January 20, nd Sunday after Epiphany

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1 10:45 a.m. worship Love the sinner! Hate the cliché? GOD MUST HAVE NEEDED ANOTHER ANGEL IN HEAVEN? REALLY? January 20, nd Sunday after Epiphany Does God take children away from their parents because there s a shortage of angels? Does God really cause children or our loved ones to die, or does God weep with us? What do you say to someone who has lost a loved one? What s helpful? What s hurtful? Jesus weeps at death, but also provides the hope of resurrection. Instead: Don t say a thing. Let your presence speak. But if you must speak let it be an expression of love. INTRODUCTION TO THEME ANNOUNCEMENTS BRIEF ORDER FOR CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Most merciful God, we confess that we are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves. We have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy name. Almighty God, in his mercy, has given his Son to die for us and, for his sake, forgives us all our sins. As a called and ordained minister of the Church of Christ, and by his authority, I therefore declare to you the entire forgiveness of all your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. ENTRANCE HYMN RED HYMNAL #666 What Wondrous Love is This (Words on Television Screens or Please Open Red Hymnal) GREETING The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. And also with you.

2 KYRIE PRAYER OF THE DAY Let us pray. God, help us to believe that, whenever we face loss and grief, you enter into the depths of our pain and bring us hope. Show us how we can be the presence of Christ for others, not by having to say the right thing, but by simply being present.

3 PEACE The peace of the Lord be with you always. And also with you. CHILDREN S TIME GOSPEL ACCLAMATION The Holy Gospel according to John, the 11 th chapter. Glory to you, O Lord. Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. 3 So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, "Lord, he whom you love is ill." 4 But when Jesus heard it, he said, "This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God's glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it." 17 When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. 21 Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him." 23 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." 24 Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." 25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" 27 She said to him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world." 32 When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. 34 He said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see." 35 Jesus began to weep. 36 So the Jews said, "See how he loved him!" 37 But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?" 38 Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39 Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days." 40 Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, "Father, I thank you for having heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me." 43 When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet

4 SERMON ANTHEM bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go." The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ. APOSTLES CREED I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. 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. WE WORSHIP GOD THROUGH OUR GIVING Today we worship our loving God whom we can depend upon to walk with us in times of grief. Often God works through ordinary people like you and me to bring comfort to others. At our church, lay ministers and prayer ministers are available to talk and pray with us, and grief groups help us through the grief process. Your gifts support all of these ministries and more. OFFERING

5 PRAYER OF BLESSING Let's pray. Lord, help us believe how much you love us, and how much we can love one another. Allow these gifts to truly make a difference in the life of someone we may never meet. Place a fire in our heart that burns passionately for everything that matters to you.. DIALOGUE Come to this table of mercy, where the risen Christ is present in bread and wine. We are hungry and thirsty, and our souls need to be fed with the bread of life and the cup of love. It is Christ himself who invites us here. We will eat the bread of salvation and drink the cup of the Lamb. WORDS OF INSTITUTION As often as we eat until he comes again. PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH Christ has died! Christ is risen! Christ will come again! 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 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.. COMMUNION The body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ strengthen you and keep you in his grace. POST-COMMUNION PRAYER

6 BLESSING SENDING SONG RED HYMNAL #661 I Love to Tell the Story (Words on Television Screens or Please Open Red Hymnal) BENEDICTION Go and live in the new life that Jesus brings, now and in the future. Go in peace and serve the Lord. Thanks be to God. POSTLUDE