Seventh Sunday of Easter
May 13, 2018
Holy Communion at 8:30 and 11am


Prayer of the Day
Gracious and glorious God, you have chosen us as your own, and by the powerful name of Christ you protect us from evil. By your Spirit transform us and your beloved world, that we may find our joy in your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.


Scripture readings
Acts 1:15-17, 21-26
Psalm 1
1 John 5:9-13
John 17:6-19

Sermon 

"No Escape"
John 17:6-9
Everyone loves to get away from time to time; nothing wrong with that. But as we near the end of the Easter season, we may well wonder why Jesus has returned to the Father without bringing us along. Why does he leave? Why are we left behind? The answer lies in God’s love for this world. The work of restoring and reclaiming the world for God is completed in Jesus’ death and resurrection, but it is through us that God will bring this good news to all the world. We don’t get to escape from the very real needs that we see in our neighbors, but neither is there any danger that we will escape from God’s love for us. We are in the world, but we belong to God.

Hymns

In our prayers we remember Lutheran Disaster Response.

Education hour at 9:45am

Sunday School, Pre-Confirmation and 7th grade Confirmation classes meet  in their usual classrooms.  Eighth graders are invited to attend Teen Talk in the Youth Room. 

Download the 2017-2018 Sunday School and Confirmation Schedule.

Adult Education

Living Faithfully: A Pastor/Bishop's Retrospective, with Pastor Hans Dumpys
Uprooted from his family's historic homestead in western Lithuania by the advancing Russian threat, Hans Dumpys and his family became refugees experiencing the many severe dangers of war. Having been saved from the traumas of war and emigrating to America, he wonders why he survived and what his life's response might be. He gradually came to believe that he was spared to be a witness to the One who saved his life. In the Seminar Room 

The Sunday morning Bible study group meets in the lower-level conference room.

The Grace Church Library is open and staffed on Sundays from 8:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Look for books related to Adult Ed topics as well as many other subjects. The library is also open for self-service during the week.