What can possibly be wrong with unity?

Darren Knowles will preach from Acts 2:1-21, asking “what can possibly be wrong with unity?”

Acknowledgements for Worship Resources

“Of the Father’s Love Begotten”
Music: 13th century plainsong; arr. Larry Shackley; ©Hope Publishing Company; All rights reserved. Streamed with permission through ONE LICENSE, license #A-731084

“God of the Bible”
Text: Shirley Erena Murray, ©1996 Hope Publishing Company; Music: Tony E Alonso, ©2001 GIA Publications, Inc.; All rights reserved. Reprinted and streamed with permission through ONE LICENSE, license #A-731084

“Open our ears to hear your word”
By Carol Penner, 2019

“I’ve Got Peace Like a River”
Text & Music: African American spiritual

“Let This Mind Be in You”
Text: Philippians 2:5; Music: James E Clemens, 2008; ©2008 James E Clemens; All rights reserved. Reprinted and streamed with permission through ONE LICENSE, license #A-731084

“Jesus, Help Us Live in Peace”
Text & Music: Jerry Derstine (JD Martin); ©1971, 2004 Jerry Derstine (JD Martin); All rights reserved. Reprinted and streamed with permission through ONE LICENSE, license #A-731084

“Silence My Soul”
Text: Rabindranath Tagore; Seong-Won Park; Music: Francisco F Feliciano

“Sent Forth by God’s Blessing”
Text: Omer Westendorf, People’s Mass Book, alt. ©1964 World Library Publications, Inc.; Music: Welsh traditional; harm. anon.; All rights reserved. Reprinted and streamed with permission through ONE LICENSE, license #A-731084

“Every Time I Feel the Spirit”
Text: African American spiritual; Music: African American spiritual; arr. Joseph T Jones; adapt. Melva Wilson Costen, adapt. ©1990 Melva Wilson Costen

Where's Jesus? Grieving and regrouping when things didn't go as planned

Amy Zimbelman, Conference Minister of Mountain States Mennonite Conference, will preach from Acts 1:15-17, 21-26 and ask “Where’s Jesus? Grieving and regrouping when things didn’t go as planned.”

After the resurrection, the followers of Jesus are excited to see that he's making appearances everywhere. Strolling in gardens and grilling some fish for his friends, taking long walks down the road and coming over for dinner. He's with us again!

And then, the ascension. There he goes, up into the sky. Just like that.

Wait, we thought you were back! But now you’re leaving us to go up to heaven…by choice?

They can’t see Jesus anymore. And in our passage today, the Holy Spirit hasn’t come yet. I can only imagine the disciples looking at each other in that upper room and saying: “Soooo…this is awkward. Definitely not what we were expecting. What now?”

I want to talk this morning about what happens when things don’t go as planned—when we’re living the life we never expected to live. I want to talk about the shape of grief and regrouping in the midst of grief. In this year of coming out of the pandemic and so many other personal and collective tragedies, how do we grieve well? And what do we do now?

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Pastor Amy Zimbelman thoroughly enjoys serving as Conference Minister of MSMC, supporting 17 churches and many passion ministries in Colorado and New Mexico. She has served as a pastor at Mountain Community Mennonite for 3 years, and has worked in refugee resettlement for about a decade. Pastor Amy holds a Master of Divinity from Duke Divinity School, and has also served in Zambia through Mennonite Central Committee and in South Dakota with Mennonite Voluntary Service. In South Dakota, she met her husband/best friend, Matt Zimbelman, and they live in Colorado Springs and have two young sons. She loves spending time with her family, cooking/eating food, board gaming with friends, going outside to walk or hike, learning about other cultures, hashing things out in long conversations, and trying to follow Jesus.

Music Information & Acknowledgement

“God of the Bible”
Text: Shirley Erena Murray, ©1996 Hope Publishing Company; Music: Tony E Alonso, ©2001 GIA Publications, Inc.; All rights reserved. Reprinted and streamed with permission through ONE LICENSE, license #A-731084

“Let’s Walk Together”
Text: Laurie Zelman; Music: Mark A Miller; ©2007 Abingdon Press; All rights reserved. Reprinted and streamed with permission through ONE LICENSE, license #A-731084

“Calm Me, Lord”
Text: David Adam, ©SPCK; Music: Margaret Rizza, ©1998 Kevin Mayhew, Ltd. (admin. GIA Publications, Inc.); All rights reserved. Reprinted and streamed with permission through ONE LICENSE, license #A-731084

“There Is a Balm in Gilead”
Text & Music: African American spiritual

“Hymn of Peace”
Text & Music: Timothy Shue, 1994

“The Lord Lift You Up”
Text: Patricia J Shelly; Music: Patricia J Shelly; arr. Dennis Friesen-Carper; ©1983 Patricia J Shelly; All rights reserved. Reprinted and streamed with permission through ONE LICENSE, license #A-731084

Acts 8:26-40

Pastor Claudia preached from Acts 8:26-40.

Music Acknowledgements

“Move in Our Midst”
Text: Kenneth I Morse, 1942, 1949, The Brethren Hymnal, 1951; Music: Perry L Huffaker, 1950, The Brethren Hymnal, 1951

“Like a Mother Who Has Borne Us”
Text: Daniel Bechtel, ©1986 Daniel Bechtel; Music: William P Rowan, 1992, ©1993 Selah Publishing Co., Inc.; All rights reserved. Reprinted and streamed with permission through ONE LICENSE, license #A-731084

“I Bind My Heart This Tide”
Text: Lauchlan M Watt, The Tryst: A Book of the Soul, 1907, alt.; Music: J Randall Zercher, 1965, The Mennonite Hymnal, 1969, ©1965 J Randall Zercher

“Breathe on Me, Breath of God”
Text: Edwin Hatch, Between Doubt and Prayer, 1878, alt.; Music: Robert Jackson, Fifty Sacred Leaflets, 1888                                             

“Cast Thy Burden Upon the Lord”
Music: Felix Mendelssohn, 1846

“To God Be the Glory”
Text: Fanny J Crosby, Brightest and Best, 1875; Music: William H Doane, Brightest and Best, 1875

“Draw the Circle”
Text: Gordon Light, ©1994 Common Cup Music Society; Music: Mark A Miller, ©2008 Abingdon Press (admin. Music Services); All rights reserved. Reprinted and streamed with permission through ONE LICENSE, license #A-731084

One Heart- One Mind

Pastor Glenn preached from Acts 4:32-35 with a sermon titled “One Heart - One Mind & Some Economic Advice.”

Worship Resources Acknowledgements

“Summoned by the God Who Made Us”
Text: Delores Dufner, OSB, ©1993 Delores Dufner (published by OCP); Music: American traditional, in John Wyeth’s Repository of Sacred Music, Part Second, 1813; All rights reserved. Reprinted and streamed with permission through ONE LICENSE, license #A-731084

“In the Bulb There is a Flower”
Text & Music: Natalie Sleeth, 1985; ©1986 Hope Publishing Co; All rights reserved. Reprinted and streamed with permission through ONE LICENSE, license #A-731084

“Some of us are exhausted”
Written by Joanna Harader, ©2012

“Heart and Mind, Possessions, God”
Text: Marathi; Krishnarao Rathnaji Sangle, 19th c.; trans. Alden H Clark; Music: Indian traditional; adapt. Marion Jean Chute, alt.; ©1958 United Church Press                                                                                       

“You Are Salt for the Earth”
Text & Music: Marty Haugen, 1985, Gather, 1988; ©1986 GIA Publications, Inc.; All rights reserved. Reprinted and streamed with permission through ONE LICENSE, license #A-731084

“Could It Be That God Is Singing”
Text: Becca J R Lachman, ©2004 Becca J R Lachman, rev. 2018; Music: Southern Harmony, 1854; arr. Alice Parker, ©2008 Alice Parker; All rights reserved. Reprinted and streamed with permission through ONE LICENSE, license #A-731084

“Great Is Thy Faithfulness”
Text: Thomas O Chisholm, Songs of Salvation and Service, 1923; Music: William M Runyan, Songs of Salvation and Service, 1923; ©1923, renewed 1951, Hope Publishing Company; All rights reserved. Reprinted and streamed with permission through ONE LICENSE, license #A-731084

A New Normal

Pastor Glenn preached from Acts 2:42-47, a new normal. There has been much conversation about a new normal that will emerge on the other side of COVID-19. Sunday’s text offers one possible vision for a new normal.

Sharing Everything

Claudia Aguilar Rubalcava preaches from Acts 2:43-47. After Pentecost, the followers of Jesus make bold decisions about how to live out his teachings. Are we willing to follow Jesus with such boldness?

Does God have an Agenda?

Does God have an agenda? In the Pentecost story we catch a glimpse of God’s dream for us and the world. Glenn Balzer considers Acts 2:1-21 and examines what it means to speak in tongues!

So now what?

Have you ever wondered what comes next? What do you do when left with unfinished business? And whose job is it to finish the job anyway? This week Glenn Balzer explores these questions from the perspective of Acts 1:1-11- so now what?