Crandall United Methodist Church

Worship Guide

March 22, 2026

Fifth Sunday in Lent

Creating Disciples of Jesus

who Transform the World

ENTRANCE WITH PRAISE

Greeting:

Minister: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you!

People:  And also with you!

Special Music: Charles

Centering Words:

In the quiet, we wait for you, O God. We hope for your transforming love. In the darkness of despair, we trust that you are here. 

*Call to Worship:

Jim:        Everything seems dead.

People:   There is no life anywhere.

Jim:         Our hopes have perished.

People:   We see no future.

Jim:         Send the power of your spirit upon us.

People:   Breathe new life into us.

Jim:        We wait for your transforming love.

People:   We hope. We wait. We trust.

Jim:        Let us pray.

ALL: Come, Spirit of God. We wait for your presence. We trust in your abiding promises. Breathe the breath of your power into us this day, that we may experience the power of new life, the promise of forgiveness, and blessing of community. Amen.

Hymn:   “Trust and Obey”  

When we walk with the Lord in the light of his word,

what a glory he sheds on our way!

While we do his good will, he abides with us still,

and with all who will trust and obey.

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way

to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share,

but our toil he doth richly repay;

not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross,

but is blessed if we trust and obey.

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way

to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

But we never can prove the delights of his love

until all on the altar we lay;

for the favor he shows, for the joy he bestows,

are for them who will trust and obey.

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way

to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at his feet,

or we’ll walk by His side in the way;

what he says we will do, where he sends we will go;

never fear, only trust and obey.

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way

to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

 PROCLAMATION OF THE WORD

Words of Assurance

God promises forgiveness. 

We wait in hope, placing our trust in God’s word. 

Amen.

*Old Testament Reading: Ezekiel 37:1-14

The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. ² He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. ³ He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” ⁴ Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. ⁵ Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. ⁶ I will lay sinews on you and will cause flesh to come upon you and cover you with skin and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

⁷ So I prophesied as I had been commanded, and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. ⁸ I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them, but there was no breath in them. ⁹ Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” ¹⁰ I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.

¹¹ Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’ ¹² Therefore prophesy and say to them: Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves and bring you up from your graves, O my people, and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. ¹³ And you shall know that I am the Lord when I open your graves and bring you up from your graves, O my people. ¹⁴ I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act, says the Lord.”

Leader: This is the Word of God for the people of God

People:   Thanks be to God.

WORD AND RESPONSE

Time with Young Friends: “Jesus Loves Me”

Children’s Message: Dry Twigs

Hymn: “Jesus is all the World to Me”  

 Jesus is all the world to me, my life, my joy, my all;

he is my strength from day to day, without him I would fall.

When I am sad, to him I go, no other one can cheer me so;

when I am sad, he makes me glad, he’s my Friend.

Jesus is all the world to me, my friend in trials sore;

I go to him for blessings, and he gives them over and o’er.

He sends the sunshine and the rain,

he sends the harvest’s golden grain;

sunshine and rain, harvest of grain, he’s my Friend.

Jesus is all the world to me, and true to him I’ll be;

O how could I this friend deny, when he’s so true to me?

Following him I know I’m right,

he watches o’er me day and night;

following him by day and night, he’s my Friend.

Jesus is all the world to me, I want no better friend;

I trust him now, I’ll trust him when

life’s fleeting days shall end.

Beautiful life with such a friend, beautiful life that has no end;

eternal life, eternal joy, he’s my Friend.

Sermon: “Redemption Road” - John 11:1-45

11 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. ² Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. ³ So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” ⁴ But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This illness does not lead to death; rather, it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” ⁵ Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, ⁶ after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

⁷ Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” ⁸ The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?” ⁹ Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble because they see the light of this world. ¹⁰ But those who walk at night stumble because the light is not in them.” ¹¹ After saying this, he told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.” ¹² The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.” ¹³ Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. ¹⁴ Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. ¹⁵ For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” ¹⁶ Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

¹⁷ When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. ¹⁸ Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, ¹⁹ and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. ²⁰ When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. ²¹ Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²² But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.” 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 on the last day.” ²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, ²⁶ and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” ²⁷ She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.”

²⁸ When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary and told her privately, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” ²⁹ And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. ³⁰ Now Jesus had not yet come to the village but was still at the place where Martha had met him. ³¹ The Jews who were with her in the house consoling her saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. ³² When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” ³³ When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. ³⁴ He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” ³⁵ Jesus began to weep. ³⁶ So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” ³⁷ But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

³⁸ Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. ³⁹ Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” ⁴⁰ Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” ⁴¹ So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. ⁴² I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” ⁴³ When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” ⁴⁴ The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

⁴⁵ Many of the Jews, therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did believed in him.

RESPONSE TO THE WORD 

Hymn:  “Lord, I lift Your Name on High”

Lord, I lift your name on high;

Lord, I love to sing your praises.

I'm so glad you're in my life;

I'm so glad you came to save us.

You came from heaven to earth to show the way,

from the earth to the cross my debt to pay;

from the cross to the grave, from the grave to the sky;

Lord, I lift your name on high.

Lord, I lift your name on high;

Lord, I love to sing your praises.

I'm so glad you're in my life;

I'm so glad you came to save us.

You came from heaven to earth to show the way,

from the earth to the cross my debt to pay;

from the cross to the grave, from the grave to the sky;

Lord, I lift your name on high.

Psalter:  Psalm 130, 1-8

¹   Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord!

²   Lord, hear my voice!

    Let your ears be attentive

    to the voice of my supplications!

³   If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,

    Lord, who could stand?

⁴   But there is forgiveness with you,

   that you may be worshiped,

⁵   I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,

   in the Lord's word I hope;

⁶   my soul waits for the Lord

   more than those who watch for the morning

   more than those who watch for the morning.

⁷   O Israel, hope in the Lord!

   For with the Lord there is steadfast love,

   with the Lord is plenteous redemption.

⁸   And the Lord will redeem Israel

   from all iniquities.

Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;

praise him, all creatures here below;

praise him above, ye heavenly host;

praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Amen

Prayers of the People: Joys and Concerns

   Silent Prayer, Pastoral Prayer

SENDING FORTH

Hymn:  “Days of Elijah”   

These are the days of elijah, declaring the Word of the Lord.

And these are the days of your servant, Moses;

righteousness being restored.

And though these are days of great trials,

of famine and darkness and sword,

still we are the voice in the desert crying

"Prepare ye the way of the Lord."

Behold he comes riding on the clouds,

shining like the sun at the trumpet call.

So lift your voice, it's the year of Jubilee.

And out of Zion's hill salvation comes.

These are the days of Ezekiel,

the dry bones becoming as flesh.

And these are the days of your servant, David,

rebuilding the temple of praise.

And these are the days of the harvest;

the fields are as white in the world.

And we are the laborers in your vineyard

declaring the Word of the Lord.

Behold he comes riding on the clouds,

shining like the sun at the trumpet call.

So lift your voice, it's the year of Jubilee.

And out of Zion's hill salvation comes.

Behold he comes riding on the clouds,

shining like the sun at the trumpet call.

So lift your voice, it's the year of Jubilee.

And out of Zion's hill salvation comes.

Behold he comes riding on the clouds,

shining like the sun at the trumpet call.

So lift your voice, it's the year of Jubilee.

And out of Zion's hill salvation comes.

So lift your voice, it's the year of Jubilee.

And out of Zion's hill salvation comes.

Benediction

 Hymn: “As We Go”   

As we go, may your Spirit go before us.

As we go, may we follow where you lead.

May we live what we have learned,

share the message we have heard,

and be a light unto the world

as we go.