Third Sunday of Easter – April 18, 2021 The Order of Worship at 11:00 am To mitigate spread of COVID-19 in our community, on-site activities— including worship services—have been cancelled. Many activities continue, but in different formats: ZOOM for interactive small groups and classes, togo meals for the Food Ministry, and streaming worship services and music from the archives. Our gathering policies will continue to respond to changes in the best public health data available to us. Worship will be Livestreamed from Redeemer with only leaders present. Throughout worship, participants will be masked even as they speak and sing, and each will remain in an area designated for them alone. Similar protections will probably be required when we are able gradually to open worship further, but for now we are glad return to the familiarity of Redeemer and the musical and technical options it provides us. Thanks to all of the lectors and musicians who have led us during the past weeks as we worshiped from home. Please use the links available on the viewing page to let us know that you are worshiping from home, to offer any prayer requests, to let us know if you need help or are available to help a neighbor, and to continue to give to support the ministries that continue, socially distant for the common good. As always, we pray that worship at Redeemer is a blessing for you, even as your participation blesses us, even though we are not together in person. As you are comfortable, we encourage you to sing the hymns and to sing or speak the congregational portions of the liturgy in bold type. This bulletin contains content protected by copyright and is provided only for you to participate in worship. Please delete or destroy any physical or digital copy of the material following the service.
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WELCOME ANNOUNCEMENTS HYMN 376
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Thine is the Glory
CONFESSION In the name of the Father, and of the ☩ Son, and of the Holy Spirit. | Amen. Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid: cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Let us confess our sin in the presence of God. Most merciful God, | we confess that we are captive to sin and cannot free ourselves. We have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy name. Amen. In the mercy of almighty God, Jesus Christ was given to die for us, and for his sake God forgives us all our sins. As a called and ordained minister of the church of Christ, and by his authority, I therefore declare to you the entire forgiveness of all your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the ☩ Son, and of the Holy Spirit. | Amen. PRAYER OF THE DAY Holy and righteous God, you are the author of life, and you adopt us to be your children. Fill us with your words of life, that we may live as witnesses to the resurrection of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Please use the Prayer Request link on the webpage to submit your requests. 3
CHILDREN’S SERMON THE GOSPEL Luke 24:36b-48 In this account of an appearance after his resurrection, Jesus opens the minds of the disciples to understand him as Messiah. Jesus convinces them that he has been raised and sends them on a mission to proclaim the message of repentance and forgiveness. Jesus himself stood among [the disciples] and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence. Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.” After the reading: The Gospel of the Lord. | Praise to You O Christ. SERMON
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Pastor Jonathan Trapp
HYMN
Open Our Eyes Lord Open our eyes Lord We want to see Jesus To reach out and touch Him And say that we love Him Open our ears Lord And help us to listen Open our eyes Lord We want to see Jesus
CCLI Song # 1572 Bob Cull © 1976 CCCM Music (Admin. by Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, Inc.) Universal Music Brentwood Benson Publishing (Admin. by Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, Inc.)For use solely with the SongSelect® Terms of Use. All rights reserved. www.ccli.comCCLI License # 2888121
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION Alive in the risen Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, we bring our prayers before God who promises to hear us and answer in steadfast love. Living God, in the midst of Easter joy we are still filled with questions and wondering. Open our hearts and minds as we encounter the scriptures, so that the church embodies repentance and forgiveness in the name of Jesus to all nations. Bless those who are preparing for baptism and confirmation. Hear us, O God. | Your mercy is great. Creating God, like a master artist you have fashioned the universe out of your love and delight. Heal your creation where it is in need of restoration. Bless farmers, food distributers and grocery workers, that harvests may be bountiful and all people fed. Provide all the inhabitants of earth a peaceful and sustainable home. Hear us, O God. | Your mercy is great. God of all, the nations hunger and thirst for your justice and righteousness. Many call on you for guidance and strength. Heal the divisions between peoples and nations. Answer our hopes with the peace 5
of Christ and give your lovingkindness to national, state, and local leaders. Hear us, O God. | Your mercy is great. Healing God, you hear the cries of those in need and answer them in their distress. We praise you for a lessening of the pandemic and the increasing availability of vaccines. Grant to those who are sick and suffering your compassion and nurse them back to health and wholeness. Today we especially pray for… Be close to the hearts of the lonely. Hear us, O God. | Your mercy is great. Loving Parent, you have given us such love that we should be called the children of God. Reveal yourself to us so that we in this community of faith will become more and more like you in our mutual love and bold witness. Bless our Rejoicing Spirits ministry. Hear us, O God. | Your mercy is great. God of all times and ages, those who have died in you now see you as you are. We thank you for their lives among us, and we ask for comfort for those who mourn. Today we especially pray for... Assure us of the peace you have promised, that we may join them in everlasting life. Hear us, O God. | Your mercy is great. In the hope of new life in Christ, we raise our prayers to you, trusting in your never-ending goodness and mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. PEACE The peace of Christ be with you always. | And also with you. MISSION MOMENT 6
Rob Tanzola
Please let us know you worshiped with us today by using the I’m Worshiping link as you would the attendance pad at church. GATHERING OF GIFTS Please use the Help and Give links to support the ministry of Redeemer. MUSIC by Redeemer Jazz Trio THANKSGIVING FOR THE WORD Let us pray. Praise and thanks to you, holy God, for by your Word you made all things: you spoke light into darkness, called forth beauty from chaos, and brought life into being. For your Word of life, O God, | we give you thanks and praise. By your Word you called your people Israel to tell of your wonderful gifts: freedom from captivity, water on the desert journey, a pathway home from exile, wisdom for life with you. For your Word of life, O God, | we give you thanks and praise. Through Jesus, your Word made flesh, you speak to us and call us to witness: forgiveness through the cross, life to those entombed by death, the way of your self-giving love. For your Word of life, O God, | we give you thanks and praise. Send your Spirit of truth, O God; rekindle your gifts within us: renew our faith, increase our hope, and deepen our love, for the sake of a world in need. Faithful to your Word, O God, draw near to all who call on you; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory forever. | Amen. LORD’S 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 7
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.
SENDING God blesses us and sends us in mission to the world. BLESSING God the creator strengthen you; Jesus the beloved fill you; and the Holy Spirit the comforter ☩ keep you in peace. | Amen. HYMN 377
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Alleluia, Jesus is Risen
SENDING Go in peace. Be the light of Christ. | Thanks be to God. POSTLUDE by Redeemer Jazz Trio LAST WEEK AT REDEEMER Worship attendance for April 11: Livestream 323, Facebook 58 NEXT WEEK AT REDEEMER Fourth Sunday of Easter Acts 4:5-12, Psalm 23, 1 John 3:16-24, John 10:11-18
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CONGREGATIONAL MEETING April 18th, 2021 | 12:30 PM Webinar The purpose of the meeting will be to vote on ratification of amendments to Redeemer's constitution to modify the membership of the Congregational Council. These amendments incorporate the most recent changes from the ELCA model constitution and address concerns that were raised about the structure and membership of the Council at the congregation meeting on December 6th, 2020. Council Members will be available at a Q&A session before the meeting to discuss the amendments and answer questions. The Q&A session will be held on April 11th at 12:30 PM. * If you will be attending either the congregational meeting or the Q&A session by phone, please contact the Redeemer main number at (404) 8748664 for details on how to attend and vote.
The congregation has approved the following amendments to theRedeemer constitution on March 21, 2021. Note: The deleted text is marked through; the added text is underlined. C12.01. The voting membership of the Congregation Council shall consist of the called pastors, the financial secretary, the treasurer, and not more than 15 members of this congregation, who are elected as provided in C12.02c. C12.01. The membership of the Congregational Council shall be the 15 members who are elected as provided in C12.02, the financial secretary, thetreasurer, and the senior pastor. The voting members of the Council are the elected members and the senior pastor. The financial secretary and the treasurer are voting members only if they are elected Council members. In addition, the following changes will be needed: 12.02.b. Except as provided in C12.03, no person, other than the senior pastor, the financial secretary, and the treasurer, may serve consecutive 10
terms on the Congregation Council. An outgoing Council member shall not be eligible to serve on the Council for the next three years after the conclusion of that member's term. C11.01.c. Officers of this congregation shall serve similar offices of the Congregation Council and shall be voting members of the Congregation Council only if they are elected members of the Council. These changes will be presented to the congregation for a ratification vote at a congregational meeting on April 18, 2021. If ratified then, these changes will go into effect uponnotification that the synod has approved them at its next Synod Council meeting.
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THE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH OF THE REDEEMER 731 Peachtree Street, NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30308 www.redeemer.org | 404.874.8664 | Emergency Line: 404.874.9759 The Rev. Mark H. Larson ................................................Senior Pastor, ext. 201 The Rev. Ronald Bonner ............. Pastor for Community Engagement, ext. 203 The Rev. Jonathan Trapp ........................... Pastor for Faith Formation, ext. 233 The Rev. Jenny McLellan ...................Pastor for Congregational Care, ext. 224 STAFF Bob Boyd ......................................Director of Operations and Finance, ext. 232 Seth Brown .............................................Facilities and Media Director, ext. 218 Robin Durdin .......................................Office Administration Director, ext. 204 Kate Elkins............................................................... Preschool Director, ext. 252 David Hansen .................................................... Adult Choral Director, ext. 236 Sarah Hawbecker ..................... Organist & Children’s Music Director, ext. 206 Deacon Mary Houck .............. Children & Family Ministries Director, ext. 227 Jennifer Isaacson ................................. Financial Information Director, ext. 237 Karen Medford ..... Parish Nurse, and Adult Faith Formation Director, ext. 230 Hillary Nelson.......................................Youth Director, hnelson@redeemer.org Tawanda Searcy .......................... Receptionist and Wedding Director, ext. 200 Stacey Williams ......................................................................... Head of Security
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