Crandall United Methodist Church - Worship

Worship Guide

April 26, 2026

Fourth Sunday of Easter

Creating Disciples of Jesus

who Transform the World

ENTRANCE WITH PRAISE

Greeting:

Minister: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you!

People: And also with you!

Special Music: All I Did was Worship - Stefanie

Centering Words:

Listen, our shepherd is calling us by name.

*Call to Worship:

Jim: The Lord is our shepherd.

People: We are Christ’s sheep.

Jim: The shepherd shelters us in green pastures.

People: In Christ, we dwell secure.

Jim: The shepherd nourishes us and restores our souls.

People: Christ is our shepherd and gate to the Most High.

Leader: Let us pray.

ALL: Loving Shepherd, you call us as your own. When danger is close at hand, you gather us to yourself, that we might dwell secure. When evil surrounds us, you give us a home and a safe place to rest. When foes threaten our fellowship, you rescue us from peril. Restore our souls, Gentle Savior, and lead us in the paths of righteousness, that we may walk in the ways of goodness and mercy, all the days of our lives. Amen.

Hymn: “Give Thanks”

Give thanks with a grateful heart,

give thanks to the Holy One,

give thanks because he's given

Jesus Christ his Son.

Give thanks with a grateful heart,

give thanks to the Holy One,

give thanks because he's given

Jesus Christ his Son.

And now let the weak say "I am strong";

let the poor same, "I am rich

because of what the Lord has done for us

And now let the weak say "I am strong";

let the poor same, "I am rich

because of what the Lord has done for us

Give thanks with a grateful heart,

give thanks to the Holy One,

give thanks because he's given

Jesus Christ his Son.

Give Thanks with a grateful heart,

give thanks to the Holy One,

give thanks because he's given

Jesus Christ his Son.

And now let the weak say "I am strong";

let the poor same, "I am rich

because of what the Lord has done for us

And now let the weak say "I am strong";

let the poor same, "I am rich

because of what the Lord has done for us

Give thanks!

PROCLAMATION OF THE WORD

Words of Assurance

The Good Shepherd anoints our heads with oil, nourishes us with living waters, delivers us from evil, and watches over us day and night.

Because of our Shepherd, we shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Amen.

OOld Testament Reading: Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-31

¹¹For thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. ¹²As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. ¹³I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited parts of the land. ¹⁴I will feed them with good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. ¹⁵I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord God. ¹⁶I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice.

²⁰Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. ²¹Because you pushed with flank and shoulder, and butted at all the weak animals with your horns until you scattered them far and wide, ²²I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.

²³I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. ²⁴And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken.

²⁵I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild animals from the land, so that they may live in the wild and sleep in the woods securely. ²⁶I will make them and the region around my hill a blessing; and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing. ²⁷The trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase. They shall be secure on their soil; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke, and save them from the hands of those who enslaved them. ²⁸They shall no more be plunder for the nations, nor shall the animals of the land devour them; they shall live in safety, and no one shall make them afraid. ²⁹I will provide for them a splendid vegetation so that they shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land, and no longer suffer the insults of the nations. ³⁰They shall know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, says the Lord God. ³¹You are my sheep, the sheep of my pasture and I am your God, says the Lord God.

Leader: This is the Word of God for the people of God

People: Thanks be to God.

WORD AND RESPONSE

Time with Young Friends: “Jesus Loves Me”

Children’s Message: “Who Said That”

Hymn: “He Is Exalted”

He is exalted, the King is exalted on high;

I will praise him.

He is exalted, forever exalted

and I will praise his name!

He is the Lord, forever his truth shall reign;

heaven and earth rejoice in his holy name.

He is exalted, the King is exalted on high.

He is exalted, the King is exalted on high;

I will praise him.

He is exalted, forever exalted

and I will praise his name!

He is the Lord, forever his truth shall reign;

heaven and earth rejoice in his holy name.

He is exalted, the King is exalted on high.

Sermon: “Knowing that Voice” - John 10:1-10

¹ “Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. ²The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. ³The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. ⁵They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.” ⁶Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

⁷So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. ⁸All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. ⁹I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. ¹⁰The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

RESPONSE TO THE WORD

Hymn: “Be Still My Soul”

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on your side.

Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;

leave to your God to order and provide;

in every change, God faithful will remain.

Be still, my soul: your best, your heavenly friend

through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: your God will undertake

to guide the future, as in the past.

Your hope, your confidence let nothing shake;

all now mysterious shall be bright at last.

Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know

the Christ who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on

when we shall be forever with the Lord,

when disappointment, grief and fear are gone,

sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.

Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past

all safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

Affirmation of Faith:“Affirmation from Romans”

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

Shall tribulation or distress, or persecution or famine, or nakedness or peril or sword?

No!

In all things we are more than conquerors through the One who loved us.

We are sure that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation,

will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Thanks be to God! Amen.

Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;

praise him, all creatures here below;

praise him above, ye heavenly host;

praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Amen

Prayers of the People: Joys and Concerns

Silent Prayer, Pastoral Prayer

SENDING FORTH

Hymn: “He Has Made Me Glad”

I will enter his gates with thanksgiving in my heart,

I will enter his courts with praise.

I will say, "This is the day that the Lord has made."