Good morning! (Or afternoon, or evening, or whatever greeting is appropriate for when you are participating in this week’s some-assembly-required service!) It is good to get to worship with you, and I pray that what I’ve provided here is meaningful and is a conduit for God’s presence.

Our prelude piece by Eric Medhurst: Here is a “jazzy” arrangement of “What a Friend We Have in Jesus,” in a short and, I hope, pleasant arrangement by Charles Converse:

Our Scripture this week is: John 10:1-10.

Our first hymn is #699 All the way my Saviour leads me.

A prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession:

Holy and gracious God, shepherd of our lives, we come to you with thanksgiving for you are our provider and sustainer. You transform our weary souls with your grace, wisdom and love. You bless us each day with glimpses of resurrection and the promise of new life, in signs of spring, in stories of kindness and perseverance during crisis. Touch our hearts in surprising ways with we have in Christ Jesus.

Listening God, shepherd of the world, we bring you now our prayers for others. Hear them in your tender mercy:

We pray for people who are struggling with illness, loneliness, grief or sadness, thinking especially of those whose lives have been redefined by COVID-19. And we pray for those whose working life has been changed drastically by this pandemic, thinking of health care workers, those in the food supply chain, and all those whose jobs have disappeared.May each life be touched by the power of resurrection and new hope.

We pray for countries and communities where it is not safe for people to live out their faith openly.May all people of faith be granted the freedom to praise without fear.

We pray for people in the world who are victims of discrimination and acts of hatred, and remember those unjustly blamed for the outbreak of the pandemic. May your desire for justice be made known and lived out.

We pray for our congregation and all people who make up your Church, forced now to consider how to be faithful in difficult times. May we discover new ways to be your Easter people in the world.

We pray for our families, our friends and for ourselves. May each of us know the power of your compassion and promise.

In the name of the shepherd who laid his life down for his sheep, we pray. Amen.

(slightly adapted from the worship planner posted on the Presbyterian.ca website for Sunday May 3, 2020)

Here is my video sermon:

And our final hymn is #689 Simply Trusting Every Day.

This is the song, All I Need (Did not catch her name) by Caedmon’s Call:

Until tomorrow, dear friends, may you listen for the voice of Jesus, he’s all you need!