SUNDAY, MAY 25TH 2025 | SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
THE CALL TO WORSHIP
SONGS OF WORSHIP
THE CALL TO CONFESSION
Gathered with the whole church on this Third Sunday of Easter, hear this call to confession from Psalm 32
Psalm 32:1,3–5
“For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long… I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.”
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
Almighty God, in raising Jesus from the grave, you shattered the power of sin and death. We confess that we remain captive to doubt and fear, bound by the ways that lead to death. We overlook the poor and the hungry, and pass by those who mourn; we are deaf to the cries of the oppressed, and indifferent to calls for peace; we despise the weak, and abuse the earth you made. Forgive us, God of mercy. Help us to trust your power to change our lives and make us new, that we may know the joy of life abundant given in Jesus Christ, the risen Lord. Amen
ASSURANCE OF PARDON
“Be assured of our forgiveness:
I Peter 1:18-22
18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors,
19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake
21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.
We celebrate our forgiveness found in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ!
Leader: He is Risen
People: He is Risen Indeed
PASSING OF THE PEACE
SONG OF WORSHIP
THE SERMON
Paul Called By God
Pastor Keon L. Abner
Galatians 1:11-24
New International Version
Paul Called by God
11 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.
13 For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. 14 I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. 15 But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being. 17 I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went into Arabia. Later I returned to Damascus.
18 Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days. 19 I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother. 20 I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie.
21 Then I went to Syria and Cilicia. 22 I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23 They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they praised God because of me.
THE APOSTLES CREED
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
Apostles Creed
We Believe in God the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
We believe in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord:
who was conceived by the Holy Spirt,
born of the virgin Mary, He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried; He descended into the dead;
the third day He rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven, and is seated on the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from there he shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit; the holy Christian church;
the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins;
the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting.
Amen.
THE 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,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
BENEDICTION