Brave Thomas?
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
For March 26, 2023:
Brave Thomas?
by Katy Stenta
John 11:1-45
In the Scriptures
There is a strong case to be made for Thomas not to be Doubting Thomas but rather Brave Thomas. Thomas is the one willing to risk death to return to Judea. He is also the only one not hiding in a room when Jesus is resurrected, so he misses out on seeing Jesus. It seems like he is pretty brave then as well. Also, why is he called the twin, is it because he looks enough like Jesus to be nicknamed his twin? If so then it is even braver for him to be wandering around after Jesus has been crucified — Brave, Brave Thomas. Finally, he is brave enough to ask what everyone else has already received, to be able to see and touch Jesus Christ. He is only asking for a witness of the resurrection. It is brave to ask for what you want, is it not? How brave is it to ask for what you need? How different would our lives be if we asked for what we need? Is this not what Mary, or Mary and Martha were doing, asking for what their brother needed? (There is now some question if there were two women or one based on new translations. Please see my colleague Mary Austin’s beautiful article.) They too were brave. This entire story is about bravery? And isn’t Jesus also brave in showing his grief for Lazarus, showing the disciples that they too will be able to grieve when he is crucified? What a beautiful set up for Holy Week.
In the News
If the news in the country is depressing you, you can take your cue from Mr. Rogers and “Look for the helpers” because there are a lot of Brave Thomas’s through out the world — from soldiers volunteering in Ukraine, to women volunteering more than ever. In Mexico people are bravely moving abortion pills across the border to Texas where Americans so badly need them for the healthcare and safety of women. Also Senator John Fetterman has been open about his diagnosis of depression and his need for treatment. His openness has been both brave and healthy in a society where mental health needs to be both taken seriously and without stigma. 200 Kids walked out in Kentucky to fight the anti-Trans bills that are sweeping the country.
In the Sermon
Thomas discusses facing death, he thinks they are facing the threat of Roman soldiers. He is truly brave. So often we speak of Thomas as the one of doubt, but Thomas is the one to say out loud the things that are on the hearts of the disciples. This is truly a brave thing. Why do we not refer to Thomas as “Brave Thomas” instead of Doubting Thomas? I will admit that every year I campaign to rename him. The death that Jesus and his disciples face might be much scarier than their own, though, for it is the death of a beloved. Indeed, for Jesus it is the death of his adoptive and found family. It is the people who Jesus retreats to when he needs solace and rejuvenation. The bravery of Jesus and Thomas to go and face the death of a friend is huge. There is a great testimony about going to funerals by NPR. It is small and big at the same time. We who know that Lazarus is going to be raised look at the story differently, but for Thomas, it’s simply facing the death of the friend together, and on the third anniversary of the start of Covid, it holds a lot of weight.
SECOND THOUGHTS
Who’s Visible?
by Mary Austin
John 11:1-45
What if Martha was never there, in this resurrection story?
Scholar Elizabeth Schrader, in doing research on an early manuscript of John’s gospel, found a change in the original Greek, changing Mary’s name to Martha. Schrader explains, “Mary Magdalene’s original role in the Fourth Gospel has been divvied up, so that she now appears as three women in John. I’m not arguing that Martha didn’t exist - she definitely belongs in the Gospel of Luke. But I do not believe she belongs in the Gospel of John. There’s too much manuscript evidence, where problems appear around Martha in nearly every scene in John in which she appears.”
It almost makes the top of one’s head pop off, to imagine this well-known story with only Mary, not the sisterly duet saying the same thing to Jesus. What if only Mary is there to say, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died”?
Schrader began her research with Papyrus 66, which dates from about 200 CE. “The name ‘Mary’ has been changed to ‘Martha’ at John 11:21,” Schrader found. She notes, “in the first printing of the King James Bible, only one sister is mentioned in John 11:3, whereas a modern Bible would have two sisters in that verse. And in Papyrus 66, the oldest copy we have, there are problems with Martha in five verses straight. One verse has a ‘Maria’ changed to ‘Martha,’ and in another, it appears that the name ‘Maria’ is changed to ‘the sisters,’ altering one named woman into two unnamed women.”
These changes dilute the role of Mary Magdalene in the foundations of Christianity.
Schrader adds, “If Lazarus’s sister Mary is Mary Magdalene, then she becomes a far more authoritative figure in the Gospel of John. However, once Martha is added to this story, Lazarus’ sister Mary isn’t Mary Magdalene anymore - instead she’s a different Mary from a different gospel (Martha’s sister from Luke 10). We know from other early Christian texts that Mary Magdalene was a controversial figure in earliest Christianity. I think somebody was trying to downplay her prominence. The Gospel of John is a central text of Christianity, and I believe it intended to give Mary Magdalene a very prominent role. But she may have been just too much for the time.” With these changes, Schrader explains, Mary Magdalene is “one of many women interacting with Jesus, as opposed to her being a prominent figure in the entire second half of the Gospel of John.”
This story nudges us to wonder who else is missing from our narratives? Who else should we be seeing?
The difference in media coverage between white women who disappear and Black or Indigenous women is so well known that it has a name: Missing White Woman Syndrome. Not only do white women get more coverage, their stories are told more sympathetically. “Media coverage of a missing White woman tends to focus more on her role as a mother, daughter, or student, whereas stories about the disappearance of a woman of color typically focus more on an abusive boyfriend, for example, or her criminal history.” The numbers are telling. “CNN mentioned Gabby Petito’s case 346 times during a single week. 400 Indigenous women and girls went missing in Wyoming—the same state where Gabby Petito disappeared—between 2011 and 2020.”
The invasion of Ukraine deservedly gets our attention, and yet we miss the civil war in Cameroon. “Hundreds of thousands of people in Cameroon have been displaced by a five-year civil war pitting the French-speaking government against English-speaking separatists.” Last year, the Biden administration allowed in 40,000 refugees from Cameroon, after criticism that refugees from Ukraine were admitted quickly, in contrast to people from other countries. “The strife has displaced some two million people in Anglophone regions and has resulted in thousands of civilian deaths and widespread food insecurity. As of December, 4.4 million people in Cameroon required humanitarian assistance, according to the United Nations. The State Department has cataloged serious human rights violations perpetrated by the police and the military, including torture and extrajudicial killings.”
The crisis in Yemen is virtually invisible to us. According to the United Nations, “Yemen remains one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world, with around 23.4 million people in need of assistance, including almost 13 million children. After eight years of conflict, the national socioeconomic systems of Yemen remain on the edge of total collapse.” Schools have closed, leaving two million children out of school, and many more routinely hungry. “Yemen’s already dire hunger crisis is teetering on the edge of outright catastrophe. By late 2022, around 2.2 million children under 5 years of age were experiencing wasting, including more than 500,000 children suffering from severe wasting.”
We amplify some stories, and overlook others.
The story of Mary (and Martha?) is so well known to us, and it still has a surprise to reveal. In John’s gospel, Schrader argues, it should simply be the story of Mary Magdalene. This new research teaches us to keep examining every story, even the ones we think we know well, seeking new perspectives. Mary Magdalene, overlooked in this gospel for so many years, invites us to look carefully for the people in our world who are missing where they should be seen.
* * * * * *
WORSHIP
by George Reed
Call to Worship
One: Out of the depths we cry to you, O God.
All: Hear our voice! Let your ears be attentive to our supplications!
One: If you, O God, should mark iniquities, who could stand?
All: But there is forgiveness with you, so that you may be revered.
One: We wait for our God, and in God’s word do we hope;
All: For with God there is steadfast love, and great power to redeem.
OR
One: Come into the presence of the God of life.
All: We are weary and worn and need new life.
One: The God who created your life can make it new again.
All: O that we might truly believe that there is hope for us.
One: The God who created out of nothing can restore us.
All: We will trust in God’s power to make our lives new.
Hymns and Songs
I Sing the Almighty Power of God
UMH: 152
H82: 398
PH: 288
GTG: 32
NCH: 12
W&P: 31
Renew: 54
Love Divine, All Loves Excelling
UMH: 384
H82: 657
PH: 376
GTG: 366
AAHH: 440
NNBH: 65
NCH: 43
CH: 517
LBW: 315
ELW: 631
W&P: 358
AMEC: 455
Renew: 196
This Is a Day of New Beginnings
UMH: 518
NCH: 417
CH: 518
W&P: 355
Spirit of the Living God
UMH: 393
PH: 322
GTG: 288
AAHH: 320
NNBH: 133
NCH: 283
CH: 259
W&P: 492
CCB: 57
Renew: 90
Breathe on Me, Breath of God
UMH: 420
H82: 508
PH: 316
GTG: 286
AAHH: 317
NNBH: 126
NCH: 292
CH: 254
LBW: 488
W&P: 461
AMEC: 192
Let It Breathe on Me
UMH: 503
AAHH: 316
NNBH: 128
NCH: 288
CH: 260
AMEC: 295
Hope of the World
UMH: 178
H82: 472
PH: 360
GTG: 734
NCH: 46
CH: 538
LBW: 493
W&P: 404
Word of God, Come Down on Earth
UMH: 182
H82: 633
ELW: 510
Amazing Grace
UMH: 378
H82: 671
PH: 280
GTG: 649
AAHH: 271/272
NNBH: 161/163
NCH: 547/548
CH: 546
LBW: 448
ELW: 779
W&P: 422
AMEC: 226
STLT 205/206
Renew: 189
Come Down, O Love Divine
UMH: 475
H82: 516
PH: 313
GTG: 282
NCH: 289
CH: 582
LBW: 508
ELW: 804
W&P: 330
For the Gift of Creation
CCB: 67
Your Loving Kindness Is Better than Life
CCB: 26
Music Resources Key
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
GTG: Glory to God, The Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELW: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day/Collect
O God who is the very foundation upon which life exists:
Grant us the faith to trust that you are the giver of all life
that we might find in you new life, abundant and eternal;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise your name, O God, because you are the very source of all life and nothing lives apart from you. It is in you and in you alone that we find new life. May your life dwell in us abundantly and eternally. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
One: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our lack of faith in your ability to bring new life out of death.
All: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You are the very source of our life and yet we fail to trust you with our lives. You are the one who called creation out of nothingness and yet we fail to trust that you can redeem and reclaim our lives. You offer us life that is abundant and eternal but we seek after the pleasures of a fleeting existence. Forgive us and renew us that we might find true life in you. Amen.
One: God is the source of all life and desires to impart eternal life upon all of us. Receive God’s forgiveness, grace, and life and live fully into the Spirit that is given you.
Prayers of the People
Glorious and wondrous are you, O God, giver of life. From you all creatures receive breath and sustenance. In your life, we find our life.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You are the very source of our life and yet we fail to trust you with our lives. You are the one who called creation out of nothingness and yet we fail to trust that you can redeem and reclaim our lives. You offer us life that is abundant and eternal but we seek after the pleasures of a fleeting existence. Forgive us and renew us that we might find true life in you.
We offer to you our gratitude for all the ways in which you bring us life. We thank you for the earth that sustains us with food and all the necessities of our physical lives. We thank you for your Spirit that indwells us and gives us eternal life. We thank you for the scriptures that remind us that it is in you that we live and move and have our being. We thank you for Jesus who leads us into eternal life.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We lift up to your loving care all those who are in need and, especially, those who are struggling with issues that threaten their physical lives: disease, injury, violence, war, poverty, or addictions. We pray for those who struggle with issues that threaten their spiritual lives: hatred, poverty, loneliness, depression, mental and emotional issues. We pray for those who work selflessly to ease the burdens of others so that they may have better lives both physically and spiritually. We pray for ourselves that we may bring your life to others.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us to pray together saying:
Our Father....Amen.
(Or if the Our Father is not used at this point in the service.)
All this we ask in the name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
* * * * * *
CHILDREN'S SERMON
From Death to Life
by Elena Delhagen
John 11:1-45
You will need:
But it took Jesus several days to get from the desert to the home of Lazarus, where he was staying with his sisters, Martha and Mary. When he got there, everyone was crying because Lazarus had already died. Martha, Lazarus’ sister, came out to greet Jesus, and she was very angry. “Lord!” she said. “If you had been here, Lazarus would still be alive! But you weren’t here. And now Lazarus is gone.” Then Mary, the other sister, joined Martha. Mary was more sad than angry, and she was crying because her brother was gone. Jesus started to feel very sad, too. Remember: He loved Lazarus. He loved Mary and Martha, too! And Jesus was sad that they were feeling so upset. So Jesus wept, which means Jesus cried. Just like you and me whenever we get sad or frustrated!
Jesus then decided to go visit where Lazarus was buried and he told Mary and Martha to come with him. See, we know that when people die, they’re gone and we don’t get to see them anymore, right? But Jesus was the Son of God, and because he was God’s son, he was filled with the love and life of God. He was so full of life that being near him means we come alive, too!
So Jesus visited Lazarus’ tomb and you know what he did? He told the people to open up the tomb, and he called for Lazarus to come out!
What? — everyone was thinking — Lazarus is dead! He is not going to come out!
But sure enough, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, and Lazarus came out to see his sisters, Jesus, and everyone else in the crowd!
Give each child a dry erase marker. Explain to them that they are going to draw a picture of a man on the plate. Each child will use their marker to draw a figure representing Lazarus on the plate. Ask leading questions as they finish up, like, “Is this man alive? No, of course not! He’s just a picture!” or “Can this man move? Of course not! He’s not alive!”
Have children put their markers away and gather around the plate. Very slowly start dropping some water from the pitcher onto the plate’s surface. As you do, the drawings will start lifting off the surface! This is because the ink in a whiteboard marker includes an oily silicone, and oil always sits on top of the water. By gently blowing on the puddle, you can make the figures truly “come alive” — swishing and dancing in whatever direction you blow on the bubble.
Sadly, death is a part of life here on earth, but Jesus showed us in this story today that he truly is the resurrection and the life, just like the Bible says. When we belong to Jesus, we can count on his promise that he will raise us, too, to one day to live forever with him — just like Lazarus.
End with a simple prayer.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, March 26, 2023 issue.
Copyright 2023 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
- Brave Thomas? by Katy Stenta based on John 11:1-45.
- Second Thoughts: Who’s Visible by Mary Austin based on John 11:1-45.
- Worship resources by George Reed.
- Children's sermon: From Death to Life by Elena Delhagen based on John 11:1-45.
Brave Thomas?
by Katy Stenta
John 11:1-45
In the Scriptures
There is a strong case to be made for Thomas not to be Doubting Thomas but rather Brave Thomas. Thomas is the one willing to risk death to return to Judea. He is also the only one not hiding in a room when Jesus is resurrected, so he misses out on seeing Jesus. It seems like he is pretty brave then as well. Also, why is he called the twin, is it because he looks enough like Jesus to be nicknamed his twin? If so then it is even braver for him to be wandering around after Jesus has been crucified — Brave, Brave Thomas. Finally, he is brave enough to ask what everyone else has already received, to be able to see and touch Jesus Christ. He is only asking for a witness of the resurrection. It is brave to ask for what you want, is it not? How brave is it to ask for what you need? How different would our lives be if we asked for what we need? Is this not what Mary, or Mary and Martha were doing, asking for what their brother needed? (There is now some question if there were two women or one based on new translations. Please see my colleague Mary Austin’s beautiful article.) They too were brave. This entire story is about bravery? And isn’t Jesus also brave in showing his grief for Lazarus, showing the disciples that they too will be able to grieve when he is crucified? What a beautiful set up for Holy Week.
In the News
If the news in the country is depressing you, you can take your cue from Mr. Rogers and “Look for the helpers” because there are a lot of Brave Thomas’s through out the world — from soldiers volunteering in Ukraine, to women volunteering more than ever. In Mexico people are bravely moving abortion pills across the border to Texas where Americans so badly need them for the healthcare and safety of women. Also Senator John Fetterman has been open about his diagnosis of depression and his need for treatment. His openness has been both brave and healthy in a society where mental health needs to be both taken seriously and without stigma. 200 Kids walked out in Kentucky to fight the anti-Trans bills that are sweeping the country.
In the Sermon
Thomas discusses facing death, he thinks they are facing the threat of Roman soldiers. He is truly brave. So often we speak of Thomas as the one of doubt, but Thomas is the one to say out loud the things that are on the hearts of the disciples. This is truly a brave thing. Why do we not refer to Thomas as “Brave Thomas” instead of Doubting Thomas? I will admit that every year I campaign to rename him. The death that Jesus and his disciples face might be much scarier than their own, though, for it is the death of a beloved. Indeed, for Jesus it is the death of his adoptive and found family. It is the people who Jesus retreats to when he needs solace and rejuvenation. The bravery of Jesus and Thomas to go and face the death of a friend is huge. There is a great testimony about going to funerals by NPR. It is small and big at the same time. We who know that Lazarus is going to be raised look at the story differently, but for Thomas, it’s simply facing the death of the friend together, and on the third anniversary of the start of Covid, it holds a lot of weight.
SECOND THOUGHTSWho’s Visible?
by Mary Austin
John 11:1-45
What if Martha was never there, in this resurrection story?
Scholar Elizabeth Schrader, in doing research on an early manuscript of John’s gospel, found a change in the original Greek, changing Mary’s name to Martha. Schrader explains, “Mary Magdalene’s original role in the Fourth Gospel has been divvied up, so that she now appears as three women in John. I’m not arguing that Martha didn’t exist - she definitely belongs in the Gospel of Luke. But I do not believe she belongs in the Gospel of John. There’s too much manuscript evidence, where problems appear around Martha in nearly every scene in John in which she appears.”
It almost makes the top of one’s head pop off, to imagine this well-known story with only Mary, not the sisterly duet saying the same thing to Jesus. What if only Mary is there to say, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died”?
Schrader began her research with Papyrus 66, which dates from about 200 CE. “The name ‘Mary’ has been changed to ‘Martha’ at John 11:21,” Schrader found. She notes, “in the first printing of the King James Bible, only one sister is mentioned in John 11:3, whereas a modern Bible would have two sisters in that verse. And in Papyrus 66, the oldest copy we have, there are problems with Martha in five verses straight. One verse has a ‘Maria’ changed to ‘Martha,’ and in another, it appears that the name ‘Maria’ is changed to ‘the sisters,’ altering one named woman into two unnamed women.”
These changes dilute the role of Mary Magdalene in the foundations of Christianity.
Schrader adds, “If Lazarus’s sister Mary is Mary Magdalene, then she becomes a far more authoritative figure in the Gospel of John. However, once Martha is added to this story, Lazarus’ sister Mary isn’t Mary Magdalene anymore - instead she’s a different Mary from a different gospel (Martha’s sister from Luke 10). We know from other early Christian texts that Mary Magdalene was a controversial figure in earliest Christianity. I think somebody was trying to downplay her prominence. The Gospel of John is a central text of Christianity, and I believe it intended to give Mary Magdalene a very prominent role. But she may have been just too much for the time.” With these changes, Schrader explains, Mary Magdalene is “one of many women interacting with Jesus, as opposed to her being a prominent figure in the entire second half of the Gospel of John.”
This story nudges us to wonder who else is missing from our narratives? Who else should we be seeing?
The difference in media coverage between white women who disappear and Black or Indigenous women is so well known that it has a name: Missing White Woman Syndrome. Not only do white women get more coverage, their stories are told more sympathetically. “Media coverage of a missing White woman tends to focus more on her role as a mother, daughter, or student, whereas stories about the disappearance of a woman of color typically focus more on an abusive boyfriend, for example, or her criminal history.” The numbers are telling. “CNN mentioned Gabby Petito’s case 346 times during a single week. 400 Indigenous women and girls went missing in Wyoming—the same state where Gabby Petito disappeared—between 2011 and 2020.”
The invasion of Ukraine deservedly gets our attention, and yet we miss the civil war in Cameroon. “Hundreds of thousands of people in Cameroon have been displaced by a five-year civil war pitting the French-speaking government against English-speaking separatists.” Last year, the Biden administration allowed in 40,000 refugees from Cameroon, after criticism that refugees from Ukraine were admitted quickly, in contrast to people from other countries. “The strife has displaced some two million people in Anglophone regions and has resulted in thousands of civilian deaths and widespread food insecurity. As of December, 4.4 million people in Cameroon required humanitarian assistance, according to the United Nations. The State Department has cataloged serious human rights violations perpetrated by the police and the military, including torture and extrajudicial killings.”
The crisis in Yemen is virtually invisible to us. According to the United Nations, “Yemen remains one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world, with around 23.4 million people in need of assistance, including almost 13 million children. After eight years of conflict, the national socioeconomic systems of Yemen remain on the edge of total collapse.” Schools have closed, leaving two million children out of school, and many more routinely hungry. “Yemen’s already dire hunger crisis is teetering on the edge of outright catastrophe. By late 2022, around 2.2 million children under 5 years of age were experiencing wasting, including more than 500,000 children suffering from severe wasting.”
We amplify some stories, and overlook others.
The story of Mary (and Martha?) is so well known to us, and it still has a surprise to reveal. In John’s gospel, Schrader argues, it should simply be the story of Mary Magdalene. This new research teaches us to keep examining every story, even the ones we think we know well, seeking new perspectives. Mary Magdalene, overlooked in this gospel for so many years, invites us to look carefully for the people in our world who are missing where they should be seen.
* * * * * *
WORSHIPby George Reed
Call to Worship
One: Out of the depths we cry to you, O God.
All: Hear our voice! Let your ears be attentive to our supplications!
One: If you, O God, should mark iniquities, who could stand?
All: But there is forgiveness with you, so that you may be revered.
One: We wait for our God, and in God’s word do we hope;
All: For with God there is steadfast love, and great power to redeem.
OR
One: Come into the presence of the God of life.
All: We are weary and worn and need new life.
One: The God who created your life can make it new again.
All: O that we might truly believe that there is hope for us.
One: The God who created out of nothing can restore us.
All: We will trust in God’s power to make our lives new.
Hymns and Songs
I Sing the Almighty Power of God
UMH: 152
H82: 398
PH: 288
GTG: 32
NCH: 12
W&P: 31
Renew: 54
Love Divine, All Loves Excelling
UMH: 384
H82: 657
PH: 376
GTG: 366
AAHH: 440
NNBH: 65
NCH: 43
CH: 517
LBW: 315
ELW: 631
W&P: 358
AMEC: 455
Renew: 196
This Is a Day of New Beginnings
UMH: 518
NCH: 417
CH: 518
W&P: 355
Spirit of the Living God
UMH: 393
PH: 322
GTG: 288
AAHH: 320
NNBH: 133
NCH: 283
CH: 259
W&P: 492
CCB: 57
Renew: 90
Breathe on Me, Breath of God
UMH: 420
H82: 508
PH: 316
GTG: 286
AAHH: 317
NNBH: 126
NCH: 292
CH: 254
LBW: 488
W&P: 461
AMEC: 192
Let It Breathe on Me
UMH: 503
AAHH: 316
NNBH: 128
NCH: 288
CH: 260
AMEC: 295
Hope of the World
UMH: 178
H82: 472
PH: 360
GTG: 734
NCH: 46
CH: 538
LBW: 493
W&P: 404
Word of God, Come Down on Earth
UMH: 182
H82: 633
ELW: 510
Amazing Grace
UMH: 378
H82: 671
PH: 280
GTG: 649
AAHH: 271/272
NNBH: 161/163
NCH: 547/548
CH: 546
LBW: 448
ELW: 779
W&P: 422
AMEC: 226
STLT 205/206
Renew: 189
Come Down, O Love Divine
UMH: 475
H82: 516
PH: 313
GTG: 282
NCH: 289
CH: 582
LBW: 508
ELW: 804
W&P: 330
For the Gift of Creation
CCB: 67
Your Loving Kindness Is Better than Life
CCB: 26
Music Resources Key
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
GTG: Glory to God, The Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELW: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day/Collect
O God who is the very foundation upon which life exists:
Grant us the faith to trust that you are the giver of all life
that we might find in you new life, abundant and eternal;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise your name, O God, because you are the very source of all life and nothing lives apart from you. It is in you and in you alone that we find new life. May your life dwell in us abundantly and eternally. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
One: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our lack of faith in your ability to bring new life out of death.
All: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You are the very source of our life and yet we fail to trust you with our lives. You are the one who called creation out of nothingness and yet we fail to trust that you can redeem and reclaim our lives. You offer us life that is abundant and eternal but we seek after the pleasures of a fleeting existence. Forgive us and renew us that we might find true life in you. Amen.
One: God is the source of all life and desires to impart eternal life upon all of us. Receive God’s forgiveness, grace, and life and live fully into the Spirit that is given you.
Prayers of the People
Glorious and wondrous are you, O God, giver of life. From you all creatures receive breath and sustenance. In your life, we find our life.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You are the very source of our life and yet we fail to trust you with our lives. You are the one who called creation out of nothingness and yet we fail to trust that you can redeem and reclaim our lives. You offer us life that is abundant and eternal but we seek after the pleasures of a fleeting existence. Forgive us and renew us that we might find true life in you.
We offer to you our gratitude for all the ways in which you bring us life. We thank you for the earth that sustains us with food and all the necessities of our physical lives. We thank you for your Spirit that indwells us and gives us eternal life. We thank you for the scriptures that remind us that it is in you that we live and move and have our being. We thank you for Jesus who leads us into eternal life.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We lift up to your loving care all those who are in need and, especially, those who are struggling with issues that threaten their physical lives: disease, injury, violence, war, poverty, or addictions. We pray for those who struggle with issues that threaten their spiritual lives: hatred, poverty, loneliness, depression, mental and emotional issues. We pray for those who work selflessly to ease the burdens of others so that they may have better lives both physically and spiritually. We pray for ourselves that we may bring your life to others.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us to pray together saying:
Our Father....Amen.
(Or if the Our Father is not used at this point in the service.)
All this we ask in the name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
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CHILDREN'S SERMONFrom Death to Life
by Elena Delhagen
John 11:1-45
You will need:
- a flat, smooth dinner plate that is either white or clear
- dry erase markers (one for each child)
- a small pitcher filled with water
But it took Jesus several days to get from the desert to the home of Lazarus, where he was staying with his sisters, Martha and Mary. When he got there, everyone was crying because Lazarus had already died. Martha, Lazarus’ sister, came out to greet Jesus, and she was very angry. “Lord!” she said. “If you had been here, Lazarus would still be alive! But you weren’t here. And now Lazarus is gone.” Then Mary, the other sister, joined Martha. Mary was more sad than angry, and she was crying because her brother was gone. Jesus started to feel very sad, too. Remember: He loved Lazarus. He loved Mary and Martha, too! And Jesus was sad that they were feeling so upset. So Jesus wept, which means Jesus cried. Just like you and me whenever we get sad or frustrated!
Jesus then decided to go visit where Lazarus was buried and he told Mary and Martha to come with him. See, we know that when people die, they’re gone and we don’t get to see them anymore, right? But Jesus was the Son of God, and because he was God’s son, he was filled with the love and life of God. He was so full of life that being near him means we come alive, too!
So Jesus visited Lazarus’ tomb and you know what he did? He told the people to open up the tomb, and he called for Lazarus to come out!
What? — everyone was thinking — Lazarus is dead! He is not going to come out!
But sure enough, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, and Lazarus came out to see his sisters, Jesus, and everyone else in the crowd!
Give each child a dry erase marker. Explain to them that they are going to draw a picture of a man on the plate. Each child will use their marker to draw a figure representing Lazarus on the plate. Ask leading questions as they finish up, like, “Is this man alive? No, of course not! He’s just a picture!” or “Can this man move? Of course not! He’s not alive!”
Have children put their markers away and gather around the plate. Very slowly start dropping some water from the pitcher onto the plate’s surface. As you do, the drawings will start lifting off the surface! This is because the ink in a whiteboard marker includes an oily silicone, and oil always sits on top of the water. By gently blowing on the puddle, you can make the figures truly “come alive” — swishing and dancing in whatever direction you blow on the bubble.
Sadly, death is a part of life here on earth, but Jesus showed us in this story today that he truly is the resurrection and the life, just like the Bible says. When we belong to Jesus, we can count on his promise that he will raise us, too, to one day to live forever with him — just like Lazarus.
End with a simple prayer.
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The Immediate Word, March 26, 2023 issue.
Copyright 2023 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
