Scripture – John 11:38-44
Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “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.”
Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 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.”
When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 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.”
Bob’s thoughts:
We were welcomed and invited to stay after the service for a Lenten Luncheon and coffee.
There is a great cross over what I assume is the baptismal font and another cross on the Communion table.
This church had a traditional and contemporary service at the same time but have moved to a blended service. I guess some members seem to resist the contemporary music. I wish the praise team would be blessed with a strong female lead; I think it would help pull the congregation together. Most churches are slow to accept change and it might help.
A highlight for me was a young man with an active little one a few rows in front of us.
The pastor’s mic may be set wrong, but it was very loud and hard to understand. Even turning off my hearing aids did not help. It may be loud just because everybody sits in the back.
The message wound around the ramifications then and now of Christ coming to raise Lazarus. Too often we live in a spiritual shell, dead to Christ.
We were blessed to have our grandtwins for the afternoon and blessed again that another daughter stopped for the night with her two girls en route to Connecticut. It was great to have a house full of laughter and a reunion.
Jan’s thoughts:
We saw no indication of a parking lot on the other side of the building, so we parked on the street and guessed (well, as it turned out) about the entrance location. Since everyone seemed to be in a Sunday School class, we found seats in the sanctuary.
I appreciated the time taken by one gentleman to sit with us and answer our questions and tell us about the church and the denomination. He introduced us to some folks and invited us to join them for the Lenten Lunch following worship. This church is served by a husband and wife who are both pastors.
The elongated sanctuary has lovely watercolor stained-glass windows and two sets of monitors on each side for those in the center and back. The volume was fine, but I admit I was greatly relieved when it was turned down after the pastor began the sermon.
I suppose it’s a sign of the times when hand-washing instructions are given from the pulpit, and I appreciated the calm, commonsense manner in which the advice was given. Fear serves no one.
The current sermon series is called “Give It Up for Lent” and this entry was on “Grief.” We can learn much about grief from the way Jesus responded to the news of the death of His friend Lazarus: He wept. Even for the Son of God, Who knew He would raise His friend shortly, grief in the face of such a loss was and is real. Grieving properly means we must experience the sadness. We must also remember that life goes on even in the midst of the grief. I would say it’s that very fact that can help us remember there is hope and that we don’t have to live the rest of our days spiritually and emotionally dead and without joy.
Christ died so that we could have constant access to His joy, freedom, and peace, which are just as real as grief. It’s possible to find our way, with God’s help, back to a place of spiritual and emotional health. We don’t have to remain stuck in grief and loss when Jesus constantly offers us life.
This testimony comes from personal experience: Jesus Christ is our one and only hope for this world and the next. Only through Him can we find true, lasting joy and peace, whatever the future holds.
Our prayer for this church:
Lord, we all experience grief in our lives. We pray for Your leading that we can find our way back and live in You again. Amen.
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