light no darkness can extinguish.
Leader: The Lord is risen!
All: The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!
Leader: The Lord be with you.
All: And also with you.
Leader: Lift up your hearts.
All: We lift them up to the Lord.
Leader: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
All: It is right to give our thanks and praise.
Leader: Blessed are you, Lord God of our salvation,
to you be praise and glory forever.
All: As once you ransomed your people from Egypt
and led them to freedom in the promised land,
so now you have delivered us
from the dominion of darkness
and brought us into the kingdom of your risen Son.
May we, the first fruits of your new creation,
rejoice in the new life you have given us,
and praise you for your mighty acts.
Leader: Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
All: Blessed be God for ever and ever. Amen.
Hymn Now the Green Blade Riseth UMH 311
Epistle Reading: Acts 11:1-18
11 Now the apostles and the brothers and sisters who were in Judea heard that the gentiles had also accepted the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, 3 saying, “Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?” 4 Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying, 5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners, and it came close to me. 6 As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air. 7 I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’ 8 But I replied, ‘By no means, Lord, for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ 9 But a second time the voice answered from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, you must not call profane.’ 10 This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven.
11 At that very moment three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were. 12 The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. 13 He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter; 14 he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved.’
15And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. 16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?” 18 When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, “Then God has given even to the gentiles the repentance that leads to life.”
The Word of the Lord. THANKS BE TO GOD.
Congregational Response Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
1 O give thanks to the Lord, for the Lord is good;
God’s steadfast love endures forever!
2 Let Israel say,
“God’s steadfast love endures forever.”
14 The Lord is my strength and my might;
the Lord has become my salvation.
15 There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous:
“The right hand of the Lord does valiantly;
16 the right hand of the Lord is exalted;
the right hand of the Lord does valiantly.”
17 I shall not die, but I shall live,
and recount the deeds of the Lord.
18 The Lord has chastened me sorely,
but he did not give me over to death.
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord;
the righteous shall enter through it.
21 I thank you that you have answered me
and have become my salvation.
22 The stone that the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.
23 This is the Lord’s doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
GOSPEL LESSON: John 10:1-10
10 Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
7 So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and bandits, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
The Gospel of the Lord. THANKS BE TO GOD.
MUSIC FOR MEDITATION
REFLECTION: Even If Your Voice Shakes —Carl McColman
When she was forced to retire as an employee of the Presbyterian Church at the age of sixty-five, an ordinary woman named Maggie Kuhn decided to fight back against ageism—and the stereotype of being patronized as just a “little old lady.” Dedicating the rest of her long life to social and political action on behalf of elders, she is famous for saying, “Leave safety behind. Put your body on the line. Stand before the people you fear and speak your mind—even if your voice shakes. When you least expect it, someone may actually listen to what you have to say.”
I think about Maggie Kuhn whenever I read Acts 11, in which Peter, standing before the leadership of the Church in Jerusalem, has to defend his decision to share the Good News of Jesus with “uncircumcised” Gentiles. I don’t know if Peter’s voice shook (or if he was afraid of those who confronted him), but it’s obvious that he won over his critics not by dazzling them with brilliant theology, but simply by speaking his mind—and telling his story.
Alas, it certainly wouldn’t be the last time that conflict would threaten to divide Christians from one another. And while many issues cannot be resolved as quickly or easily as Peter’s run-in with the circumcised believers, it seems to me that when we all take the risk of sharing our own stories—candidly describing how the world looks from where we stand—then there is a greater chance of not only being heard, but of making a real difference.
THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE:
As candles are lit and prayers are lifted up from the silence of our hearts by those assembled, all may sing as the musicians lead
Alleluia, alleluia UMH 186
THE LORD’S PRAYER
CLOSING PRAYER (all in unison):
Lord, You have arisen forever in my heart.
May the sunrise remind me to shine in Your light.
May the caress of a gentle breeze
remind me of Your compassion.
May the fragrance of a flower
remind me to blossom in Your love.
May the singing of birds
bring a song of joy to my lips.
And in the closing of each day
may I remember to quietly pray.
Wherever I am, whatever I do,
may my thoughts in joy return to You. Amen.
—Susan Helene Kramer
Benediction
Response: Triple Amen UMH 898