Gathering

Thanksgiving for Baptism

P:         Alleluia!  Christ is risen.

C:         Christ is risen, indeed!  Alleluia!

Refreshed by the resurrection life we share in Christ, let us give thanks for the gift of baptism. 

Water is poured into the baptismal font.

We thank you, risen Christ, for these waters where you make us new, leading us from death to life, from tears to joy.

We bless you, risen Christ, that your Spirit comes to us in the grace-filled waters of rebirth, like rains to our thirsting earth, like streams that revive our souls, like cups of cool water shared with strangers.

Breathe your peace on your church when we hide in fear.  Clothe us with your mercy and forgiveness.  Send us companions on our journey as we share your life.

Make us one.  Cleanse our hearts.  Shower us with life.

To you be given all praise, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God, now and forever.  Amen

Gathering Hymn (Video)            Ye Servants of God            # 825

Greeting   

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 

And also with you.

Prayer of the Day

Word

Psalm 103                     10,000 Reasons

(Chorus)

Bless the Lord oh my soul, oh my soul, worship your holy name

Sing like never before, oh my soul, I’ll worship your holy name

  1. comes up, it’s a new day dawning

It’s time to sing your song again

Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me

Let me be singing when the evening comes  (Chorus)

Your name is great and your heart is kind

For all your goodness I will keep on singing

Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find  (Chorus)

The end draws near and my time has come

Still my soul will sing your praise unending

Ten thousand years and then forevermore… forevermore  (Chorus)

A Reading from the Acts of the Apostles, the 1st chapter.

In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning 2until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over the course of forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 4While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. ‘This’, he said, ‘is what you have heard from me; 5for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’

6 So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?’ 7He replied, ‘It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ 9When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10While he was going and they were gazing up towards heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. 11They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.’

Word of God.  Word of Life.   

Thanks be to God.

Gospel Acclamation

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-736296. All rights reserved.

Gospel

The holy gospel according to Luke, the 24th chapter.

Glory to you, O Lord.

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.’ 45Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46and he said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, 47and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48You are witnesses of these things. 49And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.’

50 Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. 51While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. 52And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; 53and they were continually in the temple blessing God.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, O Christ.

Sermon     

Hymn of the Day  “Lord, You Give the Great Commission”      # 579

  1. Lord, you give the great commission:
    “Heal the sick and preach the word.”
    Lest the church neglect its mission, and the gospel go unheard,
    help us witness to your purpose with renewed integrity:
    With the Spirit’s gifts empow’r us for the work of ministry.
  • Lord, you call us to your service:
    “In my name baptize and teach.”
    That the world may trust your promise,
    life abundant meant for each,
    give us all new fervor, draw us closer in community:

With the Spirit’s gifts empow’r us for the work of ministry.

  • Lord, you bless with words assuring: “I am with you to the end.”
    Faith and hope and love restoring, may we serve as you intend
    and, amid the cares that claim us, hold in mind eternity:

With the Spirit’s gifts empow’r us for the work of ministry.

Words: Jeffery Rowthorn, b. 1934, © 1978 Hope Publishing Company. 

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-736296. All rights reserved.

Prayers and Peace

Meal

Offertory             “Here Is Bread”                                  # 483

Here is bread, here is wine, Christ is with us, always with us.

Break the bread, taste the wine, Christ is with us here.

In this bread there is healing, in this cup is life forever.

In this moment, by the Spirit, Christ is with us here.

Offertory Prayer

The Great Thanksgiving

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.

Eucharistic Prayer

Holy, living, and loving God, we praise you for creating the heavens and the earth.

We bless you for bringing Noah and his family through the waters of the flood, for freeing your people Israel from the bonds of slavery, and for sending Jesus to be our Redeemer.

We thank you for Jesus who, living among us, healed the sick, fed the hungry, and with a love stronger than death, gave his life for others.

Bread may be lifted up.

On the night in which he was betrayed, Jesus took bread, 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.”

Wine may be lifted up.

After supper he took a cup of wine, 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.”

Remembering, therefore, his life, death, and resurrection, we await your promised life for all this thirsty world.

Breathe your Spirit on us and on the bread and wine before us.  Carry us in your arms from death to life, that we may live as your chosen ones, clothed in the righteousness of Christ,

through whom are all glory and honour, now and 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 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

Distribution

If you are in a group, you may serve one another.  If you are alone, you may serve yourself.  All use these or similar words:

The body of Christ, given for you.

The blood of Christ, shed for you.

Blessing and Post-Communion Prayer

                                     Sending

Announcements may be made.

Rite of Farewell and Godspeed for Pastor Brian

The representative addresses the congregation.

R:         Pastor Brian is leaving our congregation, and so we wish to bid him farewell and Godspeed.

The representative addresses the pastor.

R:         Pastor Brian, on January 1, 2018, we called you to be our pastor. We asked …

The representative addresses the congregation.

R:         And so, people of Faith Lutheran, Brantford, as Pastor Brian moves on to serve the people of All Saints Lutheran/Anglican in Guelph, do you join me in releasing him from his duties as pastor among us?

C:         We do, with God’s help.

R:         Do you join me in offering encouragement for his ministry as it unfolds in his new congregation?

C:         We do, with God’s help.

The representative addresses the pastor.

R:         Do you, Pastor Brian, release us, the people of Faith Lutheran in Brantford, from turning to you and depending on you?

P:         I do, with God’s help.

R:         Do you offer your encouragement for our continued ministry here?

P:         I do, with God’s help.

R:         Let us pray.

C:         Eternal God, we thank you for Pastor Brian, and for our life together in this congregation and community. As he has been a blessing to us, so now send him out to be a blessing to others, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen

Benediction

Sending Song        “To Be Your Presence”                           # 546

  1. To be your presence is our mission here,

to show compassion’s face and listening ear,

to be your heart of mercy every near, alleluia!

  • To be your presence is our mission bold,

to feed the poor and shelter homeless cold,

to be your hands of justice right uphold, alleluia!

  • To be your presence is our mission blest,

to speak for all the broken and oppressed,

to be your voice of hope, your love expressed, alleluia!

  • We are your heart, O Christ, your hands and voice,

to serve your people is our call and choice,

and in this mission we, the church, rejoice, alleluia!

Words: Delores Dufner, b. 1939, © 2000 GIA Publishing Inc. 

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-736296. All rights reserved.

Dismissal

A:         The service is ended.  Why do you stand looking up toward heaven?  Go in peace – into the world, for the love of the world!

Thanks be to God.  Alleluia!