The Greeting
Grace, mercy and peace
from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ
be with you
and also with you.
We come from scattered lives to meet with God.
Let us recognize his presence with us.
Silence is kept.
As God’s people we have gathered:
let us worship him together.
Words of Welcome and Introduction
Prayers of Penitence
Christ himself carried up our sins in his body to the tree,
1 Peter 2.24
so that, free from sins,
we might live for righteousness;
by his wounds we have been healed.
Let us confess our sins.
Silence is kept.
O God, you know my foolishness
and my sins are not hidden from you:
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Let not the flood overwhelm me
nor the depths swallow me up;
let not the pit shut its mouth upon me:
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Hear me, O Lord, as your loving kindness is good;
turn to me as your compassion is great:
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
May God who loved the world so much
that he sent his Son to be our Saviour
forgive us our sins
and make us holy to serve him in the world,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Collect (for Lent 5)
Most merciful God,
who by the death and resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ
delivered and saved the world:
grant that by faith in him who suffered on the cross
we may triumph in the power of his victory;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
Reading(s) from the Bible
Ezekiel 37.1-14
The hand of the LORD came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord GOD, you know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the LORD.”
So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.
Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’ Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken and will act, says the LORD.”
This is the word of the Lord
Thanks be to God.
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John (11.1-45)
Glory to you, O Lord
Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.
Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?” Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them.” After saying this, he told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.” The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.” Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.”
When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.
This is the Gospel of the Lord
Praise to you O Christ
Sermon
The Apostles Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come 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.
Prayers of intercession written by James Black
O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love. Let us pray.
Living, loving God, you commanded Ezekiel to prophesy to the dry bones of Israel. We pray for the Church in this time of trouble. May your spirit come upon all who profess your name, that we might provide hope to those who have lost hope; comfort to those who feel cut off completely; and life to those whose bones feel dry.
Out of the depths we cry to you, O LORD
Lord, hear our voice.
Redeeming Lord, look with compassion on your world. Give courage and wisdom to all in authority; that they might do what is right to protect those in their care. We pray for all who are still working during this time of uncertainty – for doctors and nurses; For the police and fire brigade; For those in shops and supply chains trying to ensure there is food for everyone. Bless them in their work, and all people through them.
Out of the depths we cry to you, O LORD
Lord, hear our voice.
Lord Jesus, friend of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary, we pray for our friends and neighbours in our community; that they may stay safe and healthy. We pray especially for those who are alone and isolated. Give us the grace to reach out to those in need; that whilst we are all physically distant, we might remain socially and spiritually connected to one another. And we pray for ourselves; that we might hear you in the still, small voice of calm amidst the raging storms around us.
Out of the depths we cry to you, O LORD
Lord, hear our voice.
Almighty God, whose love is so strong that we call you Father, have mercy on those who are sick. We pray for all who are suffering with the Coronavirus. We pray too for those who embody your selfless love by putting themselves at risk to care for others in hospitals and hospices. And we ask for your guidance and wisdom for all who are looking desperately for a cure and a vaccine for this virus. We ask your blessing and mercy on all who are sick in mind, body, or spirit, and remember especially […]. Let your ears be attentive to the voice of our supplications.
Out of the depths we cry to you, O LORD
Lord, hear our voice.
Jesus the Messiah, the Resurrection and the Life, welcome into your arms all who have died. From our parish, we remember those who have recently died, and those whose anniversaries fall at this time. As you grieved for your friend Lazarus, so too do we grieve for those we have lost. Holy Spirit comfort those who mourn, reassure those who are dying, and strengthen us all to prepare for our journey towards your Kingdom.
United with the whole Church across the world, let us pray with confidence using the words our Saviour 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 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,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
Closing Prayer, Responses and Blessing
Lord Jesus Christ,
you called your disciples to go forward with you
on the way of the cross.
Since you first walked that road
countless millions have followed you.
In all that we do as your disciples,
save is from false familiarity with your journey.
May we never presume to step into your shoes,
but make us small enough to fit our own,
and to walk in love and wonder behind you.
Amen.
Let us give thanks to God.
For the love of our Father, the maker of all,
the giver of all good things,
let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
For Jesus Christ our Saviour,
who lived and worked among us,
let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
For his suffering and death on the cross
and his resurrection to new life,
let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
For his rule over all things
and his presence in the world,
let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
For the Holy Spirit, the giver of life,
who teaches and guides us,
let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
The Blessing
Christ crucified draw you to himself,
to find in him a sure ground for faith,
a firm support for hope,
and the assurance of sins forgiven;
and the blessing of God Almighty
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
rest upon you and those whom you love
now and always.
Amen.
For the grace of the Spirit
in the work of the Church
and the life of the world,
let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Amen.
Please join us for a drink and a chat after the service in our virtual meeting space at whitkirkchurch.org.uk/meet/coffee.