Call to Worship
One: Friends, the Kingdom of God is closer than you think.
All: The glory of God will be revealed to all who open their hearts to the Lord.
One: Open your eyes and see the wonders of God’s Creation!
All: To those who have eyes let them see!
One: Open your ears and hear the word of the Lord!
All: To those who have ears let them hear!
One: Open your hearts to the presence of God and enter the Kingdom!
All: We will open our hearts to Jesus Christ, for he is the King of Kings and our Lord now and forever.
Prayer of Renewal
God of deep, abounding, astounding, boundary-breaking love, forgive our closed doors; forgive our closed eyes and ears; forgive our insulated living, forgive our safe and comfortable tables. Help us to open our minds to your offering of unlimited possibilities. Help us to open our hearts to your offering of unconditional love. And help us to open our doors and extend the invitation of your grace to our neighbors.
Scripture: John 11:38-44
38 Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39 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.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. 42 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.” 43 When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 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.”