Drinking From the Cups of Christ

Easter Sunday By Charlotte Smithson, 2020 11am, April 4, 2021 In the Sanctuary, Online at Zoom & https://www.facebook.com/centrechurchpa/ 83 New Park Road, New Park, PA 17352 https://centrechurchpa.org 1 Easter Sunday April 4, 2021 Welcome Pastor Don Hackett Announcements Elder Paul McPherson Prelude Call to Worship Alleluia! Christ is Risen! CHRIST IS RISEN INDEED! Darkness has been vanquished! THE BRILLIANT LIGHT OF HOPE HAS COME! Come let us worship and celebrate the Good News! ALLELUIA! CHRIST IS RISEN! AMEN!! Hymn #152 Jesus Christ is Risen Today https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laZqLPmhNAc Prayer of Confession & the Lord’s Prayer Please join me in the prayer of Confession in your bulletin. Heavenly Father, we confess that we come to this day of resurrection as imperfect people. Although we may have faith, we also carry doubts and apprehensions. Just as Jesus’s disciples were unsure of his presence with them, we are unsure of your presence with us. We go out into a world of demands without the full confidence that you are our guide and our sustainer, and we are too often motivated by our own shortcomings and anxieties than by your grace and love. Forgive us, and help us to see your Holy Spirit’s work in all things. We pray these things in the name of Jesus, who returned to his disciples despite their own faults. We ask that you hear us as we continue our confession in silence… We pray this humbly in Christ's name, who taught us to pray: Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. 2 Sharing of Prayer Requests Prayers of the People Celebrating the victory of love over death, we offer our prayers to God. Living, loving God, you have revealed new life to our dying creation. Your love wins. God of Easter, Hear our prayer. Living, loving God, you bring your new life to us through the new life of Jesus, and promise that this is who we truly are. Your love wins. God of Easter, Hear our prayer. Living, loving God, the powers with which we contend have been rendered powerless. Your love, your life, your presence proclaim our identity. Your love wins. God of Easter, Hear our prayer. Living, loving God, reassure your church of your on-going guidance during these days of pandemic. Strengthen our faith to bridge the gaps created by our need to separate. Make us one in the living Christ. Your love wins. God of Easter, Hear our prayer. Living, loving God, your new life comes specifically to our dying world. Use your people to bring joy to those who are hopeless, to bring riches to those who are poor, and to bring healing to those who are sick, especially those we name before you. Your love wins. God of Easter, Hear our prayer. Living, loving God, because of Easter, we can live in hope. Open our eyes to see how everything has changed. Your love wins, even here. God of Easter, Hear our prayer. The Offering (online donations at https://centrechurchpa.org/) Offertory Prayers of Dedication and Illumination 3 Scripture Text - John 17:20-33 “Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do. Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth. “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. 4 Sermon “The Prayer of Jesus” “Drinking from the Same Cup” Rev. Dr. Don Hackett Passover lamb Passover Feast was an important one to Jesus. This high Jewish worship celebration was about 1,500 years old then. It pointed the Hebrew people back to their roots. As slaves in Egypt, their life was hard, and they suffered greatly. God sent Moses to free them from this cruel existence and lead them to a land of promise and hope. The last of the ten plagues was the event that finally broke the grip of the captors and released the Hebrews from Egypt. This was the night when the angels of God flew over the land killing every first-born male child and animal. You would only be spared from this judgement if you sacrificed a young lamb and mark your doorposts with its’ blood. As the angels descended, if they saw the blood, they would pass over the house and continue without harming anyone. To remember God’s faithfulness in their lives, God had them establish the annual celebration of the Passover. It was a joyous, yet stark reminder that God had rescued them and made them a nation. Without God’s intervention and provision, they would be lost. Passover cups One of the key features of the Passover is the symbolic cups of wine. There were and are today five cups. They represent the promises of God for freedom and deliverance made in Exodus 6: Cup 1 - “The cup of remembrance” Therefore say to the children of Israel: ‘I am the LORD; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians Cup 2 -“The cup of salvation” - I will rescue you from their bondage Cup 3 - “The cup of redemption” - I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. Cup 4 - “Cup of nationhood, both spiritual and physical” - I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 5 I read recently that there is a fifth cup: There is also a fifth cup, …the cup of ultimate redemption, which has been part of the Passover since temple times. But since its inception, the cup has never been taken, awaiting the coming of the Messiah. The fifth cup of “final redemption”, also known as Elijah’s cup, corresponds to the fifth promise, stated in Exodus 6:8: “And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage: I am the LORD.’” Observant Jews to this day do not drink of the fifth cup, awaiting the coming of the reigning Messiah. When Jesus and His disciples came to the final cup during their last Passover celebration together, Jesus refused to drink. Luke 22:17-18 says, Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” All four Gospels tell of Jesus’ refusal to drink of the cup before His death and resurrection but will do so when the “kingdom of God comes”. . https://www.cufi.org.uk/israeland-the-bible/jesus-in-the-passover-an-explanation-of-the-jewish-roots-of-christianity/ The Third Cup We know the New Testament speaks about one of the cups—the cup taken after supper, the cup of redemption. Jesus calls this cup “the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you” (Luke 22:20). Later that evening in the garden of Gethsemane He cried out to the Lord in prayer, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). For followers of Jesus Christ, we know that Jesus drank from the cup of suffering and death to save us. He was the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Jesus drank from this toxic cup of all sin and death to redeem us. He now invites us, like the early disciples, to drink from his cup. 6 Our cup Growing up I was told not to drink from someone else’s glass. Get your own glass and drink from that so you don’t give or get any germs. I thought, “OK, but I don’t see any germs.” As we know, germs and viruses do not need to be seen to hurt us. They can make their way into our bodies unnoticed and do great harm. Why would Jesus want you and me to drink of a cup that full of deadly poison? Did he not love us? Or was it because he deeply loved us? We know this world serves up destructive drinks everyday…poverty, hunger, pandemics, violence, disasters, and crime. We try and avoid those cups if we can. We even try to protect others from drinking from those dangerous brews if we are able. Jesus is offering us a different cup. The cup of redemption. 1. It is a cup of toxins that become an antidote in hands of Jesus. 2. It is a cup that is bitter now but fills us with healing power when we drink it. 3. This cup helps us face the evils in this world with hope and confidence that God is not done. 4. Jesus Christ is here to be help us and God’s Spirit will guide us and give us strength. Like the early the Hebrew people, we are oppressed and battered. Jesus is here to be our sacrificial lamb. His blood will save us from judgement. His life with give new and eternal life to us. Let us drink from the cup of our Risen Jesus Christ. Let us pray: We come today, Lord Jesus Christ, to drink from your cups. The cup of remembrance, the cup of salvation, the cup of redemption, the cup of your holy people, and the cup of ultimate salvation. Thank for rising from the dead and drawing us to yourself. We follow you in the days and years ahead. Amen. 7 Confession of Faith [from Apostles’ Creed, 390 AD] Please join me in declaring our faith using the Apostles’ Creed. I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth; And in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; the third day he rose from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic* church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. *that is, the true Christian church of all times and all places Hymn #161 Thine Is the Glory, Risen Conquering Son https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPjTfw4a2ZE Benediction Finally, sisters and brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. Let the majesty of the Father be the light by which we walk, the compassion of the Son be the love by which we live, the presence of the Spirit be the power by which we serve. Amen. 8