Re-Visioning Worship + March 29, 2020

Licensing

Holy Trinity Lutheran Church is covered under the following licenses:

• CCLI: 1510407
• OneLicense: Annual License w/Podcasting, Category B average weekly attendance 26 to 100. A-732293 for Mar 19, 2020 – Apr 15, 2020
• Augsburg Fortress: SAS006846

In today’s gospel Jesus reveals his power over death by raising Lazarus from the dead. The prophet Ezekiel prophesies God breathing new life into dry bones. To those in exile or living in the shadows of death, these stories proclaim God’s promise of resurrection. In baptism we die with Christ that we might also be raised with him to new life. At the Easter Vigil we will welcome the newly baptized as we remember God’s unfailing promise in our baptism.

Centering Hymn: Veni Sancte Spiritus (ELW #406)

Refrain:
Veni Sancte Spiritus. Veni Sancte Spiritus.
(Holy Spirit, come to us. Holy Spirit, come to us.)

Come, Holy Spirit,
from heaven shine forth with your glorious light.
Veni Sancte Spiritus Come, Refrain

Father of the poor, come, generous Spirit, come,
light of our hearts.
Veni Sancte Spiritus Refrain

Come from the four winds, O Spirit, come breath of God;
disperse the shadows over us, renew and strengthen your people.
Veni Sancte Spiritus Refrain

Most kindly warming light! Enter the inmost depths of our hearts,
for we are faithful to you.
Without your presence we have nothing worthy, nothing pure.
Veni Sancte Spiritus Refrain

You are only comforter, Peace of the soul.
In the heat you shade us;
in our labour you refresh us, and in trouble you are our strength. Veni Sancte Spiritus Refrain.

On all who put their trust in you and receive you in faith,
shower all your gifts.
Grant that they may grow in you and persevere to the end.
Give them lasting joy!
Veni Sancte Spiritus Refrain.

Gathering Hymn: Christ, the Life of All the Living (ELW #339)

1 Christ, the life of all the living, 
Christ, the death of death, our foe,
Christ, yourself for me once giving 
to the darkest depths of woe:
through your suff’ring, death, and merit 
life eternal I inherit.
Thousand, thousand thanks are due, 
dearest Jesus, unto you.

2 You have suffered great affliction 
and have borne it patiently,
even death by crucifixion, 
fully to atone for me;
for you chose to be tormented 
that my doom should be prevented.
Thousand, thousand thanks are due, 
dearest Jesus, unto you.

3 Then, for all that bought my pardon,
for the sorrows deep and sore,
for the anguish in the garden,
I will thank you evermore;
thank you for the groaning, sighing, 
for the bleeding and the dying,
for that last triumphant cry,
praise you evermore on high.

Text: Ernst Christoph Homburg, 1605-1681; tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827-1878, alt.

Hymn of Praise: Glorify Thy Name (W&P #42)

Father, we love You
We worship and adore You
Glorify Thy Name in all the earth

Glorify Thy Name
Glorify Thy Name
Glorify Thy Name in all the earth

Jesus, we love You
We worship and adore
You Glorify Thy Name in all the earth

Glorify Thy Name
Glorify Thy Name
Glorify Thy Name in all the earth

Spirit, we love You
We worship and adore You
Glorify Thy Name in all the earth

Glorify Thy Name
Glorify Thy Name
Glorify Thy Name in all the earth

Opening Prayer

Almighty God, your Son came into the world to free us all from sin and death. Breathe upon us the power of your Spirit, that we may be raised to new life in Christ and serve you in righteousness all our days, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Readings

Ezekiel 37:1-14

+Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones is a promise that Israel as a nation, though dead in exile, will live again in their land through God’s life-giving spirit. Three times Israel is assured that through this vision they will know that “I am the Lord.”+

The First Reading comes from Ezekiel beginning at the 37th chapter.

¹The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. ²He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. ³He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” ⁴Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. ⁵Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. ⁶I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord.”
⁷So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. ⁸I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. ⁹Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” ¹⁰I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.
¹¹Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’ ¹²Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. ¹³And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. ¹⁴I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act, says the Lord.”

Word of God, Word of Life. Thanks be to God.

Psalm 130

+I wait for you, O Lord; in your word is my hope. (Ps. 130:5) +

Together we will read responsively Psalm 130.

¹Out of the depths
  I cry to you, O Lord;
²O Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication.
³If you were to keep watch over sins,
  O Lord, who could stand?
⁴Yet with you is forgiveness,
in order that you may be feared.
⁵I wait for you, O Lord; my soul waits;
  in your word is my hope.
⁶My soul waits for the Lord more than those who keep watch for the morning, more than those who keep watch for the morning.
⁷O Israel, wait for the Lord, for with the Lord there is steadfast love; with the Lord there is plenteous redemption.
⁸For the Lord shall redeem Israel
from all their sins. 

Romans 8:6-11

+For Paul, Christian spirituality entails living in the reality of the Holy Spirit. The driving force behind our actions and values is not our sinful desire for self-satisfaction but the very Spirit by which God raised Jesus from the dead and will also raise us from the dead. +

The Second Reading comes from Romans beginning at the 8th chapter.

⁶To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed it cannot, ⁸and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
⁹But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. ¹⁰But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. ¹¹If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.

Word of God, Word of Life. Thanks be to God.

Children’s Message

I invite you to check out an incredible devotional resource by Pastor Mark and Pastor Jesse, who are good friends of mine and ELCA pastors in Greensboro, NC. They’ve created Morning Watch as a daily devotion and singing time that they are posting daily. There is one for adults and one just for children. Check it out as well as the coloring pages I’ve linked here and posted to the Holy Trinity Facebook Page!

John 11:1-45

+Jesus is moved to sorrow when his friend Lazarus falls ill and dies. Then, in a dramatic scene, he calls his friend out of the tomb and restores him to life.+

The Holy Gospel according to John beginning at the 11th chapter. Glory to you oh Lord.

¹Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. ²Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. ³So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” ⁴But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” ⁵Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, ⁶after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

⁷Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” ⁸The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?” ⁹Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. ¹⁰But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them.” ¹¹After saying this, he told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.” ¹²The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.” ¹³Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. ¹⁴Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. ¹⁵For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” ¹⁶Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

¹⁷When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. ¹⁸Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, ¹⁹and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. ²⁰When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. ²¹Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²²But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.” ²³Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” ²⁴Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” ²⁵Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, ²⁶and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” ²⁷She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.”

²⁸When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” ²⁹And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. ³⁰Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. ³¹The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. ³²When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” ³³When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. ³⁴He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” ³⁵Jesus began to weep. ³⁶So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” ³⁷But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

³⁸Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. ³⁹Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” ⁴⁰Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” ⁴¹So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. ⁴²I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” ⁴³When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” ⁴⁴The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

⁴⁵Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.

The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ!

Sermon

Hymn of the Day: You Will Be Found (Dear Evan Hansen)

Special thanks to Brian Russell for arranging and recording this arrangement of You Will Be Found for worship this morning. We pray for artists and countless others who find their income impacted by Covid-19 and so I wanted to lift up this song from the Broadway Musical Dear Evan Hansen whose words felt particularly powerful this week as we look for home and strength in uncertainty in addition to our regular hymn of the day.

Have you ever felt like nobody was there?
Have you ever felt forgotten in the middle of nowhere?
Have you ever felt like you could disappear?
Like you could fall, and no one would hear?

Well, let that lonely feeling wash away
Maybe there’s a reason to believe you’ll be okay
‘Cause when you don’t feel strong enough to stand
You can reach, reach out your hand

And oh, someone will coming running
And I know, they’ll take you home

Even when the dark comes crashing through
When you need a friend to carry you
And when you’re broken on the ground
You will be found

So let the sun come streaming in
‘Cause you’ll reach up and you’ll rise again
Lift your head and look around
You will be found
You will be found
You will be found
You will be found
You will be found

There’s a place where we don’t have to feel unknown
And every time that you call out
You’re a little less alone
If you only say the word
From across the silence
Your voice is heard

And oh, someone will coming running
And I know, they’ll take you home

Even when the dark comes crashing through
When you need a friend to carry you
When you’re broken on the ground
You will be found

So let the sun come streaming in
‘Cause you’ll reach up and you’ll rise again
If you only look around
You will be found
You will be found
You will be found
You will be found

Out of the shadows
The morning is breaking
And all is new, all is new
It’s filling up the empty
And suddenly I see that
All is new, all is new

You are not alone
You are not alone
You are not alone
You are not alone
You are not alone
You are not alone

Even when the dark comes crashin’ through
When you need a friend to carry you
When you’re broken on the ground
You will be found!

So when the sun comes streaming in
‘Cause you’ll reach up and you’ll rise again
If you only look around
You will be found
You will be found
You will be found
You will be found
You will be found

Hymn of the Day: Jesus is a Rock in a Weary Land (ELW #333)

Refrain
Jesus is a rock in a weary land,
a weary land, a weary land;
my Jesus is a rock in a weary land,
a shelter in a time of storm.

1 No one can do like Jesus,
not a mumbling word he said;
he went walking down to Lazarus’ grave, 
and he raised him from the dead.  Refrain

2 When Jesus was on earth,
the flesh was very weak;
he took a towel and girded himself
and he washed his disciples’ feet.  Refrain

3 Yonder comes my Savior,
him whom I love so well;
he has the palm of victory
and the keys of death and hell.  Refrain

Text: African American spiritual

Prayers of the People

Turning our hearts to God who is gracious and merciful, we pray for the church, the world, and all who are in need.

A brief silence.

God of life, bind your faithful people into one body. Enliven the church with your Spirit and bless the work of those who work for its renewal. Accomplish your work of salvation in us and through us, for the sake of the world. Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.

God of life,  you have called us to be your hands and feet in this world. As we face this crisis together, help us remember to be mindful of how we speak to, live with, and treat one another. May we truly seek to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.  Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.

God of life, show redemption to all who watch and wait with eager expectation: those longing for wars to cease, those waiting for immigration paperwork to finalize, those seeking election, and those in dire need of humanitarian relief. Come quickly with your hope. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.

God of life, you weep with those who grieve. Unbind all who are held captive by illness, anxiety, despair, or pain especially for Laura, Kathy, Peter, Susan, Dorothy, Loraine, Diane, Harry, Cheryl, Vala, Maeve, Anita, Tracy, Justin, Judah, Jacqueline and we celebrate with Beth, Brian and Christian the birth of Catalina Ann on February 25th. We continue to pray for these and anyone we name silently in our hearts, aloud in our homes, or in the comments below. Fill us with compassion and empathy for those who struggle, rejoice with us for those who celebrate, and keep us faithful in prayer. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.

God of life, we give thanks for opportunities for this congregation to collaborate with our community in caring for the needs of our neighbors. Strengthen our ties with other local congregations, agencies, and services. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.

God of life, justice, safety and care, we pray for all medical professionals, caregivers, researchers, teachers, service and restaurant workers, store employees, first responders, law enforcement, school officials, those making decisions about fighting the new coronavirus. For the small business owner, the hourly wage worker, the uninsured, the undocumented and all those who will feel the economic impact of this pandemic on every level. Inspire those in position to develop better tests to diagnose the virus, vaccines to prevent it, and protocols and communication to eliminate the spread. May empathy be our guide. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.

God of life, you are our resurrection. We remember all those who have died and trust that, in you, they will live again. Breathe new life into our dry bones, that we, too, might live with you forever. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.

According to your steadfast love, O God, hear these and all our prayers as we commend them to you; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Offering

Please consider continuing to mail in your offering or giving online!  We continue to have expenses that need to be covered during this time. We are most grateful for your generosity.

Offertory Hymn We Are an Offering (ELW #692)

Thanksgiving for the Word

Let us pray.    

O God of justice and love, we give thanks to you that you illumine our way through life with the words of your Son. Give us the light we need, awaken us to the needs of others, and at the end bring all the world to your feast; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory forever. Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Lord, remember us in your kingdom and teach us to pray:

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 trespasses,     
as we forgive those who trespass against us;     
and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.     

For thine is the kingdom,
and the power,
and the glory,
forever and ever. Amen.

Benediction

Now is the acceptable time.   
Now is the day of salvation.   
Holy God, speaking, spoken, and inspiring,
☩ bless you, unbind you,   
and send you in love and in peace.    Amen.     

Sending Hymn: What Wondrous Love is This (ELW #666)

1 What wondrous love is this, 
O my soul, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this
that caused the Lord of bliss
to bear the dreadful curse 
for my soul, for my soul,
to bear the dreadful curse for my soul?

2 When I was sinking down, 
sinking down, sinking down,
when I was sinking down, sinking down,
when I was sinking down
beneath God’s righteous frown,
Christ laid aside his crown 
for my soul, for my soul,
Christ laid aside his crown for my soul.

3 To God and to the Lamb 
I will sing, I will sing;
to God and to the Lamb I will sing;
to God and to the Lamb,
who is the great I AM,
while millions join the theme, 
I will sing, I will sing,
while millions join the theme, I will sing.

4 And when from death I’m free, 
I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on;
and when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on;
and when from death I’m free, 
I’ll sing God’s love for me,
and through eternity 
I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on;
and through eternity I’ll sing on.

Text: North American folk hymn, 19th cent., alt.

Dismissal

What is our mission? Welcoming all to grow in faith; living Christ’s message of serving and loving neighbors near and far.

Go in Peace, share the Good News! Thanks be to God!