J. Todd Bruning
- May 9, 2021
- 14 min read

SUN., May 9 - 6th Sunday of EASTER: Roll, Jordan, Roll!!

https://zoom.us/j/619327455

Meeting ID: 619 327 455

More details available at:

https://bruningt.wixsite.com/companionship/post/how-to-zoom-worship-with-us

Right at the crest, where MOUNT OLIVE begins its descent, the whole crowd of disciples burst into enthusiastic praise over all of the mighty works they had witnessed!!    LUKE 19:34

Mount Olive Lutheran Church

Rev. J. Todd Bruning, Pastor

Dolphene Davis, Minister of Music

3100 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Dallas, TX 75215

(church) 214-428-2892 (cell) 972-653-0316

www.mountolivedallas.org

We Serve as a Vehicle through which the Gospel of Jesus Christ is spread.

ROLL, JORDAN, ROLL: Sixth Sunday of Easter

10:45 - Leader's Meeting

11:00 - Coffee Hour in 11 Minutes

(Sip your coffee and discuss Numbers 3 or Joshua 4 or John 15 ... and how God might reach a Wide Range of People through us during the 50 Day, 8 Sunday season of Easter ... or what does COMPANIONSHIP mean for you for the final three quarters of 2021?)

11:11 - WORSHIP BEGINS

156 Years Ago Today: The Civil War Ended ... Or did it?

On May 9, 1865, President Andrew Johnson issues a proclamation declaring armed resistance in the South is virtually at an end; this is the commonly accepted end date of the American Civil War.

A) PRELUDE: Hymn #8 in the Red Book: On Jordan's Banks

B) First Lesson: Numbers 3:1-2, 17-20, 23, 26-28, 30-33 read by #1

1) The Lord said to Moses, “Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders.”
When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, “Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country. See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees in it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land.” (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.)
2) When they reached the Valley of Eshkol, they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs. They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large.
1) Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”
2) But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”

C) First Hymn: Roll, Jordan, Roll - led by Topsy Chapman and Chiwetel Ejiofor and the movie cast of "12 Months a Slave" ... Roll, Jordan, Roll - led John Legend on Let Us Praise and Worship Him, Vol. 1 and the soundtrack of "12 Months a Slave"

Went down to the river Jordan, Where John baptised three

Well I walked to the devil in hell, Sayin John ain't baptise me

I say; Roll, Jordan, roll, Roll, Jordan, roll

My soul arise in heaven, Lord, For the year when Jordan roll

Well some say John was a baptist, Some say John was a Jew

But I say John was a preacher of God, And my bible says so too.

Roll Jordan roll, Roll Jordan roll, Oh, I want to get to Heaven when I die To hear ol' Jordan roll

My brother (mother, friend, neighbor), you ought to been there, Yes, my Lord A sitting in the kingdom, To see ol' Jordan roll

Please MUTE and SING (lyrics are in the video)

What is the mission of Mt. Olive Lutheran Church?

To Serve as a VEHICLE through which the Gospel is Spread!!!

In the next 6 weeks, DAY BY DAY, we will be intentional

about being a VEHICLE

that will deliver CONFIDENCE, COMPASSION, and COMPANIONSHIP

to a tremendously anxious COMMUNITY,

remembering that God is our REFUGE & STRENGTH.

SERMON SERIES: The Blues & Greens of Baptism

Lime GREEN is the color for Mental Health Month in MAY and the BLUES are played during Black (or BIPOC) Mental Health Month in JULY

EASTER: HERE HE STANDS ... Christ is Risen! Pastor Alberty led.

April 11: Let My People Go

April 18: Steal Away Home

April 25: Wade in the Water

May 2: Hold On (Keep Your Hand on that Plow)

Outdoor Worship @ Christ Lutheran in University Park

May 9: Roll, Jordan, Roll

May 16: We Shall Overcome

May 21-22: Companionship - Train the Trainer

June 6: Outdoor Worship @ St. John's Lutheran in Oak Cliff

JUNE 20: JUNETEENTH SUNDAY -

OUTDOORS @ Mt. Olive or Warren UMC?

C) SECOND LESSON: Joshua 4:8-11, 14-18 led by #3 & #4

3) So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, and said to them, “Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.”
So the Israelites did as Joshua commanded them. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the Lord had told Joshua; and they carried them over with them to their camp, where they put them down. Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day.
4) Now the priests who carried the ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything the Lord had commanded Joshua was done by the people, just as Moses had directed Joshua. The people hurried over, and as soon as all of them had crossed, the ark of the Lord and the priests came to the other side while the people watched.
That day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they stood in awe of him all the days of his life, just as they had stood in awe of Moses. Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Command the priests carrying the ark of the covenant law to come up out of the Jordan.” So Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up out of the Jordan.” And the priests came up out of the river carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord.

No sooner had they set their feet on the dry ground than the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and ran at flood stage as before.

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks Be to God!!

D) Mama Said, led by Tanay Browne, heading into our MESSAGE for the YOUNG at HEART, a special edition for the EASTER Season.

E) KYRIE, led by Carlos Leggett

In peace, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

For the peace from above, and for our salvation, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

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.

Lord, have mercy.

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

Lord, have mercy.

Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord.

Amen.

E) LITURGY & PRAYER led by #5 & #6

5) The grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

AND ALSO WITH YOU

6) We gather together and share a CREED to remember that in God, we have a Companion who will never fail us and will be with us always. It is a CREED that reminds us that death is never the final answer, and the hope springs eternal for those who follow the God of Resurrection and Life.

I BELIEVE IN GOD, THE FATHER ALMIGHTY

Creator of heaven and earth.

I BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST,

God’s only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead.* On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT,

the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

5) We take this moment to confess our sins: Do you confess that you are captive to sin and cannot free yourself from this trap of sin and death, at least not in this life? Do you confess that you have sinned against God in anger, rebellion, frustration, doubt and fear.

WE DO.

6) Do you confess that, because your neighbor fails to love in the way that God commands, that you also have not loved your neighbor as yourself? Do you confess that you struggle to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength?

WE DO.

5) Do you ask, with the help of Jesus Christ, Forgive us, Lord, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy name.

WE DO. AMEN.

6) Brothers and sisters hear this grace: In the mercy of almighty God, Jesus Christ was given to die for you and for His sake, God forgives you all of your sins. As a called disciple of Christ I declare the entire forgiveness of all of your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

AMEN.

5) The peace of Christ be with you always.

AND ALSO WITH YOU.

6) We will now switch to Gallery View. As forgiven sinners, please share the peace with somebody on this call, using their name.

PEACE BE WITH YOU.

F) Gospel Lesson: JOHN 15:9-17, led by #7

Halle, Halle, Halle-lujah, led by Tanya Browne & Dolphene Davis

Our Gospel Lesson comes from John 15th Chapter.

GLORY TO YOU, O LORD!

“As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.

You did not choose me but I chose you.

And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last,

so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

PRAISE TO YOU, OH CHRIST

H) SECOND SONG: Roll, Jordan, Roll -- led by Fairfield Four and Crossroads at the Saturday Night Spectacular during the 2016 Barbershop Harmony Society International Convention in Nashville, Tennessee

What's ONE thing you NOTICED in the VIDEO?

Please MUTE and SING (lyrics are in the video)

Roll Jordan roll, Roll Jordan roll, Oh, I want to get to Heaven when I die To hear ol' Jordan roll

My brother (mother, friend, neighbor), you ought to been there, Yes, my Lord A sitting in the kingdom, To see ol' Jordan roll

J) SERMON: "Roll, Jordan, Roll" shared by Pastor Todd

Lord I come, I confess Bowing here, I find my rest Without You, I fall apart You're the one that guides my heart

Lord, I need You, oh I need You Every hour, I need You My one defense, my righteousness Oh God, how I need You

Where sin runs deep, Your grace is more Where grace is found is where You are And where You are, Lord I am free Holiness is Christ in me

SERMON SERIES: The Blues & Greens of Baptism

Lime GREEN is the color for Mental Health Month in MAY and the BLUES are played during Black (or BIPOC) Mental Health Month in JULY