Theme:

As we continue our journey through 1^st John, we continue to find the focus on love.  Today’s passage reminds us that “God is love.”  Those are powerful words that should challenge us as we make decisions on our journey of life and faith every day, but they also can be hard for us to grasp in a world that often seems to be filled with everything but love.  The author of 1^st John also lived in a world that was short on love, so join us as we explore what it means to live life here in 2024 knowing that “God is love.”

Reflections:

Fifth Sunday of Easter

Introit: “In the Presence of Your People”, a suggested hymn for this Sunday, paraphrases the affirmative latter parts of Psalm 22.

Opening Hymn: A joyful opening hymn that is a loose paraphrase of Psalm 98, “Sing Unto the Lord a New Song”.

Transition Hymn: For the month of April, “The Steadfast Love of the Lord” will be our transition hymn.

Special Music: An arrangement of “The Gift of Love”, by Hal Hopson.

Responsive Hymn: With reference to scripture from John 15, “Where Charity and Love Prevail” focuses on Christ’s ‘new commandment’ to love one another.

Sending Hymn: With “God is Love” in mind as our theme, I chose “Rain Down” as our sending hymn. “Rain down; rain down; rain down your love on your people.”

Benediction: Throughout the Easter season, we will sing the first verse of “Christ Is Alive!” as our benediction.