May 17th, Sermon & Ministry Resources

"Praying While the World Sleeps" (John 17:1-11)

Lectionary Readings — Seventh Sunday of Easter — May 17, 2026

Acts 1:6-14; Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35; 1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11; John 17:1-11

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Call to Worship (based on John 17:1-11)

Leader: Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you.

People: We gather to glorify You, Father — this is why we are here.

Leader: You have given the Son authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.

People: We are among those You have given to the Son — known by name, held by grace, brought into life.

Leader: And this is eternal life — that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

People: We do not come merely to learn about You. We come to know You — and knowing You is life itself.

Leader: Jesus said, “I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do.”

People: Lord, make us faithful to the work You have given us — that our lives, too, might bring You glory.

Leader: Now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.

People: We worship the One who was with the Father before creation — eternal, exalted, and worthy of all praise.

Leader: I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world.

People: You have revealed Yourself to us. We receive that revelation with grateful and open hearts.

Leader: Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.

All: Unite us now in worship, Father — one people, one voice, one hope. We belong to You, and You are glorified among us. Amen.

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Opening Prayer (based on Acts 1:6-14)

Let us pray:

Ever-Present Father,

We confess that we come to You this morning much like those first disciples — with questions about timing, with our own maps of how we think Your Kingdom ought to unfold, with a quiet preference for the answers that fit the future we have already imagined. Forgive us for the times we have been more focused on what You will do than on what You have called us to do in the meantime.

Redirect us, as Jesus redirected them. Lift our eyes from our calendars and our agendas to the horizon of Your purposes. Remind us that the times and seasons belong to You alone — held in Your authority, moving according to Your wisdom — and that our calling is not to decode them but to be faithful within them.

Thank You for the promise that still stands over every gathering of Your people: power from on high, the presence of Your Spirit, and a mission that stretches to the ends of the earth. We are not waiting for something to begin. It has already begun. We are those who carry it forward.

And Father, we gather this morning in the same posture those disciples assumed after the ascension — together, in one place, devoted to prayer. May that be true of us today in more than form. May we be genuinely united, genuinely expectant, and genuinely dependent on You for everything that is about to happen.

He is coming back. That is not a doctrine we merely affirm — it is a hope we live toward. Shape our worship this morning by that hope.

In the name of the ascending and returning Lord, Jesus Christ —

Amen.

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

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Sermon Outline: "Praying While the World Sleeps"

Based on John 17:1-11

I. The Pursuit of Glory (vv. 1–5)

II. The Profile of the Faithful (vv. 6–8)

III. The Prayer of Protection (vv. 9–11)

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Full Manuscript Sermon Below for Paid Subscribers