Gathering Music

“Everlasting God”

You are the everlasting God, the everlasting God, You do not faint you won’t grow weary

You’re the defender of the weak, you comfort those in need
you lift us up on wings like eagles!

Welcome

Hymn of Welcome

“Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” UMH #400

Scripture

The Holy Gospel according to St. John (11:17-44)

17 When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Bethany was a little less than two miles from Jerusalem. 19 Many Jews had come to comfort Martha and Mary after their brother’s death. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him, while Mary remained in the house. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died. 22 Even now I know that whatever you ask God, God will give you.”
23 Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 Martha replied, “I know that he will rise in the resurrection on the last day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me will live, even though they die. 26 Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
27 She replied, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, God’s Son, the one who is coming into the world.”
28 After she said this, she went and spoke privately to her sister Mary, “The teacher is here and he’s calling for you.” 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to Jesus. 30 He hadn’t entered the village but was still in the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who were comforting Mary in the house saw her get up quickly and leave, they followed her. They assumed she was going to mourn at the tomb.
32 When Mary arrived where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.”
33 When Jesus saw her crying and the Jews who had come with her crying also, he was deeply disturbed and troubled. 34 He asked, “Where have you laid him?”
They replied, “Lord, come and see.”
35 Jesus began to cry. 36 The Jews said, “See how much he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “He healed the eyes of the man born blind. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?”
38 Jesus was deeply disturbed again when he came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone covered the entrance. 39 Jesus said, “Remove the stone.”Martha, the sister of the dead man, said, “Lord, the smell will be awful! He’s been dead four days.”
40 Jesus replied, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believe, you will see God’s glory?”41 So they removed the stone. Jesus looked up and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. 42 I know you always hear me. I say this for the benefit of the crowd standing here so that they will believe that you sent me.” 43 Having said this, Jesus shouted with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his feet bound and his hands tied, and his face covered with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Untie him and let him go.”

Reader: This is the Gospel of Christ
People: Praise to Christ the Word

Homily

Is Jesus Your Type?

The Rev. Dr. J. Terry Todd

The Prayers of the People

After each petition, the people say, “God in your mercy, hear our prayer.”

Happy are those whose sins are forgiven,
whose wrongs are pardoned.
I will confess my sins to God,
I will not conceal my wrongdoings.

Silence

God forgives us and heals us.

We need your healing, merciful God:
give us true repentance.
some sins are plain to us;
some escape us,
Some we cannot face.
Forgive us;
set us free to hear your word to us;
set us free to serve.

God the Creator brings us new life,
forgives us and redeems us.
Let us take hold of this forgiveness
and live our lives
in the Spirit of Jesus.
Amen.

The Peace

One: The peace of God be with you all.
Many: In God’s justice is our peace.
One: Christ calls us to live in unity.
Many: We seek to live in the Spirit of Christ.

Anthem

“Home by Another Road” words by Lindy Thompson, music by Mark Miller

Table Liturgy

God of all creation, you bring forth bread from the earth and fruit from the vine. By your Holy Spirit this bread and wine will be for us the body and blood of Christ

All you have made is good, your love endures forever.

The Spirit of God be with you.
And also with you.
Lift your hearts to heaven
where the saints make their home with God.
Let us give thanks to God.
It is right to offer thanks and praise.

It is right indeed to give you thanks most loving God, through Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, the first born from the dead, the pioneer of our salvation, who is with us always, one of us, yet from the heart of God.

For with your whole created universe, we praise you for your unfailing gift of life. We thank you that you make us human and stay with us even when we turn from you to sin.

God’s love is shown to us: while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

In that love, dear God, righteous and strong to save, you came among us in Jesus Christ, our crucified and living Lord. You make all things new. In Christ’s suffering and cross you reveal your glory and reconcile all peoples to yourself, their true and living God.

In your mercy you are now our God. Through Christ you gather us, new-born in your Spirit, a people after your own heart. We entrust ourselves to you, for you alone do justice to all people, living and departed.

Now is the acceptable time, now is the day of salvation.

Therefore with saints and martyrs, apostles and prophets, with all the redeemed, joyfully we praise your name and say:

“Sanctus”

All glory to you, Giver of life sufficient and full for all creation. Accept our praises, living God, for Jesus Christ, the one perfect offering for the world, who in the night that he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, broke it, gave it to his disciples, and said: take, eat, this is my body which is given for you; do this to remember me.

After supper he took the cup; and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them and said: drink this, all of you. This is my blood of the new covenant which is shed for you, and for many, to forgive sin. Do this as often as you drink it to remember me.

Therefore, God of all creation, in the suffering and death of Jesus our redeemer, we meet you in your glory. We lift up the cup of salvation and call upon your name. Here and now, with this bread and wine, we celebrate your great acts of liberation, ever present and living in Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, who was and is and is to come.

Amen! Come Lord Jesus.

May Christ ascended in majesty be our new and living way, our access to you, O Creator, and source of all new life. In Christ we offer ourselves to do your will.

Empower our celebration with your Holy Spirit, feed us with your life, fire us with your love, confront us with your justice, and make us one in the body of Christ with all who share your gifts of love.

Through Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit, with all who stand before you in earth and heaven, we worship you, Creator God. Amen.

And in the words that Christ taught us, we are bold to pray:

“Sung Lord’s Prayer”

The bread we break is a sharing in the body of Christ.
We who are many are one body, for we all share the one bread.

The cup of blessing for which we give thanks is a sharing in the blood of Christ. Bread and wine, the gifts of God for the people of God.
May we who share these gifts be found in Christ and Christ in us.

Music During Communion

Prayer After Communion

Most loving God, creator and redeemer, we give you thanks for this foretaste of your glory.

Through Christ, and with all your saints in every age, we offer ourselves and our lives to your service. Send us out in the power of your Spirit, to stand with you in your world. We ask this through Jesus Christ, the servant, our friend and brother. Amen.

Blessing

The Rev. Dr. J. Terry Todd

Grace be with you! Christ be with you! Let us go forth, to do God’s work in the world
Thanks be to God.

Go in peace.
Amen. We go in the name of Christ!

Sending Forth

“We’ll Understand it Better, By and By” UMH #525