Readings
Wisdom of Solomon 3:1-9 or Isaiah 25:6-9 • Psalm 24 • Revelation 21:1-6a • John 11:32-44
Collect
Almighty God,
whose people are knit together in one holy Church,
the mystical Body of your Son,
grant us grace to follow your blessed saints
in lives of faith and commitment,
and to know the inexpressible joys you have prepared
for those who love you;
through your Son Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
PROCESSIONAL: Christ Whose Glory… – #362
Christ whose glory fills the skies,
Christ the true, the only light
Sun of righteousness, arise,
Triumph o’er the shades of night.
Day-spring from on high, be near;
Day-star in my heart appear.
Dark and cheerless is the morn
Unaccompanied by thee;
Joyless is the day’s return,
Till thy mercy’s beams I see,
Till they inward light impart
Glad my eyes and warm my heart.
Visit then this soul of mine,
Pierce the gloom of sin and grief;
Fill me, radiancy divine,
Scatter all my unbelief;
More and more thyself display,
Shining to the perfect day.
First Reading
A READING FROM THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON
The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them. In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died, and their departure was thought to be a disaster, and their going from us to be their destruction; but they are at peace. For though in the sight of others they were punished, their hope is full of immortality. Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good, because God tested them and found them worthy of himself; like gold in the furnace he tried them, and like a sacrificial burnt offering he accepted them. In the time of their visitation they will shine forth, and will run like sparks through the stubble. They will govern nations and rule over peoples, and the Lord will reign over them forever. Those who trust in him will understand truth, and the faithful will abide with him in love, because grace and mercy are upon his holy ones, and he watches over his elect.
WISDOM OF SOLOMON 3:1-9
Or
A READING FROM THE BOOK OF ISAIAH
On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever. Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
ISAIAH 25:6-9
Psalm
PSALM 24
24:1 The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it;
24:2 for he has founded it on the seas, and established it on the rivers.
24:3 Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place?
24:4 Those who have clean hands and pure hearts, who do not lift up their souls to what is false, and do not swear deceitfully.
24:5 They will receive blessing from the LORD, and vindication from the God of their salvation.
24:6 Such is the company of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah
24:7 Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in.
24:8 Who is the King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle.
24:9 Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in.
24:10 Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah
Second Reading
A READING FROM THE BOOK OF REVELATION
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.” And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.”
REVELATION 21:1-6A
GRADUAL: How Firm A Found… – #408
How firm a foundation,
Ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith
In his excellent Word!
What more can he say
Than to you he hath said,
To you who for refuge
To Jesus have fled?
“Fear not! I am with thee,
O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God,
And will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee,
And cause thee to stand,
Upheld by My righteous, Omnipotent hand.
“When through fiery trials
Thy pathway shall lie,
My grace all sufficient,
Shall be thy supply.
The flame shall not hurt thee;
I only design
Thy dross to consume
And thy gold to refine.
“The soul that on Jesus
Hath leaned for repose;
I will not, I will not
Desert to His foes;
That soul, though all hell Should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no, never,
No never forsake!”
Gospel
THE HOLY GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST ACCORDING TO JOHN
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?” 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.”
JOHN 11:32-44
OFFERTORY: Fairest Lord Jesus – #87
Fairest Lord Jesus; Ruler of all nature
O Thou of God and man the Son.
Thee will I cherish; Thee will I honour,
Thou my soul’s glory, joy and crown.
Fairest are the meadows;
Fairer still the woodlands,
Robed in the blooming garb of spring,
Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer,
Who makes the woeful heart to sing.
Fairest is the sunshine; Fairer still the moonlight
And all the twinkling starry host.
Jesus shines brighter; Jesus shines purer
Than all the angels heav’n can boast.
Beautiful Saviour! Lord of the nations!
Son of God and Son of man!
Glory and honour, praise, adoration,
Now and forever more be Thine!
Prayer over the Gifts
Holy and mighty God,
we give you thanks for the triumph of Christ
in the lives of all his saints.
Receive all we offer you this day,
and help us, like them, to run our course with faith,
that we may come to your eternal kingdom.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
COMMUNION: The Old Rugged Cross – #327
On a hill far away
Stood an old rugged cross,
The emblem of suff’ring and shame;
And I love that old cross,
Where the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain.
CHORUS
So’ I’ll cherish
The old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last
I lay down.
I will cling to
The old rugged cross.
And exchange it
Someday for a crown.
O the old rugged cross,
So despised by the world,
Has a wondrous attraction for me;
For the dear Lamb of God
Left His glory above
To bear it to dark Calvary.
In the old rugged cross,
Stained with blood so divine,
A wondrous beauty I see;
For ‘twas on that old cross
Jesus suffered and died
To pardon and sanctify me.
To the old rugged cross
I will ever be true;
Its shame and reproach
Gladly bear.
Then He’ll call me someday
To my home far away.
Where His glory for ever I’ll share.
ABLUTION: I’d Rather Have Jesus – #506
I’d rather have Jesus than silver and gold;
I’d rather be His than have riches untold;
I’d rather have Jesus than houses or lands;
I’d rather be led by His nail pierced hand.
CHORUS
Than to be the king of a vast domain
And to be held in sin’s dread sway,
I’d rather have Jesus than anything
This world affords today.
I’d rather have Jesus than men’s applause;
I’d rather be faithful to His dear cause;
I’d rather have Jesus than world wide fame,
I’d rather be true to His holy name.
He’s fairer than lilies of rarest bloom;
He’s sweeter than honey from out the comb;
He’s all that my hungering spirit needs;
I’d rather have Jesus and let Him lead.
Prayer After Communion
Lord of hosts,
we praise your glory reflected in your saints.
May we who share at this table
be filled with the joy of your eternal kingdom,
where Jesus is Lord, now and for ever.
RECESSIONAL: Love Divine, All … – #648
Love divine, all loves excelling,
Joy of heav’n, to earth come down!
Fix in us Thy humble dwelling;
All Thy faithful mercies crown.
Jesus, Thou art all compassion;
Pure, unbounded love Thou art.
Visit us with Thy salvation;
Enter every trembling heart.
Breathe, O breathe Thy loving Spirit
Into every troubled breast!
Let us all in Thee inherit;
Let us find the promised rest.
Take away our bent to sinning;
Alpha and Omega be.
End of faith, as its beginning,
Set our hearts at liberty.
Come, Almighty, to deliver;
Let us all Thy life receive.
Suddenly return, and never,
Never more Thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
Serve Thee as Thy hosts above,
Pray and praise Thee without ceasing,
Glory in Thy perfect love.
Finish then Thy new creation;
Pure and spotless let us be.
Let us see Thy great salvation
Perfectly restored in Thee.
Changed from glory into glory,
Till in heav’n we take our place,
Till we cast our crowns before Thee,
Lost in wonder, love and praise.