Sermon April 11, 2021

 

April 11, 2021             John 20: 18-31                        Rev. Peter Hofstra

            “I am not going to believe he’s alive unless I can put my fingers through the nail holes in his hand and put my hand in the wound in his side.”  These are the words of Thomas, disciple of Jesus, recipient of the multiple prophecies that Jesus made concerning his own death and resurrection, receiver of the remarkable eyewitness account of Mary Magdalene, Apostle to the Apostles, witness to the testimony of the gathered disciples who were there on Easter evening when Jesus popped up among them, and the one who refused to believe because he was not there to see it for himself. 

            But it is not nearly enough to see Jesus.  In these demands, Thomas will be satisfied with nothing less than undoing the horrible things done to his Savior. 

            Because he does not accept Jesus is alive.  He wants to move past the insanity of these people that he has been around for the last three years.  His mind is incapable of accepting the testimony that Jesus, who they watched die in the most horrible way, was back from the dead.  He wanted that Jesus did not die, because he did not believe that Jesus could come back.  And he makes these horrifically specific statements to justify his new normal.

            I read those details as the ones that were emblazoned in his memory.  I want to put my fingers in the nail holes.  He’s really saying “Did you not see what they did to put Jesus on that cross?”  He wants to put his hand in the wound in Jesus side.  He is really saying, “Didn’t you see them stab him with the spear?  That’s why they did not break his legs when they took him off the cross.  He was ALREADY dead.  And now these people are saying Jesus is alive again.

            But then Jesus appears, ready to acquiesce to the demands Thomas has made and all he can say is “My Lord and My God.”

            History calls him Doubting Thomas.  The Bible calls him Thomas the Twin.  Now, we have no evidence of who this twin was.  Imagine if his twin was another disciple who was present the first time Jesus appeared to them?  Imagine how insistent, how strident Thomas would have gotten if his own twin got up in his face about the return of Jesus?

            The story of Thomas is a Sunday School favorite.  It is a cultural cliché that still has meaning into today’s world when so many Biblical references have fallen by the wayside of ignorance of what our Scripture teaches us.  After two thousand years, we take it for granted that Jesus is Risen.  But take some time to stand in Thomas’ shoes (or sandals), put yourself there, take him seriously, and his doubts are very real and can speak to us powerfully today.

            One of the amazing things about the characters in the Bible is that, like Thomas, they are not perfect-except for Jesus.  They may have faith lives that are absolutely huge, but there always seems to be a character flaw that brings them down-except for Jesus.  Consider Moses, led the people of Israel throughout the Exodus.  He was denied entrance into the Promised Land because of a moment of personal weakness.  Instead of telling a rock to bring forth water like God told him to do, he let his anger get the better of him and he struck it instead. 

            Consider King David.  He’s the one everyone expected Jesus to become as the Messiah.  But he was also a letch, an adulterer, and a cold-blooded murderer of one of his own top soldiers.  Not everyone is so big and over the top and these Old Testament figures.

            Consider Peter, the leader of the disciples, the one who betrayed Jesus three times.  Consider Paul, who stood there approving the whole endeavor during the first Christian martyrdom.  Consider Thomas, who could not believe that Jesus returned to life until after he’d seen Jesus with his own eyes.

            These people in the bible are such powerful witnesses to all of us precisely because they are humans like us, flawed and broken and sinful and in desperate need of the love of Christ.  These two times that Jesus suddenly appears in the midst of his disciples, I think he should have gone “BOO” but rather, he says “Peace be with you.”  These moments could be the best jump scares in the entire Scripture. 

            The power of the teachings of Jesus is that they play off the needs, they answer the needs, they provide hope in the face of the needs of sinful people, just like us.  Who wasn’t here last Sunday?  What if we said Jesus was here, in the flesh, standing among us.  Took a step down out of heaven because that is what Jesus can do.  Could any of us really believe that?  That is the closest I can come up with to approximate Thomas’ doubt.

            Thomas was absolutely convinced that there was nothing on heaven and earth that could prove to him that Jesus was back from the dead.  Until he actually saw Jesus back from the dead.  But it was not about his doubt.  I think it was from the deepest recesses of his soul, his pain and anguish over the loss of the most powerful, life changing, peaceable, amazing figure he’d ever had the chance to meet.  I think that man was broken because of what happened to Jesus.  And nobody but Jesus could fix him.

            Notice what Jesus said to Thomas after he appeared to him.  “You believe because you have seen.  How about all those other people who believe who have never seen?”  Take a moment, look around the sanctuary.  Consider family and friends who are in the church.  Think back over the history of people who have passed through these doors, been touched by this community of faith.  I reveal my age when I say look in the mirror.  The expression today is to look at yourself in the camera in your phone that is flipped to take a selfie. Jesus is talking about us.

            Jesus’ death and resurrection, God’s Plan fulfilled on Easter, the free gift of forgiveness that leads to our salvation, that is all the Capital J Jesus stuff that is the benefit of our faith.  We might call it the little j stuff to consider how the love of Jesus, which undergirds and inspires all that He has done for us, how that love can answer even our deepest doubts, how that love can overcome even the deepest pain in our lives, how that love can bring hope in even the most impossible of circumstances. 

            All that is great, but how can we truly be sure?  Yes, Jesus showed up to Thomas and it was radically excellent.  Yes, we are blessed because we have not seen Jesus like the doubter saw Jesus, but how can we really be sure?  Thomas saw Jesus.  I read the words on the page and as the preacher I am repeating them, a lot.  How can I be sure?

            Verses 22 and 23 are the ones I never remember being shared from this passage.  It is the sharing of the Holy Spirit.  Usually, we save that one for around six weeks from now.  We call it Pentecost and all wear red.  But consider what Jesus did to his disciples in that moment.  It was not enough that he appeared to them after his death.  That was necessary, but here he is sealing the deal.  Back in John 14, Jesus tells them about the Spirit, the one who is coming in His place.  Jesus is going back to heaven, but the disciples, the believers, all of us, we will never be without the presence of God. 

            How powerful is the presence of the Spirit?  It passes along the judgeship for sins to those of us who have it.  We literally have the power of Jesus within us. Jesus tells us throughout this gospel that God the Father has given Him the power to be the judge of the world.  That’s God’s power given to Jesus.  That’s the power Jesus is now giving to us.  We have the Spirit, we have God’s power in us as the guarantor of all the promises of grace, hope, love, and salvation that we have been given by our Messiah.

            That’s the bridge from Thomas, who saw and believed, to us, who believe but have not seen.  In fact, we are so special we have our own beatitude, Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe. 

            Thomas is any one of us, every one of us when we doubt, when we are deeply hurt, when it feels like we have no more hope.  His weakness is our weakness, his doubt is our doubt, his pain is our pain.  So it is with each imperfect child of God that we come across in the Bible.  Their lives are real, like our lives are real.  There is sin and brokenness and hopelessness there as there is in us. 

            It is the reality of that broken humanity that is a most powerful witness to the power that heals our brokenness with love.  Jesus ready to embrace Thomas, to let him put his fingers in the nail holes, to let him put his hand in the wound in his side, that is Jesus walking step by step, speaking word by word, healing piece by piece that which was broken in his doubting disciple.  As real as that broken, doubting man was, so real is the power of Jesus to bring healing, hope, and new life in God’s love.

            That’s why the story of Thomas is told in John’s gospel.  So that we who read it, who identify with his doubt, with his denial, with his deep seated pain in losing his Lord, can also identify with the doubt overcome, the hope renewed, the love re-instilled by Jesus’ returning presence, a presence that is sealed into our hearts and our minds by the very presence of God as Holy Spirit in our lives. 

            Thus our doubt, our denial, our pain, all as real today as it was in the time of Thomas, they too shall be overcome by our Lord Jesus Christ.  We know the Promise of Easter.  It is sealed unto our hearts by the Holy Spirit.  All hail the power of Jesus’ name.  Amen.

 

Order of Worship April 11, 2021

                                             First Presbyterian Church

April 11, 2021

10:00 AM

Order of Worship: Palm Sunday

 

CALL TO WORSHIP  (Psalm 136)

O give thanks to the Lord, for God is good, for God’s steadfast love endures forever.

Who alone does great wonders, for God’s steadfast love endures forever

Who spread out the earth on the waters, for God’s steadfast love endures forever.

Who made the great lights, for God’s steadfast love endures forever.

It is God who remembered us in our low estate, for God’s steadfast love endures forever.

And rescued us from all that threatens us, for God’s steadfast love endures forever.

O give thanks to the God of heaven, for God’s steadfast love endures forever

Let us worship the Living God.

 

Hymn of Praise: “All Glory Laud and Honor”

Refrain: All glory, laud, and honor, to thee, Redeemer, King, to whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring.

1. Thou art the King of Israel, thou David's royal Son, who in the Lord's name comest, the King and Blessed One. (Refrain)

2. The company of angels are praising thee on high, and we with all creation in chorus make reply. (Refrain)

3. The people of the Hebrews with psalms before thee went; our prayer and praise and anthems before thee we present. (Refrain)

4. To thee, before thy passion, they sang their hymns of praise; to thee, now high exalted, our melody we raise. (Refrain)

5. Thou didst accept their praises; accept the prayers we bring, who in all good delightest, thou good and gracious King. (Refrain)

      PRAYER OF CONFESSION (In Unison)

God of Easter, in the risen Christ you broke the power of sin and evil. And yet we still live in the tombs of forgetfulness, anxiety and fear. We have failed to love You as we should. We have neglected to love our neighbor. Indeed, we have even failed to love ourselves. Release us from the tombs that terrify us, so that we can see your image in one another and in your good creation. Indeed, free us from the graves of self-hatred, so that we can see ourselves as your children. Amen.

 *SILENT PRAYERS OF CONFESSION

ASSURANCE OF PARDON

The mercy of the Lord is sure. In Christ we are forgiven and set free from the chains that bind us so that we can be an Easter people. Thanks be to God!

*THE GLORIA PATRI

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.  Amen.

INVITATION: “Dear Lord, I need You, please come into my life today.  Amen”

 LESSON: John 20: 19-31

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.’ ²⁰After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. ²¹Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ ²²When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³If 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. ²⁵So 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 mark 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.’ ²⁷Then 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.’ ²⁸Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ ²⁹Jesus 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. ³¹But 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.

 SERMON:                          “Jesus Comes to Complete God’s Plan”                        Rev. Peter Hofstra

AFFIRMATION OF FAITH (from A Brief Statement of Faith)

 In a broken and fearful world the Spirit gives us courage to pray without ceasing, to witness among all peoples to Christ as Lord and Savior, to unmask idolatries in church and culture, to hear the voices of peoples long silenced, and to work with others for justice, freedom, and peace. In gratitude to God, empowered by the Spirit, we strive to serve Christ in our daily tasks and to live holy and joyful lives, even as we watch for God’s new heaven and new earth, praying, “Come, Lord Jesus!

PASSING OF THE PEACE

THE OFFERING OF OUR TITHES & GIFTS

God is the fountain of many good gifts. We are blessed by the goodness all around us. Let us now bring our gifts in joyful response to the many gifts that we have been given.

 

*DOXOLOGY

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.

*PRAYER OF DEDICATION

O God, we offer these gifts on the promise that they will serve you in our community and world. May they help bring peace, love and justice for the earth and all who dwell in it.

JOYS AND CONCERNS

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND THE LORD’S PRAYER

God of the Easter season, you come into our midst with resurrection power to free us from the realities that enslave us; that keep us from the fullness of life you desire for all of your children and for the earth itself. Help us to be open to your presence in our lives even if it means facing difficult circumstances that bind us and keep us from living fully. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We pray for your church amid the conflicted times in which we live, that we would serve you faithfully, and be the place where wounds are touched, attended to, released, liberated and redeemed. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We pray for the people in every land, that we may seek the common good, and work for justice and peace for all the people and not just the few. For all those who hunger and thirst, that they may be filled with good things. For those whose rights have been abused or rejected, may we stand in solidarity with them and be a witness to justice. And we pray for those whose lives have been torn and traumatized by violence — may we be agents of your love to each of these your children. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

God of the nations, we pray for elected officials around our globe. Help them resist greed, prideful ambition and partisan gain in order that they may serve the welfare of all — especially refugees and immigrants in our midst. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. 

God of salvation and healing, we come to you as a people who continue to struggle with overwhelming challenges of the pandemic. We pray for special measures of strength and endurance to weary healthcare workers and to all who are now facilitating vaccination. May your comfort be with all who are sick and all who have lost loved ones.

We pray all these things in the name of Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray saying,

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 debts, as we forgive our debtors.  Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil; for Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory forever.  Amen.

CLOSING HYMN: “All hail the power of Jesus Name”

1. All hail the power of Jesus' name! Let angels prostrate fall; bring forth the royal diadem, and crown him Lord of all. bring forth the royal diadem, and crown him Lord of all.

2. Ye chosen seed of Israel's race, ye ransomed from the fall, hail him who saves you by his grace, and crown him Lord of all. hail him who saves you by his grace, and crown him Lord of all.

 3. Let every kindred, every tribe on this terrestrial ball, to him all majesty ascribe, and crown him Lord of all. to him all majesty ascribe, and crown him Lord of all.

 4. O that with yonder sacred throng we at his feet may fall! We'll join the everlasting song, and crown him Lord of all. We'll join the everlasting song, and crown him Lord of all.

*BENEDICTION

*THREE FOLD AMEN

Elements of Order of Worship drawn from The Presbyterian Outlook, written by Roger Gench.

Worship For Sunday, April 11, 2021

Easter Service April 4, 2021

April 4, 2021 Lord's Day Sermon Easter Sunday

April 4, 2021               Rev. Peter Hofstra

            Jesus is risen, Jesus is risen indeed.  The women came to prepare Jesus for his permanent entombment.  Their expectation was that the leadership won.  This is not to be considered too surprising considering how they watched their friend and rabbi die that Friday before.  They came expecting the stone to be in place, their biggest concern was how they would have it removed so they could do the work of preparation they’d come for.

            People are coming to church today for the celebration of Easter.  They are stepping from a world where the fourth rush of COVID is upon us, coming into this place to proclaim that Jesus is risen, Jesus is risen indeed!  What expectations are we bringing with us?  Does the notion of ‘variant strains’ chill us to the bone?  Do we look around at how many people we have lost, how all our communities have been touched and wonder how the power of the Risen Christ will stand against all of that?

            When they got to the place where Jesus was buried, their biggest concern had been taken care of.  The stone had been rolled away.  I wonder if there was a moment of relief that this was not going to stop them from doing what they came to do before the realization hit them of what this could mean.  Who’d rolled the stone away?  What had happened since the moment Jesus’ body had been put into the tomb?  What could it mean?  I wonder if, at that moment, they had an inkling of what this truly meant.  Did the idea that Jesus was risen from the dead, thus the tomb stone was rolled away, even enter their minds? 

            We are coming to church today for the celebration of Easter.  Beginning of this week, a new article came out with the latest gallup poll results.  It seems that the numbers of people who claim affiliation to a congregation has dropped below half in the United States-combined Christian and Jewish-as their tribute to Holy Week and to Passover.  It presently sits at 47%, something for a nation that is obsessed with scores and an internal logic that whoever has the most somehow wins, this is a deliberate attempt to poke people of faith in the eye. 

            When they got to the entrance of the tomb, from which the stone had been removed, the tomb itself was not empty.  Rather, there was a young man inside, all dressed in white, what we can presume to be an angel of the Lord.  He was there to let them know the truth, not that the body had been stolen, not that there was a plot to desecrate the grave of their Rabbi, their Messiah, not that something bad had happened, but something that was the most incredible good they would ever know in the history of creation, the fulfillment of the Plan of God.

            We are coming to church today for the celebration of Easter.  Our Scripture passage, drawn from the lectionary, ends at the “shorter ending” of Mark, where the women went away frightened, too frightened to say anything to anyone about what they had seen.  This shorter ending has been used by some academics seeking to deny the truth of our faith as ‘proof’ that Jesus never rose from the grave, because they did not talk about what they had seen.  The idea is for us to accept Jesus was a “Good Man” or a “Moral Leader”, one whose life can provide us life lessons for a better way of living, but with a flat denial that there is anything supernatural about what happened to him.

            Once inside, the angel engaged the women in conversation.  He clarified that Jesus was not there because he was risen from the dead, showing them the now empty place where his body had been placed.  He had a task for them, to pass the word on to the disciples and to Peter, the de facto leader of the disciples, with word that Jesus was coming to meet them and would go ahead of them to Galilee.  He also reminded them that this was not new information.  This was happening exactly as Jesus himself had said it was to come about.

            We are coming to church today for the celebration of Easter.  If, at Christmas, we can claim Jesus is the reason for the season, at this moment, we can claim Jesus and his resurrection as the reason for our faith.  If he had not risen from the dead, our faith, as Paul puts it in his letter to the Corinthians, is in vain.  We are nothing without the Plan of God fulfilled in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.   

            These are moments in the gospel story, these are moments in life around us.  Each of us has the moments of life that we are involved in, that we are touched by, that we are looking to the future from, all of them, on this particular Sunday, touching Easter, the celebration of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

            Is it at all surprising that there are people out there trying to undercut our belief by chipping away at the truths of Easter?  Or people who are simply indifferent to the truth of the Christian message?  People frightened by the circumstances of life?  People attempting to impose their own agendas on the world, ready to use Christianity as a means to their ends if they thought if might help?

            Because of what Jesus did for us, because of what He accomplished on this day, we have hope.  And I found myself reflecting on all the people who do not know what we know, who do not have what we have, on their individual places and circumstances, and it weighs on me, this year more than ever.

            It was in the span of this COVID year that I lost my mom.  I know what they have told me, that her death was not due to COVID, but it was certainly affected by COVID.  My mom got sick before in the nursing home, it is inevitable in that kind of environment, but they were quick to get her out to hospital and stabilized.  By the nature of the health care system, I know they couldn’t do that this time around.  So COVID didn’t take her life, but it certainly played a role in her death.

            But one of the promises of Easter is the resurrection from the dead and the life everlasting.  If you have heard me speak at a funeral, you have heard me speak to that promise.  Our loved ones are in a better place.  We will be united with them again, someday.  But the reality of grief is that, even if those words make sense in our heads, not so much in our hearts, not at once.  But with time, working through our pain and grief, the hope of eternal life in Jesus can become a powerful balm of healing for us, something we celebrate on this Easter Sunday.

            That’s my moment in this Easter Sunday, hope and joy tinged with regret over what might have been.

            I know each of you will have your own stories, your own moments.  How does Jesus’ rising from the dead affect them?

            The classic hope in Easter is the forgiveness of our sins.  Jesus died in our place.  His resurrection brought us into a covenant of grace with God, one marked by mercy as the new justice, of forgiveness as the new judgement.  The outworking of Easter is that we now do good things in the name of Jesus, in gratitude and in imitation of the One who arose on this day.  It is not about earning God’s favor, rather that God’s favor is freely given.  Another way to put it, where Adam and Eve did fail, Jesus does prevail.

            As we come to celebrate Jesus’ Resurrection on this Easter morning, we gather to celebrate meaning restored to our lives.  Left unforgiven, left to pursue a life of evil and selfishness, we truly answer “Yes” to the question “Is this all, is there nothing more?”  The joy of Easter is that the New Life begins now.  We are certainly not going to live perfectly, not by any stretch of the imagination, but we have, in Jesus, the power to begin that journey, to push back on the darkness, on the evil, on the sin, on the suffering, on the tears, on the grieving of a broken world.  We have the ability, in Jesus, to press that out to the edges of our own lives and, even more powerfully, we have the ability to come alongside our fellow human beings that they might know the strength and joy that we do-because of Jesus’ Resurrection.

            The lesson that we have to learn from Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome is that we can know everything we are supposed to be about Jesus.  We can be raised on Him, know his words, know his prophecies, know what he says is going to happen.  Despite all that we know or we think we know, we can still run into a situation that knocks us out of anything resembling a comfort zone.  For these women, it was considering how they were going to remove the tomb stone, only to witness that it had been removed.  It can drive every thought, every comfort, every anchor we rely on from our lives and leave us hanging in the breeze. 

            But then comes the final and true power of Easter.  Jesus died for us, Jesus rose for us.  We are called upon to accept that Free Gift of salvation through the grace of what He has done.  But when life washes us away from Jesus, when things overwhelm us so we do not even feel His loving embrace, even when we are so hurt and so angry and these raw emotions are turned with their full fury upon God in heaven, the promise is we are not left on our own.  We are not left behind.  For once Jesus has embraced us in His loving arms, by the power and promise of Easter, He will never let us go. 

            Let us rejoice.  Christ is Risen. Christ is Risen indeed.

Amen

April 4, 2021 Order of Worship Easter Sunday

 

First Presbyterian Church

April 4, 2021

10:00 AM

Order of Worship

  

CALL TO WORSHIP (Psalm 118)

Christ is Risen! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Christ is Risen Indeed!

This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.

This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Let us worship the Living God

 

Hymn of Praise: “Christ The Lord Is Risen Today”

1. Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia! Earth and heaven in chorus say, Alleluia! Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia! Sing, ye heavens, and earth reply, Alleluia!

2. Love's redeeming work is done, Alleluia! Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia! Death in vain forbids him rise, Alleluia! Christ has opened paradise, Alleluia!

3. Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia! Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia! Once he died our souls to save, Alleluia! Where's thy victory, boasting grave? Alleluia!

4. Soar we now where Christ has led, Alleluia! Following our exalted Head, Alleluia! Made like him, like him we rise, Alleluia! Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!

5. Hail the Lord of earth and heaven, Alleluia! Praise to thee by both be given, Alleluia! Thee we greet triumphant now, Alleluia! Hail the Resurrection, thou, Alleluia!

6. King of glory, soul of bliss, Alleluia! Everlasting life is this, Alleluia! Thee to know, thy power to prove, Alleluia! Thus to sing, and thus to love, Alleluia!

     PRAYER OF CONFESSION (In Unison)

O God, in raising Christ from dead, you have set us free from self-absorption, doubt and fear. Yet we continue to live as those who are enslaved to enmity towards others and ourselves. We have been called to love you with all of who we are and to love our neighbors as ourselves, but we are turned in upon ourselves and refuse to love. Empower us with the new life of the risen Christ so that we might be free to love you, others and ourselves as we ought. Amen.

 *SILENT PRAYERS OF CONFESSION

ASSURANCE OF PARDON

Our baptism assures us that, in the risen Christ, enmities based in race, gender and class have been washed away. As Paul tell us, for those who are clothed in Christ, “there is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male or female.” Old divisions have been crucified in Christ so that we who are raised with Christ might live in mutuality and peace.

*THE GLORIA PATRI

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.  Amen.

INVITATION: “Dear Lord, I need You, please come into my life today.  Amen”

LESSON: Mark 16: 1-8

When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. ²And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. ³They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” ⁴When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. ⁵As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. ⁶But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. ⁷But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” ⁸So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

SERMON:                                “Christ Is Risen: Snapshots of Easter”                   Rev. Peter Hofstra

Affirmation of faith (from A Brief Statement of Faith)

In life and in death we belong to God. Through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, we trust in the one triune God, the Holy One of Israel, whom alone we worship and serve. With believers in every time and place, we rejoice that nothing in life or in death can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen.

PASSING OF THE PEACE

HYMN OF RESPONSE: “Christ Is Alive”

1. Christ is alive! Let Christians sing. The cross stands empty to the sky. Let streets and homes with praises ring. Love, drowned in death, shall never die.

2. Christ is alive! No longer bound to distant years in Palestine, but saving, healing, here and now, and touching every place and time.

3. Not throned above, remotely high, untouched, unmoved by human pains, but daily, in the midst of life, our Savior with the Father reigns.

4. In every insult, rift, and war where color, scorn or wealth divide, Christ suffers still, yet loves the more, and lives, where even hope has died.

5. Women and men, in age and youth, can feel the Spirit, hear the call, and find the way, the life, the truth, revealed in Jesus, freed for all.

6. Christ is alive, and comes to bring good news to this and every age, till earth and sky and ocean ring with joy, with justice, love, and praise.

 

THE OFFERING OF OUR TITHES & GIFTS

*DOXOLOGY

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.

*OFFERTORY PRAYER

O God, we give you thanks for the gifts of creation, and for the gift of life itself. We dedicate our resources to you, trusting and hoping that they will build up your work in our world. Amen.

 

INVITATION

All are welcome at God's table - at Christ's table - at this table. People from near and far. Neighbors and strangers. Young and old. Rich and poor. In whatever way you know the Christ, know you are invited to eat and drink with him... and with us. Alleluia!

 

God be with you.

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts.

We lift them up to God.

Let us give thanks to God, our God.

It is right to give God thanks and praise.

 

We do say thank you, loving God. We thank you for creating the heavens and the earth. We thank you for being the source of all life and all creation - for sharing with us the tiniest seed and the grandest stars... for creating us - with our tears and our laughter, with our joy and our sorrow, with our curiosity and our thinking... with our life. We thank you for Jesus, the Christ - for all that he learned from you and in you, for all that he taught, for all that he shared with the disciples, and all that he shares with us. Thank you, loving God!

Therefore, we praise you, wonderful God, joining our voices to sing out the glory of your name!

 

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of Power, God of Might. 

Heaven and Earth are full of your Glory!

Hosanna in the highest!

Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna in the highest!  Hosanna in the highest!

 

THANKSGIVING

We rejoice that, through Eve and Adam and all of their children, You entered into relationship with us. We rejoice that, through Sarah and Abraham and all of their children, You entered into covenant with us.   But we also remember that the covenant and relationship with You has been broken, many times by our ancestors - and by us.

Each time the covenant was broken, You invited us back! Through prophets and pastors and wise ones, You invited us back! And still we broke faith with You. But, at the right time, You sent Jesus to live with us.

Given life by the Holy Spirit, given life by the decision and action of your favored one, Mary, He came to share our life - to bring us back to each other and to our covenant with you! At the Jordan River Your Spirit came upon him, calling Him to tell the world the good news of your love. He healed people who were sick and fed people who were hungry. He cried with those who mourned and danced with those who celebrated. He looked for people who were lost and alone... and helped them to understand that they were welcome at your table! He lived out the fullness of your grace. We saw his holy love.

 

INSTITUTION

On the night before he was put to death, Jesus gathered with his friends for a special meal. He took bread and gave thanks to you, O Lord. He broke the bread and offered it to those gathered around him, saying, "Take this and eat; this is my body which is given for you, do this in remembrance of me."

Taking a cup, he once again gave thanks to you, and shared the cup with those gathered, saying: "This is the cup of the new covenant in my blood. Drink from this, all of you. This is poured out for you and for many, for the forgiveness of sins."

After the meal, Jesus was arrested. His disciples and friends ran away. He was beaten for what people thought he had said. He stood trial... and was put to death on a cross. He gave all of himself to your people, O God. His life and his death. Then you raised him from that death, holy God - that he might be one with you, now and forevermore!

As we remember his death, proclaim his resurrection, and look for His coming again, we offer to you, O God, this bread and this cup. Send your Holy Spirit upon us and upon these gifts, so that everyone who eats and drinks at this table might be one in Christ's body... your holy people.

Through Christ, with Christ and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory is yours, God most holy, now and forever more!

 

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 debts, as we forgive our debtors.  Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil; for Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

 Jesus Christ, the bread of life. Jesus Christ, the true vine. The gifts of God, for the people of God. Thanks be to God! Come, for the table is prepared and our cup is overflowing.

 

SHARING THE BREAD AND THE CUP

 

*CLOSING HYMN #513        “Let Us Break Bread Together”

1. Let us break bread together on our knees; Let us break bread together on our knees. When I fall on my knees, With my face to the rising sun, O Lord, have mercy on me.

 

2. Let us drink wine together on our knees; Let us drink wine together on our knees. When I fall on my knees, With my face to the rising sun, O Lord, have mercy on me.

 

3. Let us praise God together on our knees; Let us praise God together on our knees. When I fall on my knees, With my face to the rising sun, O Lord, have mercy on me.

 

*BENEDICTION

 

*THREE FOLD AMEN

 

 

 

Elements of Order of Worship drawn from The Presbyterian Outlook, written by Robert Gench.