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Easter Worship May 31, 2020 - The Pentecost Story & What it Means

5/31/2020

You can watch the worship video by clinking on it. You can also expand it to full screen. Or just listen and follow along reading the text below

I am offering a separate video if you would like to participate in Holy Communion. Please watch the worship service first, then if you choose to have communion, click this link next.

Video

Holy Communion .

SERVICE FOR THE LORD’S DAY
May 31, 2020
Pentecost Sunday

WORDS OF WORSHIP (Joel 2:26-29, NLT)
26 Once again you will have all the food you want,
    and you will praise the Lord your God,
who does these miracles for you.
    Never again will my people be disgraced.
27 Then you will know that I am among my people Israel,
    that I am the Lord your God, and there is no other.
    Never again will my people be disgraced.

28 “Then, after doing all those things,
    I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
    Your old men will dream dreams,
    and your young men will see visions.

GATHERING PRAYER
Lord Jesus, pour out your Holy Spirit upon us once more. Restore us to health not only as individuals but through this whole world, to all your children of every nation. May we know as we are healed globally, that you are still God, that you are still here with your people. May we no longer be disgraced, but may more and more come to believe that you are God. Once again, Lord, may we receive your Spirit. Grant us dreams and visions that pull us into your kingdom, into your mission, into your future intended for us all. Inspire us as we worship and fill us anew. Amen.

CALL TO CONFESSION (from Acts 2:37-39, NLT)

As Peter preached to the crowds that first Pentecost, 37 Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”

38 Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away—all who have been called by the Lord our God.”

Let us join then in making our confession to God.

Lord God, we confess that like generations of Biblical heroes and other saints who have gone before us, we grow weary and anxious as we wait for your kingdom to come upon this earth. As the Hebrews longed for your presence and to arrive in the Promised Land, as the exiles longed to return to their homes and their Temple, as those between times longed for a prophetic voice to be heard once again and as they waited for the coming of Messiah, as the disciples waited for the promised gift of the Holy Spirit, so too we wait.

We wait for it to be safe to return to our sanctuary. We wait for the sickness of COVID-19 to be healed. We wait to be together once again with our friends and family. We wait for life to return to doing things the way we once knew.
Lord, we confess to you our impatience.

We don’t like waiting. We want this pandemic to be over. We are tired of wearing masks and gloves, and many of us are tired of staying home. We are annoyed that we could not gather to celebrate graduations or Memorial Services. We are fearful of what it is okay to do and when. Lord, we confess our frustrations to you.

But, Lord, you are the God of Hope and Wholeness. So, we plead with you to restore us, to keep us mindful of appropriate cautions, to give us patience and endurance to see this through, to renew our spirits with Your Spirit, and to forgive our human weakness. Amen.

PARDON (from Romans 8:1-4, NCV)
So now, those who are in Christ Jesus are not judged guilty. 2 Through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit that brings life made you free from the law that brings sin and death. 3 The law was without power, because the law was made weak by our sinful selves. But God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son to earth with the same human life that others use for sin. By sending his Son to be an offering for sin, God used a human life to destroy sin.

In the name of Jesus the Christ you are forgiven.

Thanks be to God!

PASSING THE PEACE
May the peace of Christ be with you.

HYMN
Word
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
Lord Jesus, as we listen to familiar stories and passages from your Word once again, may we find hope and healing in the midst of them.

SCRIPTURE LESSONS                                                                 Exodus 19:3-19, GW
Moses went up the mountain to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, “This is what you must say to the descendants of Jacob. Tell the Israelites, 4 ‘You have seen for yourselves what I did to Egypt and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to my mountain. 5 If you carefully obey me and are faithful to the terms of my promise, then out of all the nations you will be my own special possession, even though the whole world is mine. 6 You will be my kingdom of priests and my holy nation.’ These are the words you must speak to the Israelites.”

7 So Moses went down and called for the leaders of the people. He repeated to them all the words that the Lord had commanded him. 8 All the people answered together, “We will do everything the Lord has said.” So Moses brought their answer back to the Lord.

9 The Lord said to Moses, “I am coming to you in a storm cloud so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will always believe you.” Moses told the Lord what the people had said.

10 So the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people, and tell them they have two days to get ready. They must set themselves apart as holy. Have them wash their clothes 11 and be ready by the day after tomorrow. On that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai as all the people watch. 12 Mark off a boundary around the mountain for the people, and tell them not to go up the mountain or even touch it. Those who touch the mountain must be put to death. 13 No one should touch them. They must be stoned or shot with arrows. No matter whether it’s an animal or a person, it must not live. The people may go up the mountain only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast.”

14 After Moses went down the mountain to the people, he had them get ready, and they washed their clothes. 15 Then Moses said to the people, “Be ready two days from now. Don’t disqualify yourselves by having sexual intercourse.”

16 On the morning of the second day, there was thunder and lightning with a heavy cloud over the mountain, and a very loud blast from a ram’s horn was heard. All the people in the camp shook with fear. 17 Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 All of Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the Lord had come down on it in fire. Smoke rose from the mountain like the smoke from a kiln, and the whole mountain shook violently. 19 As the sound of the horn grew louder and louder, Moses was speaking, and the voice of God answered him.

When Jews gather now or in the first century to celebrate what we call Pentecost from the Greek word or Shavo’ut in Hebrew, this is the story they are celebrating. This is the prelude to Moses going up the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments. On Pentecost, Jews celebrate the gift of the Law as found in Exodus 19-20. On Pentecost, Christians celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit as found in Acts 2.
                                                                                              Acts 2 selected verses, NLT

On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. 2 Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. 3 Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. 4 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.

5 At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. 6 When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers.

7 They were completely amazed. “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “These people are all from Galilee, 8 and yet we hear them speaking in our own native languages!
…
14 Then Peter stepped forward with the eleven other apostles and shouted to the crowd, “Listen carefully, all of you, fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem! Make no mistake about this. 15 These people are not drunk, as some of you are assuming. Nine o’clock in the morning is much too early for that. 16 No, what you see was predicted long ago by the prophet Joel:

17 ‘In the last days,’ God says,
    ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
    Your young men will see visions,
    and your old men will dream dreams.
18 In those days I will pour out my Spirit
    even on my servants—men and women alike--
    and they will prophesy.
…
32 “God raised Jesus from the dead, and we are all witnesses of this. 33 Now he is exalted to the place of highest honor in heaven, at God’s right hand. And the Father, as he had promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today.
…
36 “So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!”

Paul wrote of the importance of the Spirit filled life made possible for all of us at Pentecost.
                                                                                              Romans 8, selected verses,
6 If people’s thinking is controlled by the sinful self, there is death. But if their thinking is controlled by the Spirit, there is life and peace. 7 When people’s thinking is controlled by the sinful self, they are against God, because they refuse to obey God’s law and really are not even able to obey God’s law. 8 Those people who are ruled by their sinful selves cannot please God.

9 But you are not ruled by your sinful selves. You are ruled by the Spirit, if that Spirit of God really lives in you. But the person who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Christ. 10 Your body will always be dead because of sin. But if Christ is in you, then the Spirit gives you life, because Christ made you right with God.
….
14 The true children of God are those who let God’s Spirit lead them. 15 The Spirit we received does not make us slaves again to fear; it makes us children of God. With that Spirit we cry out, “Father.” 16 And the Spirit himself joins with our spirits to say we are God’s children. 17 If we are God’s children, we will receive blessings from God together with Christ. But we must suffer as Christ suffered so that we will have glory as Christ has glory.
…
22 We know that everything God made has been waiting until now in pain, like a woman ready to give birth. 23 Not only the world, but we also have been waiting with pain inside us. We have the Spirit as the first part of God’s promise. So we are waiting for God to finish making us his own children, which means our bodies will be made free. 24 We were saved, and we have this hope. If we see what we are waiting for, that is not really hope. People do not hope for something they already have. 25 But we are hoping for something we do not have yet, and we are waiting for it patiently.

26 Also, the Spirit helps us with our weakness. We do not know how to pray as we should. But the Spirit himself speaks to God for us, even begs God for us with deep feelings that words cannot explain. 27 God can see what is in people’s hearts. And he knows what is in the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit speaks to God for his people in the way God wants.

SERMON                        The Pentecost Story & What It Means
Today, to get at the message of Pentecost: past, present, and future, I’m going to use the approach of considering three related questions.

First, What are the four connected holy days (Jewish and Christian) of this extended season and how does Pentecost complete them?

As we learn more about these traditions, I think this statement by Dr. Mitch Glaser is significant. “The festivals of Israel were designed by God to focus the hearts and minds of the Jewish people on the redemptive message of God’s person and plan.”[i] I think what he says for Jews is equally true for Christians.
The four Spring festivals in Judaism are Passover, The Festival of Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, and Shavu’ot (or The Festival of Weeks).
The four Christian Holy Days that come together here are Good Friday, Easter, Ascension, and Pentecost.
Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread take us back to the stories of the Exodus. These same events are celebrated in the Last Supper and recognized in the Crucifixion with new layers of meaning added. What has been a celebration of deliverance from slavery becomes a celebration of our liberation from sin and death. The unleavened bread becomes for us the body of Christ. Jesus becomes the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world, the sacrificed lamb for atonement and forgiveness.

First Fruits is when the first sheaths of grain are waved before the altar, acknowledging God as the giver of the harvest. This becomes our Easter, when Jesus is raised as the first fruits of those who have died.
Shavu’ot is a designated time of 7 sabbaths plus 1 day, as commanded in Leviticus 23:15-21. This count begins with the day of First Fruits, our Easter. Seven sabbaths would mean seven weeks, Sabbath being sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. The next day, the 50th day is Shavu’ot meaning weeks in Hebrew. In Greek it is Pentecost meaning 50. The offering for Shavu’ot in Bible times was two loves of leavened bread made with the first flour ground from the barley harvest. The Spring Festivals began with unleavened bread. Now the yeast is added; there is time for the bread to rise. From waving the first sheaf of barley to bringing the first bread makes a complete cycle.

The time of waiting between First Fruits and Shavu’ot is called in Jewish tradition “Counting the Omer.” Omer is a unit of measuring dry grain or other goods. Counting through this time period, I see God giving us a means to work on our patience, to trust God’s timing rather than the rush we humans tend to feel necessary. I think waiting is itself a spiritual discipline to which God invites us throughout the liturgical calendars of both Judaism and Christianity.
Pentecost is the culmination of a waiting time for the disciples. Jesus told them to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit he would send to empower them. Between Easter’s resurrection appearances and the Ascension, the disciples continued to have some interaction with their risen Lord. They received more teaching and commissioning. But with the Ascension, Jesus’ presence was no longer experienced. There came the realization that they would be on their own. So, they waited together for the coming of the Holy Spirit.
Paula Gooder has another take on how these four Christian holidays fit together to tell one story. She writes, “Jesus’ death destroyed all the disciples’ expectations about who he was. The resurrection put these expectations back together again in a different order and helped them to understand who Jesus really was. The ascension opened up a space that required them to act and finally, the coming of the Holy Spirit gave them the ability to do so.”[ii]
She said earlier, “Pentecost is the final – but vital – link in the chain that moves us from a terrified, timid group of disciples before Jesus’ death to the powerful, confident proclaimers of good news throughout the whole world.”[iii]
When the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost, that was the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise, but it was also a new beginning for the disciples, and as many more came to believe in Jesus through Peter’s words, it was also the beginning for what would become the Church. Pentecost completed one Chapter, and turned the page for the next.

We come to our second question, what were the Jewish traditions of Pentecost and what are the parallels to the Christian celebration of Pentecost?

There are three festivals in Judaism that required Jewish men to come to Jerusalem, the holy city, and to the Temple. The first was Passover. The second was Pentecost; that is the reason there were Jews from so many regions in Jerusalem that day. The third was the Festival of Booths in the Fall.
There are three high holy days in the Christian calendar. Most people know and celebrate Christmas and Easter even if they don’t attend worship regularly. We call them C & E members if they are more likely to come to church on these days, but I think that has also declined significantly over my 30 + years in ministry. I consider Pentecost the third high holy day, and I wish it were celebrated as well as the other two, not secularly as they have become, but with a faithfulness to worship.
We have added to our celebration of Pentecost the tradition of wearing red, the liturgical color that is reserved for this one day of the calendar. But did you know that red is also the liturgical color for every aspect of the baptism covenant? Red is traditionally the color for baptism, confirmation, ordination, marriage and funerals, but for some of these we have substituted white, which is technically reserved for celebration of Christ’s special days. Red goes with the Holy Spirit, and these celebrations in the Christian life are also marked by a request for the blessings of the Holy Spirit. It is more obvious in the liturgy for baptism, confirmation, and ordination, but it is also present in liturgy for weddings and for memorial celebrations.
As a harvest festival, Shavu’ot celebrates with a reading of Ruth’s story. We can appreciate it as a beautiful love story that takes place at harvest time, but there is more for Christians to glean from the short book of Ruth. It is a story of restoration and redemption, as Naomi returns to her home after many hardships, as Ruth takes on not just a new homeland, but a new faith heritage accepting the God of the Jews as her own God. In this story, Boaz becomes the kinsman redeemer who buys back Naomi’s property and asks Ruth to be his bride.
Ruth and Boaz are the ancestors of Jesus who is our Redeemer, the one who buys us back, restoring us to a relationship with God. Pentecost is the beginnings of the church which would be called the Bride of Christ, and would soon after Pentecost welcome not only Jews, but those outside the faith who chose to accept God as Ruth once did.
The celebration of Shavu’ot is not only about the harvest, it is also about the giving of the Torah and the Law. This is why we read the scene from Exodus 19 with the elders among the Hebrews gathering to wait while Moses would go up Mount Sinai to meet with God and receive the commandments.
Both at Sinai that day and in Jerusalem on the Pentecost after the first Easter, there were audible and visible signs of God’s presence with the people. At Sinai it was the blast of a trumpet, the rams horn used for Jewish festivals, and there was lightning and smoke as fire descended on the mountain. At Pentecost the sound was the rush of a mighty wind and what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared above the disciple’s heads.
While we often think of a dove as the gentle symbol for the Holy Spirit from the appearance like a dove at Jesus’ baptism, these symbols of a mighty wind and of fire remind us that the Holy Spirit is also filled with power! The Spirit known as ru’ah in Hebrew and pneuma in Greek is also wind and breath. One way to think of the Holy Spirit is the breath of God. Fire can destroy, but it can also complete. Think of a refiner’s fire for metal and a kiln for pottery. Both are necessary to complete the usefulness of what is being made. In the same way, the Holy Spirit prepares and completes us that we might be of use in God’s service.
Toward this end, Gooder points out one important difference between the gathering at Sinai and the gathering in Jerusalem. “When Moses went up Mount Sinai the people were warned twice not to come near…The revelation of God in the Old Testament was kept for only a few, special people like Moses, Elijah and Isaiah.”[iv] However, “The Holy Spirit does not just descend on Peter, or on Peter, James and John but upon all of the people who were gathered there and then, subsequently, on all those who heard and responded to the message.”[v] You can see how this also relates to Joel’s prophecy. On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out on everyone willing to receive it.
There is a Jewish tradition that every Jew was present at Mount Sinai when the Law was given, and that every Jew agreed to keep the covenant, not only those physically present, but future believers spiritually as well. From this comes the possibility that “every Jew present at Mount Sinai that day actually heard the giving of the Law in their own native tongue…the Jewish tradition is ancient and could very well have been known by Jesus and His disciples” whether or not it is actually true.[vi] Do you see the parallel to the Pentecost tradition that everyone heard Peter’s words in their own native tongue?
This phenomenon is the opposite of the passage in Genesis 11 we know as the Tower of Babel. In that story the people worked together to build a tower that was not a monument to God, but a monument to their own greatness and an attempt to reach heaven by their own power and talents. God’s response to their arrogance was to scatter them and confuse their languages, so they could not cooperate again on such foolishness. On Pentecost, God reversed this, bringing people back together, letting them understand beyond the differences in their language, so that they could cooperate not to build their own kingdom, but so they could hear and share the message of Jesus and begin to build the kingdom of God. Gooder writes, “Humanity becomes unified once more not so that we can glory in our own strength, but in God’s, not so that we can make a name for ourselves but so that God’s name might be made known throughout the world.”[vii]

Now we can move on to a most important question. What does the giving of the Holy Spirit mean for us today, and how will it help us move forward from here?

Gooder writes, “When we gather to proclaim God’s deeds of power and to pray, we have a deep and lasting unity grounded in God. The action of the Holy Spirit draws us together in unity – sometimes even despite our words.”[viii]
It occurs to me that while we continue to speak in a variety of languages, we have a new kind of unity making use of the world wide web. I remember my mom once saying she thought this was going to contribute to God’s goal of making the Word known everywhere around the world. For those who use the internet, it has allowed us to communicate and even worship together in spite of stay home quarantines during COVID-19. It allows people from many nations to attend the same worship service, listen to the same music, watch the same videos, etc. The use of translators and subtitles adds to this, but sometimes we can just enjoy music or dance without needing the words. I think God does allow us to use this as a gift.
Glaser noted in his article, that so many Jews of the Diaspora (the dispersion of the Jews from the years of exile) gathered in Jerusalem for that Pentecost, and many came to believe in Jesus as the Messiah, the Christ. God used this to help them work through their differences as diverse Jews in preparation for the differences they would need to work through as Gentiles from different faith traditions also came to believe in the same God, in Jesus as God’s Son, and in the Holy Spirit as part of that Holy Trinity. I think about the differences I watched First United Presbyterian work through as First Presbyterian and Riverside Presbyterian became one. This prepared you for accepting the Lutherans and Methodists and Catholics and others who have come to worship and study with you. It has opened you up to share in ministry with U.C.C.s and others you may choose to work with in the future. It is the Holy Spirit who binds us with that unity in Christ. As the letter to the Ephesians notes, “You are joined together with peace through the Spirit, so make every effort to continue together in this way.” (Ephesians 4:3, NCV) This is what the Holy Spirit began at Pentecost and continues to do in the world today. Wherever Christians are able to set aside the differences they have developed to work together continuing the mission and message of Jesus, the Holy Spirit is at work in our midst.
In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit empowered creation, breathed life into humanity, brought God’s teaching and God’s presence to God’s people. The Spirit worked through the people inspiring artisans, guiding leadership, and enabling communication.[ix] We see the same enabling and empowering as the Holy Spirit is with Jesus, then the apostles, and the budding Church of believers in the New Testament. The Holy Spirit continues to work the same way in us today.
The Holy Spirit transforms us to be more like Jesus by developing Christlike characteristics in us and prepares us for ministry by endowing us with gifts to be used in Christ’s service. Paul Stroble sums it up this way, “The Spirit is both the daily presence of God and the way by which we grow as Christians.”[x]
Pentecost was seen as the fulfillment of the prophecy in Joel. It’s interesting to me that the opening of Joel 2 is our first reading on Ash Wednesday, as we begin this cycle of Lent/Easter/Pentecost that takes up one quarter of each year. Then the later verses from that same chapter are part of Pentecost. Even if you skip that Old Testament reading with which we began our worship service today, you hear it again if you read all of Peter’s sermon in Acts 2. Peter is the one who realized, as the Holy Spirit revealed it to him, that this phenomenon he and the others experienced that day was indeed the outpouring of the Holy Spirit Joel had proclaimed.
What does it mean to say that the Holy Spirit dwells in you? What Paul tried to explain in his letter to the Romans still holds true for us and for future generations. We read some of these verses from the much-loved chapter, Romans 8. Here are some of the significant points. The Holy Spirit within us enables us to live for Christ rather than for our own selfish fleshly desires. It helps us overcome the temptations we still experience. The Holy Spirit is God’s evidence within us reminding us that we belong to God; we are claimed as God’s children, making us brothers and sisters who share in the inheritance of Jesus. The Holy Spirit sustains us and gives us hope in the midst of suffering and adversity. The Holy Spirit helps us when we are weak and when our faith is weak. The Holy Spirit prays for us and with us, and when we have no words of our own, the Holy Spirit conveys our concerns to God.
Paula Gooder suggests, “We live now in a reality that reveals glimmers of a world newly created by God. This reality is…the realm of the Spirit…At the resurrection and at Pentecost, God’s realm – the realm of the Spirit – broke into our world and calls us to live ‘spiritwise’. This describes…the whole of our existence.”[xi] In other words, once we have accepted the presence of the Holy Spirit into our lives, it defines our existence for the rest of our lives.
But notice we are still human. We will not live this spiritual life perfectly. We live between our old life and our future life in which we will be fully reconciled and restored to God through Christ. In the same way the Church lives between the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and the fulfillment of God’s Kingdom when Christ returns as promised at the Ascension. One way I look at this is that the Holy Spirit hangs onto us while this earthly life pushes and pulls us along a stormy path.
Another aspect of this for me from my Wesleyan background is that the Holy Spirit works to perfect us along the way. This is the work of God’s grace. The Holy Spirit calls us toward God, reconciles us to God when we accept the redemptive work of Jesus who forgives us, and then the Spirit continues to work in us, shaping us to be more like Christ in all we say and do.
I am very aware that I rely on the Holy Spirit in my work as teacher and preacher. But I rely on the Holy Spirit in my daily life as well. That trust built up over many years, is why I trust that the Holy Spirit will continue to work in and through you.
I have already begun to see people step up and take on new roles in the congregation. Over the years, whenever there was a gap, someone came to fill it. Sometimes it was a member already there but ready to take on something new. Sometimes it was a new person who walked through the door. Actually, I was once that person, too. So, I encourage you, rather than hold too tightly to how it has always been, put your faith in God’s plans for your future whatever that may be. Not much right now is exactly how it was when I walked through the door 15 years ago. You have already demonstrated your ability to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit to adapt and change as needed. That is certainly true as we have celebrated Palm/Passion Sunday, Easter, Ascension, and now Pentecost online or by mail rather than in the sanctuary. It may not be how you would prefer, but we are still together in the Spirit and able to worship God who is stronger than COVID-19!
So, continue to listen for the nudging and the inspirations of the Holy Spirit. Let the Spirit of God guide you into your future as individuals and as part of the Church of Jesus Christ. Trust that the Holy Spirit will still grant visions and dreams to you and to others, so that the message and mission of Jesus will continue. On that Pentecost celebrated in Acts 2, the Holy Spirit pulled a band of disillusioned disciples into their future with gifts and power beyond their imagination. What then can the Holy Spirit do in and through you?

*AFFIRMATION               Apostle’s Creed, Ecumenical Version                             p. 14
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 again 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.

PRAYERS
God of Power and Might,
As we recall the ways you have reached out
To and through your people in the past,
We humbly ask you to send your Holy Spirit
upon your world and your people yet again.
We pray for an end to violence of all kinds
And for people to treat one another
With kindness and respect without regard to
Age or gender or background,
Ethnicity or nationality, health or abilities, economics or status.
We trust that your Spirit can come upon all people
And the all people are your children.

We pray for those who are struggling around the world,
Since COVID-19 cares not for the things that too often divide us.
We mourn the loss of too many lives to this pandemic
And pray for the families grieving in every nation.
We pray for the ongoing task of seeking both prevention and cure.
We pray for calm and wise heads to prevail
As decisions are made regarding reopening
And what each of us will choose is right for us within these guidelines.
We continue to pray for those serving the needs of others
In the midst of such stressful conditions.

We pray for an easing of tensions between peoples,
Between governments, between nations.
We pray for your Holy Spirit to move among us
Encouraging us to work together toward peaceful solutions,
Toward healthy environments and respectful working conditions.

We pray for inspiration as we seek the possibilities for our future.
May we find ways to respect our heritage,
Yet creatively work within current conditions,
and move toward a tomorrow that encompasses both.
Lord, in particular, I pray for the congregation at First United Presbyterian
That you will inspire, equip, and empower them
To make wise decisions, to take up the leadership mantel as needed,
And continue to be in ministry as you direct them.
May they be encouraged by your Word and teachings.
May they be assured of your presence in their midst.
May they see how you are working through them.
May they continue to Receive Christ, Reach Out, and Share Love.

PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
In honor of Pentecost, and the multi-lingual aspect of that day,
In this prayer of Thanksgiving to God our Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer.
I share words of thanks from different languages.

For our daily bread and for water, for all food that sustains us,
Penageegee.

For health and healing, but also for the promise of life beyond death,
Toximica.

For the beauty of nature and the inspiration of the arts,
Kanga palar.

For family and friends, for coworkers and neighbors with whom we share this life.
Muchas Gracias.

For the air we breathe into our lungs, and for your Spirit that breathes through us.
Thank you!

THE LORD'S PRAYER
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.
Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom and the power
And the glory forever. Amen.

CHARGE & BLESSING

Messages this season are based on This Risen Existence by Paula Gooder.

[i] (Glaser, online article “What Holiday Do Jews and Christians Have in Common?” from Chosen People Ministries, https://www.chosenpeople.com/site/shavuot/)

[ii] (Paula Gooder, This Risen Existence, p. 110)

[iii] ibid

[iv] (Gooder, p. 112)

[v] (Gooder, p. 113)

[vi] (Glaser, https://www.chosenpeople.com/site/shavuot/)

[vii] (Gooder, p. 115)

[viii] ibid

[ix] (summary of Paul Strobel’s list in Ministry Matters, “The Power of Pentecost,” https://www.ministrymatters.com/all/entry/10342/the-power-of-pentecost?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=The%20power%20of%20Pentecost&utm_campaign=MM-Newsletter-02-19-20

[x] ibid

[xi] (Gooder, p. 122)

For the Easter Season video will be available of Kolleen leading worship, reading scripture, and sharing a message based on the resurrection passages throughout the New Testament, based on the devotional book  This Risen Existence by Paula Gooder. Thanks to our tech, Mike, for setting up recording and editing to video

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Easter Worship May 24, 2020 - The Ascension Story & What it Means

5/24/2020

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You can watch the worship video by clinking on it. You can also expand it to full screen. Or just listen and follow along reading the text below.

Video

SERVICE FOR THE LORD’S DAY
May 24, 2020
Seventh Sunday of Easter
Ascension Sunday

WORDS OF WORSHIP                                                             Psalm 68:4, 18-18, CEB
Sing to God! Sing praises to his name!
Exalt the one who rides the clouds!
The Lord is his name. Celebrate before him!
You ascended the heights, leading away your captives,
receiving tribute from people,
even from those who rebel against the Lord God’s dwelling there.
Bless the Lord! The God of our salvation supports us day after day!

GATHERING PRAYER
Almighty God, we celebrate you this day with our worship. We bring you our tribute of praise and presence and prayers. We give you thanks for your mercy.
Jesus, we honor you as the Christ, and bless you. We come grateful for the gift of salvation and ready to hear your word for us this day. May we forever remain in your grace and live for your kingdom to come upon this earth. Amen.

CONFESSION AND PARDON                                                     Hebrews 4:12-13, GW
God’s word is living and active. It is sharper than any two-edged sword and cuts as deep as the place where soul and spirit meet, the place where joints and marrow meet. God’s word judges a person’s thoughts and intentions. No creature can hide from God. Everything is uncovered and exposed for him to see. We must answer to him. Therefore, let us confess our sins to God.

God who sees and knows everything about us, we confess our disobedience by what we have done against your will. We confess the rebellion hiding within our deepest thoughts. We confess the irreverence and disrespect in words we may have spoken out loud. Lord, in your mercy, forgive us.

We confess our lack of humble service in the things we have failed to do for you, for those around us, and even for the natural world you created. Lord, in your mercy, forgive us.

We confess the temptations we chose not to resist and the times our resistance crumbled giving way to sin. Lord, in your mercy, forgive us.

We confess our fears and frustrations and lack of faith. Above all we confess our very great need of your strength and your salvation. Lord, in your mercy, forgive us.

                                                                                                       Hebrews 4:14-16, NIV
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven.

Thanks be to God!

PASSING THE PEACE
May the peace of Christ be with you.

EASTER/ASCENSION HYMN

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
Jesus, may we hear in the story of your ascension and in the descriptions of your position in the heavenly realms, a word of hope and encouragement for our lives and our mission here on earth. Amen.

SCRIPTURE LESSONS
                                                                                                               Acts 1:6-11, NCV
6 When the apostles were all together, they asked Jesus, “Lord, are you now going to give the kingdom back to Israel?”

7 Jesus said to them, “The Father is the only One who has the authority to decide dates and times. These things are not for you to know. 8 But when the Holy Spirit comes to you, you will receive power. You will be my witnesses—in Jerusalem, in all of Judea, in Samaria, and in every part of the world.”

9 After he said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud hid him from their sight. 10 As he was going, they were looking into the sky. Suddenly, two men wearing white clothes stood beside them. 11 They said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing here looking into the sky? Jesus, whom you saw taken up from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you saw him go.”

                                                                                                     Philippians 2:1-11, NCV
2:1 Does your life in Christ give you strength?
Does his love comfort you? Do we share together in the spirit?
Do you have mercy and kindness?
2 If so, make me very happy by having the same thoughts,
sharing the same love, and having one mind and purpose.
3 When you do things, do not let selfishness or pride be your guide.
Instead, be humble and give more honor to others than to yourselves.
4 Do not be interested only in your own life, but be interested in the lives of others.

5 In your lives you must think and act like Christ Jesus.

6 Christ himself was like God in everything.
But he did not think that being equal with God
was something to be used for his own benefit.
7 But he gave up his place with God and made himself nothing.
    He was born as a man and became like a servant.
8 And when he was living as a man,
    he humbled himself and was fully obedient to God,
    even when that caused his death—death on a cross.
9 So God raised him to the highest place.
    God made his name greater than every other name
10 so that every knee will bow to the name of Jesus--
    everyone in heaven, on earth, and under the earth.
11 And everyone will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord
    and bring glory to God the Father.

                                                                                                         Hebrews 12:1-3, NLT
“12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. 3 Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up.”
SERMON                          The Ascension Story is Good News

In Paula Gooder’s Introduction to the week of the Ascension, she notes two problems Christians have with this Holy Day. First, most of us, especially Protestants, don’t know it very well. It’s on the calendar, but being the 40th day after Easter, it’s always on Thursday. We don’t generally worship on Thursday. Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox churches are more likely to attend a mass to celebrate the Ascension. Honestly, it wasn’t until I got into writing this paragraph that I realized, “Oh, it’s Thursday! I’m actually writing my first ever Ascension sermon on Ascension Day, Wow!” Did you notice I’m admitting that even though I’m a clergy person who knows the liturgical calendar, I’ve never really celebrated the Ascension?

The second issue in a modern world, is the name “Ascension.” We no longer subscribe to a three-tiered universe as the ancients did. We might still use language of up for heaven and down for hell, because we never really developed better language for it, but we know the world isn’t flat. Even if we try to fit old notions into modern perceptions does that mean hell is inside the earth and heaven is outside the atmosphere? Nah! That can’t be right. I am making fun of it a bit here, but I think we get messed up when we take poetic or literary descriptions and try to fit them into a scientific framework. They weren’t meant to be used that way.

When I looked for other Biblical references to “taken up to heaven” the first story to appear was exactly one I had in mind. 2 Kings 2 describes Elijah being “taken up” in a whirlwind. In the Old Testament Elijah is the greatest of the prophets. In the Transfiguration story, it is Moses, representing the Law, and Elijah, representing the Prophets, who appear beside Jesus at the mountain top. Elijah is one of two Old Testament figures who did not die a human death but appeared to be taken directly by God leaving no body behind. The other is Enoch. Here is how one translation puts it, “Elijah and Elisha were walking and talking together. Suddenly, some horses and a chariot came and separated Elijah from Elisha. The horses and the chariot were like fire. Then Elijah was carried up into heaven in a whirlwind.” (2 Kings 2:11, ERV)

The next use of such language is from the added ending to Mark’s Gospel which gives us the tradition by then that, “When the Lord Jesus had finished talking with [the disciples], he was taken up into heaven and sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand.” (Mark 16:19, NLT) Luke, who will use this language in Acts, has already previewed it in his Gospel as well with this foreshadowing in chapter 9, “As the time approached when Jesus was to be taken up into heaven, he determined to go to Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:51, CEB) and in this set up for the sequel at the end his Gospel.
“As he blessed them, he left them and was taken up to heaven.” (Luke 24:51, CEB)

Let’s not get hung up on language that was meant not with scientific precision, but as a literary device to describe a dimension for which science has yet to give us words. Along with Gooder, I have long thought of heaven as a dimension we cannot see. If time is the fourth dimension, the heavenly realms are yet another.

Now, let’s follow the story into Acts, Chapter 1. Acts, as I said, is like a sequel to Luke’s Gospel. After sharing resurrection stories, Luke 24 ends with a paragraph subtitled “Ascension of Jesus” as follows:

“50 He led them out as far as Bethany, where he lifted his hands and blessed them. 51 As he blessed them, he left them and was taken up to heaven. 52 They worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem overwhelmed with joy. 53 And they were continuously in the temple praising God.” (Luke 24:50-53, CEB)

It’s like in a movie or drama when the final scene carries you into the next episode, because Acts 1 begins this way,

“1:1 Theophilus, the first scroll I wrote concerned everything Jesus did and taught from the beginning, 2 right up to the day when he was taken up into heaven. Before he was taken up, working in the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus instructed the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he showed them that he was alive with many convincing proofs. He appeared to them over a period of forty days, speaking to them about God’s kingdom. 4 While they were eating together, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for what the Father had promised. He said, “This is what you heard from me: 5 John baptized with water, but in only a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 1:1-5, CEB)

Luke has effectively tied volume 1 and volume 2 together with these closing and opening statements.

Now we arrive at our first reading for today which was Acts 1:6-11. As Jesus disappeared from their sight into the heavenly realms, the focus shifts from Jesus to the disciples straining to still see him. That subtle shift of our attention is intentional and necessary in one way. While Jesus is still with them as promised in Spirit, and in fact tells them once again that he will send his Holy Spirit to them, Jesus also makes a commissioning statement. It is not identical to Matthew 28:19-20, which is more detailed, but the overall effect and purpose is the same. Go out into the world and teach them everything I have taught you. That would be my summary of these commissioning statements. By commissioning his remaining disciples, Jesus is shifting the burden of his earthly ministry to their shoulders. They are no longer observers or students; now the job is theirs to continue. This is significant!

Notice however, the disciples’ reaction in this scene. God hid Jesus from their sight behind a cloud. Though Jesus was no longer visible, they continued to stand there staring into the sky. Can you picture a scene in an airport or train station where someone has sent off their loved one and continues to stand there, no longer waving goodbye but just staring in the direction the jet or train has gone? That’s the vibe I get imagining the dumbfounded disciples staring into the sky. So, God’s messengers ask them, “Galileans, why are you standing here, looking toward heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you saw him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11) I wonder if it was the same messengers who asked the women on Easter morning, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He isn’t here, but has been raised. Remember what he told you while he was still in Galilee.” (Luke 24:5b-6)

I think it’s human nature to keep staring after something is over, wondering what happened, pondering what will happen next, when we don’t fully understand what is going on, or we are in shock. It’s a realistic reaction, but the disciples needed that verbal nudge, “It’s over now. He’ll be back, but in the meantime…” I realized as I read the rest of Gooder’s devotions for Ascension week, that it is “in the meantime” that we find the meaning of the Ascension. It is far more important than I imagined. Gooder writes, “In some ways we, like the disciples, have become fixated on the upwards movement of Jesus…The point the two men make to the disciples is, for me, the clue to helping us to understand the ascension properly today. The point is not so much that Jesus has gone upwards but that he has gone.” (Paula Gooder, This Risen Existence, p. 96)

What does she mean by that? She goes on to say that if Jesus had not left, the disciples would not have picked up the work to carry on. Gooder writes with regard to the mission that “if Jesus were still on earth in his risen existence, we would probably leave him to it.” The truth of that statement hit me like a ton of bricks. Wow!

Let me give you an Old Testament example first. When Elijah and Elisha were talking in the story I mentioned earlier, Elijah was the teacher and Elisha was the student, just as the disciples were students of Jesus. Elijah had told his students, as Jesus did, that the time was coming when he would no longer be with them. As the others were told to wait at a certain place, Elisha insisted on following Elijah all the way to the end. Elisha made a peculiar request of his teacher, to be given a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. Elijah’s requirement was if his student could actually see him taken up, then his request would be granted. Listen to what happened,

“11 As they continued walking and talking, a fiery chariot with fiery horses separated the two of them, and Elijah went to heaven in a windstorm. 12 When Elisha saw this, he cried out, “Master! Master! Israel’s chariot and horses!” When he couldn’t see Elijah anymore, he grabbed his own garment and tore it in two to show his grief. 13 Then he picked up Elijah’s coat (which had fallen off Elijah), went back, and stood on the bank of the Jordan River. 14 He took the coat and struck the water with it. He asked, “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” As he struck the water, it divided to his left and his right, and Elisha crossed the river.” (2 Kings 2:11-14, GW)

Elisha had indeed received a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. As his own ministry grew, he did many of the same things Elijah had done and even more. Think about how this parallels Jesus and the disciples. Once they received the Holy Spirit from Jesus on Pentecost, they went on to do many of the same things Jesus had done and spread Jesus’ teachings even further.

I was in my first pastoral appointment at Wyanet for over four years. It had been a good ministry together. It was hard to leave. The woman coming to replace me, Ann, was someone God had called into ministry late in her life. Wyanet would also be her first appointment, and she would be completing the ordination process while there. I would be ordained at my next appointment, which oddly enough included the church where Ann and her family were members. Because Ann was new to pastoral ministry, I was able to have her present on my last Sunday. I preached from this chapter of 2 Kings and used the story of Elisha picking up Elijah’s mantel as a way to hand over my ministry at Wyanet to Ann. I had been contemplating preaching from Elijah this summer, in part for similar reasons.

What hit me as I read Gooder’s emphasis on Jesus’ absence, is of course the fact that we are in the midst of preparing for my retirement, while at the same time we have other church leaders who are also in transition, notably the Treasurer, the Personnel Chair, and as of this past week, the Clerk of Session. Our absence opens the door for others to step up and take on the mantel of leadership. I am grateful when I see this happening, and I have to trust God for the rest of it. As one example, I have had the privilege of working with a friend for several months, training her to take over my administrative duties. As she takes on more and more of that responsibility these past few weeks, I am more and more able to look forward to my retirement. In the midst of it, I am aware of how Jesus worked hard to train his disciples, even sending them out on missions, preparing them for the work that would need to continue after his ascension. Just as Jesus was still with them through the Holy Spirit, I trust that Jesus will continue to be with this congregation I have served, and the Holy Spirit will guide and equip new leadership, just as the Spirit did for the disciples.

The Holy Spirit came to the disciples on Pentecost, and that is next week’s story. But today, let’s focus on Jesus’ role in our lives from his position in the heavenly realms. Gooder points to the shift this way, “For us ascension is about absence, but for Christ it is about homecoming.” (p. 98) The Bible tells us often that Jesus is seated at the right hand of God. My devotional Bible verse for this week (Psalm 138:7) is one of many from Psalms that talks about the power of God’s right hand to protect and save us. Now Jesus is at God’s right hand, and from there continues to work in power on our behalf.

We also find this in Revelation. Imagine this from chapter 7:

“I looked, and there was a great number of people, so many that no one could count them. They were from every nation, tribe, people, and language of the earth. They were all standing before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. 10 They were shouting in a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” 11 All the angels were standing around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures. They all bowed down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, “Amen! Praise, glory, wisdom, thanks, honor, power, and strength belong to our God forever and ever. Amen!”

13 Then one of the elders asked me, “Who are these people dressed in white robes? Where did they come from?”

14 I answered, “You know, sir.”

And the elder said to me, “These are the people who have come out of the great distress. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Because of this, they are before the throne of God. They worship him day and night in his temple. And the One who sits on the throne will be present with them. 16 Those people will never be hungry again, and they will never be thirsty again. The sun will not hurt them, and no heat will burn them, 17 because the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd. He will lead them to springs of water that give life. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Revelation 7:9-17, NCV)

I wanted you to hear that beautiful vision of our future hope, but focus on the lamb for a moment. In Revelation, the lamb represents Jesus, the sacrificial lamb who takes away the sins of the world. Gooder wants her readers to notice that Jesus, the lamb, is “at the center of the throne.” (v. 17) She writes, “he was not only sitting in God’s company but sitting on God’s own throne – not on a separate throne to the side.” (p. 99) Jesus shares the throne and power and authority with God in heaven. Jesus did tell the disciples that he and the Father are One. This is another way of expressing it. In that position, Jesus can offer us even more.

First, Jesus is our Advocate, representing us as one who has experienced and understands this earthly human existence. As we read in Hebrews, “We have a High Priest who has passed through the heavens; and he is the one who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses.” (Gooder, p. 105 based on Hebrews 4:14-15) We no longer need a priest to enter the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement, to seek forgiveness for all people. Jesus has permanently taken up that position on God’s very throne. So Gooder writes, “We can be confident then that Jesus’ intercessions on our behalf reach God directly.” (p. 105) What better Advocate could we ever need?

Second, from this position Jesus sends us gifts through the Holy Spirit. Jesus had told his disciples he had to leave, so he could send the Holy Spirit to them. (John 16:7) That in itself is a gift. As Ephesians 4 talks about the gifts of the Spirit, it is written this way,

“7 Christ gave each one of us the special gift of grace, showing how generous he is. 8 That is why it says in the Scriptures, “When he went up to the heights, he led a parade of captives, and he gave gifts to people.” (Ephesians 4:7-8 which quotes Psalm 68:18)

It goes on a few verses later,

“11 And Christ gave gifts to people—he made some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to go and tell the Good News, and some to have the work of caring for and teaching God’s people. 12 Christ gave those gifts to prepare God’s holy people for the work of serving, to make the body of Christ stronger. 13 This work must continue until we are all joined together in the same faith and in the same knowledge of the Son of God. We must become like a mature person, growing until we become like Christ and have his perfection.” (Ephesians 4:11-13, NCV)

From heaven Jesus gifts us to continue his work.

Third, Jesus has taken captivity, captive. That’s not something we think about generally, but as the Psalm verse quoted in Ephesians 4 showed a triumphant king parading up to a high place bringing captives as well as gifts, now Jesus has returned to the heights, metaphorically speaking, and showers us with gifts while ending captivity itself. This is the great reversal that has been an ongoing theme of Jesus’ ministry and teaching. The one who is entitled to receive gifts now gives them. The king who could take captives instead releases us ending our captivity. Think about the things that enslave us: sin, death, disease, injustice, poverty, oppression, corruption, greed, addiction, etc. Jesus wants to set us free from all of that and has already defeated sin and death through his death and resurrection. I like Gooder’s response in light of all this, “We have come to a victory feast at which we discover the guest of houour giving out presents rather than receiving them…we should cherish them all the more because of this.” (p. 101)

We have noted that Jesus’ ascension into the heavenly realms leaves us to step up to continue the ministry in Jesus’ absence. We have also noted that Jesus’ ascension is his return to God’s right hand, the seat of power and the throne of mercy and grace. But we need to put these two sides of the coin together to understand what they mean for our own life here on earth now. Gooder claims that “Jesus descent to earth, life among us and subsequent ascent back to heaven are to be to us the model for our own way of life.” (p. 102) What Jesus did is sung in the New Testament hymn of Philippians 2:6-11, but Gooder finds our mission in the opening passage of that chapter. Paul expresses the hope that we will find encouragement, comfort, fellowship, and compassion in Christ and through the Holy Spirit. Then resting in these gifts, he wants us to agree together, love one another, and work together united in purpose. Paul recognizes this won’t work if we let selfishness or pride get in the way, but we need to remain humble, honoring one another more than ourselves, showing genuine interest in others, not just promoting our own interests. This was the attitude of Christ we are called to imitate.

This is more than asking ourselves, “What would Jesus do?” though that is part of it. It is putting on Christ. Galatians 3:27 expresses it this way, “And when you were baptized, it was as though you had put on Christ in the same way you put on new clothes.” What if every morning as we wash up, we remind ourselves that we are baptized into Christ? What if then as we get dressed we consciously imagine putting on Christ” Then let’s ask Christ to seep into our minds and spirits, so that in what we think, what we say, and what we do all day, we might have that mind of Christ in us.

Look at the example Jesus set for us. Though Jesus held a place with God in the heavenly realms, he humbly set that aside for a time, to put on human flesh and reach out to us in person. He even submitted to a most horrific death, in what Gooder calls “his outpouring of himself in love for the world.” (p. 103) What Gooder says next I think is one of her main points for This Risen Existence.

“Generous self-outpouring…is given out freely and undeservedly…It is the model we are called to follow and are reminded that in the topsy-turvy world of the kingdom of God, those who give up their rights and pour themselves out, gain back far, far more than they could ever imagine. This model of outpouring is not an additional requirement for Christians but the essence of Christian life and faith.” (pp. 103-104)

This lifestyle modeled for us by Christ is what the Holy Spirit shapes and trains us for, but it is not an overnight transformation. It is a lifetime of training, something like an athlete getting ready for the Olympics or another big event. After recalling a list of the faithful from Old Testament stories in Hebrews 11, the author of that letter describes a scene that first century readers would recognize as a Graeco-Roman athletic competition, perhaps even the Olympics held from 776 BC through 393 AD, so known to that world. Chapter 12 begins with the crowd of witnesses, suggesting those named in the Faith Hall of Fame from Chapter 11 are now in the stands cheering on succeeding generations. I think of the many Olympic medalists who have gone on to be coaches and mentors, while others as announcers or observers encourage those who follow in their footsteps.

I recently watched a reality show that featured a few of the many athletes around the world who have trained diligently for 4 years or more to participate in the Olympics, only to be told this year, because of COVID-19, they will need to train for one more year. There was a taekwondo medalist whose training model is to tell himself at the end of practice to do “one more kick” in order to build up his stamina. There was the gymnast who cuts back to only one cup of coffee per week while in training and a rhythmic gymnast who can tell you exactly when she had her last piece of pizza or her last beloved bottle of coke both months ago. They gave up whatever was needed to be in the best condition for their event. These athletes will continue now for another whole year and two months.

Because the ancestors of our faith are watching, here or from heaven, we want to do our very best. We rid ourselves of everything that might slow us down or get in our way as Hebrews 12 tells us. This is how we are called to live: to diligently train, disciplining ourselves as needed to reach for the goal of following Christ and continuing his work on earth. Like the Olympic athletes, we are in this for the long haul, continuing as long as we must. We can give up what would get in the way, and we can push ourselves each day to do one more thing for Christ to build up our stamina and strength. As we give our best for Christ in whatever days are allotted us, Jesus is in heaven equipping us, encouraging us, advocating for us. In this way we live “this risen existence” carrying forward the mission of Christ our Risen Lord.

Let me conclude today with these words from Paula Gooder: “The ascended Jesus stands before us, calling us onwards and encouraging us to persevere no matter how hard it is, because he has gone this way before us.” (p. 108)

AFFIRMATION                Apostle’s Creed, Ecumenical Version
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 again 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.

PRAYERS
God of mercy and grace,
we pray for your presence in our midst.
Jesus, Lord and Savior, hear our prayer:
We pray for those suffering from
Broken dams and flooding in Michigan
Those evacuated from their homes
In the midst of quarantine and those cleaning up the mess.
We pray for those whose homes and lives have been taken
By Cyclones in India and Bangladesh
For the restoration of power and the rebuilding to be done.
We pray for the Navajo Nation fighting COVID-19 and
Doctors without Borders sent in to help
As well as others continuing to fight this disease,
Those places experiencing a second wave of infections,
And those making decisions about reopening.
We pray for our members and others living alone,
Those who have been ill,
Those going to work in the midst of difficult times,
And those in a period of transition.
We pray for the leadership of our church
That you will continue to send your Holy Spirit
To equip and to guide us to continue your work.

PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
We give you thanks for those who have served us well,
And for those who are stepping up to the plate to fill the void.
We thank you for those you will yet call,
Give them courage to accept the challenge.
We thank you for those who make a difference in our daily lives,
For good neighbors, for clerks and delivery drivers,
For medical staff, food servers, sanitation workers,
For those who teach us and those who protect us.
We give you thanks for the beauty of nature,
The inspiration of art and music
And the blessing of worship.
All honor and glory to you, O God, as we offer our prayer

THE LORD'S PRAYER
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.
Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom and the power
And the glory forever. Amen.

CHARGE & BLESSING
May the grace and peace of our Risen Lord, Jesus Christ,
Continue to bless you, heal you, inspire you, and revive you,
That you may continue to serve him well.

Messages this season are based on This Risen Existence by Paula Gooder.

For the Easter Season video will be available of Kolleen leading worship, reading scripture, and sharing a message based on the resurrection passages throughout the New Testament, based on the devotional book  This Risen Existence by Paula Gooder. Thanks to our tech, Mike, for setting up recording and editing to video

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Easter Worship May 17, 2020 - The Resurrection According to Paul

5/16/2020

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You can watch the worship video by clinking on it. You can also expand it to full screen. Or just listen and follow along reading the text below.

Video

FOR THE LORD’S DAY
May 17, 2020
Sixth Sunday of Easter

WORDS OF WORSHIP                                                            2 Corinthians 5:17, NCV
If anyone belongs to Christ, there is a new creation.
The old things have gone; everything is made new!

GATHERING PRAYER
Lord Jesus Christ, we long for all things to be made new. As we rededicate ourselves to you this day in worship, may you continue to recreate us in your image and may that in turn help to reshape the world around us. We give ourselves to you.

CONFESSION AND PARDON
Psalm 139 tells us:
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
Point out anything in me that offends you,
    and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
Let us make our confession to God.

Jesus, we admit that it is difficult to fully dedicate ourselves to you.
There is so much in our world that we want you to make new,
but there are things within each one of us
that we don’t really want to surrender.
Every time we are asked to give ourselves to you,
we may unconsciously hesitate
or secretly be thinking “except for this one thing.”
But Lord, you cannot renew the world
if we are unwilling to be renewed ourselves,
so help us surrender whatever within us we still need to let go.
Forgive our hesitation to be fully yours in body, mind, and spirit. Amen.

For the sake of Jesus’ name, our sins are forgiven.

Thanks be to God!

PASSING THE PEACE
May the peace of Christ be with you.

EASTER HYMN

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
Lord Jesus, as we hear of your resurrection through the words and faith of your Apostle Paul, may we be filled with faith and hope for our own resurrection and renewal.

SCRIPTURE LESSONS                                    1 Corinthians 15, selected verses, NLT
15:1 Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. 2 It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place.

3 I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. 4 He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. …

12 But tell me this—since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? 13 For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. …

20 But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.

21 So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. 22 Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. 23 But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back. …

35 But someone may ask, “How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?” 36 What a foolish question! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first. 37 And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are planting. 38 Then God gives it the new body he wants it to have. A different plant grows from each kind of seed. 39 Similarly there are different kinds of flesh—one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish.

40 There are also bodies in the heavens and bodies on the earth. The glory of the heavenly bodies is different from the glory of the earthly bodies. 41 The sun has one kind of glory, while the moon and stars each have another kind. And even the stars differ from each other in their glory.

42 It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. 43 Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. 44 They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies.
…

51 But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! 52 It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. 53 For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.

54 Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 O death, where is your victory?
    O death, where is your sting?”

56 For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. 57 But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.
SERMON                          The Resurrection According to Paul
I have shared words from 1 Corinthians 15 at many memorial services and gravesides. I will likely have some of it in my own service someday. While it is certainly not the only place Paul talks about his resurrection faith, it contains a good summary of what Paul believes. I have also heard in a lecture on the New Testament, that in terms of the resurrection, Christian doctrine is based primarily on these and other teachings from Paul. Paula Gooder writes in the introduction to this chapter in This Risen Existence, “Paul was the first – and probably greatest – writer of the earliest Christian period who attempted not just to describe what happened but what it meant (and in fact what it continues to mean).” (p. 65)

It seems that among the many concerns and questions Paul is addressing in this letter, some of the Christians at Corinth are wondering about what happens after death. Gooder shares, “In the first century there was a wide variety of views about what happened after you died, ranging from belief in nothing at all to the idea of the transmigration of the soul (that is, the body died but the soul lived on and, after spending time in Hades, entered another human body). Resurrection – the idea that at some point in the future your body would be raised to life and transformed so that you would live for ever – was a peculiarly Jewish idea and would have been alien to anyone of Graeco-Roman heritage…the most likely scenario here is that the Corinthians accepted Jesus’ death and resurrection but held to their own previous, Graeco-Roman-inspired beliefs about what would happen to them after death.” (p. 71)
That’s a long quote but gives us some important background.

The church at Corinth was a mix of Jewish and Gentile believers in Christ. Some of those Jewish Christians may have brought with them a belief in a general resurrection at some future point, as we have referred to Martha’s belief noted in the conversation she had with Jesus before Jesus raised Lazarus from death to life. (John 11) The NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible states, “Resurrection was a holistic Jewish hope that the dead (or at least the righteous dead) would be raised to a new bodily existence of some sort at a future time. Future physical hope was rooted in God’s covenant promises to Israel, but came to be applied as a physical hope for individuals most clearly during the Persian period.” (Study tools available online, Bible Gateway Plus) But others whose beliefs were influenced by Graeco-Roman culture had other ideas. “Many Gentile intellectuals affirmed the soul’s immortality without a future for the body; some others denied any afterlife at all.” (NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible)

A wide range of beliefs is still in the world today from a variety of religious traditions to non-religious philosophies. Some believe in a bodily resurrection, but some are unsure exactly what that means. Some believe in reincarnation, that a person is reborn as someone or something new. Some believe in a waiting time after death, in a Sheol or purgatory or some other semi-existence. Some do not believe there is life after death at all, that when we die our body decays, and that is it. Others have described the afterlife they witnessed in near death experiences. The world still holds a variety of ideas and reactions to the concept of resurrection.

Paul’s concern for the Corinthians was the inconsistency of accepting Christ’s resurrection without anticipating one’s own. Hence verse 13, “For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either.” (1 Cor. 15:13)
The Orthodox Study Bible asks, “What is Christianity without the resurrection—both Christ's and ours? His death does us no good without it. What use is forgiveness if we remain dead?” (Study tools available online, Bible Gateway Plus)   In these and following verses “Paul gives 6 disastrous consequences if there were no resurrection: 1) preaching Christ would be senseless (v. 14); 2) faith in Christ would be useless (v. 14); 3) all the witnesses and preachers of the resurrection would be liars (v. 15); 4) no one would be redeemed from sin (v. 17); 5) all former believers would have perished (v. 18); and 6) Christians would be the most pitiable people on earth (v. 19).” This according to John MacArthur’s summary of Paul’s words. (Study tools available online, Bible Gateway Plus)

Gooder expresses the consequences this way, “Without resurrection of any kind, our faith changes: resurrection affects the doctrine of hope, of Christian identity, of baptism, of life after death, and also of God. Resurrection is the thread that is woven right through the centre of many of our Christian beliefs.” (p. 72) Let’s think about that for a minute. Belief in Christ’s resurrection is what makes Christians an Easter people. It defines our faith in a living leader who is still with us in spirit. Without faith that Christ was raised from the dead, I’m not sure we would hold the same faith that Christ is one with God. Belief in our own resurrection is key to our hope of heaven, our hope that death is not the end, our hope of a reward for faithful living, and especially our hope of reuniting with loved ones. It is our hope of one day meeting God ourselves, face to face. The power to bring life out of death is one of the defining expressions of the power, authority, and sovereignty of our God.

So, belief in both Christ’s resurrection and our own is essential to Christian faith. It is part of what we recite each week in the Apostle’s Creed; we believe “in the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.” Paul goes on then to address what kind of body that resurrected form will be. I like the contrast between the physical body and spiritual body. I don’t expect our resurrected body to have exactly the same properties as our physical bodies do now.

What Paul actually says is this, “Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. 43 Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. 44 They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies.” (1 Corinthians 15:42b-44a, NLT) Later Paul writes about this in his second letter to Corinth, “2 We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing... 4 While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life.” (2 Corinthians 5:2-4, NLT) I can relate to that, looking forward to a new spiritual body, especially on the days this body is uncooperative.

Paula Gooder writes, “Christian tradition has been, for a long time, at best ambivalent about bodies and, at worst, antagonistic towards them and everything that they represent…The person often blamed for this negativity towards bodies is Paul, who so often seems to contrast the things of the flesh with the things of the spirit.” (p. 73) As I read Paul’s passages above, I agree with Gooder that blaming Paul is to misunderstand him. For Paul both our earthly bodies and our spiritual bodies are gifts of God and serve the purpose for which God created them. Neither are bad; they are simply, by necessity, different. Gooder sums it up this way, “Paul does not say that our current bodies are evil, as some might expect him to, simply that they are to our resurrection bodies what the moon is to the sun. They are not to be despised, but are to be replaced by something far, far more glorious than before.” (p. 74) For the record, the notion that what is physical is evil and only what is spiritual is good comes from certain Graeco-Roman philosophies and other religions that Paul considered heresy and sought to counteract in many of his letters.

I was once asked by a parishioner about having a particular surgery; would it affect his future body? This scripture that we receive a new body after death gave me an answer for his concern. It also is my answer to any who have concerns about cremation which has become more common over my years in ministry. I also choose to be cremated when the time comes. I have used these two passages in memorial services and gravesides as I said earlier. I particularly think of them when someone has suffered physically over time. I used the new body passages from Paul for my grandmother’s funeral, because I loved the image that the woman who could barely walk from the living room to the kitchen my whole life, who was bedridden with Parkinson’s at the end, could now dance or run in heaven as much as she wanted. I’m not happy with the consequences of those years I didn’t take proper care of my own body, but I look forward to a body better suited to the next life. These are my own thoughts from Paul’s teaching on our present and future bodies.

All of this is offered to us through Jesus’ resurrection. His is the first of many. Because Jesus lives, we too will live. Paul phrased it as first fruits of the harvest, that Jesus was raised first, but we will all be gathered into God’s kingdom. Remember that the first part of any harvest always belongs to God. The NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible notes, “Jesus is the firstfruits of those who have died in the sense that his resurrection signals the beginning of the new creation promised in Isaiah…Jesus’ resurrection from the dead marks the beginning of the general resurrection of the dead.” (Study tools available online, Bible Gateway Plus)

Paul often contrasts that death came through Adam, and new life comes through Christ. Biblically Adam represents not only the first creation of humanity, but Adam also represents the fall of humanity into sin by the choices he made to disobey God, then to hide from God. When Paul wrote to the Romans “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23, NLT), Paul was referring to this same concept. In Genesis, when God handed out the consequences of that disobedience, God said to Adam, “You will sweat and work hard for your food. Later you will return to the ground, because you were taken from it. You are dust, and when you die, you will return to the dust.” (Genesis 3:19, NCV) So, like Adam, we also have the consequence of death, because of sin.

By contrast Jesus offers us life, having forgiven our sins at the cross. Jesus’ resurrection completes that turn around to make new life possible for us beyond death. The NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible expresses it this way, “Jesus’ resurrection establishes the reality of the future resurrection of all believers. As Adam represented the human race, his sin affecting all his descendants, so Jesus Christ represents the new “race,” his death and resurrection affecting all who believe in him.”

All of this theology is well and good, but what does it mean for us? In an earlier reflection on Paul’s letter to the Romans, Gooder writes, “Jesus’ death frees us ‘from’ and his resurrection frees us ’for’: from our sins, for a life in Christ; from our old way of being, for new creation and so on.” (p. 68) This comes from Romans 4:25, “25 Jesus was given to die for our sins, and he was raised from the dead to make us right with God.” (NCV)

Living “This Risen Existence” as Gooder titled her book is about what we do with the redeemed life we have been granted. If Jesus died to forgive us and rose to promise us new life, how are we living that life Jesus gave everything to offer us? I have often said that we don’t try to please God in order to earn our salvation; that was a gift, and that is how Paul teaches it. However, having been forgiven, we can offer to God a life of obedience, of doing our best to serve and please God. We do it out of gratitude for what we have already received. We do it out of love for the God who so loved us.

This also means we live not for ourselves, but we live for God, so that Christ’s light can shine through us. The example we set, the gifts we share, the choices we make, we offer them to Christ. Even the setbacks we endure, the trials we face, the things we suffer, even these we offer to Christ. Paul talked about this in the second letter to Corinth. “16 So we do not give up. Our physical body is becoming older and weaker, but our spirit inside us is made new every day. 17 We have small troubles for a while now, but they are helping us gain an eternal glory that is much greater than the troubles. 18 We set our eyes not on what we see but on what we cannot see. What we see will last only a short time, but what we cannot see will last forever.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18, NCV) Gooder explains, “Paul sees his own sufferings as the way in which Christ’s resurrection life can shine forth…He will, at some point, receive his own glorious resurrected body, but for now he is content for Christ’s resurrection life to shine from him.” (p. 76)

While we are stuck in the troubles of this life, we cannot dwell only on the suffering, we must find ways to look beyond it, to offer hope and help to others in whatever ways we can, to look toward the future God promises, to search for the good God will bring out of our troubles. That is not to blame God for what we are going through; it is to trust that God will wrestle something good out of it. (Romans 8:28) In choosing to live beyond ourselves and our own circumstances, we allow the light of Christ to come through.

Paul wrote of this earlier in the same chapter, “7 We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.

8 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. 10 Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.” (2 Corinthians 4:7-10, NLT) Though our lives are broken, it is through that brokenness that the grace and mercy of Jesus the Christ can shine. Gooder writes, “Learning to live a true risen existence involves also learning to live fully and joyfully as cracked and crumbling clay jars.” (p. 77)

Where is your life cracked right now? All of us are dealing with the changes forced upon us by COVID-19, though we do not all experience those changes in the same way. Some of you have chronic pain or diseases that affect your lives on a daily basis, and you have to deal with the brokenness of this earthly mind or body. Some of you have circumstances in your lives that are a real struggle for you. They may be the consequences of your own choices or the fallout you suffer from the choices of others without any control over that for yourself. For every one of us, this life is indeed a fragile clay pot, often it feels like one cracked or chipped or broken in some way, and yet to God we are still beautiful and have value. Through these broken lives Christ can still shine.

What Paul taught to new Christian believers in the churches, Paul also lived. His own life was marked by suffering, physical hardships, misunderstandings, persecution and abuse, a past he regretted, disagreements, goals that were difficult to attain. But Paul did not give up. It was his nature to go full steam ahead anyway, but once he accepted that Jesus was indeed the Christ and indeed alive, he gave everything to serve his risen Lord. Paul’s words and example encourage us to be an Easter people who give our best everywhere and always to serve our risen Christ. Let me repeat Paul’s closing verse on this topic, “So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.” (1 Corinthians 15:58)

AFFIRMATION                Apostle’s Creed, Ecumenical Version                             p. 14
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 again 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.

PRAYERS
Gracious God, all honor and glory and praise to you!
We continue to life to your throne of mercy and grace
The many who are suffering from the coronavirus
And from other diseases of body, mind, or spirit.
We pray for those grieving a loss
And for the loses we experience as a society.
We pray for those in transition,
For those graduating, retiring, or moving.
We pray for those giving of themselves for our benefit
In hospitals, stores, food industries,
warehouses and delivery services.
We pray for those struggling to work from home
Or just to stay home, when their personality type
Would prefer to be out and about every day.
We pray for those who feel disconnected,
And especially those who live alone.
We pray for those making difficult decisions in difficult times.
We pray for wisdom as decisions are made about re-openings.
We pray for common sense to remember safety precautions
We pray for those affected financially, for relief and help where needed.
We pray for hope and help and increased faith for all.

PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
We thank you for the reminders that you are still with us
As the sun rises and sets,
As the grass grows and flowers bloom.
We thank you for the food we have, the homes that protect us,
The friends and family we love, and the means to still communicate with them.
We thank you for the many working to help us
And for those whose words encourage us.
We thank you for music and stories and art to inspire us.
We thank you for these physical bodies such as they are now
And for the many things possible because of them.
We thank you for the promise of life beyond death
And the spiritual bodies we will enjoy in that new realm.
We thank you that both in this life and the next, we live with you.

THE LORD'S PRAYER

CHARGE & BLESSING
May you know the grace and peace and joy of our Lord.
May hope and love of God flow through you.
May you find God’s patience growing within you.
May you know God’s blessings surround you this and every day.
Amen.

POSTLUDE
Messages this season are based on This Risen Existence by Paula Gooder.

For the Easter Season video will be available of Kolleen leading worship, reading scripture, and sharing a message based on the resurrection passages throughout the New Testament, based on the devotional book  This Risen Existence by Paula Gooder. Thanks to our tech, Mike, for setting up recording and editing to video.

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Easter Worship May 10, 2020 - The Resurrection in the Gospel of John

5/9/2020

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Easter Worship May 3, 2020 - The Resurrection in the Gospel of Luke

5/2/2020

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You can watch the worship video by clinking on it. You can also expand it to full screen. Or just listen and follow along reading the text below.

Video

For the Easter Season video will be available of Kolleen leading worship, reading scripture, and sharing a message based on the resurrection passages throughout the New Testament, based on the devotional book This Risen Existence by Paula Gooder. Thanks to our tech, Mike, for setting up recording and editing to video

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Easter Worship May 31, 2020 - The Pentecost Story & What it Means

Easter Worship May 24, 2020 - The Ascension Story & What it Means

Easter Worship May 17, 2020 - The Resurrection According to Paul

Easter Worship May 10, 2020 - The Resurrection in the Gospel of John

Easter Worship May 3, 2020 - The Resurrection in the Gospel of Luke

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