GPUMC Easter Sunrise Service
14 April 2001
7:30 AM
Prelude Sunrise Video
 
 
Call to Worship
Leader
(James)
We look for light, but find darkness
for brightness, but walk in gloom
People We grope like those who have no eyes;
we stumble at noon as in the twilight.
Leader If I say, "Let only darkness cover me,
and the light about me be night,"
People even the darkness is not dark to You,
Leader the night is as the day,
People for darkness is as light with You.


Leader Blessed be Your name, O God, for ever.
People You reveal deep and mysterious things;
Leader You are light, and in You is no darkness.
People Our darkness has passed away,
Behold the True Light is shining.


Leader The Lord is Risen!
People The Lord is Risen Indeed!
 
Hymn Morning Has Broken
 
#145
Creed from 1 Timothy  #889
Lord's Prayer     
Meditation Trumpet Fanfares
 
 
Hymn Christ Is Risen
 
#307
Message
Katie - 
We’re going to be using the song Lord of the Dance now, so please turn to # 261 in your hymnal.  For each verse, we’ll look at the story being told, we’ll look at our windows that tell that same story, and we’ll read some scripture to bring it all together.

What we want to see this morning – this Easter morning – is 
What brings us Joy?
What makes us Celebrate?
What can make us Dance?
Just like David when he brought the ark of God into Jerusalem, what could make us dance with all our might before the Lord?

Scripture
2 Samuel 6:14
We all sing verse 1, then stop
(Katie continues)
Right, the Beauty of Creation and Christmas. There’s a couple of pretty Joyful things; and Who is at the center of that Joy? Jesus! 
Look at the 1st window on each side of the sanctuary: Creation and the Nativity
Scripture
John 1:1-4
Genesis 1:1-4
Luke 2:9-12
We all sing verse 2, then stop
Mark -
OK, knowing God brings Joy, and James and John got to know Jesus personally. We don’t have that Joy, but we can know Him by reading the Bible.  But sometimes we can miss the Forest for the Trees, just like the Scribes and Pharisees missed out on the dance when Jesus called them, but not James and John!
Look at the 4th window over here: Moses & the Law
Scripture
Exodus 19:3-9
Isaiah 9:1-3
Matthew 4:17-23
We all sing verse 3, then stop
Christian -
Still, knowing God is such a great Joy, but sometimes we can get so caught up in what we shouldn't do, that we miss out on what we should do.  The “holy people” said that Jesus shouldn’t have been doing good – not because they didn’t want anything good to be done, they were too concerned about not doing the wrong thing to let themselves do the right thing.
Look at the 4th window over here, now, Jesus’ Healing / Teaching Hands
Scripture
Exodus 20:8-11
John 5:2-9, 15-17
Matthew 12:6-8
We all sing verse 4, then stop
Sarah -
We celebrate Heroes! People who look for others' good before their own, who make sacrifices for others. and what greater sacrifice could anyone give than giving His own life for ours – to pay for our sins?
Look at the 5th window over here representing the Crucifixion
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, He came to live as one of us – He gave up the Joys of Heaven, and came to die as one of us, to die for all of us.
Scripture
Luke 23:33-47
We all sing verse 5, then stop
Ross -
Surprises can bring Joy! and Easter is the Greatest surprise of ALL!
Not only is Jesus not dead, we're not dead either!
Through Him we now have Eternal Life.
Look at all the windows around you in the sanctuary.  They all tell the story of the same God – the God who was willing to come live and die as one of us.  But the best part of the story is the surprise ending – He died on the cross, but that wasn’t the end of the story.  His Resurrection was the surprise ending to that story, and the surprise beginning of ours!
He didn't just die for us - He rose again so we can have eternal life with Him!
Scripture
Matthew 28:1-10, 16-20
 
Hymn Lord of the Dance # 261
Benediction    
Postlude
Lord of the Dance
Steven Curtis Chapman
 
 
Last Update: 13 April 01