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March 26, 2023                   Fifth Sunday in Lent                               10:00 AM                       

WELCOME                                                                        Rev. Michael Droege

CALL TO WORSHIP                                                     Liturgist, Lia Wighard

Here is the story of
Mazzie, Lazzie and Martie                                            
Who would open their doors and throw a great party.

Or a quiet dinner
with one or two guests.
And if Jesus could come, that was always the best.

But life as you know is not always easy
One day poor old Lazzie began to feel queasy.

His body felt bad
with such terrible sickness And Martie and Mazzie
had to act with great quickness.

But Jesus was somewhere far off and away
And he didn’t start travelling until the next day.

Martie and Mazzie they looked after Lazzie 
but he lay in his bed and then he was dead.

Lazzie had died, the worst of their fears, Mazzie and Martie were full full of tears.

They wrapped up his body placed him in a grave. 
Their friends gathered round as they tried to act brave.

But Jesus was out on the road coming soon
He arrived at the funeral, on the fourth day, by noon.

But no one was happy to see Jesus now 
Lazzie was totally dead anyhow.

Mazzie and Martie met him at the gate.
“Jesus, you’re here, but you’ve come way too late!”

“Lazzie is Dead! Nothing more you can do.”
Though they had a strange feeling, that wasn’t quite true.

Martie spoke up through her tears and her grief 
“I know you’re from God, that’s my solid belief.”

And though Jesus cried at the death of poor Lazzie, 
He said something strange to Martie and Mazzie.

“Open the grave and move back the rock” 
“But Jesus, the smell will be worse than a sock!” 

“He’s dead as a doornail, he’s dead as a dog”
 “If you think you can help him you’re quite off your nog!”

But Jesus is someone who knows about death
And he’s knows about life, that we live by God’s breath.

So, they opened the tomb and Jesus called Lazzie 
And he came out alive back to Martie and Mazzie.

Now imagine the party with Mazzie and Martie, and Lazzie and Jesus
their life-giving friend, who shows God’s great love, and that death’s not the end. 

OPENING PRAYER
Dear God, thank you for the stories we will get to hear today. Thank you that we get to remember today that you are bigger than anything that makes us afraid. 

SCRIPTURE READING                                                     Ezekiel 37:1-14
One day I was guided by God’s Spirit and set down in the middle of an open plain strewn with bones. He led me around and among them – the whole place was full of bones! There were bones all over the valley - dry bones, bleached by the sun.
He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
I said, “Master God, only you know that.”
He said to me, “Preach to these bones: ‘Dry bones, listen to the Message of God!’”
“God is bringing the breath of life to you, and you’ll come to life! God will put your bodies back together and breathe life into you again!”
I preached just as I’d been commanded. As I did, there was a rustling sound! The bones moved and came together, bone to bone. I kept watching. Connections formed, then muscles on the bones, then skin stretched over them. But they had no breath in them. He said to me, “Tell the wind, ‘God, the Master, says, Come from the four winds. Come, breath. Breathe on these bodies. Breathe life!’”
So, I said that, just as God commanded me. The breath entered them, and they came alive! They stood up on their feet, a huge crowd!
Then God said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Listen to what they’re saying: ‘Our bones are dried up, our hope is gone, there’s nothing left of us.’
“Therefore, prophesy. Tell them, ‘God, the Master, says: I’ll raise you up and bring you out alive—O my people! Then I’ll take you straight to the land of Israel. When that happens, you’ll realize that I am God. I’ll breathe my life into you, and you’ll live. Then I’ll give you a home of your own and you’ll realize that I am God. I’ve said it and I’ll do it.’”

SERMON                                   Dry Bones Dance

BENEDICTION