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SUNDAY, MARCH 26, 2023 | 10:00 AM
THE PRAISE AND WORSHIP
THE GREETINGS
Mr. & Mrs. Sammy and Fran Crawford
THE DOXOLOGY
“Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow”
THE CALL TO WORSHIP
Mr. & Mrs. Michael and Ronda Bridgeman
Be joyful in the Lord, all you lands;
Serve the Lord with gladness
and come before His presence with a song.
Know this: The Lord Himself is God;
He Himself has made us, and we are HIS;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving;
Go into His courts with praise;
Give thanks to Him and call upon His Name.
For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting;
and His faithfulness endures from age to age.
THE HYMN OF PRAISE
Mr. & Mrs. Rodney and Doralene Vance
”Sweet Sweet Spirit”
There's a sweet, sweet Spirit in this place,
And I know that it's the Spirit of the Lord;
There are sweet expressions on each face,
And I know they feel the presence of the Lord.
(chorus)
Sweet Holy Spirit, Sweet heavenly Dove,
Stay right here with us, filling us with Your love.
And for these blessings we lift our hearts in praise;
Without a doubt we'll know that we have been revived,
When we shall leave this place
There are blessings you cannot receive
Till you know Him in His fullness and believe;
You're the one to profit when you say,
"I am going to walk with Jesus all the way."
If you say He saved you from your sin,
Now you're weak, you're bound and cannot enter in,
You can make it right if you will yield,
You'll enjoy the Holy Spirit that we feel.
THE INVOCATION
Reverend & Mrs. Donald and Seyburn Rocker
THE SCRIPTURE
Mr. & Mrs. Jerome and Lesa Williams
Ephesians 5:25-33
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing[a] her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— 30 for we are members of his body. 31 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” 32 This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
Minister: This is the Word of the Lord to the people of God.
People: Thanks be to God!
THE BLACK MARRIAGE LITANY
(by Sister Fran Crawford)
Mr. & Mrs. Russell and Gwendolyn Earl
Leader: Praise God, Praise God. How good it is to be among such beautiful Black married loving and committed couples, who pronounced their vows before humanity and God.
People: God thank you for uniting them in holy matrimony.
Leader: Lord we rejoice in how you have equipped us to share each other’s burdens and trials; and provide a soft landing for our spouses with open arms when life is not so kind.
People: Thank you God for teaching them to love deeply and forgive quickly, which has produced strong and trustworthy black marriages.
Leader: Lord we are thankful as we recognize Black Marriage Weekend and celebrate strong and loving husbands and wives as well as wonderful parents.
People: Thank you Lord for all your blessing upon them and their families.
Leader: Thank you Lord for wives subjecting themselves to their husband (Eph. 5:22) and husbands loving their wives as their own bodies (Eph. 5:28).
People: Thank you Lord for committed, loving and Christ-Centered unions.
Leader: We praise you God that you have blessed us to be good parents, who have planted and watered good seeds in our children; training them in the way of the Lord and when they grow up they will not depart Godly training.
People: Thank you for bringing the children to the Lord and not allowing anyone to cause them to stumble or stray from you Lord.
Leader: Lord we thank you for blessing us to be good stewards over the resources you have granted us.
People: Lord we thank you for reminding them and us to give our tithes, time and talents for the up building of your kingdom.
Leader: Lord we pray that our marriage will be a beacon of light to guide all out of darkness into your marvelous and glorious light.
People: Thank you Lord for peace, joy and direction as we acknowledge you in all our ways.
Together: In faith and humility, we reflect on how the Black marriages have triumphed through slavery, mass incarceration of our black males, the brutality of society against blacks and all other social ills that are designed to dismantle black marriages, we pledge to continue to uphold our Black spouses, children and family villages as we honor the gift of marriage. Lord we thank you.
THE MINISTRY OF GIVING
THE MINISTRY OF MUSIC
THE SERMON
Reverend Tracy C. McGeathey
"Have Your Way, Lord" ~ Mark 7:24-30
THE INVITATION TO DISCIPLESHIP
THE ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF VISITORS
THE ANNOUNCEMENTS
THE DOXOLOGY
THE BENEDICTION
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