Order
Sunday, April 17, 2022
Pre Worship Audio (10:15am)
Welcome/Call to Worship (10:30) Rick
Music 1 – Standing Christian & Team
Christ the Lord has Risen Today
Crown Him with Many Crowns
Prayer (prepare for online reader during prayer) Rick
Scripture Mark 13:1-8, 32-37 On Line-Kristen Y
Music 2 Christian & Team
Glorious Day
Message Not Here (Mark 16:1-8) Rick
Congregational Response
Benediction (signal Steve when slides ready) In Person-Steve
Music 4 Because He Lives Christian & Team
Community (Gallery View) Rick
Closing Peace Rick
Closing Audio
Words and Voices
Welcome (No slides)
Blest is the Lord Jesus who came to us a little child, one of us, flesh and blood to share in our humanity – For God so loved the world.
Blest is the Lord Jesus who came to us as carpenter and yet in whose creative hands a world was fashioned – For God so loved the world.
Blest is the Lord Jesus who came to us as fisherman and yet pointed to a harvest that was yet to come – For God so loved the world.
Blest is the Lord Jesus who came to us as teacher and opened eyes to truths that only the poor could understand – For God so loved the world.
Blest is the Lord Jesus who came to us as healer and opened hearts to the reality of wholeness – For God so loved the world.
Blest is the Lord Jesus who came to us as prophet, priest and king, and yet humbled himself to take our place upon the cross – For God so loved the world.
Blest is the Lord Jesus who came to us as servant and revealed to us the extent of his Father’s love for human kind – For God so loved the world.
Blest is the Lord Jesus, who rose from the ignominy of a sinner’s death
to the triumph of a Saviour’s resurrection – For God so loved the world.
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son for the sake of me, you, and all sinners. Blest is the Lord Jesus, our Saviour and Redeemer.
Let us on this day remember and celebrate the resurrected Jesus!
[Please stand as we open with celebration and praise.]
Music 1 (14 slides)
Christ The Lord Is Risen Today (Easter Hymn)
CCLI Song # 27965
Charles Wesley | Samuel Arnold
Verse 1
Christ the Lord is risen today alleluia
Sons of men and angels say alleluia
Raise your joys and triumphs high alleluia
Sing ye heavens and earth reply alleluia
Verse 2
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
Verse 3
Love’s redeeming work is done alleluia
Fought the fight the battle won alleluia
Death in vain forbids Him rise alleluia
Christ hath opened paradise alleluia
Verse 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
Crown Him With Many Crowns (Diademata)
CCLI Song # 23938
George Job Elvey | Godfrey Thring | Matthew Bridges
Verse 1
Crown Him with many crowns
The Lamb upon His throne
Hark how the heavenly anthem drowns
All music but its own
Awake my soul and sing
Of Him who died for thee
And hail Him as thy matchless King
Through all eternity
Verse 2
Crown Him the Lord of life
Who triumphed o’er the grave
And rose victorious in the strife
For those He came to save
His glories now we sing
Who died and rose on high
Who died eternal life to bring
And lives that death may die
Verse 3
Crown Him the Lord of love
Behold His hands and side
Rich wounds yet visible above
In beauty glorified
No angel in the sky
Can fully bear that sight
But downward bends each burning eye
At mysteries so bright
Verse 4
Crown Him the Lord of peace
Whose power a sceptre sways
From pole to pole
That wars may cease
And all be prayer and praise
His reign shall know no end
And round His pierced feet
Fair flowers of paradise extend
Their fragrance ever sweet
Verse 5
Crown Him the Lord of years
The Potentate of time
Creator of the rolling spheres
Ineffably sublime
All hail Redeemer hail
For Thou hast died for me
Thy praise shall never never fail
Throughout eternity
Prayer (3 slides beginning part way through)
God of resurrection of life and death, and God of rebirth
Renew our hearts and minds
God of promise of all beginnings and of all endings
Renew our hearts and minds
God of hope of new growth and harvest
Renew our hearts and minds
[Please join in the Lord’s prayer, words are on the screen]
[3 slides begin]
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one.
Amen.
Scripture (No Slides)
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. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But 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. But 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.” So 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.
Mark 16:1-8
Music 2 (11 slides)
Glorious Day (Living He Loved Me)
Verse 1
One day when heaven
was filled with His praises
One day when sin was
as black as could be
Jesus came forth to
be born of a virgin
Dwelt among men my example is He
The Word became flesh
And the light shined among us
His glory revealed
Chorus
Living He loved me
dying He saved me
Buried He carried my sins far away
Rising He justified freely forever
One day He’s coming
O glorious day (glorious day)
Verse 2
One day they led Him up
Calv’ry’s mountain
One day they nailed Him
to die on a tree
Suffering anguish
despised and rejected
Bearing our sins my Redeemer is He
The hand that healed nations
Stretched out on a tree
And took the nails for me
Chorus
Living He loved me
dying He saved me
Buried He carried my sins far away
Rising He justified freely forever
One day He’s coming
O glorious day (glorious day)
Verse 3
One day the grave could conceal Him no longer
One day the stone rolled away from the door
Then He arose over death He had conquered
Now is ascended my Lord evermore
Death could not hold Him
The grave could not keep Him
From rising again
Chorus
Living He loved me dying
He saved me
Buried He carried my sins far away
Rising He justified freely forever
One day He’s coming
O glorious day (glorious day)
Bridge
One day the trumpet
will sound for His coming
One day the skies with
His glories will shine
Wonderful day
my beloved one bringing
My Savior Jesus is mine
Ending
O glorious day glorious day
O glorious day
Message – Not Here (27 Slides)
Open with these12 slides/screen share, have ‘Holy’, first slide, up as Rick begins.
[13 Slides] Holy. Holy cow. Holy mackerel. Holy smoke. Holy roller. Holy @#$%&!. Holy Mary, mother of God. Holy land. Holy Week. Take off your shoes Moses, you are standing on Holy ground. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.
“Holy, holy, holy, Lord God almighty. Early in the morning my song shall rise to thee.”
(Reginald Heber)
This a a holy time. Not just for us, followers of Christ, but for the followers of the three major religions, all which tie their ancestry back to Abrahan, all who are now also observing Holy.
1.8 billion people are, in this holy time, are, with restraint and repentance, remembering the times over 1,300 hundred years ago when their people we in the midst of suffering, brutality, and oppression, longing for deliverance, calling out to God.
15.2 million people, in this holy time, are remembering the times over 3,000 years ago when their people were in the midst of suffering, brutality, and oppression, longing for deliverance, calling out to God. In their observance they are asking 4 questions,
Why do we only eat matza at this time?
Why we eat bitter herbs at this time?
Why do we dip our food twice at this time?
Why do we al recline to eat at this time?
2.3 billion people, in this holy time, are remembering over 2,000 years ago, when their people were in the midst of suffering, brutality, and oppression, longing for deliverance, calling out to God. Remembering the brutal death of their Messiah, the time of fear and confusion, a time of hopelessness met by another moment, also a moment of fear and confusion, when they were confronted by an empty tomb.
Holiness is all around us. A time of remembrance and holiness. A time of deliverance, guidance, and community.
As Christians we focus on Jesus crucifixion and resurrection. When the standard of how to live, love, and relate was raised by the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. A time of deliverance, guidance, and community.
This holy moment takes us all back to a time of brutality and hopelessness, a time of confusion and chaos, a time of doubt, fear, and despair.
Currently, w live in a time when brutal wars are taking place, when masses of people around the globe have become homeless refugees, a time when evil seems to have taken control. We have experienced, and are still in the midst of, a pandemic, unmatched gun violence, extreme effects of climate change, a visible resurgence of racism, trauma and distress, and wars… A time when God’s children of all faiths and cultures are crying out for deliverance, hope, and peace.
Easter, it is not just a remembrance of an event that took place over 2 thousand years ago, it is a reminder that people still exist who are crying out for deliverance, hope, and peace.
This is a time to not only remember but also to recognize the current realities of our world.
Screen share for duration of line
[Slide] “In these catastrophic times, we find ourselves coming back to our faith traditions to find those answers of how to translate all of the noise that we are hearing day in and day out, and how to turn that noise into action. Feelings lead to Hope which can motivate action and change.”
Imam Mohamed Herbert, Tulsa, OK Islamic Society
Sergey Nakul, pastor of Grace Reformed Church in Kyiv, Ukraine, who has decided to stay in Kyiv and minister in the midst of the Russian invasion says,
[Slide] “Friends ask me, what lessons have you learnt during these days of war? I express this with only one powerful and precious word, ‘Emmanuel – God is with us.’
Sergey Nakul, pastor of Grace Reformed Church in Kyiv, Ukraine,
Our remembrances and observances of a time that was, as well as our current
Screen share for duration of line time which still is, presents us with an opportunity to join the women standing at the foot of the cross, and then at the empty grave, to experience their confusion and fear. To understand their all consuming sense of abandonment.
[Slide] “Sometimes in dire circumstances when we ask ‘where is God?’ We are unaware that God is actually giving us his strength to carry through the circumstances. It is okay, and natural, to feel abandoned, even Christ on the said, ‘Father, why have you forsaken me?’ Jesus endorses that human feeling.
[Slide] Small acts of evil have real impact, and small acts of love send ripples of grace through the world.
[Slide] Jesus was a person who drew lines, and Jesus was a person who stood for right. He turned over the tables in the temple where the money changers were treating the people unfairly.
[Slide] Jesus stood up and would not tolerate injustice. And, yet when Jesus is crucified, he doesn’t attack those who are crucifying him, he instead prays for them, ‘God forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing.’ Until forgiveness is mutual the cycle of war and bloodshed continues.”
Father Constantine Lazarakis (Priest of Orthodox Church of the Hamptons, south Hampton NY).
[Slide] “Our ancestors also lived in catastrophic times. They walked this path before us, and created ways to withstand the suffering around them which helps us in our day to day life withstand the suffering around us.
[Slide] Helping us on an individual level, step by step, not just to nourish our souls but to transform that into action. Coming out of a dark and narrow place into a place of freedom. It’s about hope, overcoming the obstacles that lead to human suffering.”
Rabbi Ruth Zlotnick, (Temple Beth Am in Seattle, WA)
So, today, in this time of remembering God’s work in the past, we also remember the suffering of great swaths of God’s children currently suffering times of brutality, uncertainty, displacement and doubt, times when the question of ‘Where is God?’ are justified and understandable – we reckon back to a woman named Mary, standing at an empty grave, asking the same question, “Where is God?’
This year, on this Easter morning, we go to the gospel of Mark. The final chapter of Mark, his account of Jesus’ resurrection, has been a mystery to many Bible scholars and experts. Many feel that the actual writings of Mark end with verse 8, and that later, someone, added the final verses. Some modern translations end with verse 8, while others continue with a notation. It is not that the extra verses are unBiblical, their accuracy is documented, they affirm truth. However, they are not consistent with Mark’s writing. It is possible that these verses were added to lessen the bluntness of Mark’s ending. However, when we stop at verse 8, we have Mark challenging us to think of the resurrection not as a moment of finality, but instead, as a moment where Jesus is moving forward – Enhancing our perspective on the divine as well as the human elements of the resurrection
Screen share for duration of line
Screen share for duration of line story.
[Slide] With this in mind, Mark’s Gospel gospel ends with fear and silence: “So 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” (16:8). There are no resurrection appearances, there is no final commissioning of the disciples; there is only confusion, fear, and silence, and the group of women do not return and tell the disciples.
[Slide] ‘Mark’s Gospel ends, shrouded in darkness and disillusionment. No wonder scribes and interpreters throughout the ages have felt compelled to finish Mark’s story for him. We want closure; we want an ending that ties up the loose ends of the story and brings it to a satisfying conclusion –
[Slide] we want a happy ending. We want to see Jesus alive! But the risen Jesus does not even appear in Mark. We are left, with the women, in their fear and confusion.’
Elisabeth Johnson, Professor, Lutheran Institute of Theology, Meiganga, Cameroon
As Judas showed up in the garden to betray Jesus, followed by Jesus arrest – the disciples deserted Jesus and fled. Peter show up for Jesus’ trial but emphatically denied knowing Jesus—not once, but three times.
Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome stand as witnesses to the events of Jesus’ crucifixion and death. They see the tomb where Jesus’ body is laid. They return early on this first day of the week to anoint Jesus’ body for burial. Once there, there is no body. Instead, a young man dressed in a white robe greets them with the news that Jesus is not here, he has been resurrected, and then commissions the women to “go, tell his disciples, and especially Peter, that Jesus is going ahead to Galilee as they had planned”.
The women are now authorized to proclaim the good news that Jesus has been resurrected, yet, the young man’s words fail to dispel the women’s fear. Like the male disciples, the women flee, overcome by terror and amazement. “And they say nothing to anyone”.
Screen share for duration of line
[Slide] “Mark’s abrupt ending presents us with a tension between disappointment and anticipation. An unfinished story closer to our actual experience of the world. In the real world, tensions are often unresolved; loose ends are rarely all tied up. Our lives are full of unfinished stories—
[Slide] We try to find ways to find an ending that satisfies, but every ending we fashion inevitably disappoints. Despite Mark’s unsettled and unsatisfying ending, it leaves us with anticipation and a reason to hope. The tomb is empty, Death could not hold Jesus down.
[Slide] “Go, tell his disciples and Peter that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you”. We have every reason to believe that what Jesus promised will take place, because his word has already been consistently fulfilled. Our life of faith is lived between the resurrection and Jesus’ ultimate return.
[Slide] We walk by faith and not by sight, clinging to the promise that we will see the Lord, despite the fear and confusion we currently experience. God will bring to completion the redemptive, reconciling work already begun in Jesus Christ, as God has promised.“
Elisabeth Johnson, Professor, Lutheran Institute of Theology, Meiganga, Cameroon
“You missed Jesus because he has already moved on, there is much to do. Tell the disciples, and especially Peter who needs some encouragement now, to meet Jesus in Galilee as planned. We must continue what we have been doing!”
Mark’s presentation is not a different story of Jesus resurrection, it is just Jesus continuing what he had be doing all along, the women eventually did speak, and Jesus continued doing what he said he would do, doing what he had arranged with the disciples, doing what the Father sent him to do. Over 2,000 years later, we are left to act on the story. We are invited into the narrative, to meet Jesus who has gone ahead of us to our Galilee. This is just ‘the beginning of the good news’ – this, today, is, yet again, our renewed and refreshed faith beginning.
“But go, tell his disciples and Peter that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.”
Let’s PrayResponse – Congregational Response (9 slides)
Leader: May we remember the little child, flesh and blood like us, who shared in our humanity.
Response: We remember our resurrected Lord, Jesus Christ.
Leader: May we remember the carpenter by whose creative hands our world was fashioned.
Response: We remember our resurrected Lord, Jesus Christ.
Leader: May we remember the fisherman who pointed to a harvest yet to come Response: We remember our resurrected Lord Jesus Christ.
Leader: May we remember the teacher who opened eyes to truths only the poor could understand.
Response: We remember our resurrected Lord, Jesus Christ.
Leader: May we remember the healer who opened our hearts to wholeness.
Response: We remember our resurrected Lord, Jesus Christ.
Leader: May we remember the prophet, priest and king, who humbled himself to take our place on the cross.
Response: We remember our resurrected Lord, Jesus Christ.
Leader: May we remember the servant who revealed to us the Father’s love.
Response: We remember our resurrected Lord, Jesus Christ.
Leader: May we remember the Son who revealed to us the Father.
Response: We remember our resurrected Lord, Jesus Christ.
Leader: Let us on this day remember and celebrate the resurrected Jesus!
Response: We remember Jesus, the evidence of God’s Love.
Response – Music 3 (6 slides)
Because He Lives
CCLI Song # 16880
Gloria Gaither | William J. Gaither
Verse 1
God sent His Son they called Him Jesus
He came to love heal and forgive
He bled and died to buy my pardon
An empty grave is there to prove
My Savior lives
Chorus
Because He lives I can face tomorrow
Because He lives all fear is gone
Because I know He holds the future
And life is worth the living
Just because He lives
Verse 2
How sweet to hold our newborn baby
And feel the pride and joy he gives
But greater still the calm assurance
This child can face uncertain days
Because Christ lives
Chorus
Because He lives I can face tomorrow
Because He lives all fear is gone
Because I know He holds the future
And life is worth the living
Just because He lives
Verse 3
And then one day I’ll cross that river
I’ll fight life’s final war with pain
And then as death gives way to vict’ry
I’ll see the lights of glory
And I’ll know He reigns
Chorus
Because He lives I can face tomorrow
Because He lives all fear is gone
Because I know He holds the future
And life is worth the living
Just because He livesCommunity (5 Slides)
Spring Bible Studies continue – Monday April 18 (w/dinner at 6) or Wednesday, April 10 (w/lunch at noon), Exodus 13:1 – 17:7 Please RSVP.
Next Sunday, April 17 – First Called, John 20:11-18
An Eggcellent Discussion, registration email link on web site
Pray Peace. Prayers for Ukraine – donation link at GFNorman.com
Thanks from San Francisco – Pictures
Peace (3 Slides)
As you leave this place, may the peace of the Lord, go with you.
And also with you.
We gather here because of God’s love for us, we go from here because of God’s love for everyone out there. Go in the peace of the Lord.
Order, Words, & Voices 