Maundy Thursday 18 April 2019
MAUNDY THURSDAY April 18, 2019 MAUNDY THURSDAY 7:00 P.M. Holy Communion Reflection Before Worship Join Him at the welcome table. Take off your shoes, dusty with worry and cares, Remove your coat, torn from strife and grief. Clasp the hand of your brother, your sister And let us open our hearts to the Savior s love. We will share the bread, broken for us. And drink the wine, poured out for our salvation. And we will see that the Lord, He is good. Let us join Him at the welcome table today. Bells Greeting Gathering Music Call to Worship: L: This is the message we have heard from Him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all. C: if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. -- 1 John 1:5, 7 Maundy Thursday Dialog L: Jesus spent His life teaching us the meaning of love. C: Through word and deed Jesus showed us how to love God and to love one another. L: He fed the hungry. C: He healed the sick. L: He invited the women and the children and the tax collectors and the sinners to come to His table. C: He broke bread with the least and the lost and shared the cup of redemption with them all. L: He crossed boundaries of race, nationality, ethnicity, gender, and class. He challenged religious authority, and He scoffed at arrogance and self-absorbed grandeur. C: He called out the hypocrites. He admonished the scribes and the Pharisees for their hardened hearts. L: He brought a simple message: Love God, love yourself, and love one another. C: We gather in the name of Jesus and remember the way that He showed us. We gather to remember not just His death, but His life. Prayer of Confession (inspired by 1 John 3:1) L: Amazing God, C: You have named us as Your children, but we confess that we are not always well-behaved offspring. We are selfish, and we do not play well with others. We throw tantrums when we do not get our own way, when we should be striving to do Your will. Forgive us, Holy Parent. 2
Teach us to be childlike instead of childish. Remind us to share, and direct us to make new friends. Show us how to be patient, and open our hearts and minds to following You more closely in all we do. We pray these things in the name of Christ Jesus. Declaration of Grace L: If we confess our sins, He who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. -- 1 John 1:9 C: God of full hearts: Your love can change us from scared people to children of grace. You can weed doubts from our hearts and plant seeds of joy in their place. You can silence the panic of our souls with the peace Jesus offers to each of us. Transform us into Your holy people, through the power of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. L: Hear then Christ's word of grace to us: Your sins are forgiven. C: Amen. Thanks be to God! Hymn: All Are Welcome Used by permission under CCLI # 2942830 Refrain: All are welcome friend and stranger at the banquet of the Savior All are welcome All are welcome here. From the woman who comes crying leaving tears at Jesus feet To the man who knows the right way, but cannot see Refrain From the ones who feel forgotten, to those who sense their place is gone To the ones who live in hunger, here you belong. Refrain Go into the streets and the cities to the farms and families Tell about the splendid table, God s mercy. Refrain Prayer of the Day L: O God, whose blessed Son made Himself known to His disciples in the breaking of bread: C: Open the eyes of our faith, that we may behold Him in all His redeeming work; who lives and reigns with You, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Acts 8:26-38 The Lord s angel said to Philip, Go south along the desert road that leads from Jerusalem to Gaza. So Philip left. An important Ethiopian official happened to be going along that road in his chariot. He was the chief treasurer for Candace, the Queen of Ethiopia. The official had gone to Jerusalem to worship and was now on his way home. He was sitting in his chariot, reading the book of the prophet Isaiah. The Spirit told Philip to catch up with the chariot. Philip ran up close and heard the man reading 3 aloud from the book of Isaiah. Philip asked him, Do you understand what you are reading?
The official answered, How can I understand unless someone helps me? He then invited Philip to come up and sit beside him. The man was reading the passage that said, He was led like a sheep on its way to be killed. He was silent as a lamb whose wool is being cut off, and he did not say a word. He was treated like a nobody and did not receive a fair trial. How can he have children, if his life is snatched away? The official said to Philip, Tell me, was the prophet talking about himself or about someone else? So Philip began at this place in the Scriptures and explained the good news about Jesus. As they were going along the road, they came to a place where there was some water. The official said, Look! Here is some water. Why can t I be baptized? He ordered the chariot to stop. Then they both went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. Reflection Hymn: Everybody Needs Jay Beech Used by permission under OneLicense.net #A-710831 Everybody needs a quiet place to pray; Everybody needs a quiet place to pray. Everybody needs a quiet place to think about the Father s grace; We all need a quiet place to pray. Everybody needs a place to call their home; Everybody needs a place to call their home. Everybody needs a homing place, and friends and family to embrace; We all need a place to call our home. Everybody needs someone to bear their load; Everybody needs someone to bear their load. Everybody needs someone to bear, a spotless lamb is hanging there; We all need someone to bear our load. Jesus has already borne your load. 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. Amen. 4
Prayers of the People L: Caring Christ C: touch us with Your compassion. L: You show us Your hands, C: so we may reach out to mend the broken; L: You show us Your feet, C: so we may walk with those the world passes by; L: You show us Your face, C: so we may know who our sisters and brothers look like. L: Teach us to love one another with that passion which comes from Your overflowing heart C: so those around us will recognize us as sisters and brothers, bound together by Your love not divided by our fears. Holy Communion Dialogue L: When the time arrived for Jesus to be lifted up; when all had been prepared, and He shared His last meal with His friends, the Lord, took the loaf, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to the disciples. C: When you eat the bread, remember Me. This is My body broken for you. L: When the meal was finished, the Lord took the cup, blessed it, and gave it to the disciples. C: When you drink the wine, remember Me. This is My blood shed for you. L: Now, as we gather at this table, we eat bread; we drink wine; and we remember the One Who died to bring us life. C: And we will keep sharing this meal until He returns. Amen. 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. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. (Holy Communion in silence) L: When the holy meal had been shared, the disciples began to argue over which one would be the greatest. Even here, at the end of their time together, they did not seem to understand what Jesus had been teaching them all along. He reminded them that to be great in the Kingdom of God meant to serve. After Jesus talk of betrayal, the disciples argument, and Jesus rebuke of them, the disciples seemed to be growing anxious. Peter proclaimed: C: Lord, I am ready to go with You to prison and to death. 5
L: And Jesus replied, I tell you, Peter, the cock will not crow this day until you have denied three times that you know Me. L: Afterwards, Jesus led His disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane. He asked them to pray for Him, for He wanted to be alone. There, Jesus prayed. He asked His friends to keep watch, but they kept falling asleep. He prayed for another way out. He prayed in anguish. He prayed as a man who could feel pain, who would be hurt by betrayal, who would be scarred by the scourge, and would bleed when nails were driven into His arms and legs. He prayed as a man who knew that if He followed God s will, He would be charged, convicted, mocked, humiliated, abandoned, and nailed to a cross. Knowing all of this full well He prayed, Not my will, but Yours. Then He stood up for all that He had lived for. When He got up from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not come to into the time of trial Offering Offertory Prayer: L: Holy one, C: Your heart abounds with gifts. Receive this offering as a sign of our trust in You and our intention to live surrounded by Your mercy, inspired by Your Spirit, open to the joy of Your presence, hospitable to one another, and generous toward Your world. Amen. Solo Voice 1 John 4:7-21 reminds us that in order to love God we must love our neighbor. We must love one another. If we do not do this, we do not love God. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God and God abides in them. This is the crux of the argument of 1 John: God is love, and we are imperfect, but we are made perfect by God s love for us, and we testify that we have seen God s love in Jesus Christ. Stripping of the Table (All of the items that adorn the Lord s Table, and all of the liturgical paraments are removed.) There will be no sending forth or postlude. People are asked to leave after the bell tolls in reflective silence, and return for Good Friday and Easter Sunday Worship. 6
A MAUNDY THURSDAY REFLECTION Wash me clean Where I judge others Where I dismiss others Where I abuse others Where I ignore others Where I ridicule others Where I use others Wash me clean Where I elevate myself Where I think only of myself Where I want only for myself Where I gather to myself Where I hold to myself Where I value only myself Wash me clean Where I seek for power Where I seek for control Where I seek for praise Where I seek for status Where I seek for fame Where I seek for wealth Wash me clean May I become at all times, both now and forever A protector for those without protection A guide for those who have lost their way A ship for those with oceans to cross A bridge for those with rivers to cross A sanctuary for those in danger A lamp for those without light A place of refuge for those who lack shelter And a servant to all in need. 7
PRAYER FOR CHILDREN It isn t enough God. It isn t enough that we learn of You and about Your dear Son, Jesus. We need much more. We want the true vine of Jesus to live and grow within us, and to bear good fruit; that fruit which can be shared with others. It isn t enough, God, to say these prayers. Please help us to become living prayers. In the name of Jesus. Amen! 8