Order of Worship
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
Lord God, Great I AM, you are resurrection and life. As we worship you this day show us who we are: bearers of good news, messengers of resurrection; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Out of the depths we cry to you, O Lord. Lord, hear our voices and be
attentive to our prayers.
We pray for those whose hope is lost, who feel dried up and cut
off from you. By your grace, open their hearts; that we might
reach them and bring them back into relationship.
My siblings, Trust in the Spirit of God. Hope in the Lord. With the
Lord there is steadfast love and great power to find peace and then to
set our minds on life in the Spirit.
We pray for those who are oppressed, held captive by the power
of death. Release them from their chains; unbind them and let
them go!
My siblings, Trust in the Spirit of God. Hope in the Lord. With the
Lord there is steadfast love and great power to find peace and then to
set our minds on life in the Spirit.
We pray for those who weep, lost and lifeless in fear and regret.
Grant them the peace of your presence; show them what your
love can do.
My siblings, Trust in the Spirit of God. Hope in the Lord. With the
Lord there is steadfast love and great power to find peace and then to
set our minds on life in the Spirit.
We pray for those who are dying, the light of life fading in their
eyes. Help them to believe in you so that they may live and never
die.
My siblings, Trust in the Spirit of God. Hope in the Lord. With the
Lord there is steadfast love and great power to find peace and then to
set our minds on life in the Spirit.
We thank you, O Lord, for having heard our prayers. Enable us
to trust in you, and thus to see your glory; through Jesus Christ,
the resurrection and the life. Amen.
O Lord, we wait for you, and in your Word we trust. By the power of your Spirit, set our hearts and minds on the source of life and peace: Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen
Romans 8:6-11 6 To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. ’For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed it cannot, 8and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. °But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. '0But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you. John 11:1-45 1 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. 3So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” *But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” “Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, °after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. ‘Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” ®The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?” °Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. ‘But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them.” ‘After saying this, he told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.” '2The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.” "Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. ‘Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. ‘*For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” “When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. "Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, 'fand many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. 2°When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. 21Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ?7But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.” 2Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” *°Jesus said to her, “Il am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, 7°and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 2’She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.” 2®When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” 2?And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. ?°Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. **The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. *7When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. 34He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” “Jesus began to weep. °°So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” °’But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” **Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. °°Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” “Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” *'So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. 421 knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” “When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” “4The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” 4SMany of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.
Rev. Johan Dodge
Questions for Reflection: Rev. Johan Dodge
The Gospel of John is filled with stories of polar extremes —
something is either this or it is the polar opposite. In the passage this
morning those extremes include life and death. Lazarus comes
walking out of the tomb, and Jesus says Mary and Martha — Unbind
him and let him go. Where are we bound? Where are we dead?
What does it mean for us to be called by Jesus, to be unbound and to
be released?
INVITATION TO THE OFFERING — Kelly Frankiewicz
Without the breath of God, we are dry bones, and without the Word of
God, we are dust. With gratitude, let us offer our lives to the Lord of
all life.
Holy God, giver of life, we thank you for raising us up and joining us together as one people, your people in the body of Christ. As you have delivered us from death, use our lives to proclaim the good news of new life in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
May the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the resurrection and the life, bless and keep you in this life and the life to come. Blessed Be the Tie that Binds Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love. The fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above. Amen.