 Welcome to our Outdoor Worship Service! We’re so happy that you’re with us this morning at Peace Tree. As we continue to adapt our routines during this global pandemic in order to Love Thy Neighbor, we ask that you please wear a face covering when outside of your vehicle and that you safely follow the current CDC guidelines.
Individually packaged Communion packets are available at the Welcome Table along with face masks and hand sanitizer. Please sit at a specially marked area with your family or social bubble in order to maintain a safe distance from others. For more information about Peace Tree and our ministries, please visit the home page of our website and follow us on social media (@peacetreeumc). If you have a prayer request, email prayer@peacetree.church. God bless you and Happy Easter! Opening Prayer Living God, long ago, faithful women proclaimed the good news of Jesus' resurrection, and the world was changed forever. Teach us to keep faith with them, that our witness may be as bold, our love as deep, and our faith as true. Amen. Christ the Lord is Risen Today 1. Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia! Earth and heaven in chorus say, Alleluia! Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia! Sing, ye heavens, and earth reply, Alleluia! 2. Love's redeeming work is done, Alleluia! Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia! Death in vain forbids him rise, Alleluia! Christ has opened paradise, Alleluia! 3. Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia! Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia! Once he died our souls to save, Alleluia! Where's thy victory, boasting grave? Alleluia! 4. Soar we now where Christ has led, Alleluia! Following our exalted Head, Alleluia! Made like him, like him we rise, Alleluia! Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia! 5. Hail the Lord of earth and heaven, Alleluia! Praise to thee by both be given, Alleluia! Thee we greet triumphant now, Alleluia! Hail the Resurrection, thou, Alleluia! 6. King of glory, soul of bliss, Alleluia! Everlasting life is this, Alleluia! Thee to know, thy power to prove, Alleluia! Thus to sing, and thus to love, Alleluia! Announcements Check in to Peace Tree UMC on Facebook and Instagram to support this month’s non-profit beneficiary, Compassion International. Thanks to our partnership with Causely, every six check-ins at Peace Tree will provide a day of care to a child in need. Compassion International is a child-advocacy ministry that pairs compassionate people with children that live in extreme poverty. They take the long-term approach to child development by investing in and for the life of each child with a model that blends physical, social, economic, and spiritual care to help children fully mature and transcend generational poverty. Visit compassion.com to learn more about this month’s non-profit organization, and add the hashtag compassion4kids so that others learn about this month’s cause. ••••••• The Peace Tree Book Club is gathering online on Tuesday, April 13 for a discussion of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. Members are welcome to join the online panel, and the conversation will be live streamed from the church’s Facebook page. If you’ve read the book or seen the 2016 Tim Burton film starring Eva Green, Asa Butterfield, and Samuel L. Jackson, then we’d love for you to join us as we discuss the characters, story, and overarching themes. RSVP using our Facebook event, and search for Peace Tree Book Club on Facebook to vote on upcoming books and novels. ••••••• We’ve got some wonderful online worship opportunities as well as a date for our next in-person Outdoor Worship Service. Join us next week at 10:00 a.m. for Project Transformation Sunday and learn more about this important non-profit organization. Each year, Project Transformation engages over 80 college-age young adults in ministry and service with more than 700 children in 9 site churches across Tennessee. For the past five years, we’ve supported this ministry with reading volunteers, food & snacks for the college interns and school children, and we’ve helped host fun Family Nights in South Memphis. We’ll hear a special message from Meagan Cloutier, the Director of Memphis Programs, and we’ll enjoy a Children’s Moment from our own Rachel Younger who served as an intern with Project Transformation in its inaugural year. You can stream live from YouTube, Facebook, and peacetree.church. Then, join us on April 18 for Creation Care Sunday led by our newly formed Creation Care Team. April 25 marks the beginning of a 4-week study on the Wesleyan understanding of Grace entitled Grace|Full. And on May 23, we’ll celebrate the Church’s birthday on Pentecost Sunday with another Outdoor Worship Service which will include Communion and an infant baptism. Glorious Day VERSE 1 I was buried beneath my shame Who could carry that kind of weight? It was my tomb 'Til I met You VERSE 2 I was breathing, but not alive All my failures I tried to hide It was my tomb 'Til I met You CHORUS You called my name Then I ran out of that grave Out of the darkness Into Your glorious day You called my name And I ran out of that grave Out of the darkness Into Your glorious day VERSE 3 Now Your mercy has saved my soul Now Your freedom is all that I know The old made new Jesus, when I met You CHORUS BRIDGE I needed rescue My sin was heavy But chains break at the weight of Your glory I needed shelter I was an orphan But You call me a citizen of Heaven When I was broken You were my healing Now Your love is the air that I'm breathing I have a future My eyes are open CHORUS The Baptismal Covenant Brothers and sisters in Christ: Through the Sacrament of Baptism we are initiated into Christ's holy Church. We are incorporated into God's mighty acts of salvation and given new birth through water and the Spirit. All this is God's gift, offered to us without price. Today, we present: Declan Carmichael Merryman Brooklyn Joanna Hefley and Edith Abigail Embry for baptism. On behalf of the whole Church, I ask you: Do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world, and repent of your sin? If so, say, “I do.” Do you accept the freedom and power God gives you to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves? If so, say, “I do.” Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Savior, put your whole trust in his grace, and promise to serve him as your Lord, in union with the Church which Christ has opened to people of all ages, nations, and races? If so, say, “I do.” Will you nurture these children in Christ's holy Church, that by your teaching and example they may be guided to accept God's grace for themselves, to profess their faith openly, and to lead a Christian life? If so, say, “I will.” Do you, as Christ's body, the Church, reaffirm both your rejection of sin and your commitment to Christ? We do. Will you nurture one another in the Christian faith and life and include these children now before you in your care? With God's help we will proclaim the good news and live according to the example of Christ. We will surround these children with a community of love and forgiveness, that they may grow in their trust of God, and be found faithful in their service to others. We will pray for them, that they may be true disciples who walk in the way that leads to life. Pour out your Holy Spirit, to bless this gift of water and those who receive it, to wash away their sin and clothe them in righteousness throughout their lives, that, dying and being raised with Christ, they may share in his final victory. (HOLY BAPTISM) Now it is our joy to welcome our new sisters and brothers in Christ. Through baptism you are incorporated by the Holy Spirit into God's new creation and made to share in Christ's royal priesthood. We are all one in Christ Jesus. With joy and thanksgiving we welcome you as members of the family of Christ. Revelation Song VERSE 1 (x2) Worthy is the Lamb who was slain Holy, holy is He Sing a new song To Him who sits on Heaven's mercy seat CHORUS Holy, holy, holy Is the Lord, God Almighty Who was and is and is to come With all creation I sing, praise to the King of Kings You are my everything And I will adore You VERSE 2 Clothed in rainbows of living color Flashes of lighting, rolls of thunder Blessing and honor, strength and Glory and power be To You, the only wise King CHORUS VERSE 3 Filled with wonder Awestruck wonder At the mention of Your name Jesus, Your name is power Breath and living water Such a marvelous mystery CHORUS (x2) Offering If you’d like to support the work of Peace Tree, please visit peacetree.church/give on your mobile device. You can also place your offering or tithes in the plates as the Ushers walk by your area. If you have questions about our missions, ministry, and upcoming renovations as we transform our building into a center for our community, then please visit peacetree.church/connect and fill out our online form. Thank you for your generosity! Kids Time with Mrs. Connie Gospel Lesson | John 20:19-29 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.” A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” Message | “Anything But Typical” Rev. Kristofer Roof Holy Communion INVITATION Christ our Lord invites to his table all who love him, who earnestly repent of their sin and seek to live in peace with one another. Therefore, let us confess our sin before God and one another. CONFESSION AND PARDON Merciful God, we confess that we have not loved you with our whole heart. We have failed to be an obedient church. We have not done your will, we have broken your law, we have rebelled against your love, we have not loved our neighbors, and we have not heard the cry of the needy. Forgive us, we pray. Free us for joyful obedience, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (All pray in silence) Hear the good news: Christ died for us while we were yet sinners; that proves God's love toward us. In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven! In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven! Glory to god. Amen. THE PEACE Let us offer one another signs of reconciliation and love. THE GREAT THANKSGIVING The Lord be with you. And also with you. Lift up your hearts. We lift them up to the Lord. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right to give our thanks and praise. It is right, and a good and joyful thing, always and everywhere to give thanks to you, almighty God, creator of heaven and earth… And so, with your people on earth and all the company of heaven we praise your name and join their unending hymn: Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. Holy are you, and blessed is your Son Jesus Christ. By the baptism of his suffering, death, and resurrection you gave birth to your Church, delivered us from slavery to sin and death, and made with us a new covenant by water and the Spirit… And so, in remembrance of these your mighty acts in Jesus Christ, we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving as a holy and living sacrifice, in union with Christ's offering for us, as we proclaim the mystery of faith. Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again. Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here, and on these gifts of bread and wine. Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ, that we may be for the world the body of Christ, redeemed by his blood. By your Spirit make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world, until Christ comes in final victory, and we feast at his heavenly banquet. Through your Son Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit in your holy Church, all honor and glory is yours, almighty God , now and for ever. Amen. THE LORD’S PRAYER And now, with the confidence of children of God, let us pray: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory for ever. Amen. BREAKING THE BREAD AND GIVING THE CUP Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf. The bread which we break is a sharing in the body of Christ. The cup over which we give thanks is a sharing in the blood of Christ. PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION Eternal God, we give you thanks for this holy mystery in which you have given yourself to us. Grant that we may go into the world in the strength of your Spirit, to give ourselves for others, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Victory in Jesus VERSE 1 I heard an old, old story, how a Savior came from glory How He gave His life on Calvary to save a wretch like me I heard about His groaning, of His precious blood's atoning Then I repented of my sins and won the victory CHORUS O victory in Jesus, my Savior forever He sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood He loved me 'ere I knew Him and all my love is due Him He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood VERSE 2 I heard about His healing, of His cleansing power revealing How He made the lame to walk again and caused the blind to see And then I cried, "Dear Jesus, come and heal my broken spirit" And somehow Jesus came and brought to me the victory CHORUS VERSE 3 I heard about a mansion he has built for me in Glory And I heard about the streets of gold beyond the crystal sea About the angels singing, and the old redemption story And some sweet day I’ll up there the song of victory CHORUS (x2) Closing Prayer Love divine, in raising Christ to new life you opened the path of salvation to all peoples. Send us out, with the joy of Mary Magdalene, to proclaim that we have seen the Lord, so that all the world may celebrate with you the banquet of your peace. Amen.  The following report comes from Pastor Kris and Johnny Jackson, our congregation's Lay Leader. It was shared with Sunday morning's Large Group on September 8, 2019. Scroll down to the bottom of this post to see video from the worship service. KRIS: We want to take a moment to recognize our first 100 days as a newly merged church worshiping together in this space as Peace Tree. Many of you know that conversations began last year to bring the congregations of CrossRoads and Peace Tree together as we sought to further God’s mission, to build the Kingdom of Heaven here in our corner of the world, and to make disciples of Jesus Christ. A team of faithful individuals came together to discuss the details, to list our rocks in the river, and to share our dream and vision for the future. I’m extremely grateful for all those who contributed their energy and effort to the merger of CrossRoads and Peace Tree, and today we want to report on the progress that’s taken place in a little over three month’s time. I’m going to touch upon the Mission, Vision, and Values of our church and how we’ve been living those out, then Johnny Jackson, our Administrative Board Chair and Church Lay Leader will talk about some noteworthy successes from our first 100 days. Peace Tree’s mission is to Love God by Loving Others, and I feel as though we do a good job of demonstrating that. In fact the first of our four core values is to Love All. We remember that God first loved us, so we try to express love in all that we do, whether it’s greeting people at the front door, offering coffee and donuts on Sunday morning, welcoming newcomers to House Groups and Large Group worship, or interacting with our followers on social media. We want everyone to know that they’ll be loved, respected, encouraged, challenged, and welcomed by the people of Peace Tree. Our second core value is to Serve All. For decades, this facility has been utilized by multiple groups in the community such as the Cub Scouts, Futsal Escola girls’ soccer team, pickleball players, and even our neighborhood's Homeowner’s Association, and we’re continuing to nurture and build upon those partnerships. We’re dreaming up more ways to use this facility to serve the community, and at the same time, our people have taken the church out of the building to meet people where they are. We have more House Groups and monthly gatherings than at any point in Peace Tree’s history which means we’re reaching more people than ever before. Our House Groups have supported the Big Heart Fund, the Family Violence Council of Collierville, the Reynolds Hospice House, and several local schools. Our UMW circles and BRO and SIS groups have supported local reading programs, the Page Robbins Adult Day Center, and My Town Miracles’ Family Picnic & Field Day. And for the fourth year in a row, our church is organizing volunteers for the Guatemalan Mobile Consulate. Live Together and Follow Christ are the last two core values at Peace Tree, and we participate in this work every time we gather in this place for Sunday morning worship. Members of our House Groups and small groups come together to form one Large Group in order to pray together, to sing God’s praises together, and to learn together as we explore God’s Word. Our Adult Sunday School class started back up this morning after taking a break for the summer, and we’re exploring ways to launch a Confirmation Class for our young people. Groups which meet in coffee shops, restaurants, and neighborhood clubhouses have given us a chance to evangelize and witness to our neighbors. And House Groups have used a variety of resources for their studies as we all seek to follow Christ ever more closely. Now, I’d like to pass the mic to Johnny Jackson, our church Lay Leader, as he shares a word about our first 100 days… JOHNNY: Thank you Kris and thank you congregation for this “first” 100 days. It is right to pause, reflect, and to celebrate this milestone. In the first 100 days:
Speaking of the children, one of the real motivations for Peace Tree joining with CrossRoads in this merger was the need for a safe and inviting space for our children to learn and grow. Over the past 100 days we have renovated 5 classrooms to create this space for our children of today and for those families and children to come.
I would like to extend a huge thank you from Connie and myself for the work of all the volunteers who pitched in and helped out. If you have not yet checked out the new children’s space, I invite you after today’s service to walk down the west hall and check it all out. As you do, dream about the possibilities that the Peace Tree campus offers for extending the kingdom of God.
As you observe the new children’s space and imagine the future, let me give an update for proposed renovations of our facilities. Over the past 100 days we have had a number of meetings with ANF Architects reimagining our facilities. In the coming weeks we will be compiling the design recommendations to review with the district board and the district superintendent. We will be presenting this recommendation to you, our church, as we prayerfully consider what God would have us to do. The renovations under consideration include:
As stated we will be presenting this information in more details in the coming weeks as ANF wraps up the conceptual design. It's been an active 100 days. I am excited to be a part of what God is doing here at Peace Tree, and I look forward to the future. KRIS: I want to end this time by reminding you of our overarching vision statement: Church Can Happen Anywhere. At its core is a simple reminder that I am the Church, that you are the Church, that we are the Church together. Whenever we walk out of the doors of our homes or this building, we are walking out into the mission field. God is already out in the world, waiting for us to arrive so that we might participate in God’s mission of disciple-making. Demonstrate God’s love to your classmates at school, be the Church in your workplace, pray for each other and encourage one another with words of affirmation online and in person, seek out the path that Christ has prepared for you. Four years ago, Peace Tree was approximately two dozen people meeting in two different living rooms - Wednesday nights in Collierville and Thursday nights in East Memphis. Today, we’re a congregation of 350 members & regular attenders on the roll with an average Sunday morning worship attendance of 140. There are also 100+ people each month who get together at House Groups or other Peace Tree gatherings. We reach hundreds of people each month online with our worship service Live Streams, and we reach thousands with our Causely check-ins which have encouraged your friends to message you and ask, “Hey, what’s Peace Tree? I see you checking in at the location all the time. Can you tell me more?” We’ve entered an age of digital evangelism, and you are at the cutting edge! Just as Jesus told Peter that he would build his Church, we trust that God is building up this congregation, using each of us to serve as living stones for God’s holy temple. In the upcoming weeks, you’ll have opportunities to hear about our renovation proposal so that our facility can reflect the joy, hospitality, and spirit of our people while attracting newcomers and partner organizations to utilize this space seven days a weeks, extending our reach into this community. But for now, let’s celebrate our first 100 days, let’s give thanks to God, and let’s continue worshiping together at the table. Thank you! |
Peace Tree
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Sundays at 10:00 AM (doors open at 9:30 AM) Peace Tree at Shelby Drive 9315 E Shelby Dr Collierville, TN 38017 Office Hours Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. |
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Peace Tree UMC 9315 E Shelby Dr Collierville, TN 38017 |