St Ansgar Lutheran Church, London

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Sunday Morning

We invite you to join us for the following worship services:

Sundays
10:30 a.m. Worship service

Hand sanitizer will be available at the entrance and other locations in the church for
your use.

Washrooms will be available for use.

In the service: The service will be shown on the screen. The offering will not be gathered and presented, but there will be an offering plate at the back of the sanctuary where you can put your offering as you enter or leave. Pastor David distributes the communion wafers and an Assisting Minister distributes wine or grape juice in individual glasses.

We have coffee and fellowship time available again in Luther Hall after the service.

We will continue to evaluate our worship service procedures on a monthly basis.

FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER, MAY 18, 2025

St. Ansgar Lutheran Church, Outline for Worship (with sermon)
Sunday, May 18, 2025 – Fifth Sunday of Easter
Based on ELW Setting Four

GATHERING

WELCOME & ANNOUNCEMENTS

THANKSGIVING FOR BAPTISM
(The assembly stands. All may make the sign of the cross, the sign marked at
baptism, as the presiding minister begins.)

P: Alleluia! Christ is risen.
C: Christ is risen, indeed. Alleluia!

P: In the name of the ☩ One who was, who is, and who is to come.
C: Amen.

P: Baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection, and called to live the
baptized life, let us give thanks for the gifts of baptism.

(Water may be poured into the font as the presiding minister gives thanks.)

P: Holy God, we give you thanks for the waters of baptism, waters that
make a people your own, that restore to wholeness, and empower us
to be witnesses in your name.
Baptized into you, O Living One,
C: make us one as you are one.

P: We give you thanks for the waters of baptism, waters that strengthen
believers and give new life to beloved servants of your church; waters that
extend your boundless love and cross barriers of our own making.
Baptized into you, O Living One,
C: make us one as you are one.

P: We give you thanks for the waters of baptism, waters that open the hearts
of believers and give a voice in the night to those in captivity; waters that set
your people on a new path, rejoicing in the Spirit’s power.
Baptized into you, O Living One,
C: make us one as you are one.

P: Grant us grace, love, and life, O Living One, that our every day is shaped
by these waters that give us our lives in you. We ask this in the name of Jesus,
the Crucified and Risen One.
C: Amen.

ENTRANCE HYMN - All Creatures, Worship God Most High! (ELW #835)

GREETING
P: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion
of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
C: And also with you

KYRIE
A: In peace, let us pray to the Lord.
C: Lord, have mercy.

A: For the peace from above, and for our salvation, let us pray to the Lord.
C: Lord, have mercy.

A: For the peace of the whole world, for the well-being of the Church of God,
and for the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord.
C: Lord, have mercy.

A: For this holy house, and for all who offer here their worship and praise,
let us pray to the Lord.
C: Lord, have mercy.

A: Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord.
C: Amen.

HYMN OF PRAISE (ELW p. 149)
P: This is the feast of victory for our God. Alleluia.
C: Worthy is Christ, the Lamb who was slain,
whose blood set us free to be people of God.
Power and riches and wisdom and strength,
and honour and blessing and glory are his.
This is the feast of victory for our God. Alleluia.
Sing with all the people of God
and join in the hymn of all creation:
Blessing and honour and glory and might
be to God and the Lamb forever. Amen.
This is the feast of victory for our God,
for the Lamb who was slain has begun his reign.
Alleluia. Alleluia.

PRAYER OF THE DAY
P: Let us pray.
P: O Lord God, you teach us that without love, our actions gain nothing.
Pour into our hearts your most excellent gift of love, that, made alive by your
Spirit, we may know goodness and peace, through your Son, Jesus Christ,
our Saviour and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
C: Amen

WORD

FIRST READING: Acts 11:1-18
1 Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the
Gentiles had also accepted the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to
Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, 3 saying, "Why did you
go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?" 4 Then Peter began to explain
it to them, step by step, saying, 5 "I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in
a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down
from heaven, being lowered by its four corners; and it came close to me.
6 As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles,
and birds of the air. 7 I also heard a voice saying to me, 'Get up, Peter; kill and eat.
8 But I replied, 'By no means, Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever
entered my mouth.' 9 But a second time the voice answered from heaven,
'What God has made clean, you must not call profane.' 10 This happened
three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven. 11 At that very
moment three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where
we were. 12 The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction
between them and us. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we
entered the man's house. 13 He told us how he had seen the angel standing
in his house and saying, 'Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter;
14 he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will
be saved.' 15 And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as
it had upon us at the beginning. 16 And I remembered the word of the Lord,
how he had said, 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the
Holy Spirit.' 17 If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when
we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?"
18 When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying,
"Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life."

A: The word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.

PSALM: 148
1 Hallelujah! Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise God in the heights.
2 Praise the Lord, all you angels;
sing praise, all you hosts of heaven.
3 Praise the Lord, sun and moon;
sing praise, all you shining stars.
4 Praise the Lord, heaven of heavens,
and you waters above the heavens.
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
who commanded, and they were created.
6 Who made them stand fast forever and ever,
giving them a law that shall not pass away.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
you sea monsters and all deeps;
8 fire and hail, snow and fog,
tempestuous wind, doing God’s will;
9 mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars;
10 wild beasts and all cattle,
creeping things and flying birds;
11 sovereigns of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the world.
12 young men and maidens,
old and young together.
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
whose name only is exalted, whose splendour is over earth and heaven.
14 The Lord has raised up strength for the people and praise for all faithful servants,
the children of Israel, a people who are near the Lord. Hallelujah!

SECOND READING: Revelation 21:1-6
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first
earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city,
the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride
adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
"See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God;
they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; 4 he will wipe every
tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will
be no more, for the first things have passed away." 5 And the one who was
seated on the throne said, "See, I am making all things new." Also he said,
"Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true." 6 Then he said to me,
"It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.
To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.

A: The word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
C: Alleluia. Lord, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life. Alleluia.

GOSPEL
P: The Holy Gospel according to John 13:31-35
C: Glory to you, O Lord.

31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man has been glorified,
and God has been glorified in him. 32 If God has been glorified in him, God will
also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. 33 Little children, I am
with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews
so now I say to you, 'Where I am going, you cannot come.' 34 I give you a
new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you,
you also should love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you
are my disciples, if you have love for one another."

P: The Gospel of the Lord.
C: Praise to you, O Christ.

SERMON
John 13:31-35
Let us pray: May the words of my mouth, and the prayers of our hearts,
always be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, our Strength, and our Redeemer.
AMEN

A music teacher of grades 6, 7, 8 had just organized a band in his school.
The principal was so proud of the music teacher’s efforts that without
consulting him, she decided that the band should give a concert for the
entire school. The music teacher was not so sure that his young musicians
were ready to give a concert, so he tried to talk to the principal about
cancelling the concert, but the principal did not change her mind. Just before
the concert was about to begin, as the music teacher stood on the podium,
he leaned down and whispered to his nervous musicians, “If you are not sure of
your part, just pretend to play.” And with that, he lifted his baton and began to
conduct the musicians, but nothing happened. There was a resounding silence.
Sometimes we in the church are like that band of young musicians, unsure of
our parts, tentative in our roles, reluctant to play out the music of faith that God
desires of us. And that is because we have trouble deciding what is important
to us. Most of the choices we make in life are not between what is trivial and
what is important. Rather, most of the choices we make are usually between
what is important and what is more important. This morning’s Gospel lesson
shows us what is most important.
As we gather in worship this morning, we affirm that the greatest blessing that
God has given to us is God’s love for us. It is God’s love that forgives our sins
and makes us children of God. It is God’s love that brings us together into a
fellowship with one another. It is God’s love that sends us forth to proclaim the
death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Saviour. As God’s people we come
together in this congregation to affirm to one another what is most important
for us, and that is God’s love.
Jesus says to us this morning, “I give you a new commandment, that you love
one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this
everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Note that most of all, first and foremost, that which God desires of us is that
we love one another. We may tithe. We may teach. We may sing or serve
or sacrifice. We may visit on behalf of our congregation, serve on committees,
clean the kitchen, or share the Good News. All of these are of vital importance
to a congregation. They are wonderful and important to our life together. But if
we do not do them out of love for God, if we do not love one another, we miss
what God desires most of us.
One of my favourite comic strips when I was growing up was Peanuts.
In one strip, Lucy stands with her arms folded with a resolute expression on
her face, while Charlie Brown pleads with her. “Lucy,” he says, “you must
be more loving. The world needs love. Make the world a better place, Lucy,
by loving someone else.” At that Lucy whirls around angrily and Charlie goes
flipping over backwards. “Look, you blockhead,” Lucy screams. “The world
I love. It’s the people I can’t stand.”
And I think that sometimes we can identify with that remark. It is easy to love
in the abstract: the world, and people in general. We have no problem with that.
But it is often the people around us that drive us crazy. And yet it is those
people around us, people nearest to us, that Jesus also calls us to love in
a day-to-day relationship.
Love in action is what I am talking about this morning. Love which finds
expression in kindness, courtesy, tolerance, and acceptance of all those
around us. Jesus calls us to love one another and to bring that love to light
in the way we treat those around us. It is easy to love people in general,
to affirm that love is a good thing and something we all need. But it is another
thing altogether to put love into action, to make love concrete in our attitudes
and actions toward others. Someone once said, “We are judged by our actions,
not our intentions. We may have a heart of gold, but then, so does a
hard-boiled egg.”
Love one another. As a congregation of God’s people, we are called to care
for one another, to set aside our preconceived notions of who is and who is
not acceptable to God. For the ground at the foot of the cross is level. We are
all sinners. We have all fallen short of the glory that God expects of us, and we
are received into God’s goodness by God’s grace, not by our own doing. It is
God’s love that unites us, and it is God’s love that we are called to share with
each other.
That means that our lives must be characterized by love in action. Jesus says,
“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have
loved you, you also should love one another.” This is meant to be a rule for life.
Most authorities tell us that love is a learned response, so the one who is loved
learns to love.
Our Christian congregation has the purpose to model love for one another,
and in doing so help us learn to love. We affirm that God has laid a good
foundation for us. And in the centre of this foundation is Jesus Christ. We might say,
as Paul wrote in his first letter to the church in Corinth, “For I decided to know
nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” The source
of our love and of our blessing is Christ Jesus.
The word that Jesus gives us today, this command to love, is not a legalistic
requirement laid upon us by Jesus. Rather, it is the natural response of our
hearts to the love that we have received from God through Jesus. The love
given to us is the unconditional, undeserved, unlimited love of Jesus for us.
This love is an example of love in action.
Jesus says, “Just as I have loved you, you should also love one another.”
The truth is that we love because Jesus first loved us. We enjoy the benefits
of St. Ansgar Lutheran Church, London, because in the past 71 years there
were people who have experienced God’s love and decided to share that love
with others. These people experienced God’s love for them and sacrificed and
shared to make God’s love the foundation of this congregation. And now it is
our turn. It is our time to experience God’s love and share it with others. It is
our turn to experience God’s love in action in our lives and to sacrifice to make
it real for others.
As we gather this morning and hear Jesus’ words to us, our prayer is that God
would strengthen us for service to God and help us to love one another. We
pray that God would use the example of Jesus’ love in action to teach us to love
in action as well, to show us how to give of ourselves for others, and to lift our
vision to heaven, and to set us on fire with faith. Love for one another is the
primary witness of the church in the world today. Jesus made that clear when he
said, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for
one another.”
Our Christian discipleship, living as faithful members of the church, is not a
matter of willpower. It is not just deciding that we will do it, that we will love others.
It happens more simply than that. Sharing God’s love, living God’s love, loving
one another happens when we are connected to God’s love, when we allow
God’s love to surround us, to shape and mould our lives in Jesus’ image. We are
called to witness to a love that gives of itself for others; love that honestly cares
about others; love that makes our lives more meaningful and significant to others.
So, unlike the band that I mentioned at the beginning of this sermon that sat
in silence, let us be a band of the faithful, sure of our parts, and strike up a
tune for the notes are laid out before us. Jesus says, “Just as I have loved you,
you also should love one another.”
AMEN

Silence is kept for reflection.

HYMN OF THE DAY – Love Divine, All Loves Excelling (ELW #631)

NICENE CREED
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God, begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father; through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven,
was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary
and became truly human.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again in accordance with the scriptures;
he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
A: God of resurrection and new life, we come before you in prayer for the
church, the world, and all who are in need.
A: God of our church, send forth your Spirit as we pray for our Bishops Susan
and Carla. Empower them with your wisdom to lead the church. We also pray
for the Thames Ministry area, especially Pastor Wallace Bornhuse and the
people of Redeemer Lutheran Church, London. Hear us, O God.
C: Your mercy is great.

A: Fill the church with the spirit of your redeeming love. Make us steadfast in
our proclamation of your grace for all people without exceptions, especially those
often overlooked in our communities. Hear us, O God.
C: Your mercy is great.

A: Awaken joy in the beauty and abundance of your creation. Show us
the wonder of your presence from the smallest flower to the tallest tree.
Recommit us to preservation of wild places. Hear us, O God.
C: Your mercy is great.

A: Instruct all world leaders to protect the most vulnerable among us.
Guide those in power toward equitable and just economic policies, so that all
might have sufficient resources to live safely and with dignity. Hear us, O God.
C: Your mercy is great.

A: Pour out your love on all in need of care: those mourning losses,
enduring trauma, experiencing broken relationships, yearning for
companionship, or facing illness. We pray especially for Beth, Jean,
Mary Margaret, Kristine, Karen, Emma, Cathy, Jo-Anne, Ahlen, Lene,
and those others who are in our hearts. Hear us, O God.
C: Your mercy is great.

A: Abide with all who are victims of racism, especially people who are doubly
marginalized because of gender, sexuality, or ability. Destroy all forms of
systemic oppression, and renew our commitment to healing the wounds
of our collective body in this community and beyond. Hear us, O God.
C: Your mercy is great.

A: Merciful God, we pray for peace as war continues to rage in Ukraine and
in Israel and Gaza. Shelter all living in fear; protect those seeking refuge in
neighbouring countries; sustain families separated by the horrors of war;
tend to those who are injured; comfort all who mourn their dead.
Direct your people into the way of peace. Hear us, O God.
C: Your mercy is great.

A: We give thanks for all the saints whose lives bear witness to your
redeeming love. Guide us by their example, until we join them in your
eternal home. Hear us, O God.
C: Your mercy is great.

A: We commend these and all our prayers to you, O God, trusting that
you are always with us; in the name of Jesus Christ, our risen Saviour.
C: Amen.

PEACE
P: The peace of Christ be with you always.
C: And also with you.

OFFERING PRAYER
A: Risen One, you have gathered us around your table of grace along with these
gifts we bring. Come among us again, breathe your life into us, and enliven us
with this meal, that we may live as your risen body in the world.
C: Amen.

LORD’S PRAYER
P: Lord, remember us in your kingdom and teach us to pray.
C: 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, and the power, and the glory,
forever and ever. Amen.

SENDING

BLESSING
P: The triune God, who was, who is, and who is to come, Sovereign, ☩ Saviour, and Spirit, light your way with resurrection dawn, now and always.
C: Amen.

SENDING HYMN – Blest Be the Tie That Binds (ELW #656)

DISMISSAL
A: Alleluia! Christ is risen.
C: Christ is risen, indeed. Alleluia!

A: Go in peace. In Christ you are made new. Alleluia! Alleluia!
C: Thanks be to God. Alleluia! Alleluia!

DISMISSAL HYMN – The Lord Now Sends Us Forth (ELW #538)
Verse 1
The Lord now sends us forth
with hands to serve and give,
to make of all the earth
a better place to live. Repeat (2X)
Verse 2

The angels are not sent
into our world of pain
to do what we were meant
to do in Jesus' name;
that falls to you and me
and all who are made free.
Help us, O Lord, we pray,
to do your will today. Repeat (2X)