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Worship Order for
Sunday
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Call to
Worship
(refers to Psalm 133)
1 – Christ is risen!
2 – Rise with him in body or spirit.
(motion
congregation to stand, pausing
next line until all have risen who are able)
1 – How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live
together in unity!
2 – That’s what the Psalmist sings.
1 – When brothers and sisters live together in peace, it is
like precious oil…
2 – costly perfume…
1 – oil for anointing…
2 – oil for commissioning kings for ruling…
1 – oil for preparing the dead for the grave…
2 – oil for welcoming someone who has walked many miles of a
journey…
1 – soothing his feet…
2 – cooling her head…
1 – When sisters and brothers dwell in harmony, it is like
precious oil poured from above…
2 – landing on the head, running down upon the beard…
1 – if such a person has a beard, like Moses’ brother Aaron
did long ago,
2 – running down over the collar of his robes…
1 – Such unity,
2 – such peace,
1 – such harmony among God’s people
2 – is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains
of Zion.
1 – For there
2 – Zion, that is – Jerusalem, where Jesus was crucified,
1 – where on the third day, Christ arose;
2 – there the Lord ordained his blessing, life forevermore.
1 – Come, ye faithful, raise the strain of triumphant gladness.
2 – Turn in your hymnal to #264 and let us sing.
scripture text
from
the New
Revised Standard Version
copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States
of America.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Litany of Confession
One: Lord, last week we sang alleluias and proclaimed your
resurrection.
All: We confess that we question the mystery
of your divine and human nature, Three-in-One God. May we, like
Mary in the garden, hear your voice, call your name, and
believe.
Right: We confess that we limit our time for you to a single
hour. May we, like the travelers to Emmaus, see you in the
everydayness, and marvel.
Left: We confess that we prefer our hands to be clean, our
clothing pressed, our friends made in our image. May we, like
Thomas, dare to touch the open wounds of theological arguments
and denominational debates, and heal.
(Silence)
All: Lord, make us Easter people every day.
May we gather as the church to testify to the power of
resurrection. May we proclaim the mystery that death is now
conquered, that life is everlasting. May we be in fellowship
with all who call you Lord so that our joy may be complete.
by Cathy
Huffman
Germantown Brick Church of the Brethren
Rocky Mount, Virginia
Words of Assurance
One: Here is the message we have heard from Jesus and
proclaim to you: God is light and in God is no shadow at all.
All: If we live in the light, as God is in
the light, then we share a common life with one another, and the
blood of Jesus, Son of God, cleanses us from all sin.
Hymnal #707
1 John 1:5,7, adapted from NRSV and NEB
© 1992 The Hymnal Project
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Pastoral Prayer
written closer to the time (if not at the
moment)
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For
Children
"How
many marbles?"
based on
John 20:27-29
What do you
suppose I have in this sack? … Hmm, you think there are marbles
in here. How did you know? You listened and heard a sound and
made a guess based on the sound you heard. Do you actually know
these are marbles? Well, maybe yes, maybe no?
I’ve got another
question. If these are marbles, how many marbles do you think I
have in this sack? Let me shake it and hold it up so you can see
the sack more clearly. You’ve heard the sound and you think that
these are marbles. You see the sack which contains these marbles
(if that’s what they are), and you guess there are - how many?
(have each child guess a number). Very good.
There are three
ways you could find out how many are in here, and you have
already tried the first way, which is to, what? To guess,
which is what you have all just done. I think you each did a
pretty good job of guessing. You had a few things to go by in
making your guess. You heard the sound and you saw the outside
of the sack, and you made a guess.
What’s another way
you could find out how many are in here? (these other two
should go in the order the children say them, if they do –
perhaps they might even think of some other way, real of goofy,
so go with them. Adapt to fit the moment with them) Yes, you
could ask me to tell you how many are in here, and I could do
that. In fact, let me say that there are ___ marbles in here. Do
you believe me? You’d have to take my word for it. That’s
actually another way of knowing how many marbles are here, to
believe what I’ve told you.
What is another
way of finding out how many marbles are in this sack? Yes, we
could dump out the marbles and actually count them, then we
would know for sure how many there are. In fact,
we would also know whether or not these are really marbles.
Should we do that? (do so, and together count one marble at a
time, then put the marbles back in the sack).
In the Bible story
we just heard, Jesus came to his disciples on the evening of the
day he rose from the dead. None of the disciples had yet seen
him alive after he had died on the cross and been buried. They
were amazed. All except for one of them, who was away at the
time. Who was that, anyone know his name? That’s right. He was
Thomas. He wasn’t there when Jesus came, and Jesus left before
he returned. The other disciples told them about it, but he
didn’t believe them.
Thomas heard them
speak, just like you heard the sound of these marbles in the
sack, just like you heard me tell you how many marbles there
were, but he didn’t believe what he heard. He didn’t want to
guess and he couldn’t yet believe. What
did he say he needed before he would really know
that Jesus was alive? That’s right. He said he needed to see the
scars where the nails had been pounded into Jesus’ hands or
feet, or where he had been stabbed in the side.
One week later,
Jesus came again to his disciples, and this time Thomas was
there. Jesus told Thomas to see and to touch all the holes, the
scars in his body, and he said to Thomas, “do not doubt, but
believe.” It doesn’t say whether or not Thomas actually touched
Jesus’ scars. He did, however, finally believe, saying, “My Lord
and my God.”
Then Jesus said,
“So, you believe because you’ve seen with your own eyes. Even
better blessings are in store for those who believe without
seeing.” With those words, Jesus was talking to you and me. We
were not there when Jesus rose from the grave (hold up the
sack). We did not actually see him like those first
disciples did. However, we have heard the story passed down to
us (shake the sack). Will you, will I believe he is
alive? (say the next words as you pour out the marbles)
“Even better blessings are in store for those who believe
without seeing.”
If you promise me
that you won’t swallow one of these marbles, you may pick one
and take it home with you to remember this story.
borrowed and adapted concept (full
rewrite)
from Eldon Weisheit,
61 Gospel Talks for Children,
©1969, Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, p. 63.
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Returning
our Tithes and Offerings
It is time to share our marbles. God has richly provided. Will
the ushers come forward to receive what we have to give?
(follows
Acts 4:32-35 and refers to "children's
story")
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Dedication
Holy One, we do not doubt that Jesus, the Messiah, lives again.
Yet, only one short week from Easter, our thoughts are cluttered
with finite, insignificant activities and agendas. Instead of
remaining focused on the abundance of divine transformation, we
return to a pessimistic mindset of scarcity. Refocus our attention
on the joy of Easter, so that we may recognize all that we have
received and be led to give cheerfully. We pray in the name of
Jesus Christ. Amen.
Copyright © 2011 David S.
Bell.
Reprinted with permission from
www.DavidSBell.org
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Benediction
(1 John 1:1‑4, adapted)
We have heard it, we have seen it,
we have touched it with our hands,
and this love of Christ our Savior
far exceeds His laws’ demands.
Thus we know that God is with us,
and in Him is no darkness at all,
that our sins have been forgiven
to complete the joy of us all.
from
a song by Harriet Ziegenhals,
©1980, Hope Publishing Co., Carol Stream, IL
Go
and share the joy!
Every morning is Easter morning from now on!
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(para traducir a español, presione la bandera de España)
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