Order
Sunday, May 8, 2022
Pre Worship Audio (10:15am)
Music 1/Call to Worship (10:30am) Billy/Abbie/Rick
Man Of Sorrows
Empty Tomb
Crown Him With Many Crowns
Prayer Petty
Scripture Luke 24:1-12 On Line-Isaiah
Music 2 – SpecialRedeemerBilly & Abbie
Message Handing Over Rick
Congregational Response
Benediction Peyton
Music 3 It Is Well Billy & Abbie
Community (Gallery View) Rick
Closing Peace Rick
Closing Audio
Words and Voices
Welcome/Music 1
Man Of Sorrows
CCLI Song # 6476063, Brooke Ligertwood | Matt Crocker
Spoken Word adapted from Craig R. Koester, Professor and Asher O. and Carrie Nasby Chair of New Testament
[This is the fourth Sunday of Easter, we look to Luke’s Easter story which begins with the obvious: Jesus is dead, and his followers naturally assume that death is final. The women come to the tomb because that is where they last saw the body of Jesus. They desire to show proper respect so they bring the spices to anoint the body of Jesus. This is what you do to a body after death. While we are tempted to enshrine Jesus’ body, the best we can do is to treat it with respect and say goodbye. Relegating Jesus to a memory – an insightful teacher, a fiery prophet, and a compassionate healer are accurate memories but they seem insufficient. As with the other three, the resurrection story of Luke begins with an empty tomb, a missing body.]
Verse 1
Man of sorrows Lamb of God
By His own betrayed
The sin of man and wrath of God
Has been on Jesus laid
Verse 2
Silent as He stood accused
Beaten mocked and scorned
Bowing to the Father’s will
He took a crown of thorns
Chorus
Oh that rugged cross my salvation
Where Your love poured out over me
Now my soul cries out hallelujah
Praise and honour unto Thee
[Again, there is a mysterious message from mysterious messengers for the women, a message that runs counter to what they think they know to be true. “Why are you looking for the living among the dead? He is not here, he has been resurrected”. The women are told that Jesus is alive, however, Jesus is no where to be seen. All that they have is the word of these unknown messengers. The fact that Jesus body is unseen, neither dead or alive, creates an Easter experience that comes uncomfortably close to our own – we too do not see a body. It would have been so much easier if the women would have seen the resurrected Jesus, it would so much easier for us to see the resurrected Jesus.The empty tomb does not change our perspective, instead it just makes everything more confusing. Our situation is identical to situation of that first Easter: all were/are given a message of resurrection, a message that looks nothing like what is seen.]
Verse 3
Sent of heaven God’s own Son
To purchase and redeem
And reconcile the very ones
Who nailed Him to that tree
Bridge
Now my debt is paid
It is paid in full
By the precious blood
That my Jesus spilled
Now the curse of sin
Has no hold on me
Whom the Son sets free
Oh is free indeed
[Let’s be honest, the only logical response to such a message is unbelief. Experience teaches that death is permanent. But, the Easter message says that Jesus lives. When such contradictory claims collide, it only makes sense to continue affirming what we already know. This is what Luke reports next. The women bring the message of resurrection to the others, and they respond as thinking people regularly respond: they thought that the message was “an idle tale, and they did not believe them”. Now, unbelief does not mean that we believe nothing. Rather, it means that they believe something else. We say “I don’t believe it” because there is something else that we believe more strongly. Yet, the Easter message challenges our certainties. Our experience is that even the strongest succumb to death. Our experience teaches that life is what you make it, so get what you can while you can now. The Easter message asks each of us, “How can you be so sure?”]
Verse 4
See the stone is rolled away
Behold the empty tomb
Hallelujah God be praised
He’s risen from the grave
Chorus
Oh that rugged cross my salvation
Where Your love poured out over me
Now my soul cries out hallelujah
Praise and honour unto Thee
[The Easter message calls us from our old belief in death to our new belief in life. The tomb could not hold Jesus, Jesus has been resurrected. The apostles were convinced that the message of resurrection was nonsense, an “an idle tale”, aferall, death is death, death is final. Yet Peter had to go and take a look for himself, wondering “What if it is true?” Thousands of years later, we continue to take the footsteps of Peter. We have heard the rumor that Jesus is alive and have come to hear it for themselves: “What if it is true? What if death is not final? What if Jesus is actually present? What if Jesus meets me here? What difference would that make?” What if God, even today, is still asking us “Why do you seek the living among the dead?”]
The Empty Tomb
CCLI Song # 5822058, Donna Norton | Phil Mehrens
Verse 1
Where is dark Where is death
Where is sadness grief fear
Where is doubt Where is loss
Where is deepest despair
Chorus
The empty tomb fills life with hope
My Savior lives Jesus my Lord
Resurrection pow’r
no grave could hold
The Son of God bursts forth
Behold the empty tomb
Verse 2
Here is light, Here is life
Here is truth to proclaim
Here is joy, Here is might
Here is love that overcame
Chorus
The empty tomb fills life with hope
My Savior lives Jesus my Lord
Resurrection pow’r
no grave could hold
The Son of God bursts forth
Behold the empty tomb
Crown Him With Many Crowns
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
Prayer
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.
Amen.
(Matthew 6:9-13 KJV)
Scripture
But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body.While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.” Then they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.
Luke 24:1-12
Music 2/Special
Redeemer
CCLI Song # 3149757
Nicole Mullen
Verse 1
Who taught the sun where
to stand in the morning
And who told the ocean
you can only come this far
And who showed the moon
Where to hide ’til evening
Whose words alone
can catch a falling star
Chorus 1
Well I know my Redeemer lives
I know my Redeemer lives
All of creation testifies
this life within me cries
I know my Redeemer lives
Verse 2
The very same God that
spins things in orbit
He runs to the weary
the worn and the weak
And the same gentle hands
That hold me when I’m broken
They conquered death
to bring me victory
Chorus 2
Now I know my Redeemer lives
I know my Redeemer lives
Let all creation testify let this life within me cry
I know my Redeemer
Bridge
He lives to take away my shame
And He lives forever I’ll proclaim
That the payment for my sin
Was the precious life He gave
But now He’s alive
And there’s an empty grave
Chorus 3
And I know my Redeemer He lives
I know my Redeemer lives
Let all creation testify
That this life within me cries
I know my Redeemer
Ending
I know my Redeemer lives
I know my Redeemer lives
I know my Redeemer lives
He lives He lives
Message – Handing Over
Today, on this fourth Sunday of Easter, we look at our fourth gospel account of the resurrection. Over the course of these four weeks, we have accepted the invitation to stand outside the empty grave, to experience the hopelessness mixed with an equal amount of hopefulness. A moment of increased confusion overwhelmed by an inexplicable holy clarity. A moment experienced by, and largely because of, a group of women who had every reason to be afraid and confused. A group of oppressed, belittled, and dismissed humans who rationally needed to be hiding behind closed doors, but chose instead to venture out to the very place they very much did not need to be – the tomb.
A unique aspect of our Easter journey this year has been our realization of the significant part played a group of women. We have seen them in every one of the tomb accounts. Throughout he narrative of Jesus’ life we see Jesus’ time spent speaking God’s truth to a group of men. However, we have possibly seen even more holy moments in holy lessons in his time with these women. We cannot deny his acts of acceptance, affirmation, welcoming, and embrace to this group of humans who were culturally relegated to the margins of society by those who bore the pronouns He and Him.
Theoretically, nothing in the resurrection accounts was, or is, a surprise. But when our theory collides with our reality, the reality of it cannot help but be surprising. The truly intriguing question of the death and resurrection is, [Slide] ’Why did only the woman initially go to the tomb?’
For Luke, his story of the cross and the resurrection is not an ending or a beginning, nor is it a climax – Luke’s gospel, followed by his continuing narrative in Acts, is an account of, what is best encapsulated in the words of the apostle Paul, [Slide] “Whoever is in Christ is a new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Paul was in the business of telling of the new creation proclaimed in the moment of Jesus’ resurrection. A new creation that brings the people of God, not to a place of isolated individuality but to the new creation of commonality, a collective community of individuals and their unique relationships with God centered on Jesus. Luke presents God’s work of bringing together a community based on the loving and redemptive nature of God – Luke is, in essence, articulating the journey of the Church – Our Journey.
So, we return to our question – [Slide] “Why did the woman go to the tomb?’
Before we can answer that question it is helpful if we first spotlight the major revelations of the cross/resurrection moment.
- [Slide] The crucifixion and the resurrection can only be understood when we replace our flawed perception of God as a Punitive God with the correct understanding that God is the Redemptive God.
- [Slide] Jesus’ death via the cross does not make us a cleaned up and corrected version of our selves, but, instead it makes us a new creation, the creation we were meant to be at creation.
- [Slide] These women had the story to tell because they were not satisfied at only seeing the empty tomb, they stuck around until they saw Jesus. They were the first believers, and in the course of following they became the ‘quae apostoli ad apostolos’ – the apostles to the apostles, paving the way for the male apostles to be culturally acceptable messengers to the world.
- [Slide] The accomplishment of the Cross, affirmed in the empty grave, is the our story to tell.
So, again, we return to our question, [Slide] “Why did the woman go to the tomb?’
The Answer – [Slide] The men were not ready to see the resurrected Jesus, because they were still stuck with a punitive God. They sat in fear of the world, but also of God. A God who knew of their failed faith, their acting out of fear, their forgetfulness of truth. Jesus knew of Peter’s denial, he could not help but see their absence at the cross, he remembered that they had argued over their own importance, he was fully aware of their abandonment of their rabbi when their theories met the harsh reality of the cross. It only made sense to now expect retribution of the punishing God because they knew that they deserved punishment.
The punitive God was who they had met at the arrest of Jesus, as well as what they had heard about at the cross. That would be the God awaiting them at the tomb, a mad God, who needed to kick some butt, their butt. A God who is out to get us is the God who can control and manipulate a humanity that sorely need a cosmic bully. Why do to the grave when the principal is waiting there with his paddle?
Modern Evangelical Christianity, something that came out of a holy desire to tell our story, morphed into formulaic manipulation of a flawed version of God, empowers itself on the words of the Apostle Paul, [Slide] “The wages of sin are death.” This word wages has become that paddle in the principal’s hand, which is the flawed view of God that comes out of our erred understanding of God.
[Slide] The problem is that wages are not a punishment – wages are a previously agreed upon payment for actions. We do not accept a job without first agreeing on a salary, the wages for our efforts, our actions. Our wages are the goal of our work, not the punishment for our actions. [Slide] When we turn from God we choose to no longer let God be our God, we accept a new wage contract – death (because we are unable to sustain life.) [Slide] Wages as Punishment is a flawed understanding that brings us to a terribly mistaken view of God’s act on the cross, paralyzing us when it is time to go to the tomb. [Slide] God’s actions at the cross are not punitive, because God never doles out punishment, even when He is angry. God is redemptive, His actions on the cross are redemptive, he buys out our contract where we are paid death, [Slide] God pays for our death with a death, and, in turn, gives us life. Eternal Redemption is an exchange that only God is cosmically able to pay the price.
[Slide] God’s redemptive act of Handing Jesus over for the payment of our death, recreates us as a new creation.
This past week I got mustard on my favorite blue shirts. I love this shirt as evidenced in the fact that there are three of them in my closet. So, when I became aware of the great mustard travesty, I was determined to save my shirt.
I quickly shouted it out using the spray kept over the washer. Later that evening, Andrea yelled out a question for the utility room “What did you do to your shirt?” I reminder her of her system of treating mustard stains to which she came out the room holding up my properly sprayed shirt. The problem was, I had someone sprayed Clorox Clean Up instead of the spot remover. I am unable, and actually no one is able, to fix the problem. I am considering just spraying the entire shirt giving me a dodgy white shirt, but the idea has been met with some skepticism. The truth is that I cannot make this shirt back to what it was, I cannot undo the Clorox consequences. The only thing I can do is to cover it up with another color or, just give in and go full hog on a cloroxed shirt.
Our human problem that can be fixed with a human solution. And, equally true, we cannot redeem ourselves. We are unable to reconcile our relationship with God. We cannot make ourselves anew. However, God can, God did, God does.
[Slide] The Israelites saw see the sin and guilt ritual offerings as a prerequisite to receiving God’s forgiveness. They thought that performance of these rituals assured God’s continued presence.
[Slide] Many of us still hold this perception of God. We allow flawed narratives to pervert our relationship with God. However, God invites us daily to forge our own understanding of him through our own learning and growing experiences with God.
[Slide] Jesus came to reframe how to be in relationship with God, others, and each ourselves. Jesus taught a consciousness that is a relational experience with the Lord that supersedes the law.
[Slide] Many Christians perceive themselves to be in relationship with God, when really they are in relationship with a man made Biblical narrative. It is time for many of us to release our flawed thinking of this punitive God and get to know the Redemptive God.
[Slide] God’s act of handing over Jesus on the cross, his show of love invites us daily to forgive ourselves and each other, balanced with holding ourselves and each other accountable. Love aids us in healing through our traumas. It is time for us to liberate our punitive image of God.”
Rev. Kyndra D. Frazier, LMSW, M. Div. NYC Hope Center, FCBC Harlem
The women had come to a corrected view of God, not has a Punitive God, but instead, as a Redemptive God. They could not help but see God this way, because they saw that Jesus this way.
The women go to the tomb without expectations, they go because that is where Jesus is, or so they think. When they discover Jesus is absent, they refuse to leave, instead they wait. They are waiting for their Messiah just as they have done since they first chose to follow Jesus.
Here is where we are confronted with the irony of the cross and resurrection story – they have the story to tell not because of what they saw but what they did not see.
[Slide] “Jesus’ absence unexpectedly points to his presence. Jesus’ absence empowers the women to speak boldly and faithfully on his behalf, and they do.
[Slide] Their proclamation that Jesus is present (even though all they actually first saw was an absent Jesus) — their message that Jesus is alive on earth is an act of redemptive remembering, a recalling of Jesus’ earlier teachings. They seek to draw together a community that has been dismembered and torn apart.
[Slide] The women’s experience reminds us that when we love God, our neighbor, and ourselves with our words and our actions, we render Christ visible in a world where the divine seems absent. We draw community together, instead of being pulled apart by fear, confusion, grief, and distress.
[Slide] When we draw attention to a deeper reality that is often hard to remember, believe, or see, —God is still present and working. Death does not, and will not, have the last word. That good news is what Christians proclaim when we say that Christ is resurrected. He is no longer in the tomb.
Michal Beth Dinkler, Assistant Professor of New Testament, Yale Divinity School, New Haven, Conn.
- God is the Redemptive God.
- In Jesus, we are a new creation creation.
- These women had the story to tell because they stuck around until they saw Jesus.
- This is our story to tell.
Let’s PrayResponse – Verbal Congregational Response
Leader: Our God is the mighty God of mercy, the artist of the resurrection dawn, bringing the glory of our resurrected Lord who makes every day new.
Response: We exist in gratefulness for our mighty God.
Leader: We are grateful for our mighty God’s sustaining goodness of creation, for the new creation in Christ and all the gifts of healing and forgiveness . . . for the gifts of relationship with others . . . for the holy collective of faith in God’s church.
Response: May we never cease to be amazed at the moments of seen and unseen thanksgivings.
Leader: May our God of might renew this weary world, heal the hurts, bring peace through our Resurrected deliverer Jesus Christ.
Response: May our God who is truth and light renew our world weary of war and hatred.
Leader: May we recognize God’s calling to the church to be agents of peace, to address hunger, to provide shelter, to stand against racism, and to strive to give all people, and people groups, a voice. May we be disgusted by racism, may we be alarmed at nationalism, may we be disturbed by the church as it forgets Jesus’ love, mercy, compassion, and embrace.
Response: May we live in the present and resurrected Jesus, may we humbly love mercy and justice.
Leader: May we stand at the empty tomb, trusting that our resurrected Jesus is present even when everything looks like he is absent. May we live in the new day of the resurrection, the victorious proof of God’s love, the hope that carries us from every valley and over every mountaintop.
Response: May we allow Jesus to be present in, and through, us. Convicting us of the sins of hatred, racism, selfishness, dismissal, arrogance, judgment, and condemnation.
Leader: May we recognize that we live and walk in a world that God created, may we always remember that we live and walk amongst the humans that were created out of God’s love. May we remember that love is not just for us and those that are like us.
Response: God, may we be free flowing rivers of God’s mercy and compassion.
Response – Music 3
It Is Well With My Soul
CCLI Song # 3366183, Horatio Gates Spafford
Verse 1
When peace like a river
attendeth my way
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot
Thou hast taught me to say
It is well, It is well with my soul
Chorus
Leader: It is well
Response: It is well
Leader: With my soul
Response: With my soul
All: It is well, It is well with my soul
Verse 2
Tho’ Satan should buffet
Tho’ trials should come
Let this blest assurance control
That Christ hath regarded
My helpless estate
And hath shed His own blood
For my soul
Chorus
Leader: It is well
Response: It is well
Leader: With my soul
Response: With my soul
All: It is well, It is well with my soul
Verse 3
My sin O the bliss
Of this glorious tho’t
My sin not in part but the whole
Is nailed to the cross
And I bear it no more
Praise the Lord Praise the Lord
O my soul
Chorus
Leader: It is well
Response: It is well
Leader: With my soul
Response: With my soul
All: It is well, It is well with my soul
Verse 4
And Lord haste the day
When the faith shall be sight
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll
The trump shall resound
And the Lord shall descend
Even so it is well
With my soul
Chorus
Leader: It is well
Response: It is well
Leader: With my soul
Response: With my soul
All: It is well, It is well with my soul
Community
- Next Sunday, May 15, Moved, Luke 7:11-17
- Alternate Signer Affirmation, Larry Leighton
- Pray Peace. Prayers for Ukraine – donation link at GFNorman.com
- Asking questions is the Easter thing to do!
Peace
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 