May 4, 2025
May the 4th be with you!
WORDS OF GREETING AND GATHERING
Chris Zepp
WELCOMING STATEMENT
RISE believes that God has open arms, and so should we. Our Creator wants us to love, accept and affirm every human being, including persons of every age, race, ethnic background, nationality, gender identity, sexual orientation, family or socioeconomic status, educational background, religion or creed, and physical or mental ability. We celebrate our diversity and recognize the sacred worth and dignity of all. Everyone is invited and encouraged to join us as we seek to follow Jesus with mutual respect, understanding, and love.
*Read more about “Why Pronouns Matter” HERE.
OPENING PSalm
Ps. 40:1-4 (CEB)
1 I put all my hope in the Lord.
He leaned down to me;
he listened to my cry for help.
2 He lifted me out of the pit of death,
out of the mud and filth,
and set my feet on solid rock.
He steadied my legs.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise for our God.
Many people will learn of this and be amazed;
they will trust the Lord.
4 Those who put their trust in the Lord,
who pay no attention to the proud
or to those who follow lies,
are truly happy!
Opening Songs
Songs Will Happen!
(Brent Holl, Sheridan Horne, & Noelle Voltz-Mongold)
“One World”
~Michael Stern
REFRAIN:
One world in which we live together,
one sun shining on you and me,
one ocean flows into another,
one day we all will be free,
one day we all will be free.
One moment can change a whole lifetime,
one life can change eternity,
one stranger be friended,
one broken heart mended,
one child loved, one captive set free,
one child loved, one captive set free.
One world in which we live together,
one sun shining on you and me,
one ocean flows into another,
one day we all will be free,
one day we all will be free.
One day when the lamb and the lion
and our pride and our anger lie down,
weapons to plowshares,
a joy born of love’s tears,
a sacrifice and a crown,
a sacrifice and a crown.
One world in which we live together,
one sun shining on you and me,
one ocean flows into another,
one day we all will be free,
one day we all will be free.
One day we will all meet our Maker,
till that day we must do what we can
to stand by each other,
to love one another,
ev‘ry child, ev‘ry woman and man,
ev‘ry child, ev‘ry woman and man.
One world in which we live together,
one sun shining on you and me,
one ocean flows into another,
one day we all will be free,
one day we all will be free.
“You are My All in All”
~Dennis Jernigan
You are my strength when I am weak
You are the treasure that I seek
You are my all in all
Seeking You as a precious jewel
Lord to give up I'd be a fool
You are my all in all
Jesus, Lamb of God,
Worthy is Your name
Jesus, Lamb of God,
Worthy is Your name
Taking my sin, my cross, my shame
Rising again, I bless your name
You are my all in all
When I fall down, you pick me up
When I am dry, you fill my cup
You are my all in all
Jesus, Lamb of God,
Worthy is Your name
Jesus, Lamb of God,
Worthy is Your name
Scripture Readings
Genesis 6: 13-14, 17-22 (CEB)
13 God said to Noah, “The end has come for all creatures, since they have filled the earth with violence. I am now about to destroy them along with the earth, 14 so make a wooden ark.
17 “I am now bringing the floodwaters over the earth to destroy everything under the sky that breathes. Everything on earth is about to take its last breath. 18 But I will set up my covenant with you. You will go into the ark together with your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives. 19 From all living things—from all creatures—you are to bring a pair, male and female, into the ark with you to keep them alive. 20 From each kind of bird, from each kind of livestock, and from each kind of everything that crawls on the ground—a pair from each will go in with you to stay alive. 21 Take some from every kind of food and stow it as food for you and for the animals.”
22 Noah did everything exactly as God commanded him.
Genesis 7: 17-24 (CEB)
17 The flood remained on the earth for forty days. The waters rose, lifted the ark, and it rode high above the earth. 18 The waters rose and spread out over the earth. The ark floated on the surface of the waters. 19 The waters rose even higher over the earth; they covered all of the highest mountains under the sky. 20 The waters rose twenty-three feet high, covering the mountains. 21 Every creature took its last breath: the things crawling on the ground, birds, livestock, wild animals, everything swarming on the ground, and every human being. 22 Everything on dry land with life’s breath in its nostrils died. 23 God wiped away every living thing that was on the fertile land—from human beings to livestock to crawling things to birds in the sky. They were wiped off the earth. Only Noah and those with him in the ark were left. 24 The waters rose over the earth for one hundred fifty days.
Genesis 8: 1-3, 6-14 (CEB)
1 God remembered Noah, all those alive, and all the animals with him in the ark. God sent a wind over the earth so that the waters receded. 2 The springs of the deep sea and the skies closed up. The skies held back the rain. 3 The waters receded gradually from the earth.
6 After forty days, Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made. 7 He sent out a raven, and it flew back and forth until the waters over the entire earth had dried up. 8 Then he sent out a dove to see if the waters on all of the fertile land had subsided, 9 but the dove found no place to set its foot. It returned to him in the ark since waters still covered the entire earth. Noah stretched out his hand, took it, and brought it back into the ark. 10 He waited seven more days and sent the dove out from the ark again. 11 The dove came back to him in the evening, grasping a torn olive leaf in its beak. Then Noah knew that the waters were subsiding from the earth. 12 He waited seven more days and sent out the dove, but it didn’t come back to him again. 13 In Noah’s six hundred first year, on the first day of the first month, the waters dried up from the earth. Noah removed the ark’s hatch and saw that the surface of the fertile land had dried up. 14 In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day, the earth was dry.
THEOLOGICAL Reflection
Alexis Ward Owens
“When entering a new season we must do, or do not. There is no try.”
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
What are some other stories or characters you love who have crossed major life thresholds? Who do you look to as an example of someone who was able to rise to the occasion in faith and find a path forward?
What was the most recent threshold you have crossed in your life? Discuss how you managed to hold onto faith and take steps forward on that journey.
In times of uncertainty, change and upheaval, how do you seek out support along the journey? Who is in your corner helping you along the way and supporting you through the transitions of life?
Prayer
Graduate Recognition & Blessing
Sunshine Brown
Daniel Green
Sheridan Horne
Caitlyn Newlin
Song
“Be Thou My Vision”
~Translated by Eleanor Hull / Celtic Folk Tune
Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best thought, by day or by night
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light
Be Thou my wisdom, and Thou my true word
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord
Thou my great Father; thine own may I be,
Thou in me dwelling and I one with thee.
Riches I heed not, nor vain, empty praise
Thou mine inheritance, now and always
Thou and Thou only first in my heart
High King of heaven, my treasure Thou art
High King of heaven, my victory won
May I reach heaven's joys, O bright heaven's sun
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall
Still be my vision, O ruler of all
_______________________________________
"Be Thou My Vision" is an 8th century Irish hymn that was translated by Eleanor Hull in 1912. Today the hymn is sung to the Irish folk tune "Slane". This song is rooted in medieval Celtic Christianity and is believed to be an original poem that may have been written by an Irish saint who experienced blindness later in life.
Offering and NOMOFOMO
One of our core values is, "God gives to us, so we give back." We're called to give as a joy-filled response to what we've been given. Your financial gifts make a tremendous difference in the lives of God's beloved in Harrisonburg and beyond. Whether it's helping to make sure children in our community have enough to eat, helping to respond to the mental health crisis in our community, or providing much needed backing for the operating costs of our spaces and staff — your gift is a part of God's dream and we are grateful for everyone who partners with us on this journey!
WTF?
Wednesday’s at exactly dinner-ish! (6pm EST)
Downstairs at John Wesley UMC
Join us for a midweek check in to fuel your body, mind and soul. RISE will provide the meal and a topic for conversation. All you have to do it show up!
THIS WEEK (5/7)
Siete de Mayo celebration - Carne asada taco bar!
We welcome people from all walks of life and all walks of faith to join us on our journey. And we mean it. Everyone is welcome at RISE. Everyone. We seek to be a place free of judgment and full of love.
GaME Night
Friday, May 9
6 pm
Zepp Home
Bring a friend, your favorite game(s), and any food/sharing snacks as you wish and join us for a night of fun! Sodas, seltzers, and coffee/tea/hot chocolate will be provided, but you are welcome to bring something of your choosing as well.
DM us or contact Chris Zepp (worship@riseharrisonburg.com) for address, directions, or more info.
Closing Song
“Exultation”(“Come Away to The Skies”)
~Charles Wesley/Southern Harmony, arr. Brent Holl
Come away to the skies, my beloved, arise
and rejoice in the day you were born.
On this festival day, come exulting away,
and with singing to Zion return.
Now with singing and praise, let us spend all our days
by our gracious creator bestowed,
while in grace we receive from earth's bounty we live
to the honor and glory of God.
For the glory we were first created to share,
both the nature and kingdom divine,
now created again that our lives may remain
throughout time and eternity thine.
We with thanks do approve the design of that love
which has joined us to Jesus' name.
So united in heart, let us nevermore part,
til we meet at the feast of the Lamb.
Parting Blessing
In his book, Live in Grace - walk in Love, Bob Goff says “Embrace uncertainty. Some of the most beautiful chapters in our lives won't have a title until much later.” So as you move into the coming week and new seasons of life, always embrace the uncertainties and step out in faith, because new chapters to our stories are being written everyday.
Remember friends — you are a gift!
Now go and be a gift!
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