Guerrilla Christianity

S5E33: What Did You Come to See? (Easter Sunrise)

Sermon #274

One of my favorite services of the year is the Easter Sunrise service, where we gather in front of the Hudson UMC Cemetery and proclaim "He is Risen!" as the sun comes up.  This year it was overcast and dreary, a perfect metaphor for the emotions clouding Mary Magdalene's heart that first Easter morning.  She didn't come to see the risen Lord, but rather to prepare the body of her fallen master.

John 20:1-18

Recorded at Hudson UMC Cemetery on April 1, 2018.

 

S.D.G.

S7E41: Passion & Tenebrae (Maundy Thursday 2020)

Tenebrae is a Latin word that means "Darkness."  The Tenebrae service is a reading of the Passion account from John's Gospel, broken down into 16 readings, and after each of the first fourteen readings a candle is extinguished until the entire sanctuary is clothed in darkness.  This represents the light of Christ being extinguised on the cross, and it also represents the three hours of darkness that the people experienced as He hung on the cross.  After the 15th reading, a loud noise is made, symbolizing the earthquake that occurred at the death of Jesus.  It is a somber and solemn service of contemplation.  We have attempted to recreate the service in its entirety here, and hope that you will be blessed in its re-enactment.

Entrance - Gathering

The Call to Worship:
God is light, in whom there is no darkness at all.
Jesus Christ is the light of the world.
And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world,
and we loved darkness rather than light.

Hymn:
Alas! and Did My Savior Bleed (UMH #294)

Opening prayer:
Maundy Thursday (UMH #283)

The Passion of Jesus Christ
Sixteen readings, after each is extinguised one candle until the sanctuary is in "Darkness" (Latin: Tenebrae)

Sending Forth

Hymn:
Were You There (UMH #288)

Dismissal with Blessing
All depart in silence.

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on April 4, 2020

Watch the entire service on YouTube

S.D.G.