Worship Service, April 26, 2020
To view or download a .pdf copy of the bulletin for this Sunday, please click HERE.
Worship Service, April 19, 2020
You can find a .pdf of the bulletin for this Sunday’s Service HERE.
Easter Sunday Service Recording; April 12, 2020
To download or view our bulletin for this service click HERE.
Tips for Worshiping On Easter with Your Family
-Set up an altar in your home.
Plan to worship together as a family, by watching the Calvary service recording, or with younger kids, sharing an Easter reading, devotion and prayer. Setting up an altar in your home may serve as a focal point for your time of worship. Simply take any coffee table, credenza, or side table, and arrange candles to light, flowers, and an offering plate and gather the family for your morning worship.
-Plan to give an offering of some kind.
Especially right now, there are needs all around us. Discuss with your family how you might give an Easter offering of some kind as a gesture of love and service for those in need. Of course, Calvary continues to rely on regular giving from our members, but also consider a local food bank, shelter or mask-making effort as well. A list of local resources and needs can be found HERE.
-Create your own family Easter Egg hunt.
An Easter Egg hunt is a fun family Easter tradition, but it is also a great time to talk about several symbols that remind us of the resurrection. Eggs are often thought to be a reminder of the stone that was rolled away from the tomb on Easter morning. Plastic eggs, once they are empty, can also be a reminder of the empty tomb. Flowers, and blooming trees can be simple reminders of new life and the joy we celebrate on Easter. Discuss these symbols and reminders with your kids, even as they enjoy the thrill of hunting for eggs in the yard.
-Join other Calvary families for a Zoom Meeting at 4pm.
At 4pm on Easter day, Pastor Mike and family will host a Zoom video conference for our KidsChurch kids and their families. We will use this time for the kids to see and say hi to their friends, as well as discussing what has made Easter special for them. Pastor Mike will also share a brief Easter message, just for our kids. Information to join this Zoom meeting can be found in the Holy Saturday email from Pastor Mike, or request this information by contacting Pastor Mike at pastor@calvarysilverspring.org
Preparation
-Saturday of Holy Week-
All is quiet now.
The cross is empty. The tomb is covered. The guards are waiting, the disciples hiding.
But don’t confuse quiet with silence.
Some have said God is silent, where is his answer to our prayers? Others said “God is dead.”
But don’t confuse quiet with silence.
On the seventh day of creation, God rested. For six laborious days he spoke all things into existence. Then rest. A quiet rest, but not silence. The fruit of his labor was busily multiplying. And God’s spirit sustaining all.
Now, on another seventh day, God rests again. The work is done, the job is finished, all has been accomplished.
The disciples wondered if this was it, as the grave sat covered and still. But little did they know. Underneath the quiet, behind the rest, a joyful noise was brimming.
In one more day, now the eighth, a new thing will be done. Where sin once reigned, and death took hold, the victorious King will come forth.
All is quiet, but not silent, this is the preparation.
Tomorrow we join in.
~Pastor Mike
A Good Friday Message from Pastor Mike
To listen to a recording of our Tenebrae service from 2018 click HERE.
Worship Service, April 9 2020, Maundy Thursday
Click HERE for a pdf of the bulletin for Calavary’s Maundy Thursday Service.
All the Way to Your Toes
-Thursday of Holy Week-
The table is set, the meal is ready. But one more job to do.
The disciples’ toes were dirty.
Who have you let touch your feet? Would you present them quickly to Jesus?
Strange to us, but normal for them, the washing of feet was necessary before a meal. Everyone reclining together, lounging at the table. But if stinky, muddy, ugly feet were close, who could enjoy the food?
Of course, this was someone else’s job. Not the master of the house. He has more important things to do, providing the food, pouring the wine, leading the ritual conversation. How could he be soiled, by other people’s toes?
Yet look at Jesus, he gives himself. He takes off his outer garments. He becomes exposed to other people’s judgments.
He invites them over, takes their feet, pours out the water of absolution.
Sure, he gets messy in the process. But his disciples whom he loves, now they are welcome at the table. He has washed, cleansed, and covered over the ickiest, stickiest parts of their entire body. Now they can eat and drink, enjoying fully, the meal set before them. (And what a feast it is!)
Finally, a small challenge given. A simple invitation. Go and do as I have done. Become a servant of others. Not because of who you are, but because of what I have given.
This is the path of blessing.
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
Psalm 51:10-12
~Pastor Mike
All of Him for All Your Nothing
-Wednesday of Holy Week-
Interesting that money was involved in the events of the Passion.
Not Jesus’ money, he had none. But Judas’.
Or rather, money Judas wanted. For 30 pieces of silver he sold over his Lord. He thought he could sell, prosper off of, the one who could never be bought.
What a contrast. We believe money is everything. We work hard to get it. We are proud when we have it. We use it to fill our lives with the things we think we need. What could Judas have needed more than he needed his Savior? Yet, he did it.
We do it too. And if not money, we think it is the rest of us that can get us what we need. Look at me! I am good enough, smart enough, and doggone it, people like me. Our hard work, charm, or excellence can save us in this world.
Except it can’t.
There is One who can’t be bought. There is a Treasure that cannot be purchased. There is a Gift that cannot be earned. Don’t bring your currency. He won’t accept it.
All that’s needed is your open eyes. A humble heart. A poverty of spirit. The deal is all of Christ for all your nothing. There is no other way.
Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. — Isaiah 55:1
~Pastor Mike
Bonus Feature: the text above from Isaiah 55 is the inspiration for one of my favorite hymns: Come to the Water. Here is a recording of that hymn from Calvary several years ago.
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