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PRELUDE
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
RINGING OF THE BELL
Please stand as you are able.
THANKSGIVING FOR BAPTISM
Water! Water! We praise you, O God, for water—Canyon Lake, the
Guadalupe River, and the Edwards Aquifer, the rain that nourishes
animals and plants, the water for drinking and bathing. We praise you,
O God, for water.
We praise you, O God, for water.
We praise you, O God, for our water stories—a flood that cleansed
the earth, the sea that drowned the enemy, a river that healed leprosy.
We praise you, O God, for water.
We praise you, O God, for water.
We remember the waters of Jesus—baptized in the Jordan River,
calling disciples by the Sea of Galilee, drinking from Jacob’s Well,
healing at the pool of Bethesda, washing the disciples’ feet. We praise you, O God, for water.
We praise you, O God, for water.
We praise you, O God, for this font, for through this water you have
birthed us into the family of Christ, bathed us in forgiveness, and
enlivened us in the Spirit. We praise you, O God, for baptism.
We praise you, O God, for baptism.
O God, you are the Ocean, sustaining this earth. O God, you are the
River, saving us from death. O God, you are the Fountain, granting us health and well being.
We praise you, O God, today, tomorrow, forever. Amen, and amen.
Amen, and amen.
GATHERING HYMN Hymn #886 Vs. 1-4, 6
“Oh, for a Thousand Tongues to Sing”
GREETING
The grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.
And also with you.
KYRIE
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Let us pray. Almighty God, your Son came into the world to free us
all from sin and death. Breathe upon us the power of your Spirit,
that we may be raised to new life in Christ and serve you in righteousness
all our days, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now
and forever. Amen.
Please be seated.
WORD
FIRST READING Ezekiel 37:1-14
Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones is a promise that Israel as
a nation, though dead in exile, will live again in their land through
God’s life-giving spirit. Three times Israel is assured that through this
vision they will know that “I am the Lord.”
1 The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the
spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was
full of bones. 2 He led me all around them; there were very many lying
in the valley, and they were very dry. 3 He said to me, “Mortal,
can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4 Then
he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them: O dry
bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these
bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6 I will lay
sinews on you and will cause flesh to come upon you and cover you
with skin and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall
know that I am the Lord.”
7 So I prophesied as I had been commanded, and as I prophesied,
suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together,
bone to its bone. 8 I looked, and there were sinews on them, and
flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them, but there
was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the
breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the
Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon
these slain, that they may live.” 10 I prophesied as he commanded
me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on
their feet, a vast multitude.
11 Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house
of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we
are cut off completely.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: Thus
says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves and bring you up
from your graves, O my people, and I will bring you back to the land
of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the Lord when I open your graves
and bring you up from your graves, O my people. 14 I will put my
spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own
soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act,
says the Lord.”
The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
PSALM “I Will Wait for You (PSALM 130)” Choir Anthem
SECOND READING Romans 8:6-11
For Paul, Christian spirituality entails living in the reality of the Holy
Spirit. The driving force behind our actions and values is not our sinful
desire for self-satisfaction but the very Spirit by which God raised
Jesus from the dead and will also raise us from the dead.
6 To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the
Spirit is life and peace. 7 For this reason the mind that is set on the
flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed, it
cannot, 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit
of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ
does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, then the body is
dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in
you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your
mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
CHILDREN’S SERMON Pastor Chris Steubing
Please remain seated for the gospel reading.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
Gospel: John 11:1-45
The holy gospel according to John.
Glory to you, O Lord.
Jesus is moved to sorrow when his friend Lazarus falls ill and dies.
Then, in a dramatic scene, he calls his friend out of the tomb and restores
him to life.
1 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary
and her sister Martha. 2 Mary was the one who anointed the Lord
with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus
was ill. 3 So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, he whom
you love is ill.” 4 But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This illness does
not lead to death; rather, it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God
may be glorified through it.” 5 Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha
and her sister and Lazarus, 6 after having heard that Lazarus
was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.
7 Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea
again.” 8 The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now
trying to stone you, and are you going there again?” 9 Jesus answered,
“Are there not twelve hours of daylight?
Those who walk during the day do not stumble because they see the
light of this world. 10 But those who walk at night stumble because
the light is not in them.” 11 After saying this, he told them, “Our friend
Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.” 12
The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all
right.” 13 Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but
they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. 14 Then Jesus
told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. 15 For your sake I am glad I was
not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16 Thomas,
who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go,
that we may die with him.”
17 When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in
the tomb four days. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two
miles away, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary
to console them about their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus
was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at
home. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my
brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that God will
give you whatever you ask of him.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother
will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again
in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the
resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they
die, will live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me will never
die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe
that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the
world.”
28 When she had said this, she went back and called her sister
Mary and told her privately, “The Teacher is here and is calling for
you.” 29 And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to
him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come to the village but was still at the
place where Martha had met him. 31 The Jews who were with her in
the house consoling her saw Mary get up quickly and go out.
They followed her because they thought that she was going to the
tomb to weep there. 32 When Mary came where Jesus was and saw
him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus saw her weeping and
the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed
in spirit and deeply moved. 34 He said, “Where have you laid him?”
They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus began to weep. 36 So
the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said,
“Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this
man from dying?”
38 Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a
cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the
stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already
there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said
to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of
God?” 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and
said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. 42 I knew that you always
hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing
here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said
this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man
came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth and his face
wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
45 Many of the Jews, therefore, who had come with Mary and had
seen what Jesus did believed in him.
The gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.
SERMON Pastor Chris Steubing
HYMN OF THE DAY “O God Beyond All Praising” Hymn #880
Please stand as you are able.
THE APOSTLES’ CREED
Together with the whole church, we confess our faith:
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.*
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
Amen.
THE PRAYERS
...Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
SHARING THE PEACE
The peace of Christ be with you always.
And also with you.
Let us share the peace with one another.
OFFERING
OFFERING MUSIC “Great Are You Lord”
Words and Music by Words and Music by Jason Ingram, Leslie Jordan and David Leonard. © 2012 Open Hands Music; So Essential Tunes;
Integrity's Praise! Music; Little Way Creative. Used by permission. CCLI License # 2561118.
Please stand as you are able at the offering is brought forward.
OFFERING PRAYER
Let us pray. God our provider, you have not fed us with bread
alone, but with words of grace and life. Bless us and these your
gifts, which we receive from your bounty, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer (Sung)
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom
come, thy will be done on 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, forever.
BENEDICTION
Receive the blessing of the holy Trinity: God, who calls all things into
existence, Jesus Christ, who redeems us, and the Holy Spirit, whose
breath sustains creation, bless you now and always.
SENDING HYMN “I Am the Resurrection”
Words and Music by Ray Repp. © 1967 Ray Repp Music. Used by permission. CCLI License # 2561118.
DISMISSAL
Go in peace. Believe the good news. Thanks be to God.
POSTLUDE
Announcements/Reminders
Wednesday, March 25th Soup & Cornbread @
5:45 PM and Lenten Evening Prayer @ 6:30 PM. Sign up to
bring food on the sign-up sheet in the fellowship hall.
Holy Week Services
Palm Sunday @10AM
Service begins with a palm procession from the prayer
garden.
Maundy Thursday @ 7PM
Good Friday @ Noon and 7PM
Easter Services @ 8AM and 10:30 AM
Please bring fresh flowers on Easter morning to place on the
cross on the porch at the entrance to the sanctuary.
For children and parents
After the children’s sermon, children are invited to go with
Mrs. Stacy Murphy to the fellowship hall for Sunday school
children’s time.
There are “busy bags” at the sanctuary entrance to help keep
children engaged during services.
There is a cry room in the back of the sanctuary with a changing
table and a large nursery space down the hallway past the
fellow ship hall available for families with young children. Each
of the spaces include access to listen to the worship service.
Please join us for fellowship time after worship in
our fellowship hall!!!
Church Staff and today’s worship leaders:
Pastor—Rev. Chris Steubing
Visitation Pastor—Rev. Judi Miller
Our Reader—Allen Brzozowski
Our Liturgist—Don Gillett
Organist/Pianist—Jimmy Cheung
Choir and Hand Bell Director—Wendy Kuenemann