Lent 5: Unbind Him

Sunday, March 26, 2023
10:30 AM 11:30 AM 10:30 11:30

Union Presbyterian Church 200 E Main St Endicott, NY, 13760 United States (map)

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Jesus receives an urgent message from a family he knows well: “Lord, the one you love is ill.” When he answers the call, he performs a sign of God’s power and might—and also God’s love.

Join us for worship this morning in our beautiful sanctuary or here, online, if you are at home or on the road. You are invited! We will see Jesus raise the dead, and hear the promises of our faith.

Lent 5: “Unbind Him”

Psalm 130; John 11:1-44

March 26, 2023  

Union Presbyterian Church  

Sharing the Light of Christ, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow  

Liturgist: Ryan DeLap Preacher: Rev. Pat Raube  

Prelude Chris Bartlette

“In Christ Alone,” Mark Hayes

Used by Permission. CCLI License #CSPL068847

Welcome Rev. Pat Raube

Call to Worship    Ryan DeLap

The Lord is kind and merciful,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

My soul waits for the Lord
more than those who keep watch for the morning,
more than those who keep watch for the morning.

For with the Lord there is steadfast love;
with the Lord there is plenteous redemption.

Come, let us worship the God of steadfast love.

* Hymn #97 W & R

“Meekness and Majesty,” Graham Kendrick

Used by permission, CCLI License #CSPL068847

Meekness and majesty, human and deity,

In perfect harmony, the One who is God.

Lord of eternity, dwells in humanity;

Kneels in humility and washes our feet.

O what a mystery, meekness and majesty;

Bow down and worship, for this is your God.

Father’s pure radiance, perfect in innocence;

Yet learns obedience to death on a cross.

Suffering to give us life, conquering through sacrifice;

And as they crucify prays, “Father, forgive.”

O what a mystery, meekness and majesty;

Bow down and worship, for this is your God.

Wisdom unsearchable, God, the invisible;

Love indestructible in frailty appears.

Lord of infinity, stooping so tenderly,

Lifts our humanity to the heights of his throne.

O what a mystery, meekness and majesty;

Bow down and worship, for this is your God.

* Call to New Life  

* Prayer for Wholeness and Peace (unison)  

O Lord our God, we give you thanks for the mercy you so freely offer us through the grace of our baptism—safe passage through the sea, justice rolling down like water, deliverance from sin and death forever. By the power of the Holy Spirit, poured out upon us in baptism, teach us to love and serve you faithfully and reconcile us to you and to one another as members of one living body; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

* Words of Assurance  

With the whole church:

We affirm that we are made in God’s image,

befriended by Christ, and empowered by the Spirit.

With people everywhere:

We affirm God’s goodness at the heart of humanity,

planted more deeply than all that is wrong.

With all creation:

We celebrate the miracle and wonder of life and the unfolding purposes of God, forever at work in ourselves and the world. Thanks be to God. Amen!

Sharing of the Peace 

May the peace of God be with you. 

And also with you. 

Let us offer one another a sign of peace. 

Scripture Reading Psalm 130

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.
O Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
    to the voice of my supplication!

If you were to keep watch over sins,
    O Lord, who could stand?
Yet with you there is forgiveness,
    in order that you may be feared.

I wait for you, O Lord, my soul waits,
    in your word is my hope;
my soul waits for the Lord
    more than those who keep watch for the morning,
    more than those who watch for the morning.

O Israel, wait for the Lord!
    For with the Lord there is steadfast love;
    with the Lord there is plenteous redemption.
For the Lord shall redeem Israel
    from all their sins.

Time for Young Disciples Rev. Pat Raube 

Music: “O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing” (Public Domain)

Scripture Reading John 11:1-45  Colin DeLap, Ryan DeLap, Mary, Rev. Pat Raube

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This illness does not lead to death; rather, it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?” Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble because they see the light of this world. But those who walk at night stumble because the light is not in them.” After saying this, he told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.” The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.” Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.”

When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary and told her privately, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come to the village but was still at the place where Martha had met him. The Jews who were with her in the house consoling her saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 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.”

Many of the Jews, therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did believed in him.

Response We do not live by bread alone,

but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. 

Thanks be to God! 

Sermon ”Unbind Him” Rev. Pat Raube  

* An Affirmation of Faith by the Rev. Mary Luti, sicutlocutusest.com

We believe in God,

maker and re-maker of everything that is,

in whom there is always more,

and more to come;

and by whose wonder, work, and will,

even the dead find life.

We believe in God.

We believe in Jesus Christ,

maker and re-maker of tables and tales,

in whom the welcome is wide,

the feasting free;

and by whose weeping, words, and wounds,

even the lost are found.

We believe in Jesus Christ.

We believe in the Holy Spirit,

maker and re-maker of imagination,

whose eyes see over the horizon,

beyond the end;

and by whose urgency and fire,

even the truth gets told.

We believe in the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, we also believe

that everything that lives can be reborn,

all hidden things can come to light,

all broken things can be remade,

the empty larder can be filled,

and promises gone stale and hard

can taste like bread again.

And we believe the old, old Story can be told again

to thrill sad hearts like rediscovered love;

that even lost and frightened lambs like us

can be retrieved, restored to courage,

and declare the Truth

that makes the tyrants tumble

and the captives free.

Anthem Choir

“Come, Lazarus,” Carl P. Daw, Jr.

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.      

“Come, Lazarus,” the Savior called;

And from the stony grave

Came forth his friend, from death unthralled,

To show God’s power to save.

It was no light or easy task

To wake this one who slept;

The Healer feigned no callous mask;

Moved deeply, Jesus wept.

Fill us with your compassion, Lord,

Our fear and pride remove,

Till all our lives enflesh your word

And bear your wounds of love.

Convert our wills and make us whole;

Wean us from selfish strife;

Transform each heart and mind and soul

With your abundant life.

Then send us forth to show your love

In every time and place,

That healed and healing we may prove

The channels of your grace.

Prayers of the People 

The Lord’s Prayer (Traditional Version) 

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 debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.  

Prayer Response  #166 W & R      

“Wait for the Lord,” Taizé Community

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.      

(Sing two times:)

Wait for the Lord, whose day is near.   

Wait for the Lord: be strong, take heart.

Call for Offering 

* Doxology  

“Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow”  

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.      

Praise God from whom all blessings flow;   

Praise God, all creatures high and low.   

Praise God, in Jesus fully known:   

Creator, Word, and Spirit one.  

* Prayer of Dedication 

* Hymn “You, O Christ, Are Resurrection” [To the tune of #477 W&R]

You, O Christ, are resurrection
In a world that's filled with pain.
You reach out when we are hurting
And you lift us up again.
Battered women, hungry children,
Lonely people, those in need
Find in you a hope that's living
As they're welcomed, loved and freed.

You, O Christ, are resurrection
When we're caught up in our sin,
When we grieve the road we're traveling,
When we see what might have been.
You give healing and forgiveness
In the place of sin and strife.
Christ, we're drawn to what you give us —
Resurrection and new life.

You, O Christ, are resurrection
When a loved one's memories fade,
For you never will forget us —
We're the ones you came to save.
Lord, we trust that you will guide us
When each day brings grief and stress;
Living Christ, you walk beside us
Through this shadowed wilderness.

You, O Christ, are resurrection
When an illness takes its toll,
For the promise that you give us
Is that one day we'll be whole.
So we need not fear the future
When the way seems hard to bear;
You will gently guide and lead us
To the place that you prepare.

* Benediction

Postlude Chris Bartlette

“I Will Sing of My Redeemer,” John F. Wilson

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.      

Where an * is indicated, please rise in body and/or in spirit.      

“W & R” ~ the red Worship and Rejoice hymnal.     

“PH” ~ the blue Presbyterian Hymnal  