April 19, 2026 Copy

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

Resurrection Story: Found
Fourth Week of Easter
?️ Gathering at the Gate ?️

Prelude
Cynthia Hibbetts
 
Welcome
Rev. David Petty
 
The Collective Story of Resurrection
Threshold Moment
 
Rev. David Petty: What is it like to literally not have a home, a place to lay your head at night? “Homeless” can also mean a sense of not feeling “at home,” lacking a feeling of belonging, feeling alone even in the midst of others. So many in this world are isolated. How can we find, and offer each other, “home” with the assurance of the presence of God and a beloved community?
 
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!
 
 
Rev. David Petty: Jesus appeared among the disciples again. He stood among them and said: “Peace be with you.” Yet, the disciples were terrified. They thought they were seeing a ghost.
Jackie Fletcher: Centering our hearts and minds in peace is a way to feel calm within.
We learn to still ourselves to be open to unimaginable possibilities.
 
Rev. David Petty: Jesus asked: “Why are you frightened and why do doubts arise in your hearts?”
Jackie Fletcher: Doubts play an important role in our faith journey. Facing our uncertainties allows room for our hearts and minds to be filled with healing narratives.
 
Rev. David Petty: “Touch me and see,” Jesus invited, as he offered his pierced hands and feet. Yet, the disciples — even in the midst of their joy — felt disbelief.
Jackie Fletcher: Sometimes we are presented with signs of hope long before we realize we are not abandoned. Our hearts rejoice, yet our minds still wonder at what we have seen.
 
Rev. David Petty: Jesus asked if they had anything to eat, and the disciples shared a piece of fish, which Jesus ate while in their presence.
 
All: Jesus frequently shows us how to create community in the midst of feeling lost. We can form communities of sustenance and belonging. We are not alone – we are found – when we share Christ’s call to peace.
 
Rev. David Petty: This is a Word of Hope for the people who long for it.

All: Thanks be to the Living Word.
 
– based on Luke 24:36-43

Hymn
What a Friend We Have in Jesus
WORDS: Joseph M. Scriven, ca. 1855
UMH #526
 
1. What a friend
we have in Jesus,
all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
everything to God in prayer!
 
O what peace
we often forfeit,
O what needless
pain we bear,
all because we do not carry
everything to God in prayer.
 
2. Have we trials
and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never
be discouraged;
take it to the Lord in prayer.
 
Can we find
a friend so faithful
who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows
our every weakness;
take it to the Lord in prayer.
 
3. Are we weak
and heavy laden,
cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior,
still our refuge;
take it to the Lord in prayer.
 
Do thy friends despise,
forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In his arms he’ll
take and shield thee;
thou wilt find a solace there.
 
Announcements/Passing the Peace
 
Mystery Box

?️ Proclaiming Home ?️
 
Notes on Home
Jackie Fletcher
 
Reader: How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts!
My soul longs, indeed it faints,
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh sing for joy
to the living God.
Even the sparrow finds a home
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
my King and my God.
Happy are those who live in your house,
ever singing your praise.
Happy are those whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
As they go through the valley of Baca,
they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
They go from strength to strength;
the God of gods will be seen in Zion.
O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob!
Behold our shield, O God;
look on the face of your anointed.
For a day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than live in the tents of wickedness.
For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
he bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does the Lord withhold
from those who walk uprightly.
O Lord of hosts,
happy is everyone who trusts in you.
 
– Psalm 84

A Story of Home: Jesus Reassures His Disciples
John 14: 18-28
Jackie Fletcher
 
Reader: “I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me, and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.” Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?” Jesus answered him, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words, and the word that you hear is not mine but is from the Father who sent me.
 
“I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I.”
 
 
Testimony to Home
Found
Rev. David Petty
 
?️ Responding to Being Found ?️
 
Prayers of the People
Rev. David Petty
 
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

?️Opportunities to Live Resurrected ?️

Offertory
Jackie Fletcher
 
Offering
I Will Sing My Great Redeemers Praise
Fred Bock
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!

?️ Unlocking Home  ?️
Hymn
On Eagle’s Wings
WORDS: Michael Joncas, 1979 (Ex. 19:4)
© 1979, 1989 North American Liturgy Resources
 
You who dwell
in the shelter of the Lord,
Who abide in
His shadow for life,

Say to the Lord,
"My Refuge,
My Rock
in Whom I trust."

Refrain
And He will raise you up
on eagle's wings,
Bear you on
the breath of dawn,

Make you to shine
like the sun,
And hold you in the
palm of His Hand.

The snare of
the fowler will never capture you,
And famine
will bring you no fear;

Under His Wings
your refuge,
His faithfulness
your shield.

 Refrain
And He will raise you up
 on eagle's wings,
Bear you on
 the breath of dawn,
 
Make you to shine
 like the sun,
And hold you in the
 palm of His Hand.

You need
 not fear
 the terror of the night,
Nor the arrow
 that flies by day,
 
Though thousands
 fall about you,
Near you
 it shall not come.

Refrain
 And He will raise you up
 on eagle's wings,
Bear you on
 the breath of dawn,
 
Make you to shine
 like the sun,
And hold you in the
 palm of His Hand.

For to
 His angels
 He's given a command,
To guard you
 in all of your ways,
 
Upon their hands
 they will bear you up,
Lest you dash
 your foot against a stone.

Refrain
 And He will raise you up
 on eagle's wings,
Bear you on
 the breath of dawn,
 
Make you to shine
 like the sun,
And hold you in the
 palm of His Hand.
  
 Benediction
 Rev. David Petty

  Whatever binds you, whatever locks you up,
 whatever causes you to feel unsettled or unbalanced,
 whatever keeps you up at night or keeps you from feeling a sense of belonging,
 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,
 finding your home in love in all the ways you discover you can,
 for yourself, for others, for the world.
 And may the God who created you to live in harmony with yourself and others,
 the Christ who showed you what acceptance and serenity looks like,
 and the Spirit who is transforming your life even now,
 be with you now and evermore.
 Amen.
  
 Postlude
 Recording