Revised Common
Lectionary for the Fifth Sunday in Lent, 6 April 2014
PRAYER: Thematic
God of wilderness
and water,
your Son was
baptized and tempted as we are.
Guide us through
this season,
that we may not
avoid struggle,
but open ourselves
to blessing,
through the
cleansing depths of repentance
and the
heaven-rending words of the Spirit. Amen.
OR
Artist of souls,
you sculpted a
people for yourself
out of the rocks of
wilderness and fasting.
Help us as we take
up your invitation to prayer and simplicity,
that the discipline
of these forty days
may sharpen our
hunger for the feast of your holy friendship,
and whet our thirst
for the living water you offer
through Jesus
Christ. Amen.
OR
God of the covenant,
in the glory of the
cross
your Son embraced
the power of death
and broke its hold
over your people.
In this time of
repentance,
draw all people to
yourself,
that we who confess
Jesus as Lord
may put aside the
deeds of death
and accept the life
of your kingdom. Amen.
OR
God of the living,
through baptism we
pass from the shadow of death
to the light of the
resurrection.
Remain with us and
give us hope
that, rejoicing in
the gift of the Spirit
who gives life to
our mortal flesh,
we may be clothed
with the garment of immortality,
through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen.
Intercessory
Sisters and
brothers,
as Jesus, in the
days before his passion,
offered prayers and
supplications with loud cries and tears,
let us pray for
those who suffer, those who are in need,
and those who seek
reconciliation.
Prayers of the
People, concluding with:
God of compassion,
you know our faults
and yet you promised to forgive.
Keep us in your
presence and give us your wisdom.
Open our hearts to
gladness,
call dry bones to
dance,
and restore to us
the joy of your salvation. Amen.
Scripture
God of all
consolation and compassion,
your Son comforted
the grieving sisters, Martha and Mary;
your breath alone
brings life
to dry bones and
weary souls.
Pour out your Spirit
upon us,
that we may face
despair and death
with the hope of resurrection
and faith in the One
who called Lazarus
forth from the grave. Amen.
Lectionary
Scripture:
Ezekiel 37:1
Yahweh’s hand was on me, and he brought me out in Yahweh’s Spirit, and set me
down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones. 2 He caused me to
pass by them all around: and behold, there were very many in the open valley;
and behold, they were very dry. 3 He said to me, Son of man, can these bones
live? I answered, Lord Yahweh, you know. 4 Again he said to me, Prophesy over
these bones, and tell them, you dry bones, hear Yahweh’s word. 5 Thus says the
Lord Yahweh to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and
you shall live. 6 I will lay sinews on you, and will bring up flesh on you, and
cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall
know that I am Yahweh. 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I
prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, an earthquake; and the bones came
together, bone to its bone. 8 I saw, and, behold, there were sinews on them,
and flesh came up, and skin covered them above; but there was no breath in
them. 9 Then he said to me, Prophesy to the wind, prophesy, son of man, and
tell the wind, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Come from the four winds, breath, and
breathe on these slain, that they may live. 10 So I prophesied as he commanded
me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up on their feet,
an exceedingly great army. 11 Then he said to me, Son of man, these bones are
the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried up, and our
hope is lost; we are clean cut off. 12 Therefore prophesy, and tell them, Thus
says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up
out of your graves, my people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13
You shall know that I am Yahweh, when I have opened your graves, and caused you
to come up out of your graves, my people. 14 I will put my Spirit in you, and
you shall live, and I will place you in your own land: and you shall know that
I, Yahweh, have spoken it and performed it, says Yahweh.
Psalm 30: A Psalm. A
Song for the Dedication of the Temple. By David.
1 I will extol you,
Yahweh, for you have raised me up,
and have not made my foes to rejoice over
me.
2 Yahweh my God, I
cried to you,
and you have healed
me.
3 Yahweh, you have
brought up my soul from Sheol.[a]
You have kept me alive, that I should not
go down to the pit.
4 Sing praise to
Yahweh, you saints of his.
Give thanks to his holy name.
5 For his anger is
but for a moment.
His favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may stay for
the night,
but joy comes in the morning.
6 As for me, I said
in my prosperity,
“I shall never be moved.”
7 You, Yahweh, when
you favored me, made my mountain stand strong;
but when you hid your face, I was troubled.
8 I cried to you,
Yahweh.
To Yahweh I made supplication:
9 “What profit is
there in my destruction, if I go down to the pit?
Shall the dust praise you?
Shall it declare your truth?
10 Hear, Yahweh, and
have mercy on me.
Yahweh, be my helper.”
11 You have turned
my mourning into dancing for me.
You have removed my sackcloth, and clothed
me with gladness,
12 To the end that my heart may sing praise
to you, and not be silent.
Yahweh my God, I
will give thanks to you forever!
Footnotes:
a. Psalm 30:3 Sheol
is the place of the dead.
Psalm 130: A Song of
Ascents.
1 Out of the depths
I have cried to you, Yahweh.
2 Lord, hear my
voice.
Let your ears be attentive to the voice of
my petitions.
3 If you, Yah, kept
a record of sins,
Lord, who could stand?
4 But there is
forgiveness with you,
therefore you are feared.
5 I wait for Yahweh.
My soul waits.
I hope in his word.
6 My soul longs for
the Lord more than watchmen long for the morning;
more than watchmen for the morning.
7 Israel, hope in
Yahweh,
for with Yahweh there is loving kindness.
With him is abundant redemption.
8 He will redeem
Israel from all their sins.
Romans 8:6 For the
mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace; 7
because the mind of the flesh is hostile towards God; for it is not subject to
God’s law, neither indeed can it be. 8 Those who are in the flesh can’t please
God. 9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if it is so that the
Spirit of God dwells in you. But if any man doesn’t have the Spirit of Christ,
he is not his. 10 If Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the
spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of him who
raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised up Christ Jesus from
the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who
dwells in you.
John 11:1 Now a
certain man was sick, Lazarus from Bethany, of the village of Mary and her
sister, Martha. 2 It was that Mary who had anointed the Lord with ointment, and
wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother, Lazarus, was sick. 3 The sisters
therefore sent to him, saying, “Lord, behold, he for whom you have great
affection is sick.” 4 But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This sickness is not
to death, but for the glory of God, that God’s Son may be glorified by it.” 5
Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. 6 When therefore he heard
that he was sick, he stayed two days in the place where he was. 7 Then after
this he said to the disciples, “Let’s go into Judea again.”
8 The disciples told
him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone you, and are you going there
again?”
9 Jesus answered,
“Aren’t there twelve hours of daylight? If a man walks in the day, he doesn’t
stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if a man walks in the
night, he stumbles, because the light isn’t in him.” 11 He said these things,
and after that, he said to them, “Our friend, Lazarus, has fallen asleep, but I
am going so that I may awake him out of sleep.”
12 The disciples
therefore said, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.”
13 Now Jesus had
spoken of his death, but they thought that he spoke of taking rest in sleep. 14
So Jesus said to them plainly then, “Lazarus is dead. 15 I am glad for your
sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe. Nevertheless, let’s go to
him.”
16 Thomas therefore,
who is called Didymus,[a] said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s go also, that we
may die with him.”
17 So when Jesus
came, he found that he had been in the tomb four days already. 18 Now Bethany
was near Jerusalem, about fifteen stadia[b] away. 19 Many of the Jews had
joined the women around Martha and Mary, to console them concerning their
brother. 20 Then when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him,
but Mary stayed in the house. 21 Therefore Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you
would have been here, my brother wouldn’t have died. 22 Even now I know that,
whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your
brother will rise again.”
24 Martha said to
him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
25 Jesus said to
her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will still live,
even if he dies. 26 Whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you
believe this?”
27 She said to him,
“Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, God’s Son, he who
comes into the world.”
28 When she had said
this, she went away, and called Mary, her sister, secretly, saying, “The
Teacher is here, and is calling you.”
29 When she heard
this, she arose quickly, and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come into
the village, but was in the place where Martha met him. 31 Then the Jews who
were with her in the house, and were consoling her, when they saw Mary, that
she rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, “She is going to the
tomb to weep there.” 32 Therefore when Mary came to where Jesus was, and saw
him, she fell down at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you would have been
here, my brother wouldn’t have died.”
33 When Jesus
therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews weeping who came with her, he groaned
in the spirit, and was troubled, 34 and said, “Where have you laid him?”
They told him,
“Lord, come and see.”
35 Jesus wept.
36 The Jews
therefore said, “See how much affection he had for him!” 37 Some of them said,
“Couldn’t this man, who opened the eyes of him who was blind, have also kept
this man from dying?”
38 Jesus therefore,
again groaning in himself, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone lay
against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”
Martha, the sister
of him who was dead, said to him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he
has been dead four days.”
40 Jesus said to
her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed, you would see God’s glory?”
41 So they took away
the stone from the place where the dead man was lying.[c] Jesus lifted up his
eyes, and said, “Father, I thank you that you listened to me. 42 I know that
you always listen to me, but because of the multitude that stands around I said
this, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said this, he
cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”
44 He who was dead
came out, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around
with a cloth.
Jesus said to them,
“Free him, and let him go.”
45 Therefore many of
the Jews, who came to Mary and saw what Jesus did, believed in him.
Footnotes:
a. John 11:16
“Didymus” means “Twin”.
b. John 11:18 15
stadia is about 2.8 kilometers or 1.7 miles
c. John 11:41 NU
omits “from the place where the dead man was lying.”
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John Wesley’s
Commentary-Notes for:
Ezekiel 37:1-14
XXXVII The vision of
the resurrection of the dry bones, ver. 1- 10. The explication of it, ver.
11-14 A type of the happy coalition which would be between Israel and Judah,
ver. 15-22. A prediction of the kingdom of Christ, and of the glories and
graces of that kingdom, ver. 23-28.
Verse 1. And set me
down - So it seemed to me in the vision. Which is a lively representation of a
threefold resurrection:
1. Of the
resurrection of souls, from the death of sin, to the life of righteousness:
2. The resurrection
of the church from an afflicted state, to liberty and peace:
3. The resurrection
of the body at the great day, especially the bodies of believers to life
eternal.
3. And he - The
Lord.
Verse 7. Prophesied
- Declared these promises. As I prophesied - While I was prophesying. A noise -
A rattling of the bones in their motion. A shaking - A trembling or commotion
among the bones, enough to manifest a divine presence, working among them. Came
together - Glided nearer and nearer, 'till each bone met the bone to which it
was to be joined. Of all the bones of all those numerous slain, not one was
missing, not one missed its way, not one missed its place, but each knew and
found its fellow. Thus in the resurrection of the dead, the scattered atoms
shall be arranged in their proper place and order, and every bone come to his
bone, by the same wisdom and power by which they were first formed in the womb
of her that is with child.
Verse 8. Came up -
Gradually spreading itself.
Verse 9. Prophesy -
Declare what my will is. O breath - The soul, whose emblem here is wind; which,
as it gently blew upon these lifeless creatures, each was inspired with its own
soul or spirit.
Verse 10. And the
breath - The spirit of life, or the soul, Gen. ii, 7.
Verse 11. The whole
house - The emblem of the house of Israel. Are dried - Our state is as
hopeless, as far from recovery, as dried bones are from life.
Verse 12. I will
open - Though your captivity be as death, your persons close as the grave, yet
I will open those graves.
Psalm 30
PS 30 He praises God
for delivering him, and exhorts others to praise him, ver. 1-5. Recollects his
former security, and his prayer when in trouble, ver. 6-10. And stirs himself
up to thankfulness, ver. 11, 12. A Psalm and song, at the dedication of the
house of David. Title of the psalm. Song - A psalm to be sung with the voice to
an instrument. David - At the dedication of David's house, which was built,
2 Sam. v, 11, and
doubtless was dedicated, as God had commanded.
Verse 5. Cometh -
Speedily and in due season.
Verse 7. Mountain -
My kingdom: kingdoms are usually called mountains in prophetical writings.
Verse 9. Profit -
What wilt thou gain by it? The dust - Shall they that are dead celebrate thy
goodness in the land of the living? Or, shall my dust praise thee?
Verse 11. Sackcloth
- Given me occasion to put off that sackcloth, which they used to wear in times
of mourning, Esth iv, 1 chap. xxxv, 13 Isaiah xxxii, 11 Joel i, 13. Girded -
With joy, as with a garment, surrounding me on every side.
Verse 12. My glory -
My tongue
Psalm 130
PS 130 The psalmist
confessing his sins, expresses his hope in God, ver. 1-6. And exhorts Israel to
hope in him, ver.7, 8. A song of degrees.
Verse 3. Mark -
Observe them accurately and punish them as they deserve. Stand - At thy
tribunal.
Verse 4. Forgiveness
- Thou art able and ready to forgive repenting sinners. Feared - Not with a
slavish, but with a childlike fear. This mercy of thine is the foundation of
all religion, without which men would desperately proceed in their impious
courses.
Verse 5. I wait -
That he would pardon my sins.
Verse 6. They -
Whether soldiers that keep the night-watches in an army, or the priests or
Levites who did so in the temple.
Verse 7. Israel -
Every true Israelite. Plenteous - Abundantly sufficient for all persons who
accept it upon God's terms.
Romans 8:6-11
Verse 6. For to be
carnally minded - That is, to mind the things of the flesh. Is death - The sure
mark of spiritual death, and the way to death everlasting. But to be
spiritually minded - That is, to mind the things of the Spirit. Is life - A sure
mark of spiritual life, and the way to life everlasting. And attended with
peace - The peace of God, which is the foretaste of life everlasting; and peace
with God, opposite to the enmity mentioned in the next verse.
Verse 7. Enmity
against God - His existence, power, and providence.
Verse 8. They who
are in the flesh - Under the government of it.
Verse 9. In the
Spirit - Under his government. If any man have not the Spirit of Christ -
Dwelling and governing in him. He is none of his - He is not a member of
Christ; not a Christian; not in a state of salvation. A plain, express
declaration, which admits of no exception. He that hath ears to hear, let him
hear!
Verse 10. Now if
Christ be in you - Where the Spirit of Christ is, there is Christ. The body indeed
is dead - Devoted to death. Because of sin - Heretofore committed. But the
Spirit is life - Already truly alive. Because of righteousness - Now attained.
From ver. 13, St. Paul, having finished what he had begun, chap. vi, 1,
describes purely the state of believers.
John 11:1-45
Verse 1. One Lazarus
- It is probable, Lazarus was younger than his sisters. Bethany is named, the
town of Mary and Martha, and Lazarus is mentioned after them, ver. 5.
Ecclesiastical history informs us, that Lazarus was now thirty years old, and
that he lived thirty years after Christ's ascension.
Verse 2. It was that
Mary who afterward anointed, &c. She was more known than her elder sister
Martha, and as such is named before her.
Verse 4. This
sickness is not to death, but for the glory of God - The event of this sickness
will not be death, in the usual sense of the word, a final separation of his
soul and body; but a manifestation of the glorious power of God.
Verse 7. Let us go
into Judea - From the country east of Jordan, whither he had retired some time
before, when the Jews sought to stone him, chap. x, 39,
Verse 40.
Verse 9. Are there
not twelve hours in the day? - The Jews always divided the space from sunrise
to sunset, were the days longer or shorter, into twelve parts: so that the
hours of their day were all the year the same in number, though much shorter in
winter than in summer. If any man walk in the day he stumbleth not - As if he
had said, So there is such a space, a determined time, which God has allotted
me. During that time I stumble not, amidst all the snares that are laid for me.
Because he seeth the light of this world - And so I see the light of God
surrounding me.
Verse 10. But if a
man walk in the night - If he have not light from God; if his providence does
no longer protect him.
Verse 11. Our friend
Lazarus sleepeth - This he spoke, just when he died. Sleepeth - Such is the
death of good men in the language of heaven. But the disciples did not yet
understand this language. And the slowness of our understanding makes the
Scripture often descend to our barbarous manner of speaking.
Verse 16. Thomas in
Hebrew, as Didymus in Greek, signifies a twin. With him - With Jesus, whom he
supposed the Jews would kill. It seems to be the language of despair.
Verse 20. Mary sat
in the house - Probably not hearing what was said.
Verse 22. Whatsoever
thou wilt ask, God will give it thee - So that she already believed he could
raise him from the dead.
Verse 25. l am the
resurrection - Of the dead. And the life - Of the living. He that believeth in
me, though he die, yet shall he live - In life everlasting.
Verse 32. She fell
at his feet - This Martha had not done. So she makes amends for her slowness in
coming.
Verse 33. He groaned
- So he restrained his tears. So he stopped them soon after, ver. 38. He
troubled himself - An expression amazingly elegant, and full of the highest
propriety. For the affections of Jesus were not properly passions, but
voluntary emotions, which were wholly in his own power. And this tender trouble
which he now voluntarily sustained, was full of the highest order and reason.
Verse 35. Jesus wept
- Out of sympathy with those who were in tears all around him, as well as from
a deep sense of the misery sin had brought upon human nature.
Verse 37. Could not
this person have even caused, that this man should not have died? - Yet they
never dreamed that he could raise him again! What a strange mixture of faith
and unbelief.
Verse 38. It was a
cave - So Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and their wives, except Rachel, were
buried in the cave of Machpelah, Gen. xlix, 29-31. These caves were commonly in
rocks, which abounded in that country, either hollowed by nature or hewn by
art. And the entrance was shut up with a great stone, which sometimes had a
monumental inscription.
Verse 39. Lord, by
this time he stinketh - Thus did reason and faith struggle together.
Verse 40. Said I not
- It appears by this, that Christ had said more to Martha than is before
recorded.
Verse 41. Jesus
lifted up his eyes - Not as if he applied to his Father for assistance. There
is not the least show of this. He wrought the miracle with an air of absolute
sovereignty, as the Lord of life and death. But it was as if he had said, I
thank thee, that by the disposal of thy providence, thou hast granted my
desire, in this remarkable opportunity of exerting my power, and showing forth
thy praise.
Verse 43. He cried
with a loud voice - That all who were present might hear. Lazarus, come forth -
Jesus called him out of the tomb as easily as if he had been not only alive,
but awake also.
Verse 44. And he
came forth bound hand and foot with grave clothes - Which were wrapt round each
hand and each foot, and his face was wrapt about with a napkin - If the Jews
buried as the Egyptians did, the face was not covered with it, but it only went
round the forehead, and under the chin; so that he might easily see his way.
Verse 45. Many
believed on Him - And so the Son of God was glorified, according to what our
Lord had said, ver. 4.
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Sermon Outline for
Fifth Sunday of Lent, 6 April 2014
TITLE: For God’s
Glory
SCRIPTURE EMPHASIS:
John 11:4 & 35
THEME: The purpose
of the different people and their struggles to awaken the church.
INTRODUCTION: We
have read the Scriptures from today’s readings and explore each one from the
past to present. First, we see that God through the bones in the Valley is
giving hope to Israel that He will raise them up to be great again while the
church realizes that through Jesus’ resurrection we will not die, but live. The
Psalmist reminds us that even in our darkness, there is hope of the everlasting
light leading us to hear from the Apostle Paul that when we are in God’s Spirit
we have light and hope. The story of the death and resurrection of Lazarus
reminds us that we do have life in this life and the life to come through
Jesus’ own resurrection. This passage gives us hope that God has not forgotten
the church, especially in the United States, that He is awakening His church
through the struggles of the LGBTQ community, the Immigrant and Refugee
communities, and the people who are differently abled communities. We see in
the verse where Jesus stated that Lazarus death is for God glory to be seen and
these issues especially people who are differently abled for the church to be
awaken. God is usually all three of these groups to allow the church not to sin
in its failure to love God with their whole heart, mind, soul, and body and the
failure to love other people as God loves church with an unconditional love. We
see that the people who are differently abled have God-given gifts to awaken
the church as we fully include them as lay people and clergy. The
intellectually impaired show us how to see God in a slower pace. The blind show
us how to see God without seeing what is around us. The deaf show us how to
listen to God without hearing the sounds of the world. The physically disabled
show us how to walk and run without moving. The Mentally ill show us how to determine
the true God to worship. The autistic show us how to discover how to get our
voice to when we appear to be voiceless. Come Holy Spirit, guide us this Lenten
Season to see you working in people whom we have excluded too often from our
churches.
I.
The historical
aspects of Scripture.
A.
The hope God gives
His people through miracles.
B.
The life He gives us
in our death.
C.
The Spirit He gives
us to live holy and loving lives.
II.
The bringing to our
struggles as a community and individually.
A.
The Homosexual
communities seeking legitimate marriages.
B.
The Immigrants
desire to be treated has citizens.
C.
The people who are
differently abled to be treated as people who are made as whole people in the
Image of God.
III.
Seeking to see our
differences as an asset for God’s Kingdom.
A.
Each person has
gifts to bring to the community for unification of God’s people.
B.
Each person needs
each other for personal and communal growth.
C.
The Holy Spirit
brings differences to make us one.
CONCLUSION: As we
reflect and hear from God through these passage, we come and confess to repent
our sins of excluding people who are different from us and journey WITH them
together in this life of faith and holiness. We come to receive God’s grace to
live holy loving lives as we take the body of Jesus and eat and drink His blood
through the practice of the Holy Eucharist.
PRAYER AND
BENEDICTION: God will take each of us in our new created holy forgiveness to
live our lives with all people. As we leave to live out our faith, we sing the
hymn “Arise, He Calleth Me” by Clara M. Brooks, 1911
1. Weary, lonely,
sad, forsaken,
Humbled to a station
low,
Sat a hopeless blind
man begging,
By the road to
Jericho.
Soon he heard the
noise of footsteps,
As of waters rolling
nigh;
For the Galilean
Prophet
With the throng was passing
by.
Refrain:
Then arise, He
calleth thee,
Sick or suff’ring,
blind or lame!
Jesus healed in
Galilee,
He is evermore the
same.
2. When he heard
that it was Jesus,
Who had healed the
sin-sick soul,
Then he called aloud
for mercy,
That he, too, might be
made whole.
But the multitude
rebuked him,
Saying he should
silent be;
Yet he only called
more loudly,
“Have compassion,
Lord, on me!”
Refrain:
Then arise, He
calleth thee,
Sick or suff’ring,
blind or lame!
Jesus healed in
Galilee,
He is evermore the
same.
3. Paused the Master
for a moment—
“Bring him hither
unto Me.”
Someone ran to bear
the message:
“Come, arise, He
calleth thee!”
Oh, what words of
cheer and comfort!
What today could
sweeter be
To the weary, sick,
and suff’ring—
“Come, arise, He
calleth thee”?
Refrain:
Then arise, He
calleth thee,
Sick or suff’ring,
blind or lame!
Jesus healed in
Galilee,
He is evermore the
same.
4. Then as he
approached the Master,
Healing virtue to
receive,
Jesus said, “Thy
faith hath saved thee,
Be it as thou dost
believe.”
And the blind man’s
eyes were opened,
He had proved the
promise true;
Ye, who still in
sickness languish,
Lo, the Master calls
for you.
Refrain:
Then arise, He
calleth thee,
Sick or suff’ring,
blind or lame!
Jesus healed in
Galilee,
He is evermore the
same.
And “Lazarus Come
Forth”
I am the
resurrection and the Life
He that believeth in
Me
Though he were dead
Yet shall he live
A certain man had
died in the town of Bethany
And Lazarus was his
name
The Bible says he
was a man that Jesus loved
And his sisters
thought it was a shame
Mary and Martha
longed for Jesus' healing touch
To come and raise
their brother
'Cause they loved
that boy so much
But Jesus has a plan
not known to any man
That would soon take
away their pain
They were for Jesus
to come and say
Lazarus, Lazarus
Lazarus come forth
When he died he went
to where
The saints of God
did stay, in the holding place
They lived beyond
the tomb
There he saw Elijah,
Moses, Samuel, even Ruth
And all the others
jammed up in a room
He turned around and
saw
Ol' Gideon standin'
by the door
He walked up and
said, "Hey brother
What's this group
here for?"
Well Giddie said
"Well alright
this is testimony night
Have a seat man
'cause the meeting is starting soon"
While Mary and
Martha, just wanted to see
Lazarus, Lazarus
Lazarus come forth
Moses shook his
stick
Said, "Now this
meeting come to order
Can I get a witness
for the Lord tonight?"
Abraham kicked it
off
Said, "I want
y'all to know that I knew him"
He gave a child to
my barren wife
Issac waived hi hand
said
"Hey daddy, I
knew him too"
Jacob jumped up says
"Amen Grandpa,
preach it"
Old dignified
Solomon
Adjusted his robe
and said
"I knew him, He
made me so smart
I started to teach
it"
Ezekiel said,
"I knew him
As a wheel within a
wheel"
Job said, "Man,
he healed me
When I was almost
dead"
Sampson said,
"I knew
When some
Philistines tried to jump me"
"I took a
donkey jawbone and busted a few heads"
Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego said
We knew him in the
fiery furnace
Jonah said,
"Man, he gave me a second chance"
Daniel cried out I
knew him in a hungry den of lions
The Holy Ghost hit
King David
He just started to
dance, Lazarus got so excited
He shouted Hey I
knew him too
Moses put down his
stick
Said, "Hey,
who's the new kid
Needless to say the
room got real quiet"
When Lazarus said
but I knew him
In a way you all
never did
You see man I walked
with him and talked with him
I saw how his
teachings awed the crowds
Those famous tears
of compassion I could actually see
He used to come over
to my house after church
And my sisters would
make him dinner
And every month I
even supported his ministry
You see man I
watched him confront the Pharisees
I was there when he
fed the five thousand
I heard the people
gasp when he healed the lame
You see man I even
remember the littlest things
The things that most
folks would forget
Like the simple,
loving way He'd just call my name
Up at the grave
stone rolled away
With a loud voice
Jesus started to say, Lazarus
You see it just
seems like yesterday
I could hear that
man saying my name
Lazarus
As a matter of a
fact it seemed like today
Lazarus
Excuse me brothers I
think I hear him calling me now
Lazarus
Jesus
Lazarus, Jesus
Lazarus, Jesus
Lazarus, Jesus
Lazarus, hey Jesus
Lazarus, come forth
Come forth, I
command you, come forth
Jesus said,
"Lazarus, Lazarus, Lazarus come forth"
Like he was saying
sickness be healed
Mountains be moved
When he said,
"Lazarus come forth
Mary don't weep,
Martha don't moan
Here come your boy
comin' forth"
He that believeth in
me
Though he were dead
Yet shall he live
-------
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