ORDER OF WORSHIP -MAY 10TH, 2026 Mother's Day

Union Church
5 days ago
3 min read

ORDER OF WORSHIP

MAY 10TH, 2026 10:30 AM

SIXTH SUNDAY IN EASTER

MOTHER’S DAY

**Kindly stand if you are able

**PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR PHONE before Worship

PRELUDE “Prelude in F Major” - Adolph Hesse (1808-1863)

John Coates, Organ

WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

CALL TO WORSHIP (Adapted from Psalm 66)

LEADER: Bless our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard

PEOPLE: For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried.

LEADER: Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for me.

PEOPLE: I cried aloud to him, and he was extolled with my tongue.

LEADER: If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.

PEOPLE: But truly God has listened; he has given heed to the words of my

prayer.

LEADER AND PEOPLE: Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me.

INVOCATION

We ask the Lord to join us today as we worship and as we offer thanks for the gift of motherhood. May the Holy Spirit fill our hearts with love. Amen.

**OPENING HYMN “For the Beauty of the Earth” (v.1-4) Red #353

CALL TO CONFESSION

Our sins weigh on us and keep us from living in God’s glory. We offer our confession to relieve our burdens and restore our relationship with God.

PRAYER FOR UNDERSTANDING

Merciful God, we accept that when even though we try our best, we often fall

short. It is harder to confess that we too often do not try our best. We fall short in word and in action and fail to live according to your will. Help us to find courage and strength in order to live as you desire. Help us to help others so that we may all live with dignity and peace. Help us to bring peace and love to our homes and communities.

(A moment for silent personal confession)

ASSURANCE OF FORGIVENESS

The glory of God is available for everyone. When we offer our confessions with a

sincere heart, we can be sure that God will grant forgiveness.

**GLORIA PATRI Avery & Marsh (Back of Red Cover)

**HYMN OF PRAISE “In the Bulb There is a Flower” Red #678

**PASSING OF THE PEACE

AFFIRMATION OF FAITH (from the Heidelberg Catechism)

I am not my own, but belong— body and soul, in life and in death — to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven; in fact, all things must work together for my salvation. Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

Until the day when all is revealed, the Scriptures are the best information we have in order to live as God wills. Let us hear the Word and learn from it.

SCRIPTURE READINGS

FIRST NEW TESTAMENT Acts 17:22-31 Libby Szymanowicz

SECOND NEW TESTAMENT 1 Peter 3:13-22

GOSPEL John 14:15-21

SERMON MESSAGE “What Does the Spirit Look Like?” James Philips

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE

And Lord we pray for those in our own hearts whose names you already know, for their own healing and comfort, in your name and that of our redeemer Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray, 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, and 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.

OUR TITHES AND OFFERINGS

Let us return to God the offerings of our life and the gifts of the earth. May our gifts be a blessing to those who receive them. We pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

OFFERTORY “Abide with Me, Fast Falls the Eventide” Red #365

DOXOLOGY Avery & Marsh (Back of the Red hymnal)

**PRAYER OF THANKS

We thank you, our Lord for those gifts to us that we send to you for your work and ours in congregation, community, and culture. Guide us in good use as we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

**HYMN OF PARTING “God Be with You” Red #840

BENEDICTION

It takes courage to raise children.

- John Steinbeck

POSTLUDE “I Love You, My Jesus” Red #91