For the week of November 3 – All Saints Sunday
Morning Prayer: Almighty God, in Your keeping there is shelter from the storm, and in Your mercy there is comfort for the sorrows of life. Hear now our prayers for us who mourn and are heavy laden. Give to us the strength to bear and do Your will. Lighten our darkness with Your love. Enable us to see beyond the things of this mortal world holding on to the promise of the eternal. Help us to know that Your care enfolds all Your people, You are our refuge and strength. Amen. (UM Book of Worship- adapted)
Opening Hymn: #711 For All the Saints
- For all the saints, who from their labors rest, who thee by faith before the world confessed,
Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest. Alleluia, Alleluia! - Thou wast their rock, their fortress, and their might;
Thou Lord, their captain in the well-fought fight;
Thou in the darkness drear, their one true light. Alleluia, Alleluia! - O may Thy soldiers, faithful, true, and bold, fight as the saints who nobly fought of old,
and win with them the victor's crown of gold. Alleluia, Alleluia! - O blest communion, fellowship divine! We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
yet all are one in Thee, for all are Thine. Alleluia, Alleluia! - And when the strife is fierce, the warfare long, steals on the ear the distant triumph song,
and hearts are brave again, and arms are strong. Alleluia, Alleluia! - From earth's wide bounds, from ocean's farthest coast,
through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,
singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost: Alleluia, Alleluia!
Isaiah 25:6-9 (CEB)
6 On this mountain, the Lord of heavenly forces will prepare for all peoples
a rich feast, a feast of choice wines, of select foods rich in flavor, of choice wines well refined.
7 He will swallow up on this mountain the veil that is veiling all peoples,
the shroud enshrouding all nations.
8 He will swallow up death forever. The Lord God will wipe tears from every face;
He will remove His people’s disgrace from off the whole earth, for the Lord has spoken.
9 They will say on that day,
“Look! This is our God, for whom we have waited— and He has saved us!
This is the Lord, for whom we have waited; let’s be glad and rejoice in His salvation!”
Prayers of Intercession: Thank You, Lord, for hearing our prayers for those dear to our hearts. We now pray as You have taught us: 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 sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us, not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Offering spotlight: Thank you for giving your tithes to Lightstreet United Methodist Church, so that we can offer our space during the week for community use. Columbia County Traveling Library is so grateful to have space for their used book sale. This week there are actually 4 community groups using our facilities. What an awesome place, and an awesome responsibility to live and work in the community of Lightstreet.
Offering prayer: Compassionate God, who weeps with us and offers us eternal hope, we present our gifts with grateful hearts. Just as You called Lazarus from the tomb, call us to new life and purpose through our giving. Use these offerings to build Your kingdom and bring comfort to the grieving and light to those in darkness. May our contributions reflect Your love and grace, transforming our community into a place of hope and renewal. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
LITANY OF REMEMBRANCE
Living God, our Guide and Guardian, Who sits on the throne and delivers us into eternal life, we give You thanks for the saints of every time, tribe, and tongue who now rest in the shelter of Your embrace. We set aside this moment to remember those saints who are dear and precious to us who have died and entered into glory during the last twelve months.
Charles Kocher, Jon Turner, Annie Seidel, and Judy Bogert
We bless You for the life and love of these dear saints, and rejoice for them that they have entered into the fullness of life in Your presence. We also remember those saints who we hold in our hearts who have not been with us for some time, yet whose life and witness continue to form and shape us as Your disciples. We honor them now by lifting their names aloud or in our hearts.
On this All Saints Sunday, we also remember that we too are living saints, members of the family of God with all the saints of the past, the present, and the future. We are God's children. What we shall be has not yet been revealed; but we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. So today and every day, may we put on Christ and live as saints who tend the poor, comfort the mourners, learn from the meek, affirm those who seek righteousness, offer mercy alongside the merciful, and work for peace with the peacemakers until Christ comes in final victory and we feast as the family of God at His heavenly banquet. Amen.
Hymn of preparation: #707 Hymn of Promise
- In the bulb there is a flower; in the seed, an apple tree;
In cocoons, a hidden promise: butterflies will soon be free!
In the cold and snow of winter there’s a spring that waits to be,
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.
- There’s a song in every silence, seeking word and melody;
There’s a dawn in every darkness, bringing hope to you and me.
From the past will come the future; what it holds, a mystery,
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.
- In our end is our beginning; in our time, infinity;
In our doubt there is believing; in our life, eternity,
In our death, a resurrection; at the last, a victory,
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.
Scripture: John 11:17-44 (CEB)
17 When Jesus arrived, He found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Bethany was a little less than two miles from Jerusalem. 19 Many Jews had come to comfort Martha and Mary after their brother’s death. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet Him, while Mary remained in the house. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died. 22 Even now I know that whatever You ask God, God will give You.”
23 Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 Martha replied, “I know that he will rise in the resurrection on the last day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though they die. 26 Everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”
27 She replied, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, God’s Son, the one who is coming into the world.”
28 After she said this, she went and spoke privately to her sister Mary, “The teacher is here and He’s calling for you.” 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to Jesus. 30 He hadn’t entered the village but was still in the place where Martha had met Him. 31 When the Jews who were comforting Mary in the house saw her get up quickly and leave, they followed her. They assumed she was going to mourn at the tomb.
32 When Mary arrived where Jesus was and saw Him, she fell at His feet and said, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.”
33 When Jesus saw her crying and the Jews who had come with her crying also, He was deeply disturbed and troubled. 34 He asked, “Where have you laid him?”
They replied, “Lord, come and see.”
35 Jesus began to cry. 36 The Jews said, “See how much He loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “He healed the eyes of the man born blind. Couldn’t He have kept Lazarus from dying?”
38 Jesus was deeply disturbed again when He came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone covered the entrance. 39 Jesus said, “Remove the stone.”
Martha, the sister of the dead man, said, “Lord, the smell will be awful! He’s been dead four days.”
40 Jesus replied, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believe, you will see God’s glory?” 41 So they removed the stone. Jesus looked up and said, “Father, thank You for hearing Me. 42 I know You always hear Me. I say this for the benefit of the crowd standing here so that they will believe that You sent Me.” 43 Having said this, Jesus shouted with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his feet bound and his hands tied, and his face covered with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Untie him and let him go.”
Message: Pastor Becky
We all want to believe in a good death. We all desire a good death. We want the one that comes at the end of a very long life, the one where Jesus meets us in our sleep and we awaken in the presence of God. We want it for ourselves and we should desire it for others, yet we live in a broken world.
Death shows up in varying forms, mostly like a thief, taking our loved ones without notice. Or showing up way too late to mitigate pain and suffering. And it’s in those times we question where Jesus was in those moments. Mary and Martha did. The community that surrounded them questioned it also.
They ask the questions we want answers to, they make the accusations we want to make. They voice the lament, “Lord, if You were here, my brother would not have died.” Mary and Martha felt close enough to Jesus to voice it aloud. The mourners go a step further and say, “He healed the blind, couldn’t He have kept Lazarus from dying?”
All human responses, all valid questions to be asked. They show the gulf between us and God. They illustrate our inability to comprehend why. To be honest, we’ve said or at the very least, thought the same thoughts. In essence, God – Why did You ignore my plight? How could You just turn away? The book of Psalms is full of these laments, the words we want to say yet are too afraid to speak.
Psalm 6:3-4: My whole body is completely terrified. But You, Lord! How long will it last? Come back to me, Lord! Deliver me! Save me for the sake of Your faithful love!
Psalm 22:1-2: My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning. O my God, I cry by day, but You do not answer, and by night, but I have no rest.
Questions are our human reaction to disorientation and the death of our loved one is disorientating. And I want you to know, questions don’t mean you don’t have faith or that you doubt Jesus’ promises. Questions posed to God, whether we voice them only to God or we voice them to each other – are prayers. The questions keep us connected to God and our community, which is precisely what we need in the face of disorientation – a safe haven. A sheltered place from the chaos going on around us, because even if our loved one dies a good death, there is still the fact they are gone from our presence. We need to have the community to continue to speak the messages of salvation to us, to fill us with Jesus’s words.
John 11:25-26: I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though they die. Every one who lives and believes in Me will never die.
John 14:2-4: In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way where I am going.
Each of us has Jesus’ words etched in our hearts and minds, maybe we can’t cite the exact address or the exact wording. Yet, we possess the words of comfort we cling to and we are to share them with each other. We are to speak Jesus’s words to remind each other of the great love Jesus has for us. We share them to ease, not erase, our grief, but to hang on to. So we can walk together surrounded by our great cloud of witnesses. Those whose lives have shaped our own lives and have shaped the ministries of Lightstreet United Methodist Church.
We can, even in sorrow, praise God for the wondrous gift of those who now rest from their labors as they continue with us on our course of faith.
Closing Hymn: #723 Shall We Gather at the River
- Shall we gather at the river, where bright angel feet have trod,
With its crystal tide forever flowing by the throne of God?
Refrain: Yes, we’ll gather at the river, the beautiful, the beautiful river;
Gather with the saints at the river that flows by the throne of God.
- On the margin of the river, washing up its silver spray,
We will walk and worship ever, all the happy golden day.
- Ere we reach the shining river, lay we every burden down;
Grace our spirits will deliver, and provide a robe and crown.
- Soon we’ll reach the shining river, soon our pilgrimage will cease;
Soon our happy hearts will quiver with the melody of peace.
The blessing: May the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face shine upon you this week.
