METROPOLITAN INTERDENOMINATIONAL CHURCH CELEBRATING 35 YEARS OF UNCONDITIONAL LOVE SUNDAY, April 3, 2016 SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER

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1 METROPOLITAN INTERDENOMINATIONAL CHURCH CELEBRATING 35 YEARS OF UNCONDITIONAL LOVE SUNDAY, April 3, 2016 SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER PREPARATION The Pastor s entrance and the beginning of the musical prelude are the calls to silent, personal preparation for the worship of God. THE GATHERING LITANY We are standing on Holy ground, And I know that there are angels all around. Let us praise Jesus now, We are standing in God s presence on Holy ground. Are you apostles of the one called Christ? Our hands have touched the holes in his palms, our eyes have seen the wound in his side; we have known suffering, and received his peace: We are apostles of the one called Christ. We commanded you not to teach in his name, yet you fill the world with the sound of your teaching. The spirit of Easter has anointed our lips. We must obey God, not human beings. We commanded you not to heal in his name, yet you fill the world with the joy of your healing. The spirit of Easter has anointed our hands. We must obey God, not human beings. We commanded you not to make peace in his name, yet you fill the world with the peace you have made. The spirit of Easter has anointed our minds. We must obey God, not human beings. We commanded you not to do good in his name, yet you fill the world with the good you have wrought. The spirit of Easter has anointed our will. We must obey God, not human beings. So, apostles, shall you defy us? Shall you resist your highest leaders? The spirit of Easter has fallen upon us, to preach good news to the poor and proclaim release to the captives! We have seen, and we believe. May the Lord help your unbelief!

2 SONG OF LIBERATION LIFT EVERY VOICE AND SING Lift every voice and sing, til earth and heaven ring, Ring with the harmonies of liberty; Let our rejoicing rise, high as the list ning skies, Let it resound loud as the rolling sea. Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us, Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us; Facing the rising sun of our new day begun, Let us march on till victory is won. Stony the road we trod, bitter the chast ning rod, Felt in the days when hope unborn had died; Yet with a steady beat, have not our weary feet come to the place for which our fathers sighed? We have come over the way that with tears has been watered, We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered, Out of the gloomy past, til now we stand at last, Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast. God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, Thou who hast brought us thus far on the way; Thou who hast by Thy might led us into the light, Keep us forever in the path, we pray. Lest our feet stray from the places our God where we met Thee, Lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee; Shadowed beneath Thy hand, may we forever stand, True to our God, true to our native land. WELCOME Visitors standing If you are here for the first time, we are delighted that you came. If you are dropping in for a second or third visit, we are glad you found something you were looking for. We hope you will be challenged by our worship and that you will come back again. If you are looking for a faith community, we would welcome you as a part of our church family. When you are officially welcomed as a visitor, you will receive a Visitor s Information Card. Please fill it out, and return it to the Pastor, or place it in the offering plate. WELCOME! CONCERNS OF CHURCH AND CITY D. Billye Sanders Your tithes and gifts help us: Pay the mortgage, utilities, maintenance, and security for the Metropolitan Meeting House; Provide free pastoral counseling (spiritual, marital, grief) services to members of our congregation; Fund the programs of the First Response Center, serving more than 700 people living with HIV/AIDS, and others at-risk; Pay for the personnel and operating costs of our ministries; Provide educational materials to assist in the spiritual growth & development of our community; Maintain meeting space for ministries, including Girl Scouts, various groups, and community events; Fund our annual Anniversary and Homecoming celebrations; Provide emergency assistance to members of the congregation and community through our benevolence fund. Every gift of your time, talent and treasure makes a vital difference in the life and ministries of Metropolitan Interdenominational Church. Thank you. SONGS OF PRAISE The Voices of Metropolitan Reginald Green, Minister of Music OFFERTORY For all things come from You, and of Your own we have given You. 1 Chronicles 29:14 DOXOLOGY Praise God from whom all blessings flow, Praise God all creatures here below Praise God above ye heavenly host: Creator, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen. PROCLAMATION THE WORD John 20:19-31 CHORAL RESPONSE Harry Emerson Fosdick Grant us wisdom, Grant us courage, For the living of these days, For the living of these days.

3 PREPARATORY PERIOD MESSAGE MISUNDERSTANDING THE TRUTH THE SENIOR SERVANT 19 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. 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you. 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained. 24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 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 marks of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe. 26 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. 27 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. 28 Thomas answered him, My Lord and my God! 29 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. 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. John 20:19-31 SERMON NOTES

4 RESPONSE Please do not leave the sanctuary or in any other manner create a distraction during the invitational period. This is a moment of unparalleled importance. MOMENTS OF REFLECTION Voices of Metropolitan INVITATION TO LIFE IN CHRIST This church will welcome into its membership any persons who love and accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, and who promise to live according to His Laws of Love, recognizing all people as brothers and sisters for whom He gave His life. THE LORD S SUPPER Communion Prayer We do not presume to come to this, Thy table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in Thy manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs from under Thy table. But Thou art the same Lord whose property is always to have mercy. Grant us, therefore, gracious Lord, so to partake of this sacrament of Thy Son, Jesus Christ, that we may walk in newness of life and grow to reflect Thy Spirit in all things forevermore. Amen. (We will eat and drink together after all have been served.) FELLOWSHIP CIRCLE We ve come too far to turn back now; By the grace of God we re gonna make it somehow. Nobody knows the trouble we ve seen; We ve come too far to turn back now. Effective human relations require a kind of total understanding. This is the area of feel, of heart, of sensing. The content of total understanding is made up of details of partial understanding, but those details are caught up in a creative synthesis which takes in the quality of intuition. When you say concerning a person, But that s the way he is what is working is your total understanding. It is the total understanding that causes you to be increasingly accurate as to your timing. Have you had the experience of saying something to someone with whom you had a very satisfying relationship and then, even before the sound of your voice disappeared, there was an instant in which you knew that you had chosen the wrong time? What you had to say was true, to be sure, but the timing was so bad that the true thing became error before your very eyes. Total understanding tends to alert one as to timing; it enables one to pick up overtones from the other person, which are precious guides in choosing the word to say and the tone in which to say it. HOWARD THURMAN METROPOLITAN INTERDENOMINATIONAL CHURCH th Avenue North, Nashville, TN Mailing Address: P.O. Box , Nashville, TN Phone: (615) 72METRO ( ) Fax: (615) website: Rev. Edwin C. Sanders, II, The Senior Servant Pastoral Staff: Rev. John Cross, Rev. Marcella Lockhart, Rev. Clifford Smith, Rev. Christopher Davis, Rev. Terry Terrell, Rev. Mary Jo Smiley, Rev. Regina McCrary, Rev. Neely Williams, Rev. Stephanie Thompson, Rev. Cherie Booker, Rev. Christopher Goodwin

5 UPCOMING EVENTS MIDWEEK FELLOWSHIP: Wednesday, April 6, 2016 at 6:00 p.m. Dinner by Circle 3; Bible Study 7:00 8:00, Classes for Adults and Children Financial Freedom/Entrepreneurship Seminar Series meets Saturday mornings, 9:00 11:00, at the First Response Center, th Avenue North, Nashville Call: REACH 2020 Nashville Mobile Market: Fresh Fruit & Vegetables Fridays, 9:00 10:30 a.m. at MetroCenter Teachers Apartments (Teachers Tower) Friday evening Dancercise, 7 pm Voices of Metropolitan Rehearsal, Saturday, 12 2 pm Saturday Evening Worship, 6 7 pm Second Saturdays: The Voices of Metropolitan BIBLE READINGS Read Pray Sacrifice April 8-14, 2013 Third Sunday of Easter Acts 9:1-6 (7-20) Psalm 30 Revelation 5:11-14 John 21:1-19 ~ Giving Summary ~ Date Offering - Budgeted Offering - Actual Offering (Un)Realized Summary (Un)Realized January, 2016 $ 28, $ 21, ($ 7,182.00) ($ 7,182.00) February, 2016 $ 23, $ 22, ($ ) ($ 7,725.90) March 6, 2016 $ 5, $ 7, $ 1, March 13, 2016 $ 5, $ 7, $ 2, March 20, 2016 $ 5, $ 6, $ March 20, 2016 $ 5, $ 6, $ March, 2016 $ 23, $ 27, $ 4, Year to Date $ 75, $ 71, ($ 3,278.67) ($ 3,278.67) SICK, SHUT IN, and RECOVERING MEMBERS Leon McKinley Corder 1902 Elliott Avenue; Nashville, TN Send prayers, not visitors, please. Ella Louise Gant 908 Cannon Street; Nashville, TN Lynda Hodgers P.O. Box 54; Guys, TN Evelyn Martin 3253 Spears Road; Nashville, TN Connie Ryans 1703 Pecan Street; Nashville, TN Rev. Mary Jo Smiley Rm #200, Creekside Rehab. Center, 306 West Due West Ave, Madison TN Ernestine Williams 2712 Vista Lane; Nashville, TN Mary Grace Williams 293 Becklea Drive; Madison, TN Emmilye Wilson-Walton P.O. Box 78795; Nashville, TN MIDWEEK FELLOWSHIP MEAL SCHEDULE April 13 Circle 4 May 4 Circle 7 April 20 Circle 5 May 11 Circle 1 April 27 Circle 6 May 18 Circle 2

6 METROPOLITAN INTERDENOMINATIONAL CHURCH CELEBRATING 35 YEARS OF UNCONDITIONAL LOVE Sunday, April 3, 2016, 2016 SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER Metropolitan Interdenominational Church is a community of believers inclusive of all and alienating to none, leading the way to spiritual growth by sharing God s love with the world. WANNA GET AWAY WANNA GET AWAY is a commercial tag line that most of us readily associate with Southwest Airlines. The humorous sales pitch they have developed around this phrase uniquely speaks to all of us in that at one time or another we all feel like we WANNA GET AWAY. Although in most instances when we have this thought, there is nothing funny about the situation which gives rise to this feeling. Certainly this is the case when we consider the account of Jesus disciples being locked away in fear on the evening of the resurrection because they WANNA GET AWAY. Their concern for their own lives was resonating feverishly within them, and the last thing they wanted was to be identified as followers of the crucified Jesus. Followers of this man from Galilee who had challenged traditions, confronted church leaders, spoken truth to Roman power and, in general, was turning everything upside down. Their desire to WANNA GET AWAY was overwhelming, and self-imprisonment seemed like the best way to achieve their goal. Yet, after having employed all of their best efforts to lock everybody out, they found themselves standing face to face with Jesus as he miraculously appeared and stood among them. Now two millennia and one decade later, we find ourselves still acting like we WANNA GET AWAY from being associated with Jesus when that association requires us to take up our crosses and take on the responsibility of addressing the injustices and the other contradictions to God s laws of love in the world. There is no hiding place, because The Lord keeps showing up. As resurrection people, we must overcome our fear and deal forthrightly with our propensity to WANNA GET AWAY. (reprinted from Sunday, April 7, 2013) -Senior Servant