CALL TO WORSHIP -PSALM 24

The earth is the LORD's and all that is in it,

   the world and those who dwell therein.

For the LORD has founded it upon the seas

 and established it upon the rivers.

Who may ascend the mountain of the LORD,

 and who may stand in God's holy place?

Those of innocent hands and purity of heart,

   who do not swear on God's being,

  nor do they pledge by what is false.

They shall receive blessing from the LORD

 and righteousness from the God of their salvation.

Such is the generation of those who seek you, O LORD,

 of those who seek your face, O God of Jacob.

Lift up your heads, O gates; and be lifted up, O everlasting doors,

 that the King of glory may come in.

Who is this King of glory?

 The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle!

Lift up your heads, O gates; and be lifted up, O everlasting doors,

 that the King of glory may come in.

Who is this King of glory?

 Truly, the LORD of hosts is the King of glory.

GATHERING SONG            “For All the Saints”              #422

CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS                           

In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen

Have mercy on us, O God, according to your lovingkindness;

  in your great compassion blot out our offenses.

        Silence for reflection and self-examination.

God of grace,

  we confess to you the ways we have chosen death rather than life:

  by trusting in ourselves rather than you; 

  by failing to follow your call;

  by ignoring the cries of the poor; 

  by misusing your creation;

  by seeking security through possessions;  

  by neglecting to give thanks for ail your gifts.

Renew your salvation within us, and hold us in your generous spirit. Amen

In great mercy, God abolished death and brought life through our Savior Jesus Christ.

As a called and ordained minister of the church of Christ, and by his authority, I declare to you that you are forgiven by the grace of God and empowered by the Holy Spirit to live a new life. Amen

PRAYER OF THE DAY

Let us pray. Almighty God, 

you have knit your people together in one communion 

in the mystical body of your Son, 

Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Grant us grace to follow your blessed saints 

in lives of faith and commitment, 

and to know the inexpressible joys 

you have prepared for those who love you, 

through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, 

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, 

one God, now and forever. 

Amen.

FIRST READING: Isaiah 25:6–9

On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever. Then the Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken. It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the LORD for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

Word of God, Word of Life. Thanks be to God.

SECOND READING: Revelation 21:1–6a

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes.

Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away." And the one who was seated on the throne said, "See, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true." Then he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.”

Word of God, Word of Life. Thanks be to God.

GOSPEL: John 11:32–44

The holy gospel according to Saint John, Glory to you, O Lord.

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."

The gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.

SERMON            "Lord, already..."       Pastor Phil Wold

HYMN OF THE DAY          “Alleluia, Jesus is Risen”            #377      

THE NICENE CREED   

In infinite mercy God watched over the people of Israel. In unending love God sent his Son to be our Savior. God delivered us from sin through the waters of Baptism. With joy we proclaim in words and action the faith which makes us God’s own people. . .

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty,

    maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God,

     eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light,

     true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father;

     through him all things were made.

For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven,

     was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary and became truly human.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried.

     On the third day he rose again in accordance with the scriptures;

     he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,

     who proceeds from the Father and the Son,

     who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified,

     who has spoken through the prophets.

We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church.

We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION

THE SIGN OF PEACE IS SHARED

 The peace of Christ be with you always. And also with you.

OFFERING AND OFFERTORY PRAYER

Let us pray. God of all creation, all you have made is good, and your love endures forever. You bring forth bread from the earth and fruit from the vine. Nourish us with these gifts, that we might be for the world signs of your gracious presence in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

THE LORD’S PRAYER

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, and the power, and the glory,

forever and ever. AMEN

BLESSING

SENDING SONG            "Send Us Out"

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