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© 2024 Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
This is a series of five services examines previews of Christ's resurrection
Our Eastertide series examines how the implications of Christ's resurrection are portrayed prior to his resurrection. As part of these four Sunday services, we encourage you to use different settings of "I Know That My Redeemer Lives" each week. These anthems could be placed in the call to worship. You will find resources for these settings in the music notes following each service. The two Old Testament events we've already considered are Enoch and Elijah's exit of this world. In the next two services, we will study the resurrection of Jairus' daughter (Luke 8) and Lazarus (John 11), two of the three resurrections during Jesus' life.
In this service we focus on the work of Jesus in raising Jairus' daughter. While the events of Enoch and Elijah are more shrouded in mystery, this story clearly shows the power of Jesus Christ to raise a young girl who had clearly died. In his actions and his words, we learn of his power over death.
* * * * *
Prelude: "Come, You Faithful Raise the Strain" [see music notes]
Introit: "I Know That My Redeemer Lives" [see music notes]
The Call to Worship
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
In our anguish we cried to the LORD,
and he answered by setting us free.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
The LORD is our strength and our song;
he has become our salvation.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
We will not die but live,
and will proclaim what the LORD has done.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
The stone the builders rejected
has become the capstone;
The LORD has done this;
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it. (TWS, N.1.2.2, from Psalm 118:1, 5, 14, 17, 22-24, NIV)
*Song of Praise: "Come, You Faithful, Raise the Strain" PH 115, RL 315, PsH 389, TH 266, UMH 315
*Our Declaration of Trust and God's Greeting:
Congregation of Christ, in whom are you trusting?
Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth.
Grace, mercy and peace to you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Amen!
* Song of Response: "This Is the Day" SFL 175 [see music notes]
The Children's Moment
The Call to Confession
Our Prayer of Confession
The Assurance of Pardon
Our Song of Dedication: "Christ, You Are the Fullness," PH 346, PsH 229, SFL 232
God's Guide for Grateful Living: Colossians 3:1-17 [see liturgy notes]
The Offertory Prayer
The Offering of Music: "Oh, for a Thousand Tongues to Sing" [see music notes]
We offer our gifts for..
*Song: "Oh, for a Thousand Tongues to Sing" PH 466, PsH 501, RL 362/363, RN 32, SFL 19, TH 164, TWC 130, UMH 57 [see music notes]
The Prayer for Illumination
The Reading of Scripture: Luke 8:40-56
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God!
Sermon: Resurrection Previews: A Dear Daughter
The Prayer of Application
*Song of Faith: "I Worship You, O Lord" PsH 30
*Our Affirmation of Faith:
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit
and born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended to heaven
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Prayers of the People
*The Benediction with Congregational Amen!
* Song: "We Know That Christ Is Raised" PH 495, PsH 271 (sung to tune 512), RL 528, UMH 610 [see music notes]
Postlude: "We Know That Christ Is Raised" [see music notes]
* You are invited to stand.
1. We have carefully continued the use of strong Easter hymns for the opening of this series. Our intent is to emphasize that Easter continues.
2. In the Children's Moment, we suggest considering the possibility of telling the story of the raising of Jairus' daughter in language the children can understand. Don't feel the need to explain it, but allow them to wonder and be surprised that something so supernatural could happen!
3. Liturgy Note #4 of the first service in this series gives ideas about the method of utilizing Colossians 3 throughout this season as "God's Guide for Grateful Living." Various readings of Colossians 3 can be combined with "Christ, You Are the Fullness" very effectively.
During his ministry, Jesus showed his power by raising three people from the dead. In Luke 7, as he approaches the town of Nain, he encounters a funeral procession in which a widow's son is being carried out. Jesus raises the young boy up in the presence of a large crowd. In this instance a minimum of information and teaching is given. In the passage for today, we are given a more complete glimpse into the concern and grief in the home of the synagogue ruler, Jairus, who pleads with Jesus that his only daughter, a twelve year old, might be rescued from "dying" (see v.42).
A striking element in this narrative is the delay of Jesus. As soon as Jesus receives this urgent plea, despite indication that time is at a premium (she was "dying"), he turns to other needs. The crowd is pressing around him, and his attention is drawn by a woman who had been "subject to bleeding for twelve years" (see v. 43). This event becomes what seems to be an interruption in the narrative, and Jesus seems to assume he has plenty of time to deal with this woman and her needs, even though Jairus has presented an urgent need. When he is finished with this woman, the news comes that the daughter has died (see v.49-50). We may well wonder why he lingered. Perhaps we can identify times when Jesus seems to wait, to feel no urgency to answer us, to find our faith tested. (Think of John 11:4-6 and how Jesus delayed when he heard that Lazarus was seriously sick. Think of the Psalms (especially 10 and 13) in which God's apparently delay tests the faith of the psalmist.)
When Jesus received the information that the child has died, he begins the instructional process that will reveal his power. He challenges Jairus to continue believing with hope (see v.50). He journeys to Jairus' home (see v. 51). He instructs the crowd to "stop wailing" (see v.52)-not because wailing is inappropriate in the face of death, but because hope is present here. Then he subtly points to the resurrection about to happen by declaring "she is.asleep" (see v.52). The crowd finds this impossible to believe and laugh, (v.53) "knowing that she is dead." But Jesus defies their laughter, enters into privacy with only the parents and three disciples present, and proceeds to raise the girl. Notice the elements of this action: he speaks to her (v.54), her "spirit returned" (v.55), she "stood up" (v.55), and he told them to feed her (v.56). We find the words of Jesus corroborated by the actions taking place and completed by the activities of the girl who once was dead.
We are given no information about the response of the crowd, which had been wailing and laughing previously. But the response of the parents is "astonishment." The sermon should explore that term and note its content. Use a word study, concordance, and a carefully selected illustration. (At the very least astonishment includes the impulse to speak and spread the news.)
If we imagine that we were there, we could identify a number of reactions we might have: concern at the serious sickness of the girl, puzzlement at Jesus' willingness to delay going to see her, sadness and grief at the untimely death of a 12 year old girl, confusion at Jesus' statement that she is only sleeping, a mixture of hope and doubt at what was happening behind the closed doors of her bedroom, sheer delight and surprise at seeing her come out, and a recognition in Jesus of a power that could only come from One who is indeed the Son of God!
It would be helpful for this sermon to focus on how much better we are able to understand this miracle than anyone in the crowd could. We live after the resurrection of Christ and have received the additional instruction from the epistles; we can now look back and understand the possibility of this event. In the same way, we are to look forward and firmly anticipate our resurrection.
Suggestions for prelude are based on the opening hymn "Come, You Faithful, Raise the Strain". Different hymnals pair this text with primarily two tunes so we are providing resources on both the tunes.
ST. KEVIN ["Come, You Faithful, Raise the Strain"]
GAUDEAMUS PARITER/AVE VIRGO ["Come, You Faithful, Raise the Strain"]
The following are anthem suggestions on the text "I Know That My Redeemer Lives," one of which could be included as part of the call to worship each week of this Eastertide series. You may consider also reading the text from Job 19:23-27 in place of a choral setting or having solo rendition of the text from Handel's "Messiah." You could also repeat the same setting of the text from week to week.
Alternative harmonizations on the opening hymn can be found in the following:
ST. KEVIN ["Come, You Faithful, Raise the Strain"]
GAUDEAMUS PARITER/AVE VIRGO ["Come, You Faithful, Raise the Strain"]
The song of response "This Is the Day" is a congregational setting of a Natalie Sleeth children's anthem. This could also be sung as an anthem response by a child or children's choir. It picks up both the theme of resurrection and the text from the call to worship.
Suggestions for offertory music and alternative harmonizations for the hymn following the offertory can be found in:
AZMON ["Oh, for a Thousand Tongues to Sing"]
The closing hymn "We Know That Christ Is Raised" is paired with different tunes - WALLACE, ENGELBERG and SINE NOMINE. We are providing resources for postlude and alternative harmonizations based on the last two tunes suggested.
ENGELBERG ["We Know That Christ Is Raised"]
SINE NOMINE ["We Know That Christ Is Raised"]
Glossary of Hymnal Abbreviations:
PH The Presbyterian Hymnal (Presbyterian Church USA; Westminster/John Knox Press)
PsH The Psalter Hymnal (Christian Reformed Church; Faith Alive Christian Resources)
RL Rejoice in the Lord (Reformed Church in America; W.B. Eerdmans Publishing Company)
RN Renew! (Hope Publishing Company)
SFL Songs for LiFE (children's songbook; Faith Alive Christian Resources)
SNC Sing! A New Creation (Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, Christian Reformed Church,
Reformed Church in America; Faith Alive Christian Resources)
TH Trinity Hymnal (Orthodox Presbyterian Church, Presbyterian Church in America; Great
Commission Publications)
TWC The Worshiping Church (Hope Publishing Company)
UMH The United Methodist Hymnal (United Methodist Publishing House)
WOV With One Voice (Augsburg Fortress)
