May 10th, Sermon & Ministry Resources

"The God Who Refuses to Leave" (John 14:15-21)

Lectionary Readings — Sixth Sunday of Easter — May 10, 2026

Acts 17:22-31; Psalm 66:8-20; 1 Peter 3:13-22; John 14:15-21

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Call to Worship (based on John 14:15-21)

Leader: If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

People: Lord, we come today not out of obligation, but out of love — love that You first gave to us.

Leader: And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever.

People: We are not left alone. Your Spirit is with us — in this place, in this hour.

Leader: This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him.

People: But we know Him. He lives with us and is in us.

Leader: I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you.

People: We gather as those who belong — not abandoned, not forgotten, not without a Father.

Leader: Because I live, you also will live.

People: We worship today as people of resurrection life — alive in Christ, held by Christ, kept by Christ.

Leader: On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.

All: We are in You, Lord Jesus, and You are in us. This is the mystery we celebrate and the truth we rest in. Lead us now in worship that is worthy of so great a love. Amen.

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Opening Prayer (based on Acts 17:22-31)

Let us pray:

Heavenly Father,

We come before You this morning as people who live in a world full of altars — shrines to comfort, to success, to self, to a thousand unnamed things we have quietly worshiped in place of You. Forgive us for the times we have reached for what we could see rather than trusting the One who cannot be contained in anything we have made.

You are not unknown. You made the world and everything in it. You are Lord of heaven and earth. You do not live in what our hands have built, nor are You served as though You needed anything from us — for You are the One who gives to all people life and breath and all things. We do not come here today to inform You or to supply You. We come because You are the source of everything we are.

And yet — You are not far from any one of us. That truth silences our excuses and overwhelms our fear at the same time. There is nowhere we have wandered that You have not already been. There is no one in this room You cannot reach.

Call us this morning to the repentance You command — the turning of minds and hearts that moves us away from small gods and back to You. Remind us that You have not left Yourself without a witness, that history moves according to Your purposes, and that You have fixed a day when all things will be made right through the One You raised from the dead.

We gather under that resurrection hope. Speak to us now through Your Word.

In the name of Jesus, the risen Lord —

Amen.

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[NOTE to Paid subscribers — scroll down for the full manuscript sermon]

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Sermon Outline: "The God Who Refuses to Leave"

Based on John 14:15-21

I. The Proof of Love (v. 15)

II. The Promise of the Advocate (vv. 16–17)

III. The Presence of the Living Christ (vv. 18–19)

IV. The Power of Mutual Indwelling (vv. 20–21)

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Full Manuscript Sermon Below for Paid Subscribers