ministers-messages

THE LORD IS MY LIGHT AND MY SALVATION – WHOM SHALL I FEAR? THE LORD IS THE STRONGHOLD OF MY LIFE – OF WHOM SHALL I BE AFRAID? (Psalm 27: 1)

WELCOME TO OUR SUNDAY MORNING WEB-WORSHIP.

OPENING HYMN (CH-387): – THE LORD’S MY SHEPHERD, I’ll not want. He makes me down to lie in pastures green: He leadeth me the quiet waters by.

My soul He doth restore again; and me to walk doth make within the paths of righteousness, even for His own Name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk in death’s dark vale, yet will I fear none ill: for Thou art with me; and Thy rod and staff me comfort still.

My table Thou hast furnished in presence of my foes; my head Thou dost with oil anoint, and my cup overflows.

Goodness and mercy all my life shall surely follow me: and in God’s house for evermore my dwelling-place shall be.

To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, The God whom we adore, be glory, as it was, and is, and shall be evermore. Amen.

LET US PRAY:

LOVING GOD, OUR GOOD SHEPHERD IN CHRIST, we come to bow our heads, to lift up our hearts, and to offer You our worship. We come to seek Your will, to hear Your voice, and follow You. We praise You for all You have done for us through Christ – His revelation of Your love, His obedience and faithfulness even to the Cross, His victory over death and exaltation to Your side, and His promise to be with us till the very end of the age. Help us, as we worship You, to recognise Christ here amongst us, help us to bear His name faithfully, and live each day to the glory of Your name. AMEN.

OLD TESTAMENT READING: – PSALM 23.

THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD, I SHALL NOT BE IN WANT. HE MAKES ME LIE DOWN IN GREEN PASTURES, HE LEADS ME BESIDE QUIET WATERS, HE RESTORES MY SOUL. HE GUIDES ME IN PATHS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS FOR HIS NAME’S SAKE. EVEN THOUGH I WALK THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH, I WILL FEAR NO EVIL, FOR YOU ARE WITH ME; YOUR ROD AND YOUR STAFF, THEY COMFORT ME. YOU PREPARE A TABLE BEFORE ME IN THE PRESENCE OF MY ENEMIES. YOU ANOINT MY HEAD WITH OIL; MY CUP OVERFLOWS. SURELY GOODNESS AND LOVE WILL FOLLOW ME ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE, AND I WILL DWELL IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD FOREVER.

NEW TESTAMENT READING: – JOHN 10: 1-11.

JESUS SAID, “I TELL YOU THE TRUTH, THE MAN WHO DOES NOT ENTER THE SHEEP PEN BY THE GATE, BUT CLIMBS IN BY SOME OTHER WAY, IS A THIEF AND A ROBBER. THE MAN WHO ENTERS  BY THE GATE IS THE SHEPHERD OF HIS SHEEP. THE WATCHMAN OPENS THE GATE FOR HIM, AND THE SHEEP LISTEN TO HIS VOICE. HE CALLS HIS OWN SHEEP BY NAME AND LEADS THEM OUT. WHEN HE HAS BROUGHT OUT ALL HIS OWN, HE GOES ON AHEAD OF THEM, AND HIS SHEEP FOLLOW HIM BECAUSE THEY KNOW HIS VOICE. BUT THEY WILL NEVER FOLLOW A STRANGER; IN FACT, THEY WILL RUN AWAY FROM HIM BECAUSE THEY DO NOT RECOGNIZE A STRANGER’S VOICE.” JESUS USED THIS FIGURE OF SPEECH, BUT THEY DID NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT HE WAS TELLING THEM. THEREFORE JESUS SAID AGAIN, “I TELL YOU THE TRUTH, I AM THE GATE FOR THE SHEEP. ALL WHO EVER CAME BEFORE ME WERE THIEVES AND ROBBERS, BUT THE SHEEP DID NOT LISTEN TO THEM. I AM THE GATE; WHOEVER ENTERS THROUGH ME WILL BE SAVED. HE WILL COME IN AND GO OUT, AND FIND PASTURE. THE THIEF COMES ONLY TO STEAL AND KILL AND DESTROY; I HAVE COME THAT THEY MAY HAVE LIFE, AND HAVE IT TO THE FULL. I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD. THE GOOD SHEPHERD LAYS DOWN HIS LIFE FOR THE SHEEP.

I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14: 6). Jesus gave this answer to Thomas, who honestly confessed that he did not know where Jesus was going; he did not know the way or how things would evolve with the disciples and their Lord. Through this well-known saying Jesus wanted to make it clear once and for all, that a life led by Him, and following Him as sheep follow their shepherd, is a life that has a precise direction and destination. This godly role of Salvation is fulfilled in Jesus, as the Good Shepherd. The Shepherd-theme is widely spread throughout the Scriptures. It is not only in Psalm 23 and in the Gospel of John, Chapter 10, that we find that God has been so gracious that he allowed Himself, the High and Holy One, to be compared to a Shepherd-of-His-Sheep. We find it as far back as the Book of Genesis, in a prayer of Jacob: – May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, – … may He bless these boys (Genesis 48: 15-16). Interestingly, in the original Hebrew, the word SHEPHERD is the same as the verb “to feed.” This is the central task of a shepherd: – to feed his sheep. Physically, and spiritually, as our Good Shepherd does; in response to our prayers. We find this theme right through Psalms 74, 78, 80, in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and through the Minor Prophets, and many times in the New Testament. As I have already mentioned, Shepherd is a key biblical word used in prayer, a demand to be fed by the God in whom we believe. Today, I invite you to join me to meditate and pray through Psalm 23 and John 10: 1-11. Prayer is communication with our Shepherd. The poet said: – More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of (Alfred Lord Tennyson, – Idylls of the King). Indeed, many more things still need to be born from prayer within these troubled times of our twenty-first century. The world needs our prayers. We need our prayers, both because of this pandemic, and further beyond it.

PSALM 23 CAN CALM, PROTECT, AND GUIDE US.  – The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want. The Psalm begins with a note of personal assurance. David knows the Shepherd, and he knows that his Shepherd knows him. It is not enough to know that there is a Shepherd; we should know that I am His and He is mine. God is the resting place for our souls. Bringing our fears to the Shepherd, places us in the care of the One who holds together our lives and our universe. We must always stay near to our Shepherd. – He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul. We absorb the shocks of life through prayer, through worship, through  still moments alone with God. Our grief works itself out through the comforting power of God’s Holy Spirit, and the peace our soul is restored. – He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. God does not leave us alone in uncertainty. We are not left adrift. Aimless is not our direction. God calls us to action through His righteousness. Many say during this pandemic, – “Life will never be the same again.” They mean their lost routines; – But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint (Isaiah 40: 31). – Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff they comfort me. Putting one foot in front of the other is the key to getting through this valley of the shadow of death. Trusting God means that the Shepherd, not evil, will see us through. Fear paralyzes people in the grip of that shadow, but faith frees us to walk, see, and feel God’s guiding and protecting Rod and Staff. – You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Visible and invisible enemies win by frightening people. Jesus, the Good Shepherd said to fear only those who can harm our souls, so we are freed from our enemies’ threats by a prayerful life, as we walk our blessed path along with our Shepherd.– Surely goodness and love (MERCY, in the Scottish Psalter, 1650), will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.  I will always remember a Sunday evening service I was attending long ago, somewhere in the Uists. An old minister in a worn-out, faded gown was preaching on Psalm 23. Out on the road, for whatever reason, some people were walking sheep with two dogs behind the flock. Instantly, the old man pointed out to the windows and said, – “Watch the shepherd outside, ahead of his sheep: at his back the sheep try to sneak off the road to get back to the pasture and to the hills, because they are what they are, but the two dogs, running in circles around the flock, keep on turning the wandering sheep back. They are two lovely dogs; I would call them Goodness and Mercy, because this is a very true picture of our Psalm”. Indeed, for me this will remain the best vivid message ever heard from the last verse of Psalm 23.

WHAT DOES THE GOOD SHEPHERD DO?

In the well-known parable the apostle John presents Jesus Christ as the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE for those who belong to His flock through FAITH, and regard Him, Him alone, as their GOOD SHEPHERD.  Let us try to summarise why is Jesus our Good Shepherd? – The Good Shepherd calls His sheep by name and knows them best. Consider this personally for yourselves. The Lord knows us thoroughly. By our Christian name. We are of people of His Flock.  – The Good Shepherd leads them together out on to green pastures, in contrast to false shepherds, who lead people astray.   – The Good Shepherd is recognized by the sheep; known by His voice. – The Good Shepherd provides access to every blessings of God. – The Good Shepherd guides to sustenance of life in abundance. We as sheep are at the mercy of the elements. We must have absolute dependence on the shepherd to be protected and provided.  – The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. This is the best news, this is the GOSPEL in a nutshell. – The Good Shepherd  leads and guides His sheep, gathering them, so that all become one flock with one shepherd. – The Good Shepherd is loved by God the Father, and through Him God loves us more than anything. He brought us in through the door of Jesus Christ who shepherds us each and every moment of our lives, to be saved for all eternity.

The awesome truth of Christianity is that the Crucified Jesus Christ declares that man is incapable of saving himself. John Calvin said: – in vain do they wander about who leave the Shepherd to go to God by themselves, because there is but one open door through Jesus Christ, and all approach in any other way is prohibited by God. It declares the supremacy that Jesus alone is able to make Atonement for our sins, and because of that fact He is the only WAY OF SALVATION. The Cross of Christ is the turning point in life, and what we do at that point determines our eternal destiny. In the Gospels we read of a man born blind. He was a beggar. He was a “nobody”; people pushed him out of the synagogue. But this was the very man Jesus called, and he heard His voice and responded. The man whom everyone despised was the man Jesus saved. He passed through the Door to eternal life, because the Good Shepherd cares of His Sheep. Amen.

LET US PRAY:

LORD OUR GOD, GREAT SHEPHERD OF YOUR SHEEP. In reverence and humility, awe and wonder we come before You at this worship. Be with us now, meet with us always, and hear our prayers. We bring ourselves to You– our strengths and weaknesses, our faith and doubts, our hopes and fears. We bring our families, our friends and neighbours – those we love, those we know, and those we simply pass in the street. We bring our congregation, our town, our country and our world – places near and far, part of our lives or far removed from our experiences. In quiet confidence we entrust all into Your care, knowing that Your love is more powerful and Your power more loving than we can ever know or imagine. We praise You that we can put our hands into Yours, knowing that You will lead, support and hold us throughout our lives, that You will supply all our needs and far more besides, because You are our Good Shepherd. We praise You for our experience of that truth across the years – the way You have always held firm to us despite our faults and faithlessness, never letting us go even when we wanted to wander away from You. Forgive us that we have let go so often on our own way; clinging to what ultimately can never satisfy. Forgive us doubting You when times are hard, questioning Your ability to lead us safely through. Forgive us for reaching out only when we have need of You, expecting You to lift us up from trouble of our own making, and set us on our feet again. You have touched our lives over and over again through Your Goodness and Mercy. Help us to come out of this Pandemic with strengthened faith and trust in You, knowing that wherever and in whatever we may find ourselves, You will never leave us, nor forsake us. Bless Your Christian Church here and everywhere; all Your children: the sheep of Your Flock. Assure us  of Your goodness and mercy. Set us once more upon Your way, and help us to follow Your will, so that we may truly be Your people and You may truly be our Good Shepherd and Lord: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Holy Trinity, One, Eternal God.         AMEN.

THE LORD’S PRAYER: – OUR FATHER, WHO ART IN HEAVEN …

CLOSING HYMN (CH-388) – THE KING OF LOVE MY SHEPHERD IS, whose goodness faileth never; I nothing lack if I am His and He is mine for ever.

Where streams of living water flow my ransomed soul he leadeth, and where the verdant pastures grow with food celestial feedeth.

Perverse and foolish oft I strayed; but yet in love He sought me, and on His shoulder gently laid, and home rejoicing brought me.

In death’s dark vale I fear no ill, with Thee, dear Lord, beside me; Thy rod and staff my comfort still, Thy Cross before to guide me.

Thou spread’st a table in my sight; Thy unction grace bestoweth; and O what transport of delight from Thy pure chalice floweth!

And so through all the length of days Thy goodness faileth never; Good Shepherd, may I sing Thy praise within Thy house for ever!

MAY THE GOD OF PEACE, WHO THROUGH THE BLOOD OF THE ETERNAL COVENANT BROUGHT BACK FROM THE DEAD OUR LORD JESUS, THAT GREAT SHEPHERD OF THE SHEEP, EQUIP YOU WITH EVERYTHING GOOD FOR DOING HIS WILL, AND MAY HE WORK IN US WHAT IS PLEASING TO HIM, THROUGH JESUS CHRIST, TO WHOM BE GLORY FOR EVER AND EVER. AMEN.     (Hebrews 13: 20-21)

Sandor, your Minister.

SINCE YOU HAVE BEEN RAISED WITH CHRIST, SET YOUR HEARTS ON THINGS ABOVE, WHERE CHRIST IS SEATED AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD.   (Colossians 3: 1)

WELCOME TO OUR SUNDAY MORNING WEB-WORSHIP.

OPENING HYMN (CH-374): – TO GOD BE THE GLORY! Great things He hath done! So loved he the world that he gave us His Son, who yielded His life an atonement for sin, and opened the life-gate that all may go in.

O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood! To every believer the promise of God; the vilest offender who truly believes, that moment from Jesus a pardon receives.

Great things He hath taught us, great things he hath done, and great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son: but purer and higher and greater will be our wonder, our transport, when Jesus we see.

LET US PRAY:

MOST HOLY FATHER, as we gather in Your presence this morning, remind us that it is You who created us in love as Your children and who now sustains us in all walks of life, even when we do not acknowledge Your presence and power and love. Remind us again that it is from You that we receive every good and perfect gift that makes life bearable and lovely. Keep us aware that it is by Your grace that we are saved, and that it is not from ourselves but also Your gift. As we turn to You this Sunday morning, we pray that You will dwell in us as the power of love and peacefulness. Give us Your Word to read and listen to it, that we may glorify Your name, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Holy Trinity, One, Eternal God.     AMEN.

OLD TESTAMENT READING: – PSALM 80: 18-19.

WE WILL NOT TURN AWAY FROM YOU; REVIVE US, AND WE WILL CALL ON YOUR NAME. RESTORE US , O LORD GOD ALMIGHTY; MAKE YOUR FACE SHINE UPON US, THAT WE MAY BE SAVED.

NEW TESTAMENT READING: – LUKE 24: 13-35.

NOW THAT SAME DAY TWO OF THEM WERE GOING TO A VILLAGE CALLED EMMAUS, ABOUT SEVEN MILES FROM JERUSALEM. THEY WERE TALKING WITH EACH OTHER ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT HAD HAPPENED. AS THEY TALKED AND DISCUSSED THESE THINGS WITH EACH OTHER, JESUS HIMSELF CAME UP AND WALKED ALONG WITH THEM; BUT THEY WERE KEPT FROM RECOGNIZING HIM. HE ASKED THEM, “WHAT ARE YOU DISCUSSING TOGETHER AS YOU WALK ALONG?” THEY STOOD STILL, THEIR FACES DOWNCAST. ONE OF THEM, NAMED CLEOPAS, ASKED HIM, “ARE YOU ONLY A VISITOR TO JERUSALEM AND DO NOT KNOW THE THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED THERE IN THESE DAYS?” “WHAT THINGS?” HE ASKED. “ABOUT JESUS OF NAZARETH,” THEY REPLIED. “HE WAS A PROPHET, POWERFUL IN WORD AND DEED BEFORE GOD AND ALL THE PEOPLE. THE CHIEF PRIESTS AND OUR RULERS HANDED HIM OVER TO BE SENTENCED TO DEATH, AND THEY CRUCIFIED HIM; BUT WE HAD HOPED THAT HE WAS THE ONE WHO WAS GOING TO REDEEM ISRAEL. AND WHAT IS MORE, IT IS THE THIRD DAY SINCE ALL THIS TOOK PLACE. IN ADDITION, SOME OF OUR WOMEN AMAZED US. THEY WENT TO THE TOMB EARLY THIS MORNING BUT DID NOT FIND HIS BODY. THEY CAME AND TOLD US THAT THEY HAD SEEN A VISION OF ANGELS, WHO SAID HE WAS ALIVE. THEN SOME OF OUR COMPANIONS WENT TO THE TOMB AND FOUND IT JUST AS THE WOMEN HAD SAID, BUT HIM THEY DID NOT SEE.” HE SAID TO THEM, “HOW FOOLISH YOU ARE, AND HOW SLOW OF HEART TO BELIEVE ALL THAT THE PROPHETS HAVE SPOKEN! DID NOT THE CHRIST HAVE TO SUFFER THESE THINGS AND THEN ENTER HIS GLORY?” AND BEGINNING WITH MOSES AND ALL THE PROPHETS, HE EXPLAINED TO THEM WHAT WAS SAID IN ALL THE SCRIPTURES CONCERNING HIMSELF. AS THEY APPROACHED THE VILLAGE TO WHICH THEY WERE GOING, JESUS ACTED AS IF HE WERE GOING FURTHER. BUT THEY URGED HIM STRONGLY, “STAY WITH US, FOR IT IS NEARLY EVENING; THE DAY IS ALMOST OVER.” SO HE WENT IN TO STAY WITH THEM. WHEN HE WAS AT THE TABLE WITH THEM, HE TOOK BREAD, GAVE THANKS, BROKE IT AND BEGAN TO GIVE IT TO THEM. THEN THEIR EYES WERE OPENED AND THEY RECOGNIZED HIM, AND HE DISAPPEARED FROM THEIR SIGHT. THEY ASKED EACH OTHER, “WERE NOT OUR HEARTS BURNING WITHIN US WHILE HE TALKED WITH US ON THE ROAD AND OPENED THE SCRIPTURES TO US?” THEY GOT UP AND RETURNED AT ONCE TO JERUSALEM. THERE THEY FOUND THE ELEVEN AND THOSE WITH THEM, ASSEMBLED TOGETHER AND SAYING, “IT IS TRUE! THE LORD HAS RISEN AND HAS APPEARED TO SIMON.” THEN THE TWO TOLD WHAT HAD HAPPENED ON THE WAY, AND HOW JESUS WAS RECOGNIZED BY THEM WHEN HE BROKE THE BREAD.

Cleopas and Annas, two lesser-known people from the extended group of Jesus’ disciples, were taking a walk toward Emmaus, a village about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were still in grief over the death of their hope that this prophet, Jesus of Nazareth, was the one who would save them. So many have seen Him dying on the Cross, but there were even rumours of His resurrection. But was it simply a rumour too good to be true? (I just wonder why is it that we are so quick to believe rumours of scandal and tragedy, but struggle to believe good news when we hear it?!).

FAITH TAKES PEOPLE ON A JOURNEY. If we only had the eyes and ears and hearts to recognize it, we would often find Jesus walking with us on the journeys of our lives. Jesus joined as a stranger the two pilgrims on the road to Emmaus. He appeared in the middle of their conversation, but they were unaware of who He was. Incognito, Jesus joined the Emmaus conversation; He asked them what they were talking about. These two disciples could not recognize Jesus, and they believed that he was the only one who did not know what has happened a few days before on Golgotha. There is a reminder here for all of us, that just when we think Jesus is blind to our troubles, the truth is that He knows all about our problems. Jesus told them that if they had known the Scriptures, they would not be so saddened and without hope. The real test of faith in Resurrection is when we have to stand by the open grave of a loved one. We do not play games at the cemetery.  – Is the gravesite the final resting place for a loved one , whose coffin is about to be lowered in the ground?  – Is the grave just a historical location where we recall the person’s  life, grieving that the person will no longer walk with us on earth?  – Or do we believe that our loved one will now share in the promise of Christ’s Resurrection, according to our Christian faith? Resurrection is the transforming work of God by which believers enter the space and time of … Heaven. As Apostle Paul says: – Buried with Him … just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life through Him (Romans 6: 4).

DOUBT OFTEN BECOMES BELIEF. When they arrived at the village of Emmaus, the two disciples did not let Jesus leave them. They were not sure who He was, but they knew they wanted Him to stay. Something about the way He spoke, something about His presence with them on the road, made them urge Jesus to stay. And at the table, turning an ordinary meal into a Eucharistic moment, Jesus took the bread, broke, and blessed it, and gave it to them; their eyes were opened, and they recognized in their midst the one in whom they had placed their hopes. But as soon as they had recognized Him, Jesus vanished from their sight. Then, as they thought back on the day, they recalled how during their time with Him on the road, their hearts burned within them. It takes special eyes and ears to embrace Jesus’ presence. Scripture has to be heard as more than words on a page. The bread and the cup of the Lord’s Supper have to be experienced as more than just an occasional church ceremony. We need to read and study the Bible more rigorously than just as a lecture. Sometimes we even need these kinds of sermons to have our hearts burning again, and our doubts being turned into genuine faith. Later on Jesus had asked the two walking toward Emmaus, as He asked the Eleven, – Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? (verse 38) The Greek word for DOUBT should been translated more accurately as STRESSFUL REFLECTION. Jesus called out to their troubled hearts and minds to TRUST that He – the Risen Christ whom they loved – was truly with them. To help them move beyond their doubt, Jesus engaged each of them to witness the reality of His Resurrection. While the Eleven and other disciples were still talking about the Emmaus experience, Jesus entered their conversation, standing among them and saying,- Peace be with you! His words were more than a mere phrase. Throughout His whole ministry, Jesus spoke of the peace that believers could experience within themselves and in God. By being at peace with Christ, Christians are connected to the One who is able to give us peacefulness in all circumstances. Peace be with you, is His invitation to all who believe in Christ to be at peace with His Crucifixion and death, so all could then experience His Resurrected presence.

CHANGED LIVES SHOW THE POWER OF THE RISEN CHRIST.  During the past centuries, the trustworthiness of the Bible has undergone serious review by believers and sceptics. No book has been placed under more scrutiny than the Bible. No witness from the Bible has been examined more than the birth, life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The written accounts by Luke, in particular, and the Bible as a whole, have proven to be historically true. Since it happened, Jesus’ Resurrection gives Christians the ultimate reference point to determine the direction our lives are heading. The truthful historical witness of Christ’s Resurrection began on the first day, not month or years after it was claimed to have happened, and as we can see it wasn’t hiding the doubts and controversies. It did not originate as a bit of wishful thinking, looking back to a supposed unbelievable event. The biblical witnesses gave account of  what had already happened, and it dealt with unbelief straight from the beginning. The male disciples only believed when they saw the Risen Christ first-hand. Two of them on the day of Resurrection had already left Jerusalem and were walking to Emmaus – the wrong direction in fact, to ever meet the Risen Christ. They were not believing until Jesus showed up in their midst as a spiritual witness to their unbelief, and serving them with the SACRAMENT of the Holy Communion, enabling the Power of God, His Holy Spirit to install FAITH in the unbelievers.  William Barclay says that the whole situation on the Emmaus road seemed to have no explanation. For these followers of Jesus all their hopes and dreams were shattered. There is all the poignant, wistful, bewildered regret in the world in their sorrowing words, “We were hoping that He was the one who was going to rescue Israel.” They are the words of people whose hopes are dead and buried. Then Jesus came and talked with them, and the meaning of life became clear, and the darkness became light (The Gospel of Luke, page 350).

Let me end this message with my confession based on three decades of ministry in the Transylvanian region of Western Romania. I believe in Easter because I have been with believers as they died. I have seen the look of Resurrection in their eyes. If they were able to speak, I heard it in their voices. I have seen the power of Resurrection in the eyes of people who were breathing one moment and in the next moment their bodies were declared dead. You don’t play games when you are dying. Believers do give witness of their faith as they pass on from this world into the arms of God. I believe in Easter because people like the Emmaus companions, became believers by conscientiously following Christ as their Lord and God.             Changed lives always show the power of the Risen Christ.     AMEN.

LET US PRAY:

ALMIGHTY AND EVERLASTING LORD, in this world where hopes are so often dashed and dreams so often broken, today we remember the faith in the future You brought to so many, both through Your coming and through Your resurrection from the dead. We remember how Your disciples and the crowds that flocked to hear You gave thanks, convinced that You were the Messiah, the One God had promised, the long-awaited deliverer come to set them free. We recall how that vision of the future was shattered by events to follow, and a tragic end to their dreams. We remember how the news spread that the tomb was empty, and finally how You appeared in all Your risen glory – in the garden, in the upper room, on the Emmaus road, by the Sea of Galilee – and the dream was born again, the smouldering embers of faith rekindled. Lord, where faith has died and dreams have faded, may hope flower again. Be with Your people in their worldwide struggle with the Coronavirus pandemic. Reach out to all for whom the future seems uncertain or fatal, and bring the assurance that even in the darkest moments, the most worrying times, You are there working out Your purpose; able to bring light out of darkness, hope out of despair, joy out of sorrow, and good out of evil. Bless Your Church here and everywhere; be with everyone of us, with our loved-ones, and all whom we now name quietly to You … Lord our God, through Jesus Christ.  AMEN.

THE LORD’S PRAYER: – OUR FATHER, WHO ART IN HEAVEN …

CLOSING HYMN (CH- 663): – O FOR A CLOSER WALK WITH GOD, a calm and heavenly frame, a light to shine upon the road that leads me to the Lamb!

Where is the blessedness I knew when first I saw the Lord? Where is the soul-refreshing view of Jesus and His Word?

What peaceful hours I once enjoyed! How sweet their memory still! But they have left an aching void the world can never fill.

Return, O Holy Dove! Return, sweet messenger of rest! I hate the sins that made Thee mourn, and drove Thee from my breast.

The dearest idol I have known, whate’er that idol be, help me to tear it from Thy throne, and worship only Thee.

So shall my walk be close with God, calm and serene my frame; so purer light shall mark the road that leads me to the Lamb.

MAY THE GRACE OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, AND THE LOVE OF GOD, AND THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE HOLY SPIRIT BE WITH YOU ALL.  (2 Corinthians 13: 14)           AMEN.

Sandor, your Minister.      

HOW GOOD AND PLEASANT IT IS WHEN BROTHERS (AND SISTERS) LIVE TOGETHER IN UNITY… FOR THERE THE LORD BESTOWS HIS BLESSING, EVEN LIFE FOR EVERMORE.    (Psalm 133: 1, 3)

WECOME TO OUR SUNDAY MORNING WEB-WORSHIP

OPENING HYMN (CH-265) – “THE LORD IS RISEN INDEED”; now is His work performed; now is the mighty Captive freed, and Death’s strong castle stormed.

“The Lord is risen indeed”: the grave has lost his prey; with Him is risen the ransomed seed, to reign in endless day.

“The Lord is risen indeed”; He lives, to die no more; He lives, the sinner’s cause to plead, whose curse and shame He bore.

Then, angels, tune your lyres, and strike each cheerful chord; join, all ye bright celestial choirs, to sing our Risen Lord!

LET US PRAY:

EVER-LIVING GOD, on the Sunday after Easter, may our love for You be no less strong than last week. May we show to a waiting world the strength of faith we have in the Resurrection of Your Son, our Saviour. We thank You again today for the great miracle of Easter and for everything it reveals about Your awesome love for us. We remember how the disciples refused at first to believe the fact of Resurrection, and that we are not more faithful than they were. Forgive us, Lord, as we worship You this morning, and struggle to accept the glorious truth. Come, restore hope to our hearts and joy to our lives bowed down by the anxiety of the pandemic, to glorify Your name both now and forevermore.    AMEN.

OLD TESTAMENT READING: – ISAIAH 54: 7-10.

“FOR A BRIEF MOMENT I ABANDONED YOU, BUT WITH DEEP COMPASSION I WILL BRING YOU BACK. IN A SURGE OF ANGER I HID MY FACE FROM YOU FOR A MOMENT, BUT WITH EVERLASTING KINDNESS I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON YOU,” SAYS THE LORD YOUR REDEEMER. “TO ME THIS IS LIKE THE DAYS OF NOAH, WHEN I SWORE THAT THE WATERS OF NOAH WOULD NEVER AGAIN COVER THE EARTH. SO NOW I HAVE SWORN NOT TO BE ANGRY WITH YOU, NEVER TO REBUKE YOU AGAIN. THOUGH THE MOUNTAINS BE SHAKEN AND THE HILLS BE REMOVED, YET MY UNFAILING LOVE FOR YOU WILL NOT BE SHAKEN NOR MY COVENANT OF PEACE BE REMOVED,” SAYS THE LORD, WHO HAS COMPASSION ON YOU.

NEW TESTAMENT READING: – JOHN 20: 24-29.

NOW THOMAS (CALLED DIDYMUS), ONE OF THE TWELVE, WAS NOT WITH THE DISCIPLES WHEN JESUS CAME. SO THE OTHER DISCIPLE TOLD HIM, “WE HAVE SEEN THE LORD!” BUT HE SAID TO THEM, “UNLESS I SEE THE NAIL MARKS IN HIS HANDS AND PUT MY FINGER WHERE THE NAILS WERE, AND PUT MY HAND INTO HIS SIDE, I WILL NOT BELIEVE IT.” A WEEK LATER  HIS DISCIPLES WERE IN THE HOUSE AGAIN, AND THOMAS WAS WITH THEM. THOUGH THE DOORS WERE LOCKED, JESUS CAME AND STOOD AMONG THEM AND SAID, “PEACE BE WITH YOU!” THEN HE SAID TO THOMAS, “PUT YOUR FINGER HERE; SEE MY HANDS. REACH OUT YOUR HAND AND PUT IT INTO MY SIDE. STOP DOUBTING AND BELIEVE.” THOMAS SAID TO HIM, “MY LORD AND MY GOD!” THEN JESUS TOLD HIM, “BECAUSE YOU HAVE SEEN ME, YOU HAVE BELIEVED; BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO HAVE NOT SEEN AND YET HAVE BELIEVED.”

When is it hard for you to believe? When do you have trouble trusting in God? Does your reasonable, educated twenty-first-century mind find it hard to believe in a Resurrected Jesus Christ?      Is it hard to believe in such a long time of deadly pandemic and its variants, when so many innocent people, for more than a year, are dying all over in the world? Is it hard to trust in God when a loved one has died, or you’ve been diagnosed with a serious illness? Do you find yourself wondering sometimes, “Where is God?” When it comes to faith issues, the stakes seem high and it is difficult to say, “I doubt it.” After all, we Christians, trust God for everything in all circumstances, don’t we?  But if we are honest …

THERE ARE TIMES WHEN WE DOUBT. The biblical heroes of faith were sometimes doubters, too. In the Old Testament, Abraham and Sarah, despite a promise from God, had a hard time trusting God promise of a son. The Israelites, after they had seen God’s miraculous ways in their Exodus from Egypt, complained about manna and water in  the wilderness, and built an idol to worship when they found it difficult to trust and obey. Elijah, the Prophet, was aiming to die, when he felt that God was with him no longer. Or Jesus’ disciples, who had spent three years with the Lord, seeing Him miraculously healing and feeding the multitudes, and hearing Him prophesy about His own death and Resurrection. Yet they had fled from the Crucifixion and hid through fear. Later they doubted the words of the women who first proclaimed the news of Jesus’ Resurrection. With so many examples of doubters in the Bible, and with so many of us facing our own doubts at one time or another why is it so tempting to stigmatize Thomas as “The Doubter?” Difficult questions are often asked about faith, and the people who ask them are not necessarily looking for easy answers. They just want a safe place where they can ask the questions. Thomas – and let me believe that many more of us are like him – had found  the Right Person at the Right Place where true faith can flourish.

There is something lovable and admirable about Thomas. Faith was never an easy thing for him; obedience never came readily to him. He was the man who had to be sure; he was the man who had to count the cost. But once he was sure, he was the man who went to the ultimate limit of faith and obedience. The Christian tradition says that he became the apostle of the Church in India. A faith like Thomas’ is better than any glib declaration; and an obedience like his is better than an easy acquiescence which agrees to do a thing without counting the cost and then goes back upon its word (William Barclay, The Gospel of John, vol. 2, page 325).

DOUBTING THOMAS, CALLED “DIDYMUS” (i.e. “TWIN”) . Thomas did not receive Jesus’ blessing of peace on Easter evening. For some reason he was not there. When his fellow disciples told him they had seen Jesus, he said, Unless I see the nail marks in His hand and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe it (verse 25). Doubt is not the opposite of faith. Certainty is the opposite of faith. Certainty does not require faith because no risk is involved; faith in God is risky if it is anything. John tells us, that it happened eight days later, when Jesus came back among His disciples, announcing His peace again. He did not write Thomas off. He would not let him go on in doubting faith. Jesus allowed Thomas the very proof he had been demanding. He allowed Thomas the double proof of sight and touch. Jesus said to him, Stop doubting and believe! Being in the KIRK, the home of His disciples, on the Sunday after Easter, Jesus gave to Thomas a fresh vision of the Risen Lord. He made a rededication of His life, and faith within that home was revived. What Thomas said became the pattern of confession for all believers. This is not just the cry of personal faith. Thomas is not quoting someone else. It is a deep confession: – MY LORD AND MY GOD! Others had called Jesus the Christ, Good Shepherd, Good Teacher, Miracle Worker, and the Son of God, but Thomas called Him LORD AND GOD. Condensed here is the whole meaning of the person and the work of Jesus. He is Lord; that means Sovereign, the Master of Life. All is committed to Him. He is God; that means He is Divine, Messiah, Saviour. Jesus then spoke a beatitude to Thomas, – Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed (verse 29). It is what we do not see that is the strength of our Christian Faith. The apostle Paul said, – We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal (2 Corinthians 4: 18). There is a danger in seeing – in making sight the satisfaction of curiosity – and then being content. Seeing and touching may help faith, but they can never produce it. Years later, Peter remembered that Sunday after Easter and wrote: – Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls (1 Peter 1: 8-9).  Given the time and space and experience, Thomas came to faith. His confession marked the great claim of the Scripture. In the presence of the Risen Christ he proclaims, – My Lord and my God! Great faith requires that we ask and live in all our questions. We probably won’t receive all the answers we are looking for. But the honesty and courage of our questions may allow us to meet and live with the mystery of it all. Therefore, instead of calling Thomas “The Doubter,” I would rather call him Honest Thomas. This world is not a place for blind faith or easy answers. Jesus had a word for those who struggle with faith, those in whose mind and heart big questions abound: – Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.

WHAT DO WE HAVE TO HELP US WHEN OUR DOUBTS ASSAIL US?

– First and foremost: – WE HAVE THE POWER AND PRESENCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT TO SUSTAIN US. When  the Risen Christ first appeared to the disciples (when Thomas wasn’t with them), He breathed on them and said, – Peace be with you!  As the Father has sent me, I am sending you. And with that he breathed on them and said, – Receive the Holy Spirit (John 20: 21-22). Sometime before His Resurrection, Jesus also made this promise to His disciples, – I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counsellor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you (John 14: 16-17).

– A second thing that can help us is:– REMEMBERING THE PAST. Remembering times when God has delivered us in the past can help us persevere in the midst of difficulties like this terrible pandemic. The people of Israel knew this, and many of the psalms were their stories of deliverance that were sung and told in services of remembrance and thanksgiving. We love to sing, – O God our help in ages past, our hope for years to come. Let us think about a time or times when God has been with us, delivering us through or from difficult situations. May the encouragement of that memory serve as a source of strength and comfort for us in times of current doubts, during anxiety, fear or discouragement.

– Finally, remember the future or: – THE PROMISE OF THE FUTURE.  In the Book of Revelation, the old, and deported Apostle John wrote what Jesus said to the early Christian churches who were in desperate situations, – I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty (Revelation 1: 8). This greeting is from the God of the past, the present, and the future. Sometimes, remembering that what we are currently experiencing is not the end of the story, but can help to carry us through difficult times. May it be so for us in setting aside our doubts  and learning to trust more, to believe in our Risen Lord.      AMEN.

LET US PRAY:

ETERNAL AND GRACIOUS LORD, we remember how Thomas doubted, not being able to accept Resurrection until he had met You face to face, and heard the words he longed to hear: – Put your finger here; see my hands Reach out … and touch … and after doubt there was faith. We still need, Lord, Your Good News today. We thank You for our own experiences of Your Resurrection-power;  occasions when we have cried out from the depths of our desperate beings, and discovered not only that You can lift us up, but that You were there with us in our needs, to deepen our faith and broaden our understanding of Your Salvation. In the valley of the shadow of death, and sorrow and suffering, You have demonstrated to be present, working out Your eternal purpose. For that glorious truth, we thank You: for the assurance that nothing in heaven or earth can separate us from Your love, that no situation, however dreadful it may seem, can overtake Your power to redeem. In the changes and chances of this life, help us, whatever we may face, to trust that Your purpose will triumph overall. One week after Easter, we look around and see so many denying the Easter promise, that we might just as well be Thomas ourselves: our world is still risky and dangerous, our wounds still deep, and the loss of human lives in this pandemic still overwhelming. Merciful God, speak to us for we are Your people. Speak to us of hope for the hopeless, love for the unloved, healing for the dying, and comfort for the grieving. Tell us that winter will fade and spring will wash us anew, and the world will be green again, and we will be new creations in the garden of our God. Bless this struggling world, and Your Christian Church Universal within it. Be with our Church of Scotland in all its presbyteries and congregations. Bless and support all our sisters and brothers in our church, in this town, on this Island, and in Scotland. Hear our prayers for our loved-ones wherever they are, and for all those whom we name now quietly in our hearts … through Jesus Christ our Risen Lord.  AMEN.

THE LORD’S PRAYER: – OUR FATHER, WHO ART IN HEAVEN …

CLOSING HYMN (CH-279): – THINE BE THE GLORY, risen, conquering Son, endless is the victory Thou o’er death hast won; angels in bright raiment rolled the stone away, kept the folded grave-clothes, where Thy body lay. CHORUS: – Thine be the glory, risen, conquering Son, endless is the victory Thou o’er death hast won.

Lo! Jesus meets us, risen from the tomb; lovingly He greets us, scatters fear and gloom; let the Church with gladness hymns of triumph sing, for her Lord now liveth; death hath lost its sting.  +CHORUS …

NO MORE WE DOUBT THEE, glorious Prince of Life; Life is naught without Thee: aid us in our strife; make us more than conquerors, through Thy deathless love: bring us safe through Jordan to Thy home above. +CHORUS: – THINE BE THE GLORY …

THE LORD BLESS YOU AND KEEP YOU; THE LORD MAKE HIS FACE SHINE UPON YOU AND BE GRACIOUS TO YOU; THE LORD TURN HIS FACE TOWARDS YOU AND GIVE YOU PEACE.    (Numbers 6: 24-26)

Sandor, your Minister.

SEE, I HAVE ENGRAVED YOU ON THE PALMS OF MY HANDS; YOUR WALLS ARE EVER BEFORE ME.

(Isaiah 49:16).

I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE. HE WHO BELIEVES IN ME WILL LIVE, EVEN THOUGH HE DIES; AND WHOEVER LIVES AND BELIEVES IN ME WILL NEVER DIE. DO YOU BELIEVE THIS? (John 11: 25-26)

WELCOME TO OUR EASTER COMMUNION SERVICE.

OPENING HYMN (CH-569) – THE BREAD OF LIFE, for all men broken! He drank the cup on Golgotha. His grace we trust, and spread with reverence this holy feast, and thus remember.

With godly fear we seek Thy presence; our hearts are sad, people distressed. Thy holy face is stained with bitter tears, our human pain still bearest Thou with us.

O Lord, we pray, come Thou among us, lighten our eyes, brightly appear! Immanuel, heav’n’s joy unending, our life with Thine for ever blending.

LET US PRAY:

RISEN AND GRACIOUS LORD, we thank You for the great message of the experience of Your followers on that first Easter day – how You came to them in their confusion – each still struggling to come to terms with the suffering You had endured – and how You restored their faith, rekindling their joy, reviving their vision and renewing their commitment. As we come before You this Easter morning, we too need that which the first disciples received. Speak again Your word of peace to us, that our souls may find rest and life in our Risen Lord, forever.      AMEN.

OLD TESTAMENT READING: – PSALM 43: 5.   

WHY ARE YOU DOWNCAST, O MY SOUL? WHY SO DISTURBED WITHIN ME? PUT YOUR HOPE IN GOD, FOR I WILL YET PRAISE HIM, MY SAVIOUR AND MY GOD.

NEW TESTAMENT READING: – JOHN 20: 1-8; 11; 15-16.

EARLY ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK, WHILE IT WAS STILL DARK, MARY MAGDALENE WENT TO THE TOMB AND SAW THAT THE STONE HAD BEEN REMOVED FROM THE ENTRANCE. SO SHE CAME RUNNING TO SIMON PETER AND TO THE OTHER DISCIPLE, THE ONE JESUS LOVED, AND SAID, “THEY HAVE TAKEN THE LORD OUT OF THE TOMB, AND WE DON’T KNOW WHERE THEY HAVE PUT HIM!” SO PETER AND THE OTHER DISCIPLE STARTED FOR THE TOMB. BOTH WERE RUNNING, BUT THE OTHER DISCIPLE OUTRAN PETER AND REACHED THE TOMB FIRST. HE BENT OVER AND LOOKED IN AT THE STRIPS OF LINEN LYING THERE BUT DID NOT GO IN. THEM SIMON PETER, WHO WAS BEHIND HIM, ARRIVED AND WENT INTO THE TOMB. HE SAW THE STRIPS OF LINEN LYING THERE, AS WELL AS THE BURIAL CLOTH THAT HAD BEEN AROUND JESUS’ HEAD. THE CLOTH WAS FOLDED UP BY ITSELF, SEPARATE FROM THE LINEN. FINALLY THE OTHER DISCIPLE, WHO HAD REACHED THE TOMB FIRST, ALSO WENT INSIDE. HE SAW AND BELIEVED… BUT MARY STOOD OUTSIDE THE TOMB CRYING… AN ANGEL ASKED HER; – “WOMAN, WHY ARE YOU CRYING? WHO IS IT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR?”… THEN, JESUS SAID TO HER, -“ MARY.” SHE TURNED TOWARD HIM, AND CRIED OUT IN ARAMAIC, “RABBONI!” (WHICH MEANS TEACHER).

I recall many years ago when our children were small, sitting in the front of the television listening to the evening news. The children were all around the living-room, “underfoot” as my Mother used to say, and eager to catch my attention and tell me their daily stories. Honestly, I tried to interact with them but at the same time I was preoccupied with something seemingly important in the politics of those times. Suddenly, my younger daughter moved directly in front of me, blocking the view of the television. She took my face in her little hands, and said: – Dad, you look at me when I am talking to you!  That evening Szerena taught me a lesson I needed to learn: – Half-listening is no listening at all. Jesus had told His disciples many times that He would die and after three days He would rise again, but what he said was so unimaginable, that it was hard for them to believe. They must have thought that it wasn’t real, or maybe, they just didn’t listen properly, as it happened to me that night with my children. Death comes to us all; Resurrection comes to those who believe. Connecting Jesus’ Resurrection to our own lives, deaths and destinies requires faithful attention and listening to the Good News.

THE EMPTY TOMB. In her grief and pain, Mary made her way to the tomb, and immediately noticed that something was very wrong. The stone that the guards had placed over the grave was gone. Without entering the cave, she turned and ran back to the Upper Room where the disciples were hiding, telling them that some people had taken away Jesus’ body from the tomb. Peter and – probably – John, ran to the grave, and all they saw were the abandoned strips of linen lying inside. Despite all that Jesus had taught them, the two disciples still did not understand that their Lord had really risen from the dead. John tells us that they left the tomb – and went back to their hiding place. They were so poorly prepared for the good news that Christ had risen that they just went home, more afraid of being caught by the guards, than looking to meet the risen Christ. What kind of world were they living in?

– What kind of world is this?  Sadly, this question is more often asked today, as the world around us seems so brutal, cruel and sad. When the world is plunged for more than a year into a  pandemic; when people suffer from the terrible Coronavirus and its variants; when the innocent suffer and die; when we see the tragic effects of becoming infected, and not having the vaccine administered in time. Especially at these times, we may ask the question, – What kind of world is this? On the day when Jesus was innocently tortured and crucified – the day Jesus died on that Cross, there seemed to be a simple answer to the question: that world was a “Good- Friday-World.” Mary was still finding herself in a Good Friday World. She had seen Jesus, through her tears, as He suffered the agony of a brutal execution, and now things seem worse, as Mary came prepared for the ritual of embalming, and Jesus’ body had disappeared.

WHO IS IT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR? Many of us are like Mary. We are looking for a  preconceived Jesus, the Jesus we think we know or imagine. We may come to Easter Sunday limiting God by looking for Jesus only as we have always seen Him. How would we answer the question, – Who is it you are looking for?  In what way might we be surprised if the Lord would appear to us this morning? Why is it easier to see and believe as we always have, rather than having a personal meeting with the Risen Christ? Perhaps we hang on to our preconceptions because it is more comfortable and far less demanding of us. Poor Mary. She was alone again, just existing in that Good-Friday-World. But then, suddenly, her world was changed – changed forever, changed for the better. She met up with the Risen Christ – as the first person to see Him. Then Mary realised that hope is stronger than fear; love is stronger than hate; faith is stronger than doubt – and life is stronger than death; all because of God’s loving, saving work in Christ Jesus. From that moment Mary’s life started reflecting Jesus’ Resurrection Light, not dwelling any longer in the darkness of Good Friday. Her eyes have been opened, her life, – her world – has been changed forever into the Easter-World. God surprised Mary that first Easter morning, and everything has changed for her. What changed Mary? Not the empty tomb. Not the presence of the angels. Not the vision of Jesus standing before her; she misunderstood all of that. It was one word that changed everything for her. One word as Jesus called her name: – Mary. This identified Jesus as The Good Shepherd, who knows His sheep by name, and they listen to His voice (John 10: 15-16). From now on Mary lives in the EASTER-WORLD, rather than just existing in a prolonged and sorrowful Good Friday.

WE ARE EASTER PEOPLE. God so loved the world that he came to us as one of us in Christ Jesus. He lived our human life, knew our human sorrow and pain, and He died our human death. But the power of the love of God can transform our human sorrows, human sufferings, human death into joy, consolation and life everlasting, through Jesus’ Resurrection. And God is still with us, living in our Easter-World with us – and will never leave us, even (especially) when we experience the bad times of life. The power of the love of God has brought new life, rising in Jesus from the darkness of death, and Jesus promises new life to all people: New Life that is everlasting. This is the Easter Message for an Easter Day world where the love of God is made real through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Thanks be to our God!

It is more than significant for me that as I was ready to put the Amen and end this sermon, I just received a sad message that the wife of a good friend of mine in Hungary has passed away. I felt that I should respond immediately, and give a word of comfort to the family. As hard as it seemed, suddenly, it became easy. Both being faithful Christians, I just had to continue this Easter message in an even more personal way than I have already detailed above, telling them, that for those who have faith and hope in Christ, LOVE NEVER DIES, and that real comfort comes from the love of God.

Calling Mary (and us), Jesus then sent Mary (and us) with a message.  Mary was the first witness to the Resurrected Lord and the first that Jesus appointed to preach the Resurrection message, that opened for us all the way to be part of His family and do the same. Mary saw the Lord, first dimly, then clearly. She despaired; then she became a wishful thinker. She hoped; then she believed. She wept; then she rejoiced. She held on to the presence of the Risen Lord, then her life filled up with the knowledge that He was alive.

We all enter the Easter-story at different times and places this morning. But may we all leave having experienced THE GOOD NEWS, and like Mary, may we go and tell all those who really wait for it, – long ago in that Upper Room in Jerusalem, here in Portree, in Hungary, or wherever it is needed in this Easter-Day-World, today.

Amen.

COMMUNION HYMN (CH-582, vs 1-2) : – IN LOVE, FROM LOVE, THOU CAMEST FORTH, O LORD, sent from the Father, His incarnate Word; that in that perfect Name, by Thee confessed, our hearts with Thine might find their perfect rest.

Within the veil, Thy mortal travail o’er, Thou livest unto God to die no more; and now, made sons of God, with Thee we stand, girt with the grace of Thy confirming hand.

Jesus, Immanuel, evermore adored, at Thy great name we bow, we own Thee Lord: Glory be Thine, O Father, Thine, O Son, and Thine, O Holy Spirit, ever One. Amen.

HOLY COMMUNION.

We are here to look back, here to look forward. We are here to remember One who died, here to greet One who lives. We are here to share Bread and Wine, here to share fellowship together. We are here in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ who invites us, as He invited His first disciples, to take Supper with Him. He shared bread and wine, with the one who would betray Him, the one who would deny Him, and those who would abandon Him in His hour of need. He invites us to share bread and wine, you and I who are weak and sinful, who daily fail Him, who prefer our way to His, who have barely begun to understand the true meaning of discipleship. Though our faith is frail, and our faults are many, though we have many questions, and much to learn, come now and let us share Bread and Wine, COME AND FIND LIFE FOR OUR SOULS.  AMEN.

NARRATIVE OF THE INSTITUTION: –

Hear the Words of the institution of the Lord’s Supper:

FOR I RECEIVED FROM THE LORD WHAT I ALSO PASSED ON TO YOU: THE LORD JESUS, ON THE NIGHT HE WAS BERTAYED, TOOK BREAD, AND WHEN HE HAD GIVEN THANKS, HE BROKE IT AND SAID, “THIS IS MY BODY, WHICH IS BROKEN FOR YOU; DO THIS IN REMEMBRACE OF ME.” IN THE SAME WAY, AFTER SUPPER HE TOOK THE CUP, SAYING, “THIS CUP IS THE NEW COVENANT IN MY BLOOD; DO THIS, WHENEVER YOU DRINK IT, IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME.” FOR WHENEVER YOU EAT THIS BREAD AND DRINK THIS CUP, YOU PROCLAIM THE LORD’S DEATH UNTIL HE COMES.                                                             (1.Corinthians 11: 23-26).

(The Minister): – As the Lord Jesus, the same night in which He was betrayed, took bread, I take these elements of bread and wine, to be set apart from all common uses to this holy use and mystery; and as He gave thanks and blessed, let us draw near to God and offer Him our prayers and thanksgiving.

LET US PRAY:

Father, we come to You conscious of the things within ourselves we hate to remember, yet cannot forget and fear to renounce: our self-indulgences, our prejudices, our resentments, our hypocrisies, our selfishness. Save us from self-contempt as we acknowledge these things and as we remember Your love for us in spite of all that we are and do. Give us the assurance of pardon, the release and relief of those who know that the past is forgiven, and the zest and joy of those who know that the future is still to be made. So may we live in that fullness and freedom of life, which You have promised that we can share through Jesus Christ our Lord. Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned in thought, word, and deed. We have not wholeheartedly loved You; we have not loved others as we have loved ourselves. In Your mercy, forgive our past sins, amend what we are, and direct what we shall be. So shall we delight in Your will, and go Your way, with Jesus Christ our Lord.

Hear God’s Word of Grace and the Assurance of Pardon: – CHRIST JESUS CAME INTO THE WORLD TO SAVE SINNERS.YOUR SINS ARE FORGIVEN FOR HIS SAKE!     AMEN.

TAKING THE ELEMENTS OF BREAD AND WINE: – According to the holy institution, example, and command of our Lord Jesus Christ, and as a memorial of Him, we do this: – WHO, ON THE SAME NIGHT WHEN HE WAS BETRAYED, TOOK BREAD AND WHEN HE HAD GIVEN THANKS HE BROKE IT AND SAID, “THIS IS MY BODY WHICH IS BROKEN FOR YOU; DO THIS IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME” – PLEASE, TAKE THE PIECE OF BREAD, YOU BROUGHT WITH YOU FROM HOME DUE TO CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC, AND LET US ALL TAKE AND EAT TOGETHER: –  NOW…  IN THE SAME WAY HE TOOK THE CUP SAYING, “THIS CUP IS THE NEW COVENANT SEALED IN MY BLOOD. WHENEVER YOU DRINK IT, DO IT IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME” – SO, PLEASE, TAKE THE SEALED CUP FROM THE HOLDER BEFORE YOU, OPEN IT, AND LET US DRINK OUR CUPS TOGETHER: –  NOW …

THE PEACE OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST BE WITH US ALL!     AMEN.   (Because of Pandemic-restrictions, we won’t greet one another, this time, with the handshake of THE PEACE OF CHRIST).

LET US PRAY:

GRACIOUS LORD GOD, we thank You for the love which brings us – as food from heaven – the life of Your dear Son, risen for us at Easter morning, and assures us that we belong to the company of all His faithful people in heaven and on earth. Grant, that being strengthened by this fellowship and by the power of Your Holy Spirit, we may continue to walk His way, until we come to the glory of Your eternal kingdom; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Saviour and Lord. And here we offer and present to You our very selves, to be a living sacrifice, dedicated and fit for Your acceptance: – through Him, with Him, in Him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all honour and glory are Yours, Almighty Father, now and forever. Remember, O Lord, Your holy Church throughout the world, the Church of Scotland within it, and all our sisters and brothers in our church here in this place, and on this Island. Reveal Your glory among the nations and grant a blessed Easter wherever people are gathered in Your name today. Save Your people everywhere, guide and bless those who belong to You, shepherd them and carry them forever. Remember, O Lord, our families and friends wherever they are, and surround them with Your steadfast love. Remember, O Lord, those who are sick, those who suffer pain, loneliness, or grief, those who draw near to death, and those whom we name now quietly in our hearts, before You . . .  Comfort them with Your presence, sustain them by Your promises, grant them Your peace. Keep us in unbroken fellowship with Your whole Church in heaven and on earth, and bring us at the last to the joy of Your eternal kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Risen Lord.       AMEN.

THE LORD’S PRAYER: – OUR FATHER, WHO ART IN HEAVEN …

CLOSING HYMN (CH-293) – THE SAVIOUR DIED, BUT ROSE AGAIN triumphant from the grave; and pleads our cause at God’s right hand, omnipotent to save.

Who then can e’er divide us more from Jesus and His love, or break the sacred chain that binds the earth to heaven above?

Let troubles rise, and terrors frown, and days of darkness fall; through Him all dangers we’ll defy, and more than conquer all.

Nor death nor life, nor earth nor hell, nor time’s destroying sway, can e’er efface us from His heart, or make His love decay.

Each future period that will bless, as it has blessed the past; He loved us from the first of time, He loves us to the last.

GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONE AND ONLY SON, THAT WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM SHALL NOT PERISH BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE (John 3:16) MAY GOD BE GRACIOUS TO US AND BLESS US AND MAKE HIS FACE SHINE UPON US ALWAYS … THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR RISEN LORD.      AMEN.

Sandor, your Minister.

MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME? WHY ARE YOU SO FAR FROM SAVING ME, SO FAR FROM THE WORDS OF MY GROANING? A BAND OF EVIL MEN HAS ENCIRCLED ME, THEY HAVE PIERCED MY HANDS AND MY FEET. I CAN COUNT ALL MY BONES; PEOPLE STARE AND GLOAT OVER ME. THEY DIVIDE MY GARMENTS  AMONG THEM AND CAST LOTS FOR MY CLOTHING.         (Psalm 22: 1, 16-18)

WELCOME TO OUR GOOD FRIDAY WEB-WORSHIP.

OPENING HYMN (CH-254) – WHEN I SURVEY the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died, my richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, save in the death of Christ, my God; all the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to His blood.

See! from His head, His hands, His feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down; did e’er such love and sorrow meet, or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were an offering far too small; love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.

LET US PRAY:

GRACIOUS LORD GOD, we come before You today to thank You for Your most precious gift of all – the great love You have shown to us in Christ. In Him You came and lived amongst us, fully part of our world. Through Him You revealed Your grace, Your mercy, Your will, Your kingdom. By Him You identified Yourself with our sinful and suffering world, opening the way through His death and resurrection to forgiveness and eternal life. You have given to us without counting the cost, not just a little but everything. You emptied Yourself, taking the form of a servant, sacrificing Your only Son for our sakes. Gracious Lord God teach us to offer You in return not only our love but our entire life through faith in Christ Jesus, and this worship, to the glory of Your name, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Holy Trinity, One, Eternal God.    AMEN.

OLD TESTAMENT READING: ISAIAH 53.

WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR MESSAGE AND TO WHOM HAS THE ARM OF THE LORD BEEN REVEALED? HE GREW UP BEFORE HIM LIKE A TENDER SHOOT, AND LIKE A ROOT OUT OF DRY GROUND. HE HAD NO BEAUTY OR MAJESTY TO ATTRACT US TO HIM, NOTHING IN HIS APPEARANCE THAT WE SHOULD DESIRE HIM. HE WAS DESPISED AND REJECTED BY MEN, A MAN OF SORROWS, AND FAMILIAR WITH SUFFERING. LIKE ONE FROM WHOM MEN HIDE THEIR FACES HE WAS DESPISED, AND WE ESTEEMED HIM NOT. SURELY HE TOOK UP OUR INFIRMITIES AND CARRIED OUR SORROWS, YET WE CONSIDERED HIM STRICKEN BY GOD, SMITTEN BY HIM, AND AFFLICTED. BUT HE WAS PIERCED FOR OUR TRANSGRESSIONS, HE WAS CRUSHED FOR OUR INIQUITIES; THE PUNISHMENT THAT BROUGHT US PEACE WAS UPON HIM, AND BY HIS WOUNDS WE ARE HEALED. WE ALL, LIKE SHEEP, HAVE GONE ASTRAY, EACH OF US HAS TURNED TO HIS OWN WAY; AND THE LORD HAS LAID ON HIM THE INIQUITY OF US ALL. HE WAS OPPRESSED AND AFFLICTED, YET HE DID NOT OPEN HIS MOUTH; HE WAS LED LIKE A LAMB TO THE SLAUGHTER, AND AS A SHEEP BEFORE HER SHEARERS IS SILENT, SO HE DID NOT OPEN HIS MOUTH. BY OPPRESSION AND JUDGMENT HE WAS TAKEN AWAY. AND WHO CAN SPEAK OF HIS DESCENDANTS? FOR HE WAS CUT OFF FROM THE LAND OF THE LIVING; FOR THE TRANSGRESSION OF MY PEOPLE HE WAS STRICKEN. HE WAS ASSIGNED A GRAVE WITH THE WICKED, AND WITH THE RICH IN HIS DEATH, THOUGH HE HAD DONE NO VIOLENCE, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT IN HIS MOUTH. YET IT WAS THE LORD’S WILL TO CRUSH HIM AND CAUSE HIM TO SUFFER, AND THOUGH THE LORD MAKES HIS LIFE A GUILT OFFERING, HE WILL SEE HIS OFFSPRING AND PROLONG HIS DAYS, AND THE WILL OF THE LORD WILL PROSPER IN HIS HAND. AFTER THE SUFFERING OF HIS SOUL, HE WILL SEE THE LIGHT OF LIFE AND BE SATISFIED; BY HIS KNOWLEDGE MY RIGHTEOUS SERVANT WILL JUSTIFY MANY, AND HE WILL BEAR THEIR INIQUITIES. THEREFORE I WILL GIVE HIM A PORTION AMONG THE GREAT, AND HE WILL DIVIDE THE SPOILS WITH THE STRONG, BECAUSE HE POURED OUT HIS LIFE UNTO DEATH, AND WAS NUMBERED WITH THE TRANSGRESSORS. FOR HE BORE THE SIN OF MANY, AND MADE INTERCESSION FOR THE TRANSGRESSORS.

NEW TESTAMENT READING: – EPHESIANS 2: 8.

IT IS BY GRACE YOU HAVE BEEN SAVED, THROUGH FAITH – AND THIS IS NOT FROM YOURSELVES, IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD

By every worldly standard, a hero is viewed as a powerful, invincible conqueror. It is expected that he will kill the enemy, destroy evil, and happily enjoy life. God, however, does things in His own way. Man, whom He created, failed to walk by faith and obey God, resulting in spiritual death and exile. Man being hopeless to correct this situation on his own, due to the sinful nature of his heart, God decided to send him a Saviour. Through prophet Isaiah God announced, that the promised Saviour will suffer and die, not for His own sin but for those of the people. The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ, (Saviour Anointed, in Greek) obediently came to fulfil God’s saving promise. Our Good Friday text through Isaiah Ch. 53 brings us into a full and glorious view of the MESSIAH (Anointed, in Hebrew), foretold by the prophet more than 700 years before Christ. It is impossible to read this text, and not see Jesus Christ as our unique, godly way of salvation in it.

THE PROMISED SAVIOUR AS SUFFERING SERVANT. (Verses 1-3).

The Revealed Arm of the Lord in the first verse indicates that all that is going to happen is based on THE POWER OF GOD. The Promised Saviour would grow up as a tender shoot (from the Stump of Jesse – Isaiah 11: 1), and His outward appearance would not be admirable, because God is concerned only of the inward status of the heart. If the promised Saviour came as a mighty man of war, people would be inclined to follow Him. But the House of David had fallen, and the royal line declined. When our Lord came, He was indeed a root out of dry ground. These words refer rather to Jesus’ appearance as he hung upon the Cross. He was a pitiful figure, hanging naked, blood covering His face, worn and shattered by suffering. Indeed, He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him. SUFFERING would be the experience of God’s promised Messiah, being despised and rejected by men. A Man of Sorrows because there is no record in the Bible

that Jesus ever laughed. His brothers misunderstood Him and did not believe in Him. He was called a drunkard and a glutton, and was said to be possessed by evil. He had no home to go to. He became at one point “Public enemy no. 1.” In the weeks before His crucifixion the Pharisees offered a reward to anyone who would turn Him in.  Surely, He was rejected by men. Sin always brings suffering and shame. When the Suffering Servant came, he would experience the suffering and shame that was part of sin’s penalty, though the sin for which He suffered was not His own. He would willingly endure this, not because He deserved it, but because it was required for Him to walk in complete obedience to His father’s will. We should never forget that it was Christ’s willingness to face undeserved suffering – as the Scapegoat of the Old Testament, who would carry away on itself the sins to a solitary place…(Leviticus 16: 20-22) – on our behalf.

THE PROMISED SAVIOUR AS “SUBSTITUTE”. (Verses 4-12).

We are here at the very heart of the Scriptures, THE GOOD NEWS.   He himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed(1 Peter 2: 24). Jesus took our sins and paid the price for them. There is no way to read this and fail to see that our Lord is the great divine Substitute for the evil of the human heart: – We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all(v. 6). Through the animal sacrifices of the Old Testament, God provided a picture of the necessity of a Sin-payment, a substitute to take God’s punishment for sin. The promised Saviour would be the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world(John 1: 29). Sin is a disease that has afflicted our entire human race; the Suffering Servant of the Lord would carry the sorrows and griefs of those who would deserve the punishment of sin, in the judgement of God: DEATH. It was Jesus’ obedience to the will of God, all the way to the Cross, that provided the payment for our sin that God’s justice demanded. The promised Saviour would receive the piercing, crushing, and punishment that we deserved. The Sinless Servant would take upon himself the iniquity of us all. As a result, those to whom His Blood is applied receive His healing and peace. What rightly belonged to man – sin, suffering, death – was placed upon Him. What rightly belonged to Him – righteousness and life – was given to man, through repentance and FAITH IN HIM. Verses 10 and 11 describe Resurrection, and the satisfaction that the Messiah feels when He sees what His sufferings have accomplished: –  the Lord makes His life a guilt-offering, He will see His offspring and prolong His days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in His hand … he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by His knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and He will bear their iniquities. Justification by faith and Resurrection are clearly defined here. The closing sentence of the chapter takes us to the Cross of Good Friday, – He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors(verse 12), as the criminal crucified beside Jesus asked Him, – remember me when You come into Your kingdom, and Jesus answered him, – I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise(Luke 23: 42-43).

Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God, was the fulfilment of God’s promise to send a Saviour. He was the Suffering Servant and our Substitute. He was the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, as proclaimed by John the Baptist. He suffered in our place. He died for our sin. He took the punishment we deserved. He did all this to fully obey the will and plan of God the Father, walking in perfect obedience and surrender to Him. Because of His perfect obedience, even to death on the Cross, we can be counted free. Not only did He die on the Cross, but He also rose from the dead three days later, and IN HIM, WE HAVE LIFE FOREVERMORE.  AMEN.

LET US PRAY:

LORD, OUR SAVIOUR, on this day we marvel again at the extend of Your love, and especially the pain You were ready to face so that we might receive life in all its fullness; a pain that goes far beyond anything we can ever imagine or understand. Gracious, Saviour Lord, for all You willingly endured, we thank You. Open our eyes to the wonder of this day and help us to respond in the only way we can – with heartfelt gratitude, with joyful praise, and with faithful service, offered in Your name and for Your glory. Saviour Lord, broken on the Cross, tortured there in body, mind and soul, You know what it means to suffer. So now we pray for the broken people of our world, for all those who have experienced something of Your pain. We pray for the broken in body –  for all those who in any ways are affected by the Coronavirus Pandemic. We remember all those who are injured in accidents, those maimed in wars and terrorist attacks, those disabled by disease, and all those who mourn loved ones. Comfort, heal and support them in Your love. We pray for the broken in mind – those tormented by fears, those wrestling with depression, those who have suffered a mental breakdown. We pray for the broken in spirit – those whose dreams have been destroyed, those whose love has been betrayed, those whose faith has been crushed. Reach out in love and make them whole. We bring before You, Lord, the Christian Church Universal in all its branches, all Your children who in these hard days are turning to You in their prayers and petitions. Hear and answer us through our Saviour. Bless our Church of Scotland in all its presbyteries and congregations, and all our sisters and brothers in our church, in our village, and on this Island: give us all a blessed Easter through our Risen Lord and Saviour. We pray for our loved ones wherever they are, and hear us Lord, as we name quietly in our hearts all those whom we believe need our prayers …  Lord, You came to make us whole, to mend broken hearts and lives; to restore broken people. Reach out in love, save us, and bless us, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Holy Trinity, One, Eternal God.            AMEN.

THE LORD’S PRAYER: – OUR FATHER, WHO ART IN HEAVEN …

CLOSING HYMN (CH-253) – O SACRED HEAD, sore wounded, with grief and shame weighed down! O Kingly Head, surrounded with thorns, Thine only crown! How pale art Thou with anguish, with sore abuse and scorn! How does that visage languish, which once was bright as morn!

O Lord of life and glory, what bliss till now was Thine! I read the wondrous story; I joy to call Thee mine. Thy grief and bitter passion were all for sinners’ gain; mine, mine was the transgression, but Thine the deadly pain.

What language shall I borrow to praise Thee, heavenly Friend, for this Thy dying sorrow, Thy pity without end? O make me Thine for ever, and, should I fainting be, Lord, let me never, never outlive my love to Thee.

Be near me, Lord, when dying; O show Thy cross to me; and for my succour flying, come, Lord, to set me free; these eyes, new faith receiving, from Thee shall never move; for he who dies believing dies safely through Thy love.

MAY THE GRACE OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, AND THE LOVE OF GOD, AND THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE HOLY SPIRIT BE WITH YOU ALL.   (2 Corinthians 13: 14)

Sandor, your Minister.