In this reflection on Romans 13:11-12, Pastor Kelderman tells the story of the death of one of his parishioners. Kelderman first presented this message the week the parishioner died and repeated it as part of an Easter Vigil service at COLAM1991.
This dramatic reading of the Emmaus story from Luke's gospel is intended to be incorporated into an evening service on Easter Sunday, It requires the following voices:
Evangelist (Narrator)
Jesus
Cleopas
Disciple
A Woman
A Choir
This saipt follows the NTV text of Luke 24:13-35, and incorporates Old Testament passages, as indicated. Small changes were made in the biblical text to encourage greater clarity in this dramatic reading.
The season of Lent is a time for Christians to learn more of what it means to be followers of Christ, whose love for us went all the way to the cross. The hymn "Were You There" provides a means by which we can thoughtfully relate the Lenten events to our own lives.
Prelude and Personal Meditation
Choral Call to Worship: "Alleluia! Christ Is Risen!"
Our Easter Shout of Praise:
Christ is risen!
Glory and honor, dominion and power, be to our God for ever and ever!
Our Easter Song of Praise: "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today"
[PsH 388, PH 113, RL 325, TH 277]
In December, 1990, our congregation—Neland Avenue Christian Reformed Church of Grand Rapids, Michigan—celebrated its 75th anniversary. Rather than trying to squeeze our celebration into a one-day program, we spread it out over the entire fall season, beginning with the Sunday in September when we kicked off our church programs and concluding with three very special Sundays in November and December.
Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.
—James 5:13-16, NRSV
Last year we celebrated the 21st anniversary of the dedication of the pipe organ in our church. Maybe that's a peculiar anniversary to celebrate, but there were reasons for our choice. I was still grieving over the loss of both my parents the previous year, and our congregation was adjusting to the departure of our long-time pastor. We needed something special to celebrate, and since reaching the age of twenty-one is often a milestone in our culture, we decided to celebrate the twenty-first anniversary of our church organ.
Prelude: "A Palm Sunday Processional on 'All Glory, Laud, and Honor'"
[Bender]
Welcome
Scripture: Luke 19:37-40
Hymn: "All Glory, Laud, and Honor"
[PsH 375-376, PH 88, RL 279, TH 235]
God's Greeting
Reading: "Five Days Before Friday"
[Thomas John Carlisle]
Children in your congregation know what an organ is. Most of them see and hear one every Sunday. They may even have walked up close and examined all of its keys and knobs and tabs. But that's not really the organ; that's only the "console," where the organist sits. For those churches that have a pipe organ, the real organ—or the parts that actually make the sounds—is the pipes.
My belated thanks [for the article that included] specific music for the organ by Jan Overduin in RW 15. Contributions for organ are a good idea, given the fact that 90 percent of the musical activity in our services involves congregational singing with an organ as the main instrument.
