Welcome and Introductions
Good morning, friends and members of Jesus Christ! It’s in Jesus’ Name that we gather today, trusting in Jesus’ promise that “wherever two or three are gathered in my name, there I will be in the middle.” On behalf of the members of the First Church of Squantum, a hearty welcome to another of our COVID worship services. For those who are joining in that I haven’t met yet, I’m Pastor Doug Gray and I have the great joy of being the pastor for the First Church of Squantum. Wherever you are today as you join us, I trust God is able to bridge the miles to link us all together. And it’s Easter Sunday! In the ancient church, Christians would gather on Easter and a leader would say, “He is risen!” to which the congregation would respond, “He is risen indeed!” and then everyone would say together, “Alleluia!” which means “Praise God!” So let’s bring this ancient tradition alive with our new technology today. I’ll say “He is risen!” You say, “He is risen indeed!” and we will all say, “Alleluia!” Shall we try it? Here we go!
He is risen!
He is risen indeed!
Alleluia!
Let us worship God!
**Heart-Opening Song Open the Eyes of My Heart, Lord
**Call to Worship
One: By the waters of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus walked and taught and watched the sun rise.
Many: Though some felt threatened by Jesus’ message of the coming Kingdom, Jesus’ Kingdom is a place of grace and steadfast love.
One: Jesus died 2000 years ago in Jerusalem, put to death by the authorities of His day.
Many: We believe, Lord. Help our unbelief.
One: He is risen!
Many: He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Opening Prayer
Be present in our midst this morning, Risen Jesus. As You appeared to the disciples, help each of us recognize this morning where You have walked with us over the course of our lives. Give us eyes to see and faith to trust, that You are our risen, living God, faithful to all Your people. Inspire us to be Your witnesses, and stir us to be Your hands and feet in the world. Hear us as we pray as Jesus still teaches disciples to pray, saying, “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. Amen.”
Song Tale as Old as Time (Beauty and the Beast)
Tale as old as time
True as it can be
Barely even friends
Then somebody bends
Unexpectedly.
Just a little change
Small to say the least
Both a little scared
Neither one prepared
Beauty and the Beast.
Ever just the same
Ever a surprise
Ever as before
Ever just as sure
As the sun will rise.
Tale as old as time
Tune as old as song
Bittersweet and strange
Finding you can change
Learning you were wrong.
Certain as the sun
Rising in the east
Tale as old as time
Song as old as rhyme
Beauty and the Beast.
Tale as old as time
Song as old as rhyme
Beauty and the Beast.
Stewardship Reminder Today, in my office, I am surrounded by the most beautiful lilies and tulips. They’ve been given by some families and memory or celebration of loved ones. I invite you to take a look in the notes for those names. On behalf of everyone who gets to enjoy these flowers, thank you to those who provided them to us! Thanks, also, to those who are continuing to give. Encourage you to take a moment to sign onto our church’s website and use the donate button.
Prayer Song Glorious Day
Scripture Luke 24:1–12
24:1 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. 5 And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” 8 And they remembered his words, 9 and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, 11 but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. 12 But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.
Devotion I’m with Jesus!
Most of the time, our world tries to convince us that we can be gods. “Have it your way,” Burger King says. Apple names its online service, “me.com” because after all what matters is me. The saying, “The customer is king” has become “the customer is a god.” The more choices, and the more power we seem to have, though, the harder our lives seem to get. Have you ever felt like your life was too complicated? Does it ever seem that life is moving so fast that you can hardly keep up? Do you ever long for a simpler life? You are not alone. One of the problems with the Church in America is that we have made faith just as complicated. In fact, a woman once said to Max Lucado—one of the great preachers of our day— “I’d like to try Jesus, if I could just get past the religion.” For Jesus, it wasn’t about the clothes we wear or the sanctified language some Christians use. It wasn’t about believing certain, obscure teachings. Jesus wasn’t trying to start a movement—he was trying to start a relationship, to keep it simple. He said simply, “Follow me.” Our passage for today offers some critical insights into what it means to follow Jesus and simplify our lives.
First, the tomb is empty. Anthony Robbins tells the story of Richard Bandler who once visited a mental institution to deal with a man who insisted he was Jesus Christ—for real. When Bandler met this man, he asked, “Are you Jesus?” “Yes, my son,” the man replied. Bandler said, “I’ll be back in a minute.” This left the man a little bit confused. Within three or four minutes, Bandler came back, holding a measuring tape. Asking the man to hold out his arms, Bandler measured the length of his arms and his height from head to toe. After that, Bandler left. The man claiming to be Christ became a little concerned. A little while later, Bandler came back with a hammer, some large spiked nails, and a long set of boards. He began to pound them into the form of a cross. “What are you doing?” the man asked. As Richard put the last nails in the cross, he asked again, “Are you Jesus?” Again the man said, “Yes my son.” Bandler said, “Then you know why I’m here.” Somehow, the man suddenly recalled who he really was. His old pattern didn’t seem like such a good idea. “I’m not Jesus. I’m not Jesus!” the man started yelling. When we look at our seemingly infinite choices and extraordinary power, we are tempted to believe we are our own savior, but the world and we ourselves shy away from the sacrifice of love that would make us real saviors. The angels said it beautifully, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” If we want to find Jesus, it won’t be in empty complexity or purposeless speed.
Second, He is risen. We will have to seek Jesus among the living. Joyce Hollyday tells the story of a school teacher who was assigned to visit children in a large city hospital. One day she received a routine call asking that she visit a particular child. The teacher took the boy’s name and room number, and was told, “We’re studying nouns and adverbs in this class now. I’d be grateful if you could help him with his homework, so he doesn’t fall behind the others.” It wasn’t until the visiting teacher got to the boy’s room that she realized he was in the hospital’s burn unit. No one had prepared her to find a young boy horribly burned and in great pain. The teacher felt that she couldn’t just turn around and walk out. And so she stammered awkwardly, “I’m the hospital teacher, and your teacher sent me to help you with nouns and adverbs.” This boy was in so much pain that he barely responded. The young teacher stumbled through the English lesson, ashamed at putting him through such a senseless exercise. The next morning a nurse on the burn unit asked her, “What did you do to that boy?” The teacher started on her apologies, but the nurse interrupted her: “You don’t understand. We’ve been very worried about him. But ever since you were here yesterday, his whole attitude has changed. He’s fighting back; he’s responding to treatment. It’s as if he has decided to live.” The boy later explained that he had completely given up hope. “But then I realized,” the boy said with joyful tears. “They wouldn’t send a teacher to work on nouns and adverbs with a boy who was dying, would they?” Even when all we seem to see around us is pain, disappointment and brokenness, on the other side of pain, there is resurrection. When we seek Jesus among the living and show the hope we know, somehow Jesus always finds us and catches us by surprise!
In many ways, we are like the women who loved Jesus and came to the tomb looking for him. It’s Easter and we came here at the break of dawn to find Jesus. In Jesus’ death on the cross, we see how far God was willing to go to show His love. But on the other side of Good Friday’s darkness comes the brilliance of Easter morning. As we look at the sacrifices it will take to show God’s steadfast love to the people around us, we will say, “I’m not Jesus! I’m not Jesus!” How could we love enough? How could we—failed, flawed and feeble as we are—ever love like that? Especially when we look at all the pain and need in the world, all the deep, deep darkness, we are tempted to throw up our hands. Something amazing happens when we stop trying to be God. He makes it simple for us: joy comes in the morning! In the dark places of our lives, when we cry out to our God, Jesus comes…with a brilliance that beats back the darkness, a compassion that fills our hearts, and a strength we need to face it all. We are not alone. Jesus is with us. When we follow Jesus Christ, living out His sacrificial love, then even Death, our ancient enemy, will find us ready. For as we face the final darkness, our cry has become, “I’m with Jesus! I’m with Jesus!” He is risen! He is risen indeed!
Easter Prayer
Closing Hymn — #367, Christ the Lord is Risen Today
Benediction
We gathered in hope today, and now we head into the rest of our lives. We trust that You will go with us, Jesus, and that Your guidance and strength will come when we most need it. May others see Your grace shining through us, and know the power of the new life we are finding in You. Amen.