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"When the Lord returned the captives of Zion we were like those who dream" Psalm 126:1
Worship with us Sundays 10:00 am.
For those unable to come in person,
we stream online on YouTube
Sunday, May 17
The Seventh Sunday of Easter
The Christian Liturgical Calendar
Greeting & Call to Worship
[Leader:] Christ is risen.
[People:] He is risen indeed. Alleluia.
[Leader:] May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
[People:] And also with you.
[Leader:] We live between great moments. Sometimes this feels like being in between, unsettled, not quite there yet. After the Ascension, where Jesus was lifted up and gone from sight the disciples waited until Pentecost when the Spirit was poured out with signs of fire and wind. They were between great moments. Waiting in the present for what hadn't yet come yet. Not fully letting go of the past. In many ways this describes our lives today.
[People:] Lord, we come. This is where we are.
[Leader:] In the between-space of our lives, Jesus prays. Not past tense — right now, at the Father's right hand, the ascended Son is interceding. He prays for you by name: "Holy Father, protect them. Sanctify them. Let them know that you love them as you love me."
[People:] We are heard. We are held. Come, Lord Jesus.
[Leader:] And the Apostle John tells us in his epistle to look — really look — at what kind of love this is. We ARE called children of God. Not strangers. Not servants waiting at the gate. Children.
[People:] We are the children of God. This is who we are. Alleluia.
[Leader:] So we gather this morning in the tension between Ascension and Pentecost, looking up with the disciples, singing to the God who is exalted above every name — and asking: let your glory come down. This is what Jesus promised. He is faithful!
[People:] He is exalted! He is risen! Glory, come down. Amen.
The Second Testament //
The Acts of the Apostles
Acts 1:6–14 (NLT)
So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”
He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”
Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, a distance of half a mile. When they arrived, they went to the upstairs room of the house where they were staying.
Here are the names of those who were present: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (the zealot), and Judas (son of James). They all met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus.
The Psalms // Sacred Songs
Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35 (CSB)
verses 1-10
Rise up, O God, and scatter your enemies.
God arises. His enemies scatter, and those who hate him flee from his presence.
As smoke is blown away, so you blow them away. As wax melts before the fire, so the wicked are destroyed before God.
But the righteous are glad; they rejoice before God and celebrate with joy.
Sing to God! Sing praises to his name. Exalt him who rides on the clouds— his name is the Lord—and celebrate before him.
God in his holy dwelling is a father of the fatherless and a champion of widows.
God provides homes for those who are deserted.
He leads out the prisoners to prosperity, but the rebellious live in a scorched land.
God, when you went out before your people, when you marched through the desert,
Selah
the earth trembled and the skies poured rain before God, the God of Sinai, before God, the God of Israel.
You, God, showered abundant rain; you revived your inheritance when it languished.
Your people settled in it; God, you provided for the poor by your goodness.
verses 32-35
Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth; sing praise to the Lord,
Selah
to him who rides in the ancient, highest heavens. Look, he thunders with his powerful voice!
Ascribe power to God. His majesty is over Israel; his power is among the clouds.
God, you are awe-inspiring in your sanctuaries. The God of Israel gives power and strength to his people. Blessed be God!
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Jesus, the Light of the World by Khrystyna Kvyk
Prayer for Tithes and Offerings
Because God first loved us, we are made to love one another. For the sake of the life of the world, offer yourselves, your time, and your possessions as signs of love.
Generosity & Giving
The tithes and donations you make to DreamHouse Church make a difference to our church, our community, the people of Newport News, and world missions.
There are various ways you can donate. We pass a collection plate during services and electronic giving is available for 24/7 donations. “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops” (Proverbs 3:9).
The Second Testament // The Epistles
1 John 3:1-10 (NLT)
See what great love the Father has given us that we should be called God’s children—and we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it didn’t know him. Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when he appears, we will be like him because we will see him as he is. And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as he is pure.
Everyone who commits sin practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. You know that he was revealed so that he might take away sins, and there is no sin in him. Everyone who remains in him does not sin; everyone who sins has not seen him or known him.
Little children, let no one deceive you. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. The one who commits sin is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose: to destroy the devil’s works. Everyone who has been born of God does not sin, because his seed remains in him; he is not able to sin, because he has been born of God. This is how God’s children and the devil’s children become obvious. Whoever does not do what is right is not of God, especially the one who does not love his brother or sister.
The Second Testament // The Gospel
John 17 (NLT)
After saying all these things, Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you. For you have given him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him. And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began.
“I have revealed you to the ones you gave me from this world. They were always yours. You gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything I have is a gift from you, for I have passed on to them the message you gave me. They accepted it and know that I came from you, and they believe you sent me.
“My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you. All who are mine belong to you, and you have given them to me, so they bring me glory. Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are. During my time here, I protected them by the power of the name you gave me. I guarded them so that not one was lost, except the one headed for destruction, as the Scriptures foretold.
“Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do. Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth.
“I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.
“I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me. Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began!
“O righteous Father, the world doesn’t know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent me. I have revealed you to them, and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in them, and I will be in them.”
"Drink all of it, for it is My Blood",
icon art by Ulyana Tomkevych;
Medium: egg tempera, Material: gessoed wood, 2021, LINK
The Lord's Supper // Communion
The Table of the Lord is not mine to set or restrict.
It belongs to the one who prepared it.
Jesus said:
"I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you."
He comes to us here.
All who name the name of Jesus — all who are hungry for him — come.
On the night he was betrayed, Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke the bread, and gave it to his disciples, saying:
Take, eat.
This is my body, given for you.
Do this in remembrance of me.
When the supper was over, he took the cup and gave thanks, saying:
Drink this, all of you.
This is my blood of the new covenant, poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Do this in remembrance of me.
The same Jesus who promised the disciples that he wouldn't leave them as orphans is here, now, at this Table.
And so we declare what we know to be true:
Christ has died,
Christ is risen,
Christ will come again.
Come, Holy Spirit, upon us and upon this bread and wine.
Make this meal what you intend it to be, a true fellowship in his body, a true participation in his blood.
Make us a people who find our lives in Christ Jesus, the Son, rooted and established in the love of our Heavenly Father who through the Holy Spirit live free from the power of sin.
For we live and move and have our being through you, Jesus Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, in your holy church,
all glory and honor is yours, Almighty God, now and forever. Amen.
The body of Christ, given for you.
Thanks be to God.
The blood of Christ, shed for you.
Thanks be to God.
Doxology and Benediction // The Sending & the Blessing
As you leave this place this day,
may God’s love sustain you,
and may you love those who surround you.
May God’s Spirit empower you,
and may you empower all those you meet.
May God’s joy fill your hearts,
and may this joy overflow
to the ends of the earth for God’s glory, now and forever. Amen