Thank you for joining us virtually and digitally for worship this week. We all pray that this resource will assist you in your worship of the Lord this week. We also pray it will connect you, at least a small way, to your church family.
We wish you God’s blessings as we share this time together.
– Your Oxford Baptist Church Staff
__________

SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER
April 19, 2020

 

All the doubt in the world cannot wash away our inheritance from God . . . an inheritance of love, refuge, and strength.

WELCOME TO WORSHIP –  Rev. Aho

MUSIC FOR WORSHIP –  Adult Bell Ringers
M. Keller – Guide Us, O God of Grace” © 2006 AGEHR, Inc

CALL TO WORSHIP –    Maci and Mia Satterwhite
(This may be read in unison or shared between readers in your home)

 Come into God’s presence with joy.
In God, we have an inheritance that is imperishable.
Come into God’s presence with hope.
In Christ, we have an inheritance that cannot be defiled.
Come into God’s presence with longing.
In the Spirit, we have an inheritance that never fades.
Come into God’s presence with love.
In God, we have an inheritance that brings new life.

HYMN OF PRAISE – “How Firm a Foundation”   FOUNDATION

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said, to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

“Fear not, I am with Thee, O be not dismayed, for I am thy God, and will still give thee aid.
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.”
~John Rippon’s Selection of Hymns, 1787 (PD)

SCRIPTURE READING – John 20:19-31;  Acts 2:14a, 22-32

PASTORAL PRAYER
O God, your Son remained with his disciples after his resurrection,
teaching them to love all people as neighbors.
As his disciples in this age,
we offer our prayers on behalf of the universe
in which we are privileged to live
and our neighbors with whom we share it.

Take a moment of silence now to consider the prayers you have for yourself, your family, your community, your church, and our world. Offer those prayers to the Lord before concluding the Prayers of the People with:

Open our hearts to your power moving
around us and between us and within us,
until your glory is revealed in our love of both friend and enemy,
in communities transformed by justice and compassion,
and in the healing of all that is broken. Amen.

MUSIC MEDITATION –   Cindy Joy, piano
“Spirit of God, Descend Upon My Heart”
arr., M. Hayes
© 2006 Lorenz Publishing Co.

MESSAGE –   Rev. Aho
Earlier in our service, we shared two scripture passages, one from John and one from Acts.

In John, we follow the fear-filled disciples through two Sunday evenings. We begin on Easter Sunday evening, and the disciples hide behind a locked door. Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection were both unexpected and unprecedented. They did not know what to do, so they waited in fear.

By Acts 2, we have fast-forwarded several weeks. Fifty days later, the disciples speak with authority about Holy Week. In his sermon, Peter enthusiastically interprets Holy Week and proclaims the power of Jesus’s resurrection. But back in John 20, the disciples are far from there. Their actions are thwarted by fear and uncertainty, which leads one to wonder, what happens between John 20 to Acts 2?  Of course, there were post-resurrection appearances, but beyond that, things changed. What can we see in the disciples’ transition? And how might the things that changed aid us, our faith, and our call to be faithful today? This question leads to two quotes.

The first quote is from my favorite hymn, “God of Grace and God of Glory,” by Harry Emerson Fosdick. The last line of each stanza contains the refrain, “Grant us wisdom, Grant us courage.” I pray these words often, and especially when I consider moving forward in faith.

The second quote is from Ralph Waldo Emerson:

“Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be energetic, be enthusiastic and faithful, and you will accomplish your objective.  Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”

In John 20, the disciples are locked in a room and lack wisdom, courage, and enthusiasm. But in Acts 2, they have all three in spades. So, what happened? And what can we learn?

First, of course, they saw Jesus. The resurrection appearance and Jesus’ ascension into heaven were significant. But considering that on the first Easter, they did not understand the implications of the resurrection, the disciples cannot piece together their knowledge with their faith, and thus, lack wisdom. Since wisdom is, in part, applying knowledge in a way that evokes action, the John 20 disciples are trapped without wisdom. Fifty days later, In Acts 2, Peter uses his knowledge in a way that points towards wisdom. This shift reflects a critical transition.

In John 20, the disciples also lacked courage. They were, understandably, full of fear. The body of the crucified Jesus was missing. This sapped all their courage, not just their wisdom. Of course, acting from a place of courage without wisdom reminds us of the Garden of Gethsemane when Peter cuts off the ear of a soldier. Peter exhibits courage without wisdom, but back in John 20, the disciples lack both.

Finally, as we fast forward seven weeks to Acts 2, Peter applies knowledge that borders on wisdom, stands with courage in the face of mischaracterizations, and preaches with tremendous enthusiasm. He is excited to proclaim the good news. This excitement continues through Acts as he enthusiastically proclaims the gospel, the church grows exponentially, and the apostles sow seeds that change the shape of salvation for the world.

To that end, through the post-resurrection period, the disciples grow in the three traits: Wisdom, courage, and enthusiasm. These traits serve as a bridge from the locked doors of Easter, to enthusiastic preaching on Pentecost.

In fifty days, the disciples met the resurrected Jesus and applied knowledge in a way that cultivated wisdom.

This wisdom gave them courage beyond fear.

And the cultivated wisdom and courage led to such enthusiasm that the good news quickly reached beyond Jerusalem and into the world.

Today, in a way, we, too, are stuck behind locked doors in uncertainty. We want to be excitedly proclaiming and living. And even though the stakes of our situation are different than the disciples, in our times, we too must cultivate wisdom, courage, and enthusiasm. As people who would rather be with others, sharing life, faith, work, and fellowship, our path forward must be marked with a faithful balance of all three traits. To move forward will require wisdom, not just knowledge. It will demand courage beyond fear. And appreciating our new situation will take enthusiasm tempered by wisdom.

Misguided wisdom, courage, or enthusiasm can lead us to bad places, but a balance of the three, is how we move forward in faith, just like the disciples did. To that end, may our prayers today be:

God, grant us wisdom and courage for the living of these days so that we may also cultivate an enthusiasm for your love that is worthy to be shared.
Amen.

OUR OFFERINGS
Taking up an offering is an act of worship and a part of our service each week.  It is important to remember that our offering not only supports the ministry of the church but is an expression of our thankfulness for all God has given us.  We give today because God first gave to us.

BENEDICTION
May the Lord bless you and keep you;
May the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
May the Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
and give you peace through experiences with the Holy Spirit that cultivate wisdom, courage,
and enthusiasm for today and for the path that lies ahead.
Amen.

 

This passage from 1 Peter will not be a part of worship tomorrow but reminds us of the power of the resurrection. May it be a blessing for you today. 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith—being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed. Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
– 1 Peter 1.3-9

 

God our creator, through whose providing care we enjoy all goodness and life;
Turn our eyes to your mercy at this time of confusion and loss.
Comfort this nation as we mourn;
Shine your light on those whose only compassion is darkness;
And teach us so to number our days that we may apply our hearts to your wisdom;
Through Jesus Christ; our Savior and Lord. Amen.

–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (ELCA)

Psalm 16 is the Psalm for worship this week. 
May it be our prayer as we look toward worship and meeting the disciples in the locked room.

Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
I say to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.’

As for the holy ones in the land, they are the noble,
in whom is all my delight.

Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows;
their drink-offerings of blood I will not pour out
or take their names upon my lips.

The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
I have a goodly heritage.

I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
I keep the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;
my body also rests secure.
For you do not give me up to Sheol,
or let your faithful one see the Pit.

You show me the path of life.
In your presence there is fullness of joy;
in your right hand are pleasures for evermore.

A Easter prayer from the New Zealand Prayer Book

Jesus Christ our Saviour,
you have delivered us
from death and sin.
You have brought with the dawn
a new beginning and an empty tomb;
grant us strength and humility
to enter into life.
Through Jesus Christ, our Risen Lord we pray, 
Amen. 

http://anglicanprayerbook.nz/historical/547.html

Below is a brief slideshow that shows a few of the ways folks from OBC are experiencing and cultivating Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love during our COVID-19 quarantine.
Thanks to all who shared photos.
I hope these photos bring Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love to your heart today.
God Bless, Chris

A poem/prayer by Erica Takacas from Earth and Altar:

They say there will be no Easter this year.
No hats.
No hunts.
No hymning.
No lilies to fill a bright room 
with a fanfare of pollen.
No garden, no angel,
no victory.

They say that our journey 
born in sackcloth and ashes
will lead us at last
to nowhere.

And so we sit worried
that the tomb, this year,
will be found, for once,
still full.

That Mary and the others
will leave with their spices
and come back home with nothing.
That this year the women will finally end their work – 
anoint and then 
leave empty.

Ssh. Be still.
Do you not hear her?
Clucking close by like an old mother hen,
brooding and sighing and
stretching her wings?

Fear not, she says,
for I did it before – 
in the silence
in the dark
in a closed and locked room
in a world that had known
only death.

Did I not once prove
once for all
that there is nothing you can do,
no decision you can make
(for good or for ill)
that can stop
me
rising?

Christ the Lord is risen, and we live in Him.

Alleluia! Amen.

WELCOME TO WORSHIP – Rev. Aho

PRELUDE arr., D. Phillips “Resurrection Celebration”
Cindy Joy and Haven Parrott

MUSIC FOR CELEBRATION  – J. Raney “Introit for Easter”
This is the day for celebration, this is the day of goodness and light.
Earth and sky and all creation celebrate the wonder of life!
Christ is risen, sing hosanna, lift your voices to the sky.
Christ is risen, alleluia! He is alive, he lives on high!
~J. Raney ©2006, Hope Pub. CCLI#1049296

CALL TO WORSHIP
(This may be read in unison or shared between readers in your home.)
Alleluia! Christ is risen.
Christ is risen indeed!

Open the gates of justice and righteousness,
that we may give thanks to God.

Today we enter the gates of the Holy One
as the body of Christ.

We are called to do justice and love kindness.
Today is the day of celebration and promise.

Alleluia! Christ is risen.
Christ is risen indeed!

HYMN OF CELEBRATION EASTER HYMN
“Christ the Lord Is Risen Today”

Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia!
Sons of men and angels say, Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!
Sing, ye heavens and earth, reply, Alleluia!

Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia!
Where, O Death, is now thy sting! Alleluia!
Dying once He all doth save, Alleluia!
Where they victory, O Grave? Alleluia!

Love’s redeeming work is done, Alleluia!
Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!
Death in vain forbids Him rise, Alleluia!
Christ hath opened Paradise, Alleluia!

Soar we now where Christ has led, Alleluia!
Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!
Made like Him, like Him we rise, Alleluia!
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!
~Text by Charles Wesley

CHILDREN’S TIME – Mrs. Kristin Archer and Family

SCRIPTURE READING – John 20.1-18

MUSIC FOR WORSHIP G. F. Handel “Thine Is the Glory” arr., H. Hopson

Thine is the glory, risen, conquering Son.
Endless is the victory, Thou o’er death has won!
~Text by E. L. Budry
©1994 H. W. Gray Pub. CCLI#1049296

THE OFFERING
Near this part of the service each week, we take up an offering. It is important for us to remember that our offering not only supports the ministry of the church but is an expression of our thankfulness for all God has given us. We give today because God first gave to us.

AN EASTER DEVOTIONAL – Rev. Aho
It has become a cliché, but my goodness, this is a strange Easter, isn’t it! Typically for Easter we gather. We share meals, worship, watch kids have Easter egg hunts, and spend time with family and friends against the brilliant backdrop of spring. For many, Easter is spring’s sartorial high point marked by new dresses and a dapper suits. But this year, the suits and dresses are for family and Instagram this year since we cannot gather corporately.
This Easter, more than any other, our patterns are upended. Stepping back, can we see that this year’s upheaval challenges why we do all that we typically do? Though talk of our wardrobes may seem trivial, on Easter new clothes, new colors, and a new season is an outward expression of the day’s importance. Easter changed everything. This IS why we celebrate! But when we think back to that first Easter with the disciples, this year feels more like that than we have ever experienced before, doesn’t?
In John 20, only three disciples left their houses on Easter Morning. Mary Magdalene went first, then Peter and the disciple Jesus loved. They an empty tomb before they returned home. Only later does Jesus reveal himself to Mary and with the instruction to go tell the disciples. Did she go door-to-door? Were at home? Hiding? Contemplating? They were surely scared because when they got together later, it was in a private room behind a locked door. On that first Easter, God brought Jesus back to life without a hitch, but it was quietly. Most people had no idea what was happening.
Does that lead you to see some parallels? Easter is quiet this year. We are not gathering or traveling. Our predictable seasonal activities are on the back burner. But this year will we see Easter anew? Can we see more clearly now that Easter is about God and not our activities?
On Easter, our Lord is resurrected from the tomb and some 2000 years later, that is the cause of our typical celebrations and gatherings. God’s action is why we dress up for worship. Resurrection changed that morning, and we respond to that, whether we are locked in a room our having a family meal. Jesus rises whether we are on quarantine on or cloud nine. And the tomb is empty even though we are stuck at home looking for a new response.
So this morning, on Easter Sunday, though we do not sing with the collective joy that we have grown accustomed to, though we cannot gather in our Easter best, and though we cannot mark the changing of the seasons in ways we deeply love, we can still embrace the risen Jesus Christ. We can still give thanks for the God who reaches beyond stones in front of tombs and beyond locked doors. And we can still turn our hearts to the Lord who meets us where we are, wherever that is. Because on Easter, God broke the boundaries we knew. God did something different, beyond our imagination. And to that end, this Easter, as people who are bound up by circumstances beyond our control, I pray we will let God reach us, fill us, and bring us though the joy of this season. I pray that our experience of Easter today, gives us a new way to see resurrection. And I pray that, having experienced one Easter stuck at home like the disciples, in the celebrations to come, our new clothes will not just be on our outsides, but they will reflect of the joy and spirit we have on our the inside thanks to God’s. For on this day, we remember that God is not stuck in a grave, and can surely reach us, even at home. 

BENEDICTION (read together in unison)
We go with the blessings of the one who forgives our failings.
We go with the blessings of the one who saves us and heals our hearts.
We go with God. Amen!

O God, in Jesus Christ you fell,
for love, into the dark earth
and died:

give us grace to wait in patient
hope and love for the rich harvest
you have promised, that will
blossom in our hearts with
abundant life and love for all the world:

through Jesus Christ we pray
who is the promise of your love
restored, renewed, and multiplied. Amen.

–Simon Bailey (1955-95), England (written when approaching death),
from Prayers Encircling the World

A Good Friday Prayer from the Book of Common Prayer
Almighty God, we pray you graciously to behold this your
family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be
betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer
death upon the cross; who now lives and reigns with you and
the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Gospel of John, Chapter 19

Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they dressed him in a purple robe. They kept coming up to him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ and striking him on the face. Pilate went out again and said to them, ‘Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no case against him.’ So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, ‘Here is the man!’ When the chief priests and the police saw him, they shouted, ‘Crucify him! Crucify him!’ Pilate said to them, ‘Take him yourselves and crucify him; I find no case against him.’ The Jews answered him, ‘We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has claimed to be the Son of God.’

Now when Pilate heard this, he was more afraid than ever. He entered his headquarters again and asked Jesus, ‘Where are you from?’ But Jesus gave him no answer. Pilate therefore said to him, ‘Do you refuse to speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?’ Jesus answered him, ‘You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above; therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.’ From then on Pilate tried to release him, but the Jews cried out, ‘If you release this man, you are no friend of the emperor. Everyone who claims to be a king sets himself against the emperor.’

When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus outside and sat on the judge’s bench at a place called The Stone Pavement, or in Hebrew Gabbatha. Now it was the day of Preparation for the Passover; and it was about noon. He said to the Jews, ‘Here is your King!’ They cried out, ‘Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!’ Pilate asked them, ‘Shall I crucify your King?’ The chief priests answered, ‘We have no king but the emperor.’ Then he handed him over to them to be crucified.

The Crucifixion of Jesus

So they took Jesus; and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them. Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, ‘Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.’ Many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, ‘Do not write, “The King of the Jews”, but, “This man said, I am King of the Jews.” ’ Pilate answered, ‘What I have written I have written.’ When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. So they said to one another, ‘Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it.’ This was to fulfil what the scripture says,
‘They divided my clothes among themselves,
and for my clothing they cast lots.’
And that is what the soldiers did.

Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.

After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfil the scripture), ‘I am thirsty.’ A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the wine, he said, ‘It is finished.’ Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Jesus’ Side Is Pierced

Since it was the day of Preparation, the Jews did not want the bodies left on the cross during the sabbath, especially because that sabbath was a day of great solemnity. So they asked Pilate to have the legs of the crucified men broken and the bodies removed. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out. (He who saw this has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth.) These things occurred so that the scripture might be fulfilled, ‘None of his bones shall be broken.’ And again another passage of scripture says, ‘They will look on the one whom they have pierced.’

The Burial of Jesus

After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, though a secret one because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission; so he came and removed his body. Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews. Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. And so, because it was the Jewish day of Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.