Bulletin for Sunday, May 30, 2021

He Reigns

It’s the song of the redeemed
Rising from the African plain
It’s the song of the forgiven
Drowning out the Amazon rain
The song of Asian believers
Filled with God’s holy fire
It’s every tribe, every tongue, every nation
A love song born of a grateful choir

It’s all God’s children singin’
“Glory, glory, hallelujah, He reigns, He reigns”
It’s all God’s children singin’
“Glory, glory, hallelujah, He reigns, He reigns”

Let it rise above the four winds
Caught up in the heavenly sound
Let praises echo from the towers of cathedrals
To the faithful gathered underground
Of all the songs sung from the dawn of creation
Some were meant to persist
Of all the bells rung from a thousand steeples
None rings truer than this

It’s all God’s children singin’
“Glory, glory, hallelujah, He reigns, He reigns”
It’s all God’s children singin’
“Glory, glory, hallelujah, He reigns, He reigns”
(repeat)

And all the powers of darkness
Tremble at what they’ve just heard
‘Cause all their powers of darkness
Can’t drown out a single word

When all God’s children sing out
“Glory, glory, hallelujah, He reigns, He reigns”
All God’s children sing out
“Glory, glory, hallelujah, He reigns, He reigns”

It’s all God’s children singin’
“Glory, glory, hallelujah, He reigns, He reigns”
It’s all God’s children singin’
“Glory, glory, hallelujah, He reigns, He reigns”

Good Good Father

Oh, I’ve heard a thousand stories of what they think You’re like
But I’ve heard the tender whisper of love in the dead of night
And You tell me that You’re pleased and that I’m never alone

You’re a good, good Father
It’s who You are, it’s who You are, it’s who You are
And I’m loved by You
It’s who I am, it’s who I am, it’s who I am

Oh, and I’ve seen many searching for answers far and wide
But I know we’re all searching for answers only You provide
‘Cause You know just what we need before we say a word

You’re a good, good Father
It’s who You are, it’s who You are, it’s who You are
And I’m loved by You
It’s who I am, it’s who I am, it’s who I am

(Because) You are perfect in all of Your ways
You are perfect in all of Your ways
You are perfect in all of Your ways to us
(repeat)

Oh, this love so undeniable, I, I can hardly speak
Peace so unexplainable, I, I can hardly think
As You call me deeper still
As You call me deeper still
As You call me deeper still into love, love, love

You’re a good, good Father
It’s who You are, it’s who You are, it’s who You are
And I’m loved by You
It’s who I am, it’s who I am, it’s who I am
(repeat)

All the Poor and Powerless

All the poor and powerless
And all the lost and lonely
All the thieves will come confess
And know that You are holy
And know that You are holy

And all will sing out, “Hallelujah”
And we will cry out, “Hallelujah”

And all the hearts that are content
And all who feel unworthy
And all who hurt with nothing left
Will know that You are holy

And all will sing out, “Hallelujah”
And we will cry out, “Hallelujah”
And all will sing out, “Hallelujah”
And we will cry out, “Hallelujah”

Shout it
Go on and scream it from the mountains
Go on and tell it to the masses
That He is God
(repeat)

We will sing out, “Hallelujah”
And we will cry out, “Hallelujah”
We will sing out, “Hallelujah, God”

Not Just for Me

Not just for me, Jesus, you’re
Not just for me, Jesus, you’re
Not just for me
(repeat)

You’re the God who crosses lines
To meet the ones who’ve been denied
You’re always near, no one’s too far from you
And you’re the God that knows the song of
Every tribe and every tongue, and
As we are we all belong to you

Galatians 3:26-29

26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

– – – – – – – – – –

Reader: The word of the Lord.
Ekklesia: Thanks be to God.

1 Thessalonians 4:9-12:
9 Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. 10 And in fact, you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, 11 and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, 12 so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.

Proverbs 24:17:
Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice.

Matthew 5:43-48:
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Matthew 7:1-5
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Matthew 5:21-24
21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.
23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

Quote from “A Letter from a Birmingham Jail” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
You speak of our activity in Birmingham as extreme. At first I was rather disappointed that fellow clergymen would see my nonviolent efforts as those of an extremist. I began thinking about the fact that I stand in the middle of two opposing forces in the Negro community. One is a force of complacency, made up in part of Negroes who, as a result of long years of oppression, are so drained of self respect and a sense of “somebodiness” that they have adjusted to segregation; and in part of a few middle-class Negroes who, because of a degree of academic and economic security and because in some ways they profit by segregation, have become insensitive to the problems of the masses. The other force is one of bitterness and hatred, and it comes perilously close to advocating violence. It is expressed in the various black nationalist groups that are springing up across the nation, the largest and best known being Elijah Muhammad’s Muslim movement. Nourished by the Negro’s frustration over the continued existence of racial discrimination, this movement is made up of people who have lost faith in America, who have absolutely repudiated Christianity, and who have concluded that the white man is an incorrigible “devil.”
I have tried to stand between these two forces, saying that we need emulate neither the “do nothingism” of the complacent nor the hatred and despair of the black nationalist. For there is the more excellent way of love and nonviolent protest. I am grateful to God that, through the influence of the Negro church, the way of nonviolence became an integral part of our struggle.

Broken Vessels

All these pieces, broken and scattered
In mercy gathered, mended and whole
Empty handed but not forsaken
I’ve been set free, I’ve been set free

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I’m found
Was blind but now I see

Oh I can see you now
Oh I can see the love in Your eyes
Laying yourself down
Raising up the broken to life

You take our failure, You take our weakness
You set Your treasure in jars of clay
So take this heart, Lord, I’ll be Your vessel
The world to see Your life in me

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I’m found
Was blind but now I see

Oh I can see you now
Oh I can see the love in Your eyes
Laying yourself down
Raising up the broken to life

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I’m found
Was blind but now I see
(repeat)

Oh I can see you now
Oh I can see the love in Your eyes
Laying yourself down
Raising up the broken to life

Multiplied

Your love is like radiant diamonds
Bursting inside us we cannot contain
Your love will surely come find us
Like blazing wild fires singing Your name

God of mercy sweet love of mine
I have surrendered to Your design
May this offering stretch across the skies
And these Halleluiahs be multiplied

Your love is like radiant diamonds
Bursting inside us we cannot contain
Your love will surely come find us
Like blazing wild fires singing Your name

God of mercy sweet love of mine
I have surrendered to Your design
May this offering stretch across the skies
And these Halleluiahs be multiplied

God of mercy sweet love of mine
I have surrendered to Your design
May this offering stretch across the skies
And these Halleluiahs be multiplied
And these Halleluiahs be multiplied