Order of Worship for Sunday, March 8th 2026

Leader: When grief surrounds us and hope feels distant, God is still near.
People: We come seeking the voice that calls life out of death.

Leader: When the stone feels too heavy to move, Christ stands beside us.
People: We come trusting that nothing is beyond God’s power.

Leader: When we feel bound by fear, sorrow, or despair, Jesus calls us by name.
People: We come ready to hear the voice that leads us into life.

Gracious God, you call us toward life, yet we often live as though hope has already died.

We confess that we sometimes accept what is broken as though it can never be restored. We carry wounds we are afraid to name. We hold onto fear, bitterness, and despair, believing the stone is too heavy to move.

Forgive us when we forget that your power reaches even into the darkest places of our lives. Forgive us when we doubt that resurrection is possible.

Call us again by name. Help us trust your voice more than our fears. Give us courage to step out of the places that bind us, and lead us into the new life you promise.

Hear now the silent confessions of our hearts…

(Silence)

Amen.

Leader: Jesus stands before every tomb and calls life out of death.
People: In Christ we are forgiven, renewed, and set free. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Gracious and life-giving God, you call life out of places we believed were lost forever. You move stones we thought were too heavy, and you speak hope into the darkest moments of our lives.

Receive these gifts we offer as signs of our gratitude and trust. Use them to bring comfort to the grieving, freedom to the bound, and hope to those who feel surrounded by despair.

As Lazarus was called into new life, call us to be people who help unbind others from fear, injustice, and isolation. Through these offerings and through our lives, may your life-giving love continue to reach the world. We offer all this in the name of Christ, the one who calls us from death into life. Amen.