Guide for Home Worship
April 12, 2020
The following page will take you through the order of worship for this Sunday. To access the recorded songs and sermon, use the embedded audio players in each section.
Please note: the song and sermon audio may not be available until Saturday evening.
Time of Reflection
“No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life.”
~ Albert Einstein (1879-1955), famed theoretical physicist
“Things aren’t always what they seem. It’s possible, in a time of hardship, for the refinement of grace to look like the enemy’s triumph.”
~ Paul David Tripp, contemporary pastor and author
“The will of God is never exactly what you expect it to be. It may seem to be much worse, but in the end it’s going to be a lot better and a lot bigger.”
~ Elisabeth Elliot (1926-2015), Christian missionary, author and speaker
“No matter how devastating our struggles, disappointments, and troubles are, they are only temporary. No matter what happens to you, no matter the depth of tragedy or pain you face, no matter how death stalks you and your loved ones, the Resurrection promises you a future of immeasurable good.”
~ Josh McDowell (1939-present), Christian apologist and writer
“The friends of Jesus saw him and heard him only a few times after that Easter morning, but their lives were completely changed. What seemed to be the end proved to be the beginning; what seemed to be a cause for fear proved to be a cause for courage; what seemed to be defeat proved to be victory; and what seemed to be the basis for despair proved to be the basis for hope. Suddenly a wall becomes a gate, and although we are not able to say with much clarity or precision what lies beyond the gate, the tone of all that we do and say on our way to the gate changes drastically.”
~ Henri Nouwen (1932-1996), Dutch Catholic priest, professor, writer and theologian
“Death and resurrection are what the story is about and had we but eyes to see it, this has been hinted on every page, met us, in some disguise, at every turn, and even been muttered in conversations between such minor characters (if they are minor characters) as the vegetables.”
~ C.S. Lewis (1898-1963), British novelist, theologian and Christian apologist
Opening Prayer
(select someone from your group to open your service in prayer)
Call to Worship
adapted from 1 Corinthians 15
LEADER: Christ is risen!
PEOPLE: He is risen, indeed!
LEADER: Death is swallowed up in victory.
PEOPLE: O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?
LEADER: The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
PEOPLE: But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
LEADER: Christ is risen!
PEOPLE: He is risen, indeed!
Songs
(sing as a group or sing along to recorded versions)
CHRIST THE LORD IS RISEN TODAY
(Charles Wesley, 1739)
Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia!
Sons of men and angels say: Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!
Sing, ye heav’ns, and earth reply. Alleluia!
Lives again our glorious King: Alleluia!
Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!
Dying once, He all doth save: Alleluia!
Where thy victory, O grave? Alleluia!
Love’s redeeming work is done, Allelulia!
Fought the fight the battle won; Alleluia!
Death in vain forbids Him rise; Alleluia!
Christ has opened Paradise. Alleluia!
Soar we now, where Christ has led, Alleluia!
Following our exalted Head; Alleluia!
Made like Him, like Him we rise; Alleluia!
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies. Alleluia!
PUBLIC DOMAIN
Responsive Reading:
Psalm 30 (ESV) A Song of Victory by Jesus, Son of David
LEADER: I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up
and have not let my foes rejoice over me.
PEOPLE: O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,
and you have healed me.
O Lord, you have brought up my soul from Sheol;
you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.
LEADER: Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints,
and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger is but for a moment,
and his favor is for a lifetime.
PEOPLE: Weeping may tarry for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.
As for me, I said in my prosperity,
“I shall never be moved.”
LEADER: By your favor, O Lord,
you made my mountain stand strong;
you hid your face;
I was dismayed.
PEOPLE To you, O Lord, I cry,
and to the Lord I plead for mercy:
LEADER: “What profit is there in my death,
if I go down to the pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it tell of your faithfulness?”
PEOPLE: “Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me!
O Lord, be my helper!”
LEADER: You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
you have loosed my sackcloth
and clothed me with gladness,
that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.
ALL: O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!
HERE IS LOVE
(William Rees, 1855; William Edwards, 1915; Matt Giles, Vell Rives)
Here is love vast as the ocean,
Loving-kindness as the flood,
When the Prince of Life, our ransom,
Shed for us His precious blood.
Who His love will not remember?
Who can cease to sing His praise?
He can never be forgotten
Throughout heav’n’s eternal days.
On the Mount of Crucifixion,
Fountains opened deep and wide;
Through the flood-gates of God’s mercy
Flowed a vast and gracious tide.
Grace and love like mighty rivers
Poured incessant from above;
Heaven’s peace and perfect justice
Kissed a guilty world in love.
Here is love that conquered evil:
Christ, the firstborn from the grave;
Death has failed to be found equal
To the life of Him Who saves.
In the valley of our darkness
Dawned His everlasting light;
Perfect love in glorious radiance
Has repelled death’s hellish night.
That same love beyond all measure,
Mocked and slain by hateful men,
Lives and reigns in resurrection
And can never die again.
Here is love for all the ages,
Radiant Sun of Heav’n He stands,
Calling home His Father’s children,
Holding forth His wounded hands.
Here is love, vast as the heavens;
Countless as the stars above
Are the souls that He has ransomed,
Precious daughters, treasured sons.
We are called to feast forever
On a love beyond our time;
Glorious Father, Son, and Spirit
Now with man are intertwined.
©2018 Sovereign Grace Worship (Capitol CMG Publishing). CCLI #1791178
Sharing
(as a lead into the Prayer Time, as a group share how you are feeling and what you are learning; below are suggested questions)
- What’s one thing that God has been teaching you in the midst of this current pandemic?
- How do you see God at work within the current situation (personally or broadly)?
- In what ways can we be praising God at this time?
Prayer Time
(have an open time of prayer or appoint one or two to pray)
- Identify and pray about things that you are presently “heartbroken” over
- Offer up praise and thanksgiving to God
- Express your needs to God
Listen to Sermon
“Brokenhearted Hope”
preached by Pastor Doug Cooper
John 11:1-53 (NIV)
1 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) 3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”
4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, 7 and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”
8 “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?”
9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. 10 It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.”
11 After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”
12 His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” 13 Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.
14 So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”
16 Then Thomas (also known as Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, 19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
28 After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked.
“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.
35 Jesus wept.
36 Then 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 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said.
“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”
40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”
43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.
46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.
“What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”
49 Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! 50 You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”
51 He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, 52 and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. 53 So from that day on they plotted to take his life.
Sharing Time
(have everyone share one thing that struck them from the sermon)
Confession of Faith
based on 1 Corinthians 15
LEADER: But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
PEOPLE: And so, we proclaim in confident hope:
“Death is swallowed up in victory
O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
LEADER: The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
PEOPLE: But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!
Song
(sing as a group or sing along to recorded versions)
IN CHRIST ALONE
(Stuart Townend, Keith Getty)
In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My comforter, my all in all,
Here in the love of Christ I stand.
In Christ alone! – who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones he came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.
There in the ground his body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave he rose again!
And as he stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His, and He is mine –
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.
No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from his hand,
Till he returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand.
©2001 Thankyou Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing) CCLI#1791178