(Image: “Raising of Lazarus”, John August Swanson, 2005, Los Angeles, CA US)
©Order of Worship for Sunday March 22, 2026
Fifth Sunday in Lent
For the Avent Ferry UMC Worship Video Click Here Link (Link opens in a new window)
Prelude:..“He Never Said a Mumbalin’ Word”…..Greg/Daniel
Trad. Spiritual Arr. © 1989 The United Methodist Publishing House
Coming of the Light:
Greetings:………………………………………………..Pastor Liz
Announcements:………………………………………….Lorri B.
Call to Worship:……………………………………….Melrose D.
Come let us worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
Come let us worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
Give Him the praise.
Come let us worship the Lord; Let’s give Him the praise.
(Nettie L Sawyer Lester)
Opening Prayer:……………………………………….Melrose D.
God of mercy, we come to you dry and lifeless, seeking your breath of life. Lead us to the place where our hopes lie buried and call us out from the tombs of despair. Call forth our faith that, with Martha, we may know you to be the resurrection and the life, in this world and the world to come. Amen. (Ruth Duck)
Opening Hymns:“Blessed Is He Who comes in God’s Name” W&S 3077
Words: John Thornburg, Music: Jane Marshall © 2003 Abingdon Press
1. “Blessed is he who comes in God’s name!”
cried the excited crowd. Spreading their cloaks, they
welcomed a King; “Peace”, they said, “here and now!”
2. As the great city came into view
Jesus began to cry. “Would that you knew the
makings of Peace!” he uttered with a sigh.
3. They did not hear him; neither do we.
Might is our golden calf. We would see Christ
equipped with a sword, not with a shepherd’s staff.
4. Peace is not gained through posture and threat.
Justice is not a game. Come, Christians, turn;
surrender the pride; repent in Jesus’ name.
“Glory in the Cross” #3075 W&S
Words and Music: Dan Schutte © Daniel L. Schutte, admin by OCP
1. Let us ever glory in the cross of Christ who
redeems us with his blood. Let us tell the story of the
cross of Christ and the power of his saving love. Like a
lamb he was slain; he carried our shame, to
show us the mercy of God. Let us ever glory in the
cross of Christ and the triumph of God’s great love.
2. Let us bring our burdens to the cross of Christ who has
known our sorrow and tears. In the great compassion of the
heart of Christ, God has walked in our hopes and fears. He was
mocked and betrayed, deserted by friends, and
banished to die among thieves. Let us ever glory in the
cross of Christ and the triumph of God’s great love.
3. Let us kneel in homage at the cross of Christ where we
see God’s human face. We behold the Maker of the
sun and stars as he hangs on the throne of grace. As we
share in his pain, his sorrow and shame, our
hearts will be tested in fire. Let us ever glory in the
cross of Christ and the triumph of God’s great love.
Passing of the Peace:………………………………………Pastor Liz
Let us offer signs of reconciliation and peace to one another.
Gloria Patri:…….“Glory Be to the Father”…….#71 UMH
Words: Lesser Doxology, 3rd-4th century
Music: Henry W. Greatorex, 1851
Glory be to the Father
and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning, to
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen. Amen.
Giving of our Tithes and Offerings:……………………..Phillip J.
AFUMC Online Giving Link: https://aventferryumc.org/give/
Offertory:…………“Were You There”…………Mark/Greg
Trad. Spiritual Arr. Jay Althous © 2000 Jubilate Music
“Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow” (The Doxology) #95
The United Methodist Hymnal
Words by Thomas Ken, 1674
Music attributed to Louis Bourgeois, 1551
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
praise God, all creatures here below;
praise God above, ye heavenly host;
praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.”
Prayer After Receiving:……………………………..Pastor Liz
The Prayers of the People:…………………………Pastor Liz
Anthem:……………..“Laudamus Te”………………..Choir
Words and Music: Natalie Sleeth © 1980 Hinshaw Music, Inc.
Gospel Lesson: ……John 11:1-45……….Melrose/Drew
The raising of Lazarus
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.”
Prayer:
Patient God, we confess our impatience and doubt when you seem delayed. Teach us to trust your timing. Amen.
Kyrie:
Kyrie eleison. Kyrie eleison. Kyrie eleison.
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.”
Prayer:
Lord, we believe, yet struggle with doubt. Forgive our limited trust and deepen our faith. Amen.
Kyrie:
Kyrie eleison. Kyrie eleison. Kyrie eleison.
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?”
Prayer:
Jesus, we hide our grief and rush past pain. Help us bring our whole hearts to you. Amen
Kyrie:
Kyrie eleison. Kyrie eleison. Kyrie eleison.
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.
Prayer:
God of Life, we cling to what is dead and hesitate to trust your work among us. Call us out, set us free, and lead us into faith. Amen.
Kyrie:
Kyrie eleison. Kyrie eleison. Kyrie eleison.
Message:………………………………………..Pastor Liz
Response to the Word:
Closing Hymn: “Lord of the Dance” #261 UM Hymnal
Music: Sydney Carter, 1963, Music 19th Cent. Shaker tune
1. I danced in the morning when the world was begun,
and I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun,
and I came down from heaven and I danced on earth.
At Bethlehem I had my birth.
Dance, then, wherever you may be;
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.
And I’ll lead you all wherever you may be,
and I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he.
2. I danced for the scribe and the Pharisee, but they
would not dance and they would not follow me; I
danced for the fishermen, for James and John; they
came to me and the dance went on.
Dance, then, wherever you may be;
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.
And I’ll lead you all wherever you may be,
and I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he.
3. I danced on the sabbath when I cured the lame, the
holy people said it was a shame; they
whipped and they stripped and they hung me high; and they
left me there on a cross to die.
Dance, then, wherever you may be;
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.
And I’ll lead you all wherever you may be,
and I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he.
4. I danced on a Friday and the sky turned black; it’s
hard to dance with the devil on our back; they
buried my body and they thought I’d gone, but
I am the dance and I still go on.
Dance, then, wherever you may be;
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.
And I’ll lead you all wherever you may be,
and I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he.
5. They cut me down and I leapt up high,
I am the life that’ll never, never die;
I’ll live in you if you’ll live in me;
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.
Dance, then, wherever you may be;
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.
And I’ll lead you all wherever you may be,
and I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he.
Dismissal with Blessing:………………………………….Pastor Liz
Postlude:…………………………………………………………Greg D.
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Each Easter season, the Worship Team purchases Easter Lilies to adorn the Sanctuary for our Easter Service. The Worship Team will be purchasing Easter Lilies for the Sanctuary.
If you would like to purchase an Easter Lily in Honor or in Memory of a loved one, you can request a Lily and provide the name or names of the persons you would like to honor or remember.
Suggested Donation for a Lily is $15.00. Lilies will be available for pick up after the Easter Sunday Service on April 5th.
Click on this link: Purchase Easter Lily (link will open in a new window)
Sunday March 22nd Worship Service