sunday May 17, 2026

Fruitland United Methodist Church
May 17, 2026

*(Please stand if you are comfortably able.)

Prelude: “How Firm a Foundation” Early American melody arrang. by Edward B.

Welcoming the Light of Christ and inviting the neighborhood to worship.
Welcome and Announcements Jay W. & Jorge R.

Call to Worship Jay W.
Leader: The Lord is our strength and our joy.
People: In God’s love we find hope and life.
Leader: God has been faithful through every season.
People: We gather to give thanks and praise.
Leader: Christ calls us to live as one body.
People: Teach us to walk together in grace and truth.
All: Let us worship God with glad and thankful hearts.
*Sharing the peace of Christ.

*Opening Hymn: “Let’s Sing Unto the Lord” UMH 149

Psalm Reading: Psalm 21:1-7 Pew Bible 859 Jay W.

Time With Young Christians: Jorge R.
(Please write prayer concerns and celebrations on yellow notepads, to be collected.)

Community Expressions
     Hymn: “Holy, Holy, Holy” TFWS 2007
     Gratitude for mothers, grandmothers, and caregivers
     Prayer for those who grieve or feel absence
     Prayer for families and community
“...and now, we pray in the way that Jesus taught us to pray:”
The Lord’s Prayer
“Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom
come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven....”

Invitation to Generosity Pastor Jorge
     Offertory “Kum Ba Yah” African-American spiritual
   *Doxology: Praise God, from whom all blessings flow . . . UMH 95

Gospel Reading: John 17:1-7 Pew Bible 1679 Jay W.

*Hymn: “They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love” TFWS 2223

Sermon: “That They May Be One”   John 17:1–11
There are prayers that we hear and then forget, and there are others that seem
to remain in the air long after they are spoken. The prayer of Jesus in John 17 is
one of those prayers. It is not rushed, nor is it superficial. It is the prayer of
someone who deeply loves those around Him and who knows He is about to
leave them. Jesus looks toward the future, toward His disciples, toward the
church, and ultimately toward us. Then He says, “Father... that they may be one.”

What is striking is that Jesus does not first pray for success, power, or influence.
He does not pray for large buildings or strong institutions. He prays for unity.
Jesus understands something that we often forget: the way we live together is
itself part of the Gospel. The church is not only called to preach about love; it is
called to live it visibly before the world.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer reflected deeply on this in his book Life Together. He wrote
not from comfort but from suffering, in a world divided by hatred, fear, and
distrust. In the middle of those dark times, Bonhoeffer wrote that “the physical
presence of other Christians is a source of incomparable joy and strength for the
believer.” Faith was never intended to be lived completely alone. Jesus never
imagined isolated disciples. The church was born around a table, around bread,
prayer, fellowship, and mutual care.

Yet we know how easy it is to hurt one another and how quickly division can enter
our relationships. Sometimes it comes through pride, politics,
misunderstandings, or simply because we stop listening to each other. Jesus
says in this prayer, “All mine are yours... and I have been glorified in them.” Those
words remind us that Christ is revealed to the world through the way we live with
one another. The way we speak, forgive, share, and care for others reflects not
only ourselves but also Jesus.

Most people may never read a theology book, but they will read our lives. They
will notice whether there is grace among us, whether there is patience,
compassion, and mercy, or whether there is only criticism and division.
Bonhoeffer warned against what he called “the dream of a perfect community.”
When we love our own idea of community more than the real people God has
given us, we end up damaging the very community we hoped to build. True
Christian community is not made up of perfect people. It is made up of wounded
people, different people, imperfect people learning how to love one another
through the grace of Christ.

Unity does not mean uniformity. It does not mean we all think the same way or
lose our individuality. The Trinity itself teaches us this truth. Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit are distinct, yet perfectly united in love and purpose. In the same way,
the church is made up of different stories, cultures, languages, and
experiences, yet we are called to become one body in Christ.

This may be one of the greatest challenges of our time because we live in a
fragmented world. It is a world where everyone speaks but few truly listen, where
differences often create suspicion, and where people are quickly divided from
one another. Yet in the middle of such a world, Jesus still prays, “That they may
be one.”

Jesus does not ask the Father to remove His followers from the world. Instead,
He prays, “Protect them. Sanctify them.” In other words, do not run away from
the world, do not hide from it, and do not abandon others. Rather, live in this
world as signs of God’s Kingdom. The church is called to become a kind of
window through which people can catch a glimpse of the love of God. When we
reconcile with one another, carry each other’s burdens, weep together, and
celebrate together, Christ is glorified.

Soon we will remember the Aldersgate experience of John Wesley, when he felt
his heart “strangely warmed” and finally understood that the grace of Christ was
also for him personally. But Wesley also understood that faith cannot be
sustained alone. That is why he formed small groups, classes, and communities
where people could grow together in grace. Grace needs places where it can be
lived and breathed together.

Perhaps today Jesus is reminding us of something both simple and profound:
unity matters. It matters how we speak about one another, how we serve, how
we welcome the stranger, and how we care for those who are weary. Our
communal life also preaches. The world may not first need bigger churches;
perhaps it needs churches that are more human, more humble, more
compassionate, more reconciled, and more like Jesus.

“Father... that they may be one.” That prayer is still alive, and perhaps the way
we respond to it will become part of our witness to the world.
​
Amen.

Prayer of Confession:
Loving God, we thank you for the gift of those who have nurtured us.
Forgive us when we fail to honor them as we should. Heal our
memories where there is pain and help us to reflect your love in our
relationships. In Christ we pray, Amen.

Words of Assurance
Hear the good news: Christ prays for us, walks with us, and calls us into
community. In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven and made one.
People: Thanks be to God. Amen

*Closing Hymn: “Amazing Grace” (verses 1 & 2) UMH 378

Benediction:
Go into the world as signs of God’s Kingdom.
Live in unity.
Walk in grace.
Carry one another’s burdens.
And may the love of God,
the grace of Jesus Christ,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
be with you always. Amen.

*Song of Blessing: “You Are the Seed” UMH 583

Postlude: “I’ll Fly Away” African-American spiritual

Pastor Jorge Rodriguez [email protected]