Order of Worship
Call to Worship
ONE: King Ahaz slept with his
ancestors, and Hezekiah his son became king when he was twenty-five
years old. And Hezekiah did what was right in the sight of God. In
the first year of his reign, in the first month, Hezekiah opened the
doors of the house of God and repaired them.
MANY: Open the gates of the temple!
ONE: The psalmist cried, "Open to me the
gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks
to God. This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter
through it."
MANY: Open the gates of
righteousness!
ONE: God said of Cyrus, the Persian king,
"He is my anointed; I have grasped his hand and will subdue nations
before him. I will open doors before him, and the gates shall not be
closed."
MANY: Open the doors, and let them not be
closed!
ONE: Paul and Silas were sitting in their
prison cell, singing and praying, when suddenly there was an
earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were
shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's
chains were unfastened.
ALL: God of miracles, shake the foundations
of the prisons that we build for ourselves and each other. Open the
doors of our prejudices, and break the chains which separate us.
Amen.
--by Katie Cook (texts from 2 Chronicles 29:1-3; Psalm 118:19; Isaiah 45:1; Acts 16:25-26);
Llamado a
adoración
LIDER: Y durmió el rey
Acaz con sus padres y comenzó a reinar Ezequías su
hijo, siendo de veinticinco años. E hizo lo recto ante los
ojos de Jehová. En el primer año de su reinado, en el
mes primero, abrió las puertas de la casa de Jehová y
las reparó.
GENTE: ¡Abrenos las puertas de la casa
de Jehová!
LIDER: El salmista gritó: "Abranme
las puertas de la justicia. Entraré por ellas, alabaré
a Jehová. Esta es la puerta de Jehová; por ella
entrarán los justos.
GENTE: ¡Abrenos las puertas de la
justicia!
LIDER: Así dice Jehová a su
ungido, a Ciro, al cual tomé yo por su mano derecha, para
sujetar naciones delante de él; para abrir delante de
él puertas, y las puertas no se cerrarán.
GENTE: ¡Abrenos las puertas y que no se
cierren!
LIDER: Pablo y Silas estaban sentados en su
celda, orando y cantando himnos a Dios, entonces hubo de repente un
gran terremoto de tal manera que los cimientos de la cárcel se
sacudían; y al instante se abrieron todas las puertas, y las
cadenas de todos se soltaron.
TODOS: Dios de los milagros, sacude los
cimientos de las cárceles que nos construimos a nosotros
mismos. Sacude los cimientos de las cárceles que nos
construimos los unos a los otros. Abre las puertas de nuestros
prejuicios y rompe las cadenas que nos separan. Amen.
--por Katie Cook (los textos de 2do de Crónicas 29:1-3; Salmos 118:19; Isaías 45:1; Hechos 16:25-26); traducida por Dra. Linda McManness de La Biblia Reina Valera.
Hymn
Pause for Reflection
(read silently)
So we have a group of Jesus'
followers huddling together on that first Sunday evening. According
to the accounts in Luke and elsewhere, these people have heard
amazing stories from the Galilean women, and from Cleopas and his
companion&emdash;and there is indication in Luke that they have heard
of Jesus appearing to Simon Peter. Yet they are still afraid of being
arrested and killed, so they have locked themselves in. The term "for
fear of the Jews" reiterates a theme in John's gospel that scholars
say arises from a conflict between the local synagogue and the
community, themselves Jews, for whom this gospel was written.
Interpreters have made much of John's
emphasis on the locked doors. As careful as John's descriptions
usually are, it is interesting to note that there is no mention of
how Jesus got inside and among the group. Some say that this was to
show that locks and walls couldn't keep Jesus out. Perhaps it was
also to show that Jesus didn't want them relying on locks and
walls.
--Katie Cook, adapted from "What It Means to Believe" (Formations,
a Smyth & Helwys adult curriculum, the first Sunday after
Easter)
Reading from the Prophets: Isaiah
2:2-4
ONE: In the days to come, the
mountain of God's house shall be established as the highest of the
mountains; and shall be raised above the hills;
MANY: --all the nations shall stream to
it.
ONE: Many peoples shall come and say
MANY: "Come, let us go up to the mountain of
the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that God may teach us
God's ways and that we may walk in God's paths."
ONE: For out of Zion shall go forth
instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
MANY: God shall judge between the nations,
and shall arbitrate for many peoples,
ONE: --they shall beat their swords into
plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks;
MANY: --nation shall not lift up sword
against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
Lectura de los profetas:
Isaías 2:2-4
LIDER: Acontecerá en lo
postrero de los tiempos, que será confirmado el monte de la
casa de Jehová como cabeza de los montes, y será
exaltado sobre los cerros;
GENTE: Y correrán a él todas
las naciones.
LIDER: Y vendrán muchos pueblos, y
dirán:
GENTE: "Vengan y subamos al monte de
Jehová, a la casa del Dios de Jacob; y nos
enseñará sus caminos, y caminaremos por sus
sendas."
--traducida por Dra. Linda McManness de La Biblia Reina Valera.(Spanish translation by Linda McManness, with adaptations from the Reina Valera Bible.)
Meditation on Perceptions: A
Dramatic Reading
written by Ann Sims
Reading from the Gospels: John
20:19
When it was evening on that
first Easter Sunday, the first day of the week, and the doors of the
house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the temple
authorities, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with
you." (paraphrase)
Sermon
Where Do You Draw the
Line? by J. Frederick Ball
Pause for Reflection
It is a day of resurrection, but
for most of Jesus' disciples, it is still a day of confusion. What
are all these stories they've heard since morning? What's going on?
Do they dare begin to hope? They are huddled together in the upper
room, trying to push back the despair they have felt since Friday.
Into the midst of this group, Jesus suddenly appears out of nowhere.
He says, "Peace be with you." He shows the group the wounds in his
hands and side. Then he says, again, "Peace be with you."
The next portion of the story is one that is
often overlooked. It has overtones of the commissioning and ascension
stories in the other gospels, and also of the coming of the Holy
Spirit in the second chapter of Acts. Jesus says, "As I have been
sent, so I am now sending you." Then Jesus breathes on them. Like the
spirit brooding over the face of the Genesis waters, he breathes on
them. Like the spirit blowing with a gale force over the Pentecost
crowd in Jerusalem, he breathes on them. May that breath brood over
us, to make us new, to make us whole. May that wind blow over us, to
make us understand one another, to make us one.
--Katie Cook, adapted from "What It Means to Believe" (Formations,
a Smyth & Helwys adult curriculum, the first Sunday after
Easter)
Theme Interpretation
prayers for reconciliation
Hymn
Benediction
written by Heidi Baxter
Choral Response
Worship Leaders Annotated Guide
Order of Worship
Where do you Draw the Line: A Sermon
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