:: Download the 4.16.2017 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
:: Download the 4.16.2017 Bulletin
:: Download the 4.16.2017 Sermon Audio
image :: The Holy Women at the Tomb, William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1890, French)
Preparation for Worship on April 16 2017 :: Raised
“Let no one fear death, for the Death of our Savior has set us free. He has destroyed it by enduring it. He destroyed Hell when He descended into it. He put it into an uproar even as it tasted of His flesh. Isaiah foretold this when he said, ‘You, O Hell, have been troubled by encountering Him below.’ Hell was in an uproar because it was done away with. It was in an uproar because it is mocked. It was in an uproar, for it is destroyed. It is in an uproar, for it is annihilated. It is in an uproar, for it is now made captive.” (John Chrysostom, Easter Sermon, c. 400AD)
Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for April 16 include ::
:: Christ the Lord is Risen Today (Charles Wesley, 1739) CHART [bandcamp track=3406429762 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: He is Risen (Caroline Cobb, 2013) CHART [bandcamp track=2265250518 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Crown Him With Many Crowns (Matthew Bridges, 1851) CHART [bandcamp track=92738205 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: He Is Lord (American Folk Hymn; Philippians 2:11)
Call to Worship :: The angel speaks to the women at the empty tomb, Matthew 28:5-6
“Do not be afraid, as you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; He has risen, just as He said.” Alleluia! Christ is risen. The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!
Confession of Sin
Our gracious Father, You sent Your Son to die and raised Him to new life in order that death might be destroyed and that we might live. We confess that we have often chosen death over life and lived as if Jesus has not been raised. In our thoughts, words, and deeds we have rebelled against You. We have fled from You, Whose love is better than life and Whom to know is Life itself. We have sinned against others, and have diminished their lives. Father, forgive us our sin for Jesus’ sake. Give us grace to live as followers of our risen Lord, Jesus Christ. To the glory of Your holy name. Amen.
Words of Encouragement :: I Corinthians 15:54-57
Death has been swallowed up in victory. “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Old Testament Reading :: Job 14:1-5,12-14
Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble. He springs up like a flower and withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure. Do you fix your eye on such a one? Will you bring him before you for judgment? Who can bring what is pure from the impure? No one! Man’s days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed…But man dies and is laid low; he breathes his last and is no more. As water disappears from the sea or a riverbed becomes parched and dry, so man lies down and does not rise; till the heavens are no more, men will not awake or be roused from their sleep. If only you would hide me in the grave and conceal me till your anger has passed! If only you would set me a time and then remember me! If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal to come.
Sermon :: II Corinthians 4:13-18
13 Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, 14 knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. 15 For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God. 16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.