Order, Words, & Voices
08.11.24, Mary Magdalene, Mark 16:1-11
Order
Pre Worship Music – Spotify – Open and Close
Songs 10,000 Reasons Lynn/Linda
Blessed Assurance
Passage/Prayer Mark 16:11 Pettys
Song At the Cross (Hillsong) Lynn/Linda
Were You There?
Message Mary Magdalene Rick
Music Jesus Messiah Lynn/Linda
Community/Benediction Rick
Hope Moment & Closing Peace Rick
Closing Music Sweet Sweet, Spirit Lynn/Linda
Post Worship Music – Spotify – Open and Close
- Please record message on camera memory card.
- On the message Video Leave Room above Speaker’s head for the instagram post.
- Screen Share for entire message
Music (Slides) Lynn/Linda
10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord)
Chorus
Bless the Lord O my soul O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before O my soul
I’ll worship Your holy name
Verse 1
The sun comes up it’s a new day dawning
It’s time to sing Your song again
Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me
Let me be singing when the evening comes
Chorus
Bless the Lord O my soul O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before O my soul
I’ll worship Your holy name
Verse 2
You’re rich in love and You’re slow to anger
Your name is great and Your heart is kind
For all Your goodness I will keep on singing
Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find
Chorus
Bless the Lord O my soul O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before O my soul
I’ll worship Your holy name
Verse 3
And on that day when my strength is failing
The end draws near and my time has come
Still my soul will sing Your praise unending
Ten thousand years and then forevermore
Chorus
Bless the Lord O my soul O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before O my soul
I’ll worship Your holy name
Blessed Assurance
Verse 1
Blessed assurance Jesus is mine
O what a foretaste of glory divine
Heir of salvation purchase of God
Born of His Spirit washed in His blood
Chorus
This is my story this is my song
Praising my Savior all the day long
This is my story this is my song
Praising my Savior all the day long
Verse 2
Perfect submission perfect delight
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight
Angels descending bring from above
Echoes of mercy whispers of love
Chorus
This is my story this is my song
Praising my Savior all the day long
This is my story this is my song
Praising my Savior all the day long
Verse 3
Perfect submission all is at rest
I in my Savior am happy and blest
Watching and waiting looking above
Filled with His goodness lost in His love
Chorus
This is my story this is my song
Praising my Savior all the day long
This is my story this is my song
Praising my Savior all the day long
Passage (Slides) Mary Magdalene, Mark 16:1-11
When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might come and anoint Him. And very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.
And, along the way, they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone from the entrance of the tomb for us?” This was a concern because they knew that the stone was very large.
Looking up, they noticed that the stone had already been rolled away. Entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed.
The young man said to them, “Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; see, here is the place where they laid Him.”
“But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He told you.’”
They went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
After He had risen early on the first day of the week, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons.
Mary went and reported to those who had been with Him, while they were mourning and weeping. And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they refused to believe it.
Join me in the prayer of Jesus,
Our Father who art in Heaven hallowed be your name.
Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
Forgive us our trespasses, while we forgive those who trespass against us.
And, lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen
Music (Slides Lynn/Linda
At The Cross
Verse 1
Oh Lord You’ve searched me
You know my way
Even when I fail You
I know You love me
Verse 2
Your holy presence
Surrounding me
In every season
I know You love me
I know You love me
Chorus
At the cross I bow my knee
Where Your blood was shed for me
There’s no greater love than this
You have overcome the grave
Your glory fills the highest place
What can separate me now
Verse 3
You go before me
You shield my way
Your hand upholds me
I know You love me
I know You love me
Chorus
At the cross I bow my knee
Where Your blood was shed for me
There’s no greater love than this
You have overcome the grave
Your glory fills the highest place
What can separate me now
Bridge
You tore the veil You made a way
When You said that it is done
You tore the veil You made a way
When You said that it is done
Verse 4
And when the earth fades
Falls from my eyes
And You stand before me
I know You love me
I know You love me
Were You There
Verse 1
Were you there when they crucified my Lord
Were you there when they crucified my Lord
O sometimes it causes me to tremble tremble tremble
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Verse 3
Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb
Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb
O sometimes it causes me to tremble tremble tremble
Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?
Verse 4
Were you there when He rose up from the dead
Were you there when He rose up from the dead
O sometimes I feel like shouting glory glory glory
Were you there when He rose up from the dead?
Message Rick (Slides)
[S] [Title Slide on Screen Share throughout message]
‘Along the Way’ (NRSVU)
Along the Way (NRSVU). And, along the way, Women were headed to the tomb to anoint body of dead Jesus. Already on their determined journey they begin to ask questions that involve words such as ‘How’ and ‘Who’.
‘How and Who’ questions.
Their journey involved two parallel paths. The first was the physical determined path of carrying their supplies and using their feet and their hands, and then, the other path catches up, it is a faith building path where their faith welcomes in questions that will later increase their trust and their strength.
And now, along their way, on this morning as the sun was barely risen on the horizon, as they were already walking to the tomb so they can respectfully anoint the dead body of their friend Jesus, they were asking, “How are we going to even get into the tomb of Jesus? Who is going to move the stone away that is blocking the entrance? How are we going to get past the guards? How are we going to anoint the body, how are we going to do that which we must do?”
“How can we face this, it is too much?”
This was not the first questions the women had asked in recent days. It was not the first time they had asked the ‘Who’ or the ‘How’ question. Just three days before they had asked “Who is going to get Jesus out of Jail?”, then two days ago they were asking “Who is going to save Jesus from the cross?”, then, later that day they asked, “How are we going to get Jesus off and into a proper and respectful tomb?” Then, one day ago, they woke up asking, “How are we going to survive? How are we going to live without Jesus?”
These are also the questions of our calling as people of faith, actually, as people of life, as humans. Questions ‘along the way’ that are part of our increasing faith and trust, as we struggle to walk as Jesus walked. These are our authentic responses to those times of doubt, fear, loneliness, loss – those times when we are overwhelmed, when we see no solution, progress, and no hope.
Along our way, it is only natural, human, and healthy to ask How and Who Questions.
How am I going to pass this class? How am I going to pay for this class?
How am I going to live with my roommate? How am I going to live with my spouse..my kids, my neighbors? How are they all going to live with me?
How am I going to survive this depression?
How am I going to survive this season of loss?
Who is going to help me? Who is going to show me the way? Who is going to come to my rescue?
Who is going to be my friend? Who is going to love me?
How am I going love unloveable people.
How can I love God with everything I’ve got when I love so many other things and beings?
Who, How?
The Reverend Hannah Garrity speculates that our ‘how and who’ questions come from our human cynicism. Our human need to check our resources before you commit. Our need to make sure that God will come through. Our need that leads us to only believe God has answered if we can see and touch the answer. Only then can we be guaranteed of God’s provision. Thomas was cynical of the news of Jesus’ resurrection and would only believe if he could see and touch the spike holes in Jesus hands. Peter and John could only believe if they entered into the empty grave and saw the abandoned cloths that had wrapped Jesus’ dead body.
The women’s determined ‘along the way’ was not derailed by their questions but still they asked them. For, in asking the questions they named not only their concerns, they also named their prayers. And, in naming their prayers, their concerns, they were not negating their trust in God, but, they were asking very legitimate human questions of their Holy God.
But, even as these questions arise the women continued their ‘along the way’. Their questions did not stop them; they only prepared them to, along the way, watch for God’s answer. Then, they were able to process the answers and realize that God was not only answering them but had already answered them. The stone was already moved when they asked the questions. Then, these answers were added to all the other moments they had noticed God’s actions. Sometimes the answers took a long time to recognized, sometimes ages, sometimes they were quick.
With each recognition, their faith and trust were strengthened – just like previous recognitions had grown them to the point that they could take a journey to the tomb even though questions consumed them on the way.
These women woke up to hopelessness, they woke up to darkness, they woke up to religious laws that had kept them from the tomb, they woke up to a tsunami of How and Who questions.
How could they proceed to the tomb, in their hopeless state. How could they face a day when everything they had come to believe was now a dead body decaying in a borrowed tomb?
But… they did. They got out of bed before there was even a flicker of light, they waited until night’s completion met the religious laws allowing them to travel. They assumed they were traveling to just anoint the dead body – they expected no signs of hope, this was not a journey of hope. It was over, Jesus was dead, at best this was a journey of closure.
Yet, still, they continued their ‘along the way’, they journeyed on. No expectations beyond their act of respect and love for someone who had changed their lives.
How could they do this? How could they take the risk? Who would be there to protect them?
Theirs’ was the same ‘Regardless Faith’ that we saw in Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. “Regardless of what happens to us, we will still only worship the one true God, we will still follow God.” For the women it was “We are still traveling to the grave even with our How and Who questions.
How is this possible? Who could still have even a modicum of faith after seeing your Redeemer die a brutal death and then be sealed inside a borrowed tomb?
One of the woman, the woman who we see the most listening, learning, and following Jesus, is Mary from Magdala. At her first encounter with Jesus, when she was still possessed by a mulitude of demons as she had been consumed by for decades that Jesus recognized her questions, her prayer. Demons who probably presented themselves in the same manner we see humans in our day who are suffering mental illness and mental afflictions – depression, suicidal thoughts, manic swings, and the multiple other behaviors that come with those struggling with mental illness. Behaviors that caused her to be dismissed, rejected, mistreated, and ignored.
Jesus healed her of her demon possession, she was released of the multiple demons who had hijacked her life. This was the moment that stuck with her the rest of her life, this was the experience that revealed to her the truth of Jesus – this was the moment that led her to begin following Jesus. And, along the way, there were other moments that affirmed her faith in Jesus. With each moment her trust grew until it was the moment she stood at the feet of the cross ready to ask, “How are we going to get him down after he is dead? And “Who is going to provide a suitable tomb for the dead body? And then, who is going to roll the stone away so we can anoint his dead body?”
Afterall, the stone was already pushed away from the entrance of the grave, it was already done by the time Mary and the other woman arrived. And, even more subtle, the guards were not a problem at all. All were huge dramatic events that could have been missed, and easily not attributed to God…but they were God’s hand. God’s hand that had acted before they even arrived.
Mary went to the tomb with questions and seemingly no answers but there were answers already waiting for her. Mary ran away from the tomb out of fear no but later she remembered the pile of answers she had received ever since she first met Jesus, and now she began to recognize God’s hand which affirmed her faith. Her faith continued to grow even more, her trust became even stronger, and she was ready to recognize Jesus was alive, Jesus in the flesh even though he had been dead, now he was alive, now he is alive.
With each question of How or Who, there was always an answer, a provision. Not dramatic or even powerful. A man provided cloths for the body to be wrapped in and a respectful tomb for Jesus’ body to be laid. Answers, and moments, which could have been totally missed, prayers answered in natural ways, it would have been easy to not recognize these as God’s provision.
Mary had questions, Mary recognized God in the moments. Mary had fear, however, because of you faith and trust, her fear, nor the questions sent her running away from her ‘along the way’, instead the questions sent her searching for Jesus in the midst of the questions and fear.
Questions are fertilizer for our faith. We ask and then we watch. We recognize and our faith and trust grow. Our faith is strengthened.
[American Olympic runner Noah Lyles, after winning the men’s 100m race by .0005 seconds, spoke of the physical & mental obstacles & barriers that he faced in life & in running. “I have Asthma, allergies, dyslexia, ADD, anxiety, and Depression,but I will tell you that what you have does not define what you can become.” We too have so many obstacle and barriers that are thrown onto our ‘along way path, barriers that cause us to question and doubt. Our ever growing faith allows us to maintain a determination to continue on the path regardless of those barriers and obstacle, regardless of our questions and concerns.]
Music (Slides) Lynn/Linda
Jesus Messiah
Verse 1
He became sin who knew no sin
That we might become His righteousness
He humbled Himself and carried the cross
Love so amazing love so amazing
Chorus
Jesus Messiah Name above all names
Blessed Redeemer Emmanuel
The Rescue for sinners
The Ransom from heaven
Jesus Messiah Lord of all
Verse 2
His body the bread His blood the wine
Broken and poured out all for love
The whole earth trembled and the veil was torn
Love so amazing love so amazing
Chorus
Jesus Messiah Name above all names
Blessed Redeemer Emmanuel
The Rescue for sinners
The Ransom from heaven
Jesus Messiah Lord of all
Bridge
All our hope is in You
All our hope is in You
All the glory to You God
The Light of the world
Chorus
Jesus Messiah Name above all names
Blessed Redeemer Emmanuel
The Rescue for sinners
The Ransom from heaven
Jesus Messiah Lord of all
Ending
Jesus Messiah
Lord of all
The Lord of all
Community (Slides) Rick
- 08.18.24, Ethiopian Eunuch, Acts 8:26-40
- Welcome Back Students
- Online Prayer Community – Jakob Topper
Holding On To Hope (Slides) Rick
Prayer of Hope (April Geesbreght, CCLI Song # 6070957, adapted)
We meet with You Lord and our soul sings out. We sing to You and our hearts cry hallelujah Father for You are near. Our hope is in You Lord all the day long we will not be shaken by drought or storm. A peace that passes understanding is our song, so we sing that our hope is in You Lord
We wait for You God and our soul finds rest even while in our selfishness You show us grace. We worship You and our heart cries glory, hallelujah Father You are here. We will wait on You for you are our refuge.
Our hope is in You Lord all the day long for we won’t be shaken by drought or storm. We will not be defeated by the actions of man, we will not be dissuaded by the hatred around us, we will not be deflated by the opinions of those who do not know You.
We hold to the peace that passes understanding, we cling to the truth that has gone before us. We do not see yet we trust in You, we do not feel yet we still hold on to truth, we do not give up because you are waiting ahead of us.
God, our hope is You.
Closing Peace (Slides) Rick
Leader: May the peace of the Lord go with you.
Response: And also with you.
Closing Music Lynn/Linda
Sweet Sweet Spirit CCLI Song # 18204
Verse 1
There’s a sweet sweet Spirit
in this place
And I know that it’s the
Spirit of the Lord
There are sweet expressions
on each face
And I know they feel
the presence of the Lord
Chorus
Sweet Holy Spirit
Sweet heavenly Dove
Stay right here with us
Filling us with Your love
And for these blessings
We lift our hearts in praise
Without a doubt we’ll know
That we have been revived
When we shall leave this place
Order, Words, & Voices 