27 April 2025

WORSHIP RESOURCES

Second Sunday of Easter

Revelation 1:4-8

Every Eye Will See

 

Additional Scriptures

Psalm 150; John 20:19-31 (A,B,C); Acts: 5:27-32

Preparation

Today begins five weeks in the book of Revelation. Worship planners might want to consider linking the services. For example, have the same character in period biblical costume read the Revelation scripture each week. Or choose a hymn that will be used each Sunday. It would be helpful to have the five speakers collaborate on their approaches to the theme scriptures. For additional information on the book of Revelation, listen to this podcast with Tony and Charmaine Chvala-Smith: www.Projectzionpodcast.org/podcast/558

 

 

Prelude

 

Welcoming Hymn

“God of the Sparrow”    CCS 138

OR “God the Sculptor of the Mountains”    CCS 21

OR “Eternal God Transcending Time”     CCS 59

 

Welcome, Joys, and Concerns

 

Call to Worship: Psalm 150

            Enlist readers of all ages.

 

Hymn of Praise

“Earth and All Stars”    CCS 102

OR “Now Sing to Our God”    CCS 108

 

Invocation

 

Sung Response

            “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow”  CCS 53

 

Scripture Reading: Revelation 1:4-8

 

Focus Moment: What Is Doxology?

Let’s discuss the word doxology, which is rich with meaning. Many of us have heard this word and have some idea of what it means.

The dictionary says ‘doxology’ comes from two Greek words: doxa , which means honor or glory, and logia, which means language or speak. So, doxology means “glory speak.” In doxology, we honor and praise God.

Let’s think back in our worship experience so far today. Have we offered any doxologies?

 

For example, Psalm 150, opening hymn, sung response, scripture from Revelation, etc.

Wait for responses.

 

So, when you say or sing a doxology, you are praising God and what God has done for us.

 

In 2021, an experimental flight into suborbital space where people were invited to or paid to make the trip. One of those was Star Trek actor William Shatner. Listen to some of the words he spoke in an interview after the rocket’s return to Earth.


[It’s] the most profound experience I can imagine. I am so filled with emotion about what just happened. It’s extraordinary. I hope I never recover from this. I hope that I can maintain what I feel now, I don’t want to lose it. It’s so much larger than me and life; it hasn’t got anything to do with the little green and blue orb. It has to do with the enormity and the quickness and the suddenness of life and death. Oh my God, it’s unbelievable! Watch at:

CNBC.com/2021/10/13/william-shatner-speech-to
-jeff-bezos-after-blue-origin-launch.html

Shatner was sharing a type of glory speak. He might or might not be a religious person, but the magnitude of what he experienced was undeniable.

 

            Can you think of an experience you have had when praising God?

Provide a few moments for processing and then ask participants to turn to a neighbor and discuss their doxology moments.

 

End with singing, “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow,” CCS 54, written by Brian Wren, an inclusive language doxology.

 

Prayer for Peace

Light the peace candle.

 

Peace Prayer

Spirit of the Unbelievable,

As humans, it is hard to believe the injustice, hatred, and disharmony we witness in the world. We don’t want to consider it real because it is so painful. We relate to Thomas’s disbelief—his desire that what he sees ought to make sense. Spirit reminds us that despite Thomas’s disbelief, he stayed with his community. He didn’t give up.

 

We pray that you would grant us Thomas’s persistence and hopefulness—that in our darkest moments, we might stay the course, pursuing justice and peace even in the face of our own doubts. Resurrection was once unbelievable, yet we follow a resurrected one. Peace and justice for all seem unbelievable, yet we follow the path of peace!

 

In the name of Jesus, the resurrected One. Amen.

—Tiffany and Caleb Brian

 

Ministry of the Spoken Word

            Based on Revelation 1:4-8

Disciples’ Generous Response

Generosity Hymn

              “Take My Gifts and Let Me Love You”   CCS 609

OR “We Lift Our Voices”    CCS 618

 

Statement

God’s astonishing compassion and love in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus is the ultimate example of generosity. God loves us abundantly and unconditionally. As we open our hearts to courageously and generously share by placing money in the offering plates or through eTithing, we reflect the movement of God’s astonishing love and compassion for the world.

If you have participants joining the worship online, remind them that they can give through www.CofChrist.org/give or through eTithing at www.eTithing.org (consider displaying these URLs).

         Blessing and Receiving of Local and Worldwide Mission Tithes

 

 

Benedictory Hymn

“God Be with You Till We Meet Again”       CCS 664

OR “Bwana Awabariki/May God Grant You a Blessing”    CCS 660

Sing several times. Encourage participants to sing in languages other than their own.

            OR “Now Go in Joy”       CCS 659

 

Closing Prayer

 

Sung Response

            “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow”      CCS 53

 

Postlude


 

 

SERMON AND CLASS HELPS

Year C—Letters
Second Sunday of Easter

 

Revelation 1:4–8

 

Exploring the Scripture

Today is the first of a five-Sunday series of suggested preaching texts from the book of Revelation. Don’t panic! Take an opportunity to help the congregation understand and appreciate God’s hope and encouragement found in this unusual poetic style of ancient writing, known as apocalyptic literature.

Revelation is, no doubt, the most misunderstood and the most abused text of the New Testament. It isn’t easy to understand because we are not the intended audience. The audience is clear from the first line of today’s text. John’s audience was churches in Asia. He wrote to Christians of his time.

Christians were suffering terribly under the persecution of Emperor Domitian, who ruled from 81–96 CE. John was captive on the prison island called Patmos. We don’t know precisely what landed him there, but it likely had something to do with his inclination to write diatribes against the empire and the emperor.

Oppressed people used the coded language of apocalypse writing to share messages the oppressor could not understand easily. In particular, the apocalyptic texts often directly criticized or mocked the oppressor, making it even more necessary to use coded language. In this case, some language is based on stories and symbols in the Hebrew scriptures that the Roman authorities would not know. Other cultural details particular to this group of early Christians would be understood only by them.

It was difficult for the emperor to understand—and for us. Unfortunately, many have taken advantage of apocalyptic literature to advance their messages and priorities. A common abuse has been to suggest that God created the coded language specifically for whatever period the interpreter is living.

Rather than predicting the world hundreds or thousands of years in the future, apocalyptic literature offered a contemporary message of hope to the oppressed. John was writing to those on the margins, the poor, and the suffering. He offered encouragement. The way things were was not how they ought to be. God had other plans. God was not on the side of the powerful emperor. God was engaged in the struggle for justice alongside the believers.

In this season of Easter, John’s revelation proclaims the resurrection. This is apocalyptic talk. The resurrection was not common teaching in the Hebrew scriptures. Proclaiming the resurrection was to proclaim that God would overcome the powers of the empire and death itself. Circumstances might be bad, but God would win.

John points to an alternative version of reality. God has made the poor, apparently powerless Christians into a kingdom instead of the Roman emperor and his citizens. Rather than the emperor, the crucified God will have dominion forever and ever.

When God is proclaimed Alpha and Omega (the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet), John asserts that God always has been with those persecuted and struggling; God will be with them until the end.

 

Central Ideas

1.     God always has been with those oppressed and always will be, struggling alongside them.

2.     In the end, God is victorious.

3.     God has formed a parallel kingdom that, in its way, is more powerful than the empires of this world.

4.     Revelation is written in coded language to allow the original readers to understand the text while keeping it from being understood by imperial powers.

5.     Persecuted people, to this day, may have added insight and understanding.

6.     While we are not the intended audience, we can receive hope and encouragement from the text.

 

Questions for the Speaker

1.     What are some historical examples of communities of resistance that were oppressed alongside whom God has been struggling?

2.     Have you experienced oppression and suffering at the hands of the politically powerful?

3.     What likenesses exist between John’s letter from prison and Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter from the Birmingham Jail? (https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/letter-birmingham-jail)

4.     If God does not intend for the poor and oppressed to suffer, what needs to change in today’s world? What is our role in the story?

 


 

SACRED SPACE: A RESOURCE FOR SMALL-GROUP MINISTRY

Year C—Letters
Second Sunday of Easter

 

Revelation 1:4–8

 

Gathering

Welcome

Today is the second Sunday of the Easter season. The Easter season continues for fifty days and concludes with the Day of Pentecost.

 

Prayer for Peace

Ring a bell or chime three times slowly.

Light the peace candle.

Peace, breathe peace upon us, O Lord.
Peace is all around us. Open our eyes that we may see it.
Peace in is in your ways. Open our hearts that we may find it.
Peace is in the everyday. Open our hands that we may claim it.
Peace, breathe peace upon us, O Lord.

Spiritual Practice

Breath Prayer

Read the following to the group:

Jesus appeared to the disciples in the upper room. He breathed on them and said, “Peace be with you.” The Spirit breathes peace in us today.

Our spiritual practice is a breath prayer. During the prayer we will use a word to breathe in and another word to breathe out. For today’s prayer we will breathe in the word peace and breathe out the word fear. We will practice the breath prayer for three minutes.

Slowly read the following instructions:

Sit with relaxed posture and close your eyes. We will spend five minutes in centering prayer.

Breathe in a regular, natural rhythm.

As you breathe in, focus on peace. As you exhale, release fear.

Breathe in and out. Continue to focus on breathing in peace and exhaling fear.

Watch the time for three minutes. Urge participants to continue the breath prayer for the full three minutes.

When time is up, share these closing instructions: Offer a brief word of thanks to God, take a deep breath, and open your eyes when you are ready.

 

Sharing Around the Table

Revelation 1:4–8 NRSVue

John to the seven churches that are in Asia:

Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Look! He is coming with the clouds;
    every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him,
    and all the tribes of the earth will wail on account of him.

So it is to be. Amen.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.

The book of Revelation is a letter from John, a Christian leader living on the island of Pathos, to a small group of Christians in seven churches off the coast of modern-day Turkey. This letter probably was written during the reign of Emperor Domitian, approximately 81–96 CE. At that time Christians were being persecuted for refusing to participate in the popular practice of emperor worship. Because they no longer were considered a branch of Judaism, early Christians were not ensured the same religious freedoms and protection as the Jews.

The letter sought to encourage early Christian believers to remain faithful and to remind them that God was with them in their struggles, offering hope and assurance. John reminds the churches that God is aware of their works and endurance. While the letter specifically was addressed to seven churches, it likely was intended for all Christian churches at the time since it referred to problems common to the early followers of Jesus.

In these verses, John greets the churches in the tradition of Paul with grace and peace from God and Jesus, as well as the “seven spirits,” which function as the Holy Spirit. John reminds the churches that God is, from the beginning to the end. And not only does Jesus love them, but as his followers the people in the churches serve a priestly role in God’s kingdom as mediators between God and humanity. As will be seen in the following chapters, a major focus of Revelation is the second coming of Jesus, which is to be witnessed by all.

Questions

1.     What encouragement would help you in your struggles to remain faithful today?

2.     What individuals or groups do you see being persecuted today as the early Christians were persecuted? What would you write to them that would encourage them and bring them hope?

3.     How do Community of Christ members serve as mediators between God and humanity?

Sending

Generosity Statement

Faithful disciples respond to an increasing awareness of the abundant generosity of God by sharing according to the desires of their hearts; not by commandment or constraint.

—Doctrine and Covenants 163:9

The offering basket is available if you would like to support ongoing, small-group ministries as part of your generous response. You also may give at CofChrist.org/give.

This offering prayer for the Easter season is adapted from A Disciple’s Generous Response.

God of rejoicing, we share our gifts joyfully and with thanksgiving in response to the generous gifts you have given us. May the offerings we share bring joy, hope, love, and peace into the lives of others so they might experience your mercy and grace. Amen.

Invitation to Next Meeting

 

Closing Hymn

Community of Christ Sings 473, “Christ is Alive!”

Closing Prayer

 

Optional Additions Depending on Group

  • Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper
  • Thoughts for Children



 

Thoughts for Children

Materials:

·       print the picture of a child

·       enough index cards to cover the picture

Instructions:

Before you begin the activity, put the picture on the floor and cover it with index cards.

Ask children to take one card off the picture.

What is revealed (or uncovered)? What can we learn about the picture from what is revealed?

Continue removing index cards one at a time. After each card is removed, ask what is revealed and what we can learn about the picture from what has been uncovered.

Revelation is when God is uncovered or revealed to us. We learn about God as God is revealed to us through scripture and though Jesus. Through the Holy Spirit, God promises to be with us and to guide us. God guides the church through inspired words, or “counsel.” These words help us to follow Jesus.

Encourage children to listen carefully for what they might learn about God as you read Doctrine and Covenants 161:4a.

Do not neglect the smallest among you, for even the least of these are treasures in God’s sight. Receive the giftedness and energy of children and youth, listening to understand their questions and their wisdom. Respond to their need to be loved and nurtured as they grow.

Ask: What do you think this tells us about God?

Possible answers:

·       God loves children.

·       Children are treasures.

·       Children have gifts to share.

·       God listens to children.

·       God wants children to grow in love.

After they have responded, thank the children for participating.


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