PRELUDE: JUBILATION HANDBELL RINGERS
Calypso on “He Leadeth Me”  Tammy Waldrop
percussion by Ruth Kachmarski

On this fifth Sunday of Easter, we honour Jesus who lived & died & lives again. We sing (seated)

REFRAIN: 87 VU “I Am the Light of the World”
I am the light of the world.
You people come and follow me.
If you follow and love, you'll learn the mystery
of what you were meant to do & be.

CALL TO WORSHIP:
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” Come let us worship God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
God's steadfast love endures forever.  WE COME TO SING, PRAY & WORSHIP GOD.

HYMN 333 VU “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling”  vs 1 & 2
1.  Love divine, all loves excelling,
Joy of Heav'n to Earth come down,
Fix in us thy humble dwelling,
All thy faithful mercies crown;
Jesus, thou art all compassion,
Pure, unbounded love thou art;
Visit us with thy salvation,
Enter ev'ry trembling heart.

2.  Breathe, O breathe thy loving Spirit
Into ev'ry troubled breast;
Let us all in thee inherit,
Let us find thy promised rest;
Take away our love of sinning;
Alpha and Omega be;
End of faith as its beginning,
Set our hearts at liberty.

OPENING PRAYER:
Jesus we know you are the Way. Help us to journey with you with open minds & hearts. We know you are the Truth. Help us to proclaim you with joy & humility. We know you are the Life. Help us to live in you as you live in us. We ask this in your name & in the power of the holy Spirit, working within us.  Amen
     Used with permission: Gathering Lent/Easter 2026 Kate Crawford

PRAYER OF CONFESSION (Adapted) Holy God, we come confessing the many ways we have refused your resurrection power.
We confess. We love the parts of the holy scripture that declare you turn our sadness into joy, strangers into family & death into life. Yet we confess our lives do not reflect our trust in you. Bring us true repentance, we pray, that we may receive your words of forgiveness & comfort: that we may stop seeking our Lord in empty tombs of earthly wealth, worldly knowledge and the approval of our peers. Instead, may we offer ourselves to be transformed by the same power with which you raised Jesus victorious over sin and death.  Amen

WORDS OF ASSURANCE
Rejoice God who raised Jesus from the dead forgives your sins and transforms your life by the work of the Holy Spirit within you,
Thanks be to God.
     Used by permission: Gathering, Lent/Easter 2026, Carol E. Bayma

SPECIAL MUSIC  “He Lives” Soloist: Shane Borgeson

THEME TIME: “Living Stones”

HYMN MV 45 “You are Holy”
1. You are holy, you show us the way. 4x
You show us, you show us, you show us the way. 4x

2. You are freedom…

3. You are justice…

1. You are holy, you show us the way.

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION:
Holy Love, open our hearts, our minds & our lives to the living Spirit, that we may receive the words of hope, joy & peace we need this morning. Amen

SCRIPTURE READINGS
First Reading:
Acts 7: 51 - 60
51 “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 52 Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— 53 you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.”

The Stoning of Stephen
54 When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.
59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep. (NRSV)

Second Reading:
1 Peter 2: 2 - 10
2 Be like newborn babies who are thirsty for the pure spiritual milk that will help you grow and be saved. 3 You have already found out how good the Lord really is. 4 Come to Jesus Christ. He is the living stone people have rejected, but which God has chosen and highly honored. 5 And now you are living stones being used to build a spiritual house. You are also a group of holy priests, and with the help of Jesus Christ you will offer sacrifices that please God.
6 It is just as God says in the Scriptures, “Look! I am placing in Zion a choice and precious cornerstone. No one who has faith in this one will be disappointed.” 7 You are followers of the Lord, and this stone is precious to you. But it isn't precious to those who refuse to follow him. They are the builders who tossed aside the stone that turned out to be the most important one of all. 8 They disobeyed the message and stumbled and fell over this stone, because they were doomed. 9 But you are God's chosen and special people. You are a group of royal priests and a holy nation. God has brought you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Now you must tell all the wonderful things he has done. The Scriptures say, 10 “Once you were nobody. Now you are God's people. At one time no one had mercy on you. Now God has treated you with kindness.”

Responsive Reading Psalm 31 VU page 758 Parts 1 & 3
Refrain:  “I trust in you, you are my God.”

The Gospel:
John 14 1-14
Jesus Is the Way to the Father
14 Jesus said to his disciples, “Don't be worried! Have faith in God and have faith in me.[a] 2 There are many rooms in my Father's house. I wouldn't tell you this, unless it was true. I am going there to prepare a place for each of you. 3 After I have done this, I will come back and take you with me. Then we will be together. 4 You know the way to where I am going.” 5 Thomas said, “Lord, we don't even know where you are going! How can we know the way?"” 6 “"I am the way, the truth, and the life!” Jesus answered. “Without me, no one can go to the Father. 7 If you had really known me, you would have known the Father. But from now on, you do know him, and you have seen him."” 8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father. That is all we need.”
9 Jesus replied: “Philip, I have been with you for a long time. Don't you know who I am? If you have seen me, you have seen the Father. How can you ask me to show you the Father? 10 Don't you believe that I am one with the Father and that the Father is one with me? What I say isn't said on my own. The Father who lives in me does these things. 11 Have faith in me when I say that the Father is one with me and that I am one with the Father. Or else have faith in me simply because of the things I do. 12 I tell you for certain that if you have faith in me, you will do the same things I am doing. You will do even greater things, now that I am going back to the Father. 13 Ask me, and I will do whatever you ask. This way the Son will bring honor to the Father. 14 I will do whatever you ask me to do”.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God

MESSAGE:

JUBILATION HANDBELL RINGERS:  “When the Saints Go Marching In” by Joel Raney - Clarinet by Stephen Carter

THE OFFERING ~ We offer our gifts to God
Ushers come forward as we sing