Central United Methodist Church Easter Sunday Transcription
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CENTRAL UNITED METHODIST CHURCH EASTER SUNDAY TRANSCRIPTION ** CHIMING OF THE HOUR ** OPENING HYMN Dr. Don Grice - Hymn 302 - Christ the Lord Is Risen Today - (EASTER HYMN) EASTER GREETING REV. THOMAS W. SMITH: Christ is risen! People: He is risen indeed! ALL: Alleluia! PARISH CONCERNS REV. THOMAS W. SMITH: Friends, in the name of Jesus Christ, welcome to this virtual worship service on this Easter Sunday. We gather to celebrate the glory of the risen Christ and while we can't be together in person this morning, we are never the less together in spirit and we are grateful that you have chosen to make Central United Methodist Church your virtual worshipping home for this time. I do have some announcements. I would lift up to you this morning. One, to remind you that we do continue to worship virtually and you can find those ways and places where you can worship virtually with us by visiting our church website at www.centralmethodist.net. If you click on the virtual worship tab there on the homepage it will take you to that part of the website where you'll find all of our links to our YouTube page, to our Facebook page, and all of the ways that we continue to worship. I'd remind you that this coming Thursday, as all Thursdays throughout this time, we will be live on Facebook for our weekly prayer service and we would invite you to join us in that time of live worship and you can share prayer concerns for us to lift up in that time of worship if you like, again a link there on the virtual worship page of the church website at www.centralmethodist.net but also as we are streaming in your comments on Facebook you can put in prayer concerns for us to share in the worship service there and we hope you'll take advantage of that. I'd remind you that we're continuing to have virtual Children's and Youth Ministry during this time of quarantine and social distancing you'll details about how you can participate in those as well and that same part of the church website. I'd remind you on the church website, again that's www.centralmethodist.net that we also have a COVID-19 resource area where you can access and see different things that our church is doing and ways you can participate and help making things better for our neighbors. As we are entering into a new time together, a new phase in our community response, we are all responding, of course, to Governor McMasters order about staying home and commuting only when essential and so out of out of that concern and the way to make sure that we keep our people as healthy as possible the church offices are going to be closed to visitors, but that doesn't mean we don't want to hear from you and that we don't want to talk to you and we don't want to see you because we do, so, please continue to be in touch with us electronically or by telephone. If you would like to meet in person some of us may even be available to meet with you outside, ---- we have some lovely outdoor areas here at Central that we love to maybe meet with you in. So please, be in touch with us if we can be in any way helpful to you. I'd also remind you that while we're not gathering in person to pass an offering plate, we do still need resources -- financial resources to continue the mission and ministry that God has entrusted to Central and so I would remind you that you can give online through the church website. If you click on the top right-hand corner of your screen, you'll see a give tab you can click there and give electronically. You can also mail a check to the church office or drop a check physically by the church office; if you're out on essential business, we do even -- we -- you can leave it and we have a letter box that's locking insecure that you can leave a check in so we would encourage you to do that as well. Friends, it's Easter! We celebrate, that we gather now, in the presence of the risen Christ, so let us worship God together. COLLECT ON EASTER REV. J DERRICK CATTENHEAD: My dear friends, let us now pray our Collect together. People: Almighty God, through your only son who overcame death and open to us the gate of everlasting life; grant that we who celebrate our Lord's resurrection by the renewing of your spirit arise from the death of sin to the life of righteousness through the name Jesus Christ our Lord.Amen. ACT OF PRAISE REV. J. DERRICK CATTENHEAD: And as a respond to everything that God has done for us and what God continues to do for us. We will render our Act of Praise, which can be found on page 839 of the United Methodist Hymnal. It will be Psalm 118. Verses 14 through 29 and of course, we will not be singing the response. The Lord is my strength and my power the Lord has become my salvation. People: There are joyous songs of victory in the tents of the righteous: The right hand of the Lord does valiantly, the right hand of the Lord is exalted, People: the right hand of the Lord does valiantly! I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the Lord. People: The Lord has chastened me sorely, but has not given me over to death. Open to me the gates of righteousness that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord. People: This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it. I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. People: The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. People: This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Save us, we beseech you, O Lord! | People: O Lord, we beseech you, give us success! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! | People: We bless you from the house of the Lord. The Lord is God, who has given us light. People: Lead the festal procession with branches, up to the horns of the altar! You are my God, and I will give you give thanks to you. You are my God. I will extol you. People: O give thanks to the Lord, who is good; for God's steadfast love endure for ever! SOLO Dr. Fran Coleman - Solo - I Know That My Redeemer Liveth (from Messiah) - G. F. Handel GOSPEL LESSON REV. THOMAS W. SMITH: Friends, our Gospel Lesson this morning is from The Gospel according to Matthew, the 28th chapter, verses 1 through 10, these words contain the good news of Christ's resurrection and out of reverence to what they say, I would invite you to stand as you're able as we read these verses together. Hear now the Word of the God. After the Sabbath as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb and suddenly there was a great earthquake for an angel of the Lord descending from Heaven came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him and the guards shook and became like dead men, but the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid! I know that you were looking for Jesus who was crucified, but he is not here for he has been raised as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, He has been raised from the dead and indeed He is going ahead of you to Galilee, there you will see him. This is my message for you."So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly, Jesus met them and said, "Greetings!" and they came to him took hold of his feet and worship him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid! Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee. there they will see me." This is the Word of the Lord. People: Thanks be to God. Please be seated. EASTER SERMON REV. THOMAS W. SMITH: Friends, we do gather this morning to celebrate the good news that Christ is risen. And even though we're gathering today virtually, I don't want you just to let those words fall as other words fall onto your ears. I want them to fall onto your heart. I know that whenever you hear me preach you all listened intently and hang on every word, but I need you to listen especially closely today because we celebrate the good news that Christ is risen. Friends, those words that Christ is risen that the women that the tomb heard from the angel that they celebrated when they encountered the risen Christ are not just something for us to say we believe to be true, but something for us to ground our whole beings on we know that is early as the fourth century Christians were greeting each other during this Easter season, not just this day, but the season of Easter that we celebrate after this day with those words "Christ is Risen" to which the response was "Christ is Risen, indeed." So if you sitting there home hear me say "Christ is Risen" I want you right there in your living room, or your back porch, or wherever you are to say, "Christ is Risen, indeed." So I want you to pay attention.