April 28, 2024 - Treehouse Ministries

Chapel Worship

We acknowledge that the land on which we gather is the traditional territory of the Sana and Tonkawa peoples. It is also important to acknowledge that we are here today due to the exclusion and erasure of many indigenous people from their native land, including the land on which we stand today. We honor with gratitude the land itself and its original people.

CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS

Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God,
who forgives all our sin,
whose mercy endures forever.
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 and of one another.
Gracious God,
have mercy on us. We confess that we have turned from you and given ourselves into the power of sin.
We are truly sorry and humbly repent. In your compassion forgive us our sins,
known and unknown, things we have done and things we have failed to do.
Turn us again to you, and uphold us by your Spirit,
so that we may live and serve you in newness of life
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

God, who is rich in mercy, loved us even when we were dead in sin, and made us alive together with Christ.
By grace you have been saved. In the name of ☩ Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven.
Almighty God strengthen you with power through the Holy Spirit, that Christ may live in your hearts through faith.
Amen.

Opening Song

Prayer of the Day

Let us pray.
O God, you give us your Son as the vine apart from whom we cannot live. Nourish our life in his resurrection, that we may bear the fruit of love and know the fullness of your joy, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.

FIRST READING: Acts 8:26-40

Led by the Spirit, Philip encounters an Ethiopian official who is returning to his African home after having been to Jerusalem to worship. Philip uses their encounter to proclaim the gospel to him. Upon coming to faith in Jesus, he is baptized by Philip.

²⁶An angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a wilderness road.) ²⁷So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship ²⁸and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. ²⁹Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to this chariot and join it.” ³⁰So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” ³¹He replied, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. ³²Now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this:
“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter,
and like a lamb silent before its shearer,
so he does not open his mouth.
³³In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.”
³⁴The eunuch asked Philip, “About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” ³⁵Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. ³⁶As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?” ³⁸He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. ³⁹When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. ⁴⁰But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

PSALM: Psalm 22:25-31

²⁵From you comes my praise in the great assembly;
I will perform my vows in the sight of those who fear the Lord.
²⁶The poor shall eat and be satisfied,
Let those who seek the Lord give praise! May your hearts live forever!
²⁷All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord;
all the families of nations shall bow before God.
²⁸For dominion belongs to the Lord,
who rules over the nations.
²⁹Indeed, all who sleep in the earth shall bow down in worship;
all who go down to the dust, though they be dead, shall kneel before the Lord.
³⁰Their descendants shall serve the Lord,
whom they shall proclaim to generations to come.
³¹They shall proclaim God’s deliverance to a people yet unborn,
saying to them, “The Lord has acted!”

SECOND READING: 1 John 4:7-21

We love God and others because God first loved us. We cannot say we love God, whom we have not seen, while hating fellow Christians, whom we regularly see. Love toward God is to be matched by love toward others because the essence of God is love.

⁷Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. ⁸Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. ⁹God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. ¹⁰In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. ¹²No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.
¹³By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world. ¹⁵God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. ¹⁶So we have known and believe the love that God has for us.
God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. ¹⁷Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. ¹⁸There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. ¹⁹We love because he first loved us. ²⁰Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. ²¹The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.

GOSPEL: John 15:1-8

The holy gospel according to John.
Glory to you, O Lord.

On the night of his arrest, Jesus taught his disciples about the relationship they would have with him. Those who abide in his word and love bear fruit, for apart from him, they can do nothing.

[Jesus said:] ¹“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. ²He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. ³You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. ⁴Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. ⁵I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. ⁷If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”

The gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.

Sermon

Hymn of the Day

Creed

I believe in God,
the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ,
God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.*
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

Prayers of Intercession

As scattered grains of wheat are gathered together into one bread, so let us gather our prayers for the church, those in need, and all of God’s good creation.

A brief silence.

God of grace,
hear our prayer.

Gathered together in the sweet communion of the Holy Spirit,
gracious God, we offer these and all our prayers to you;
through Jesus Christ, our Savior.
Amen.

Peace

The peace of Christ be with you always.
And also with you.

Meal

Great Thanksgiving

Dialogue

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.

Preface

It is indeed right, our duty and our joy,
that we should at all times and in all places
give thanks and praise to you, almighty and merciful God,
through our Savior Jesus Christ;
who on this day overcame death and the grave,
and by his glorious resurrection opened to us the way of everlasting life.
And so, with all the choirs of angels,
with the church on earth and the hosts of heaven,
we praise your name and join their unending hymn:

Thanksgiving at the Table

In the night in which he was handed over,
our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks;
broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying:
Take and eat; this is my body, given for you.
Do this for the remembrance of me.

Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks,
and gave it for all to drink, saying:
This cup is the new covenant in my blood,
shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin.
Do this for the remembrance of me.

LORD’S PRAYER

Lord, remember us in your kingdom and teach us to pray.

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those
who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours,
now and forever.
Amen.

Come to the banquet, for all is now ready.

Communion Song

Prayer after Communion

Let us pray.
Shepherding God,
you have prepared a table before us
and nourished us with your love.
Send us forth from this banquet
to proclaim your goodness
and share the abundant mercy of Jesus,
our redeemer and friend.
Amen.

Sending

Announcements

Blessing

Alleluia! Christ is risen!
Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!

The God of resurrection power,
the Christ of unending joy,
and the Spirit of Easter hope
☩ bless you now and always.
Amen.

Sending Song – Love Be With You

Another day passes by
Another memory is made
Another jewel put in the crown
Another chance to say…

Love be with you
Love be with you my friend
Love be with you
Love be with you my friend
Til we meet again

Another dream becoming real
Another turn to fill a need
Another heart finding joy
Another hour of liberty