Collect

O Almighty God, who alone canst order the unruly wills and affections of sinful men: Grant unto thy people that they may love the thing which thou commandest, and desire that which thou dost promise; that so, among the sundry and manifold changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen

Ezekiel 37:1-14 . . . The prophet has a vision of the bones of a dead and hopeless people being restored to new life in their homeland.

Psalm 130 (Tree of Life Version). . .  waiting on God for forgiveness and redemption

Romans 8:6-11 . . . Paul draws a contrast between minds dominated by fleshly and worldly things and those in whom Christ lives and are set on Spirit.

John 11:1-45 . . . the story of Jesus’ raising of Lazarus from the dead.

Sermon by Scott Spencer

“Can you smell that?” asks Scott Spencer’s wife. “No dear,” he replies, not to fret her, but because he genuinely doesn’t smell it. Spencer, author and New Testament scholar, says of today’s passage, John 11:1-45, “It features co-mingled scents of life and death, powerful odors, from the most pleasant to the most putrid.” By the end of the passage, “The spring-like fragrance of fresh life deodorizes the whole scene.” But, in the four days between Lazarus’ death and being raised from the dead, Mary and Martha say to Jesus, “If only you had been here.” Have you ever uttered that phrase?…”If only…?” Spencer offers an alternative way to think. Listen as he prods us to consider the “what now…” of Lazarus’ resurrection and the “what now…” in our lives.