April 5, 2026 Easter Copy
Liturgy
April Monthly Mission
Dear friends at St. Paul’s,
I will share the two most recent changes at Crossfire. When the food stamps shut down, our growth at Crossfire grew, averaging 30 new families daily. It became apparent that we must look for a solution to be able to keep up with the growing needs. Our parking lot was always overfilled, with people riding around trying to find a place to park, even though our volunteers park off site, and take a shuttle.
We explored various options, such as opening a second grocery pantry in another part of town. We tried to work something out with District 20 but discovered that they did not want to partner with us because we are faith based. When that deal collapsed, we asked God to show us what to do. It was two days later that we saw the old Family Dollar Store, only a mile east on Austin Bluffs, had gone on the market for sale, way below the market value. If we moved the clothing and thrift store items out of our current building, it would not only free up parking spots but would also enlarge our current space for groceries and our growing educational needs. We purchased that building and after doing the needed permits, stocking and setting up, we are scheduled to open it up on March 21. Our hours there will be Tuesday through Saturdays from 10:00 to 4:00. We hope to keep the missional emphasis there in various ways. The proceeds will help offset the $30,000 per month food purchases that we are currently making. It has a prayer center. We are trying to keep the prices affordable. We hope to reach out with educational craft demonstrations. Guests facing tragedy situations may apply for help for their clothing and household needs. And it is very different that your average thrift store, come and see.
The second big change is our educational outreach. We are currently offering these educational programs with several classes in each series—Super Saver Saturday Frugal Living Series, Putting your Best Foot Forward Series for Career Development, Cooking Series for Frugal and Nutritional Living, Financial Management Series, and Sewing Workshops. We offer sampling with recipes on Wednesdays to show our guests ways to use the food resources available and we do a written outreach Thrifty Tips for Trying Times. We will eventually be able to use the old thrift store area for our increased class size.
Blessings to you all and thank you again for your prayers and support.
Leslie Miller, Co-Founder
Crossfire Ministries
Dear friends at St. Paul’s,
I will share the two most recent changes at Crossfire. When the food stamps shut down, our growth at Crossfire grew, averaging 30 new families daily. It became apparent that we must look for a solution to be able to keep up with the growing needs. Our parking lot was always overfilled, with people riding around trying to find a place to park, even though our volunteers park off site, and take a shuttle.
We explored various options, such as opening a second grocery pantry in another part of town. We tried to work something out with District 20 but discovered that they did not want to partner with us because we are faith based. When that deal collapsed, we asked God to show us what to do. It was two days later that we saw the old Family Dollar Store, only a mile east on Austin Bluffs, had gone on the market for sale, way below the market value. If we moved the clothing and thrift store items out of our current building, it would not only free up parking spots but would also enlarge our current space for groceries and our growing educational needs. We purchased that building and after doing the needed permits, stocking and setting up, we are scheduled to open it up on March 21. Our hours there will be Tuesday through Saturdays from 10:00 to 4:00. We hope to keep the missional emphasis there in various ways. The proceeds will help offset the $30,000 per month food purchases that we are currently making. It has a prayer center. We are trying to keep the prices affordable. We hope to reach out with educational craft demonstrations. Guests facing tragedy situations may apply for help for their clothing and household needs. And it is very different that your average thrift store, come and see.
The second big change is our educational outreach. We are currently offering these educational programs with several classes in each series—Super Saver Saturday Frugal Living Series, Putting your Best Foot Forward Series for Career Development, Cooking Series for Frugal and Nutritional Living, Financial Management Series, and Sewing Workshops. We offer sampling with recipes on Wednesdays to show our guests ways to use the food resources available and we do a written outreach Thrifty Tips for Trying Times. We will eventually be able to use the old thrift store area for our increased class size.
Blessings to you all and thank you again for your prayers and support.
Leslie Miller, Co-Founder
Crossfire Ministries
Gathering
Resurrection Story: Freed
Second Week of Easter
?️ Gathering at the Gate ?️
Prelude
Cynthia Hibbetts
Welcome
Pastor Donnie Sturgill:
Moment for Missions
Lu Petersen
The Collective Story of Resurrection
Threshold Moment
Pastor Donnie Sturgill: We may be imprisoned by many things. Jesus’ declaration that he had come to “set the prisoner free” can be interpreted for all of us, whether or not we’ve ever experienced being behind literal prison bars. This day, we will hear Resurrection Stories that move from chains to freedom. We will reflect on how we can each step into freedom from whatever binds us.
Rise up in us and we will rise
From death into a newfound life:
From bondage freed, from harm released,
From illness healed, as one in peace.
When all is lost our hearts are warmed,
Our hope restored, our lives transformed.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Pastor Donnie Sturgill: They were on the road to Emmaus…
CLM Twinkle Gordon: We travel so many roads, so many journeys in this life, sometimes traveling towards, sometimes away from, a life of freedom.
Pastor Donnie Sturgill: Jesus came and fell into step with them, but they did not recognize him…
CLM Twinkle Gordon: We are sometimes so overwhelmed with the struggles of this world that we can’t see the Companion that walks alongside us.
Pastor Donnie Sturgill: Jesus asked them what they were talking about…
Reader/s: We have recited our stories of pain so often that we can’t imagine
there are other ways to interpret events, to get past the regret.
Pastor Donnie Sturgill: They explained the horror of the recent past, about their friend who was crucified and their disappointment at dreams of liberation dashed…
CLM Twinkle Gordon: We so often think we’ve hit the end of the road,
the finale of the story, with nothing left to say.
Pastor Donnie Sturgill: Then Jesus began to tell the story as a bigger picture…
CLM Twinkle Gordon: We sometimes perceive only the parts that feel insurmountable without zooming out to notice the larger narrative of hope.
Pastor Donnie Sturgill: They invited Jesus to dinner after such a long walk…
CLM Twinkle Gordon: We actually know how to reach for help, even when we don’t realize we need it.
Pastor Donnie Sturgill: Jesus took the bread, blessed, broke and gave it to them…
CLM Twinkle Gordon: We are capable of having our eyes opened to the presence of Love in our midst.
Pastor Donnie Sturgill: Jesus vanished from the room as quickly as he had appeared on the road but they were left with the awe and wonder of having their hearts transformed…
All: We open to the possibility that nothing is closed, that our hearts can be opened anytime, anywhere, and resurrection from death-dealing forces is possible.
Pastor Donnie Sturgill: This is a Word of Hope for the people who long for it.
All: Thanks be to the Living Word.
– based on Luke 24:13-32
Hymn
Abide with Me
UMH #700
WORDS: Henry F. Lyte, 1847 (Lk. 24:29)
1. Abide with me;
fast falls the eventide;
the darkness deepens;
Lord, with me abide.
When other helpers
fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless,
O abide with me.
2. Swift to its close
ebbs out life’s little day;
earth’s joys grow dim,
its glories pass away;
change and decay
in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not,
abide with me.
3. I need thy presence
every passing hour.
What but thy grace
can foil the tempter’s power?
Who, like thyself,
my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud
and sunshine,
Lord, abide with me.
4. I fear no foe,
with thee at hand to bless;
ills have no weight,
and tears no bitterness.
Where is death’s sting?
Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still,
if thou abide with me.
5. Hold thou thy cross
before my closing eyes;
shine through the gloom
and point me to the skies.
Heaven’s morning breaks,
and earth’s vain
shadows flee;
in life, in death, O Lord,
abide with me.
Announcements & Passing the Peace
Mystery Box
Second Week of Easter
?️ Gathering at the Gate ?️
Prelude
Cynthia Hibbetts
Welcome
Pastor Donnie Sturgill:
Moment for Missions
Lu Petersen
The Collective Story of Resurrection
Threshold Moment
Pastor Donnie Sturgill: We may be imprisoned by many things. Jesus’ declaration that he had come to “set the prisoner free” can be interpreted for all of us, whether or not we’ve ever experienced being behind literal prison bars. This day, we will hear Resurrection Stories that move from chains to freedom. We will reflect on how we can each step into freedom from whatever binds us.
Rise up in us and we will rise
From death into a newfound life:
From bondage freed, from harm released,
From illness healed, as one in peace.
When all is lost our hearts are warmed,
Our hope restored, our lives transformed.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Pastor Donnie Sturgill: They were on the road to Emmaus…
CLM Twinkle Gordon: We travel so many roads, so many journeys in this life, sometimes traveling towards, sometimes away from, a life of freedom.
Pastor Donnie Sturgill: Jesus came and fell into step with them, but they did not recognize him…
CLM Twinkle Gordon: We are sometimes so overwhelmed with the struggles of this world that we can’t see the Companion that walks alongside us.
Pastor Donnie Sturgill: Jesus asked them what they were talking about…
Reader/s: We have recited our stories of pain so often that we can’t imagine
there are other ways to interpret events, to get past the regret.
Pastor Donnie Sturgill: They explained the horror of the recent past, about their friend who was crucified and their disappointment at dreams of liberation dashed…
CLM Twinkle Gordon: We so often think we’ve hit the end of the road,
the finale of the story, with nothing left to say.
Pastor Donnie Sturgill: Then Jesus began to tell the story as a bigger picture…
CLM Twinkle Gordon: We sometimes perceive only the parts that feel insurmountable without zooming out to notice the larger narrative of hope.
Pastor Donnie Sturgill: They invited Jesus to dinner after such a long walk…
CLM Twinkle Gordon: We actually know how to reach for help, even when we don’t realize we need it.
Pastor Donnie Sturgill: Jesus took the bread, blessed, broke and gave it to them…
CLM Twinkle Gordon: We are capable of having our eyes opened to the presence of Love in our midst.
Pastor Donnie Sturgill: Jesus vanished from the room as quickly as he had appeared on the road but they were left with the awe and wonder of having their hearts transformed…
All: We open to the possibility that nothing is closed, that our hearts can be opened anytime, anywhere, and resurrection from death-dealing forces is possible.
Pastor Donnie Sturgill: This is a Word of Hope for the people who long for it.
All: Thanks be to the Living Word.
– based on Luke 24:13-32
Hymn
Abide with Me
UMH #700
WORDS: Henry F. Lyte, 1847 (Lk. 24:29)
1. Abide with me;
fast falls the eventide;
the darkness deepens;
Lord, with me abide.
When other helpers
fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless,
O abide with me.
2. Swift to its close
ebbs out life’s little day;
earth’s joys grow dim,
its glories pass away;
change and decay
in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not,
abide with me.
3. I need thy presence
every passing hour.
What but thy grace
can foil the tempter’s power?
Who, like thyself,
my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud
and sunshine,
Lord, abide with me.
4. I fear no foe,
with thee at hand to bless;
ills have no weight,
and tears no bitterness.
Where is death’s sting?
Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still,
if thou abide with me.
5. Hold thou thy cross
before my closing eyes;
shine through the gloom
and point me to the skies.
Heaven’s morning breaks,
and earth’s vain
shadows flee;
in life, in death, O Lord,
abide with me.
Announcements & Passing the Peace
Mystery Box
Proclaiming
?️ Proclaiming Freedom ?️
Notes on Freedom
CLM Twinkle Gordon
CLM Twinkle Gordon: So then, siblings, we are obligated, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—for if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs: heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if we in fact suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God, for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its enslavement to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning together as it suffers together the pains of labor, and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope, for who hopes for what one already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
– Romans 8: 12-25
A Story of Freedom: Paul and Silas in Prison
Acts 16: 16-34
CLM Twinkle Gordon: One day as we were going to the place of prayer, we met a female slave who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners a great deal of money by fortune-telling. While she followed Paul and us, she would cry out, “These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” She kept doing this for many days. But Paul, very much annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.
But when her owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities. When they had brought them before the magistrates, they said, “These men, these Jews, are disturbing our city and are advocating customs that are not lawful for us, being Romans, to adopt or observe.” The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates had them stripped of their clothing and ordered them to be beaten with rods. After they had given them a severe flogging, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to keep them securely. Following these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was an earthquake so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted in a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” The jailer called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them outside and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They answered, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” They spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. At the same hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and his entire family were baptized without delay. He brought them up into the house and set food before them, and he and his entire household rejoiced that he had become a believer in God.
Testimony to Freedom
Freed
Pastor Donnie Sturgill
?️ Responding to Freedom ?️
Prayers of the People
Pastor Donnie Sturgill
Silent Prayer
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.
Give us this day
our daily bread,
and forgive us
our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
Lead us not
into temptation
but deliver us
from evil.
For Thine is the Kingdom,
and the Power
and the Glory forever.
Amen
Notes on Freedom
CLM Twinkle Gordon
CLM Twinkle Gordon: So then, siblings, we are obligated, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—for if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs: heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if we in fact suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God, for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its enslavement to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning together as it suffers together the pains of labor, and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope, for who hopes for what one already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
– Romans 8: 12-25
A Story of Freedom: Paul and Silas in Prison
Acts 16: 16-34
CLM Twinkle Gordon: One day as we were going to the place of prayer, we met a female slave who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners a great deal of money by fortune-telling. While she followed Paul and us, she would cry out, “These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” She kept doing this for many days. But Paul, very much annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.
But when her owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities. When they had brought them before the magistrates, they said, “These men, these Jews, are disturbing our city and are advocating customs that are not lawful for us, being Romans, to adopt or observe.” The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates had them stripped of their clothing and ordered them to be beaten with rods. After they had given them a severe flogging, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to keep them securely. Following these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was an earthquake so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted in a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” The jailer called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them outside and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They answered, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” They spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. At the same hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and his entire family were baptized without delay. He brought them up into the house and set food before them, and he and his entire household rejoiced that he had become a believer in God.
Testimony to Freedom
Freed
Pastor Donnie Sturgill
?️ Responding to Freedom ?️
Prayers of the People
Pastor Donnie Sturgill
Silent Prayer
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.
Give us this day
our daily bread,
and forgive us
our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
Lead us not
into temptation
but deliver us
from evil.
For Thine is the Kingdom,
and the Power
and the Glory forever.
Amen
Offertory
Opportunities to Live Resurrected
Invitation to Offering
CLM Twinkle Gordon
Offering
Proclamation of Praise
Sanctuary Choir
Doxology
Praise God from Whom All Blessing Flow
UMH #94
Praise God, from whom
all blessings flow;
Praise God, all creatures
here below: Alleluia! Alleluia!
Praise God, the source
of all our gifts!
Praise Jesus Christ,
whose power uplifts!
Praise the Spirit,
Holy Spirit!
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia!
Invitation to Offering
CLM Twinkle Gordon
Offering
Proclamation of Praise
Sanctuary Choir
Doxology
Praise God from Whom All Blessing Flow
UMH #94
Praise God, from whom
all blessings flow;
Praise God, all creatures
here below: Alleluia! Alleluia!
Praise God, the source
of all our gifts!
Praise Jesus Christ,
whose power uplifts!
Praise the Spirit,
Holy Spirit!
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia!
Sending
?️ Unlocking Freedom ?️
Hymn
Amazing Grace My Chains Are Gone
W & S 3104
John Newton (stanzas), refrain by Chris Tomlin, and Louie Giglio
Refrain © 2006 worshiptogether.com Songs/sixsteps Music (ASCAP),
Vamos Publishing (ASCAP), admin. at EMICMGPublishing.com
1. Amazing grace!
how sweet the sound
that saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost but now am found;
was blind, but now I see.
2. ’Twas grace that taught
my heart to fear;
and grace my fears relieved.
How precious did that grace appear
the hour I first believed.
My chains are gone,
I’ve been set free.
My God, my Savior,
has ransomed me.
And like a flood his mercy reigns,
unending love, amazing grace
3. The Lord has promised
good to me;
his word my hope secures.
He will my shield and portion be
as long as life endures.
My chains are gone,
I’ve been set free.
My God, my Savior,
has ransomed me.
And like a flood his mercy reigns,
unending love, amazing grace
4. The earth shall soon
dissolve like snow,
the sun forbear to shine.
But God who called me
here below,
will be forever mine.
You are forever mine.
Choral Benediction
Rise up in us and we will rise
From death into a newfound life:
From bondage freed, from harm released,
From illness healed, as one in peace.
When all is lost our hearts are warmed,
Our hope restored, our lives transformed.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Benediction
Pastor Donnie Sturgill
Whatever binds you, whatever locks you up, whatever keeps you from the freedom for which you were created…
can be wiped clean…
… for we believe our stories can be rewritten each and every day.
We know it isn’t this easy or quick, but let this be a vision of your life resurrected.
And now, may you go into the world,
unlocking freedom in all the ways you discover you can,
for yourself, for others, for the world.
And may the God who created you to be free,
the Christ who showed you what freedom looks like,
and the Spirit who is transforming your life even now,
be with you now and evermore.
Amen.
Postlude
Cynthia Hibbetts
Hymn
Amazing Grace My Chains Are Gone
W & S 3104
John Newton (stanzas), refrain by Chris Tomlin, and Louie Giglio
Refrain © 2006 worshiptogether.com Songs/sixsteps Music (ASCAP),
Vamos Publishing (ASCAP), admin. at EMICMGPublishing.com
1. Amazing grace!
how sweet the sound
that saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost but now am found;
was blind, but now I see.
2. ’Twas grace that taught
my heart to fear;
and grace my fears relieved.
How precious did that grace appear
the hour I first believed.
My chains are gone,
I’ve been set free.
My God, my Savior,
has ransomed me.
And like a flood his mercy reigns,
unending love, amazing grace
3. The Lord has promised
good to me;
his word my hope secures.
He will my shield and portion be
as long as life endures.
My chains are gone,
I’ve been set free.
My God, my Savior,
has ransomed me.
And like a flood his mercy reigns,
unending love, amazing grace
4. The earth shall soon
dissolve like snow,
the sun forbear to shine.
But God who called me
here below,
will be forever mine.
You are forever mine.
Choral Benediction
Rise up in us and we will rise
From death into a newfound life:
From bondage freed, from harm released,
From illness healed, as one in peace.
When all is lost our hearts are warmed,
Our hope restored, our lives transformed.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Benediction
Pastor Donnie Sturgill
Whatever binds you, whatever locks you up, whatever keeps you from the freedom for which you were created…
can be wiped clean…
… for we believe our stories can be rewritten each and every day.
We know it isn’t this easy or quick, but let this be a vision of your life resurrected.
And now, may you go into the world,
unlocking freedom in all the ways you discover you can,
for yourself, for others, for the world.
And may the God who created you to be free,
the Christ who showed you what freedom looks like,
and the Spirit who is transforming your life even now,
be with you now and evermore.
Amen.
Postlude
Cynthia Hibbetts
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