Welcome to BLCGATHERING

We walk more slowly. We talk more softly.

We greet one another. We talk to God & we listen to God

WORD We read the Bible.

We listen to one of God’s stories

RESPONSE We work with the stories of God.

We have a feast

SENDING We go in God’s name

invocation

LEAD WORHIPPER: Risen One

like those disciples on the road to Emmaus,we struggle to recognize you in the everyday

journey of our lives.

TOGETHER: Guide us on the path toward our destination,

and renew our strength as we continue to walk and commune with you.

Open our eyes, so we see the signs of your presence around us;

Open our hearts, so we may receive your peace and love;

and empower us to pass on to othersthe grace you have shared with us so freely.

Amen.

Verse

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord

Open the eyes of my heart

I want to see You

I want to see You

open The Eyes of My Heart

Chorus

To see You high and lifted up

Shining in the light of Your glory

Pour out Your power and love

As we sing holy, holy, holy

Bridge

Holy, holy, holy

Holy, holy, holy

Holy, holy, holy

I want to see you

Scripture Lesson iActs 2:14; 36-41

Acts 2:14; 36-41

Peter Preaches to the Crowd14 Then Peter stepped forward with the eleven other apostles and shouted to the crowd, “Listen carefully, all of you, fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem! Make no mistake about this.

Acts 2:14; 36-41

36 “So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!”37 Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”38 Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 This promise is to you, and to your children, and even to the Gentiles[f]—all who have been called by the Lord our God.”

Acts 2:14; 36-41

40 Then Peter continued preaching for a long time, strongly urging all his listeners, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation!”41 Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all.

Confession

TOGETHER: O Jesus Christ,

sometimes we are so busy talking with each other

that we fail to find you beside us.

We walk on, so focused on our questions that we do not create the silent spaces which would allow you to speak with us

and enlighten our journeying.

We confess that we have not loved you with all our heart

or served you with all our strength; We have been blind

to the vision of a renewed world.

In your mercy, Lord, pardon and restore us. Help us to remember your birth, death and resurrection – your pursuit in love of us.

Stay with us, Jesus Christ. Reach out towards us and invite us to pause

and meet with you, we pray.

[Silent reflection]

“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor

depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in

Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Whether we believe it, or not, Jesus Christ never leaves us nor forsakes us. Let us open our hearts to receive the grace

which Christ brings to us in faithfulness. We are forgiven!

TOGETHER: Thanks be to God.

our assurance

Share the peace

Verse

Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord

We will wait upon the Lord We will wait upon the Lord

(Repeat)

Pre-Chorus

Our God, You reign foreverOur hope, our strong Deliv’rer

Chorus

You are the everlasting God, The everlasting God

You do not faint, You won’t grow weary

You’re the defender of the weak, You comfort those in need

You lift us up On wings like eagles

Scripture Lesson iiI Peter 1:17-23

1 Peter 1:17-23

17 And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time as “foreigners in the land.” 18 For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. 19 It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. 20 God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but he has now revealed him to you in these last days.

1 Peter 1:17-23

21 Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory.22 You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters.[a] Love each other deeply with all your heart.[b]

23 For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.

Verse 1

Open my eyes, that I may see

glimpses of truth thou hast for me;

place in my hands the wonderful key

that shall unclasp and set me free.

open My Eyes That i May See

Chorus 1

Silently now I wait for thee,

Ready, my God, thy will to see.

Open my eyes, illumine me,

Spirit divine!

Verse 2

Open my ears, that I may hear

voices of truth thou sendest clear;

and while the wavenotes

fall on my ear,

everything false will disappear.

Chorus 2

Silently now I wait for thee,

Ready, my God, thy will to see.

Open my ears, illumine me,

Spirit divine!

Verse 3

Open my mouth, and let me bear

gladly the warm truth everywhere;

open my heart and let me prepare

love with thy children thus to share.

Chorus 3

Silently now I wait for thee,

Ready, my God, thy will to see.

Open my heart, illumine me,

Spirit divine!

Chorus

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,

Look full in His wonderful face,

And the things of earth

Will grow strangely dim,

In the light of His glory and grace

Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus

Verse 1

O soul, are you weary and troubled?

No light in the darkness you see?

There’s a light for a look at the Savior,

And life more abundant and free!

Chorus

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,

Look full in His wonderful face,

And the things of earth

Will grow strangely dim,

In the light of His glory and grace

Verse 2

Through death into life everlasting

He passed, and we follow Him there;

Over us sin no more hath dominion

For more than conquerors we are!

Chorus

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,

Look full in His wonderful face,

And the things of earth

Will grow strangely dim,

In the light of His glory and grace

Verse 3

His Word shall not fail you, He promised;

Believe Him, and all will be well:

Then go to a world that is dying,

His perfect salvation to tell!

Chorus

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,

Look full in His wonderful face,

And the things of earth

Will grow strangely dim,

In the light of His glory and grace

GospelScripture Lesson

Luke 34:13-35

Luke 24:13-35

The Walk to Emmaus13 That same day two of Jesus’ followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles[a] from Jerusalem. 14 As they walked along they were talking about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them. 16 But God kept them from recognizing him.17 He asked them, “What are you discussing so intently as you walk along?” They stopped short, sadness written across their faces.

Luke 24:13-35

18 Then one of them, Cleopas, replied, “You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard about all the things that have happened there the last few days.”19 “What things?” Jesus asked.“The things that happened to Jesus, the man from Nazareth,” they said. “He was a prophet who did powerful miracles, and he was a mighty teacher in the eyes of God and all the people. 20 But our leading priests and other religious leaders handed him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified him. 21 We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. This all happened three days ago.

Luke 24:13-35

22 “Then some women from our group of his followers were at his tomb early this morning, and they came back with an amazing report. 23 They said his body was missing, and they had seen angels who told them Jesus is alive! 24 Some of our men ran out to see, and sure enough, his body was gone, just as the women had said.”25 Then Jesus said to them, “You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. 26 Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?”

Luke 24:13-35

27 Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.28 By this time they were nearing Emmaus and the end of their journey. Jesus acted as if he were going on, 29 but they begged him, “Stay the night with us, since it is getting late.” So he went home with them. 30 As they sat down to eat,[b] he took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them. 31 Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared!

Luke 24:13-35

32 They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” 33 And within the hour they were on their way back to Jerusalem. There they found the eleven disciples and the others who had gathered with them, 34 who said, “The Lord has really risen! He appeared to Peter.[c]”

Jesus Appears to the Disciples35 Then the two from Emmaus told their story of how Jesus had appeared to them as they were walking along the road, and how they had recognized him as he was breaking the bread.

Word

Verse

Jesus, beautiful SaviourGod of all Majesty

Risen KingLamb of God

Holy and righteousBlessed redeemer

Bright morning star

Beautiful Savior

Pre-Chorus

All the heavens shout your praise

All creation bows to worship you

Chorus

How wonderful, how beautifulName above every name, exalted high

How wonderful, how beautifulJesus Your name,

name above every name Jesus

Bridge

I will sing foreverJesus I love YouJesus I love You

offering

What’s next?

sending