*Call to Worship
The
prophet asks: Can our soul-weary bones live again?
O God, you know!
We
ask: Can we dance again after mourning, loss and grief?
O God, you know!
The
gift is sure and unmistakable:
God’s breath poured out as new life for
weary souls!
Let
us celebrate the gift of God’s new life,
And come to worship God in laughter and
dancing!
Prayer of Confession
Revitalizing
God,
your power goes far beyond our
own,
and yet still we act as though the
pains of this world
have final claim upon us.
We give in to the despair and
hopelessness of death,
not trusting in your ability
to call forth new life from the tombs
of our lives.
Forgive us for doubting your
power
to raise up new life in the midst of
all the deaths we experience.
Forgive us for wanting to limit
you
to “the last day” or “the world beyond
this one”,
not trusting you to move and act
among us, within us, through us.
Forgive us, and open our eyes
to the wonder of new life sprouting
into being in our very midst.
Silent Reflection
Assurance of Pardon
“Come
out,” Jesus calls,
and his word unbinds us from the oppressive weight of our past
and pushes away the rocks that close us off from love.
We are made free in the spirit of God, and forgiven all our sins.
May God’s name always be praised from our lips.
Scripture Readings
Psalter Lesson: Psalm 130
Gospel Lesson: John 11:1-45
*The Apostles Creed
I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth:
And in Jesus Christ His only Son, our Lord; who was conceived
by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under
Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried; He descended into hades;
the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven,
and sitteth on the right hand of God, the Father Almighty;
from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian church,
the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
*Benediction
Come out! Jesus commands,
And calls us from the tombs of our existence
into the brightness of a new day.
Come out! Jesus cries,
And unbinds us from the chains of our past.
Come out! Jesus calls,
And entices us into a world filled with grace and possibility.
So:Go out!
Into a world that needs our life, our breath, our spirit!
Go out!
Into a world that needs the Spirit of God,
carried on our lips and in our loving arms.
Go out!
Into the world to live as God’s resurrected people!
Go out: and go on the breath of God’s holy wind!