Bethel 04/18/21 Service

Sources of Information for Today's Online Service
This page has links to information used or encountered in preparing this online service.

Appearances of Jesus after Resurrection
Post-Resurrection Appearances of Jesus
Table of Post-Resurrection Appearances of Jesus

Guidance from UMC Discipleship Ministries

This is the third in a series of seven Worship Services from the Discipleship Ministries for the season of Eastertide that begins with Easter Sunday. The graphics at the top of this page list the topics for each of the services in the Series.
(Click on an earlier service's graphic to view that service's Resource page.)

Worship Series: "Living the Resurrection"
from umcdiscipleship.org

Of all the high holy days on the calendar of faith, Easter is by far the highest and the holiest. There is no exuberance that is too loud, no expression of joy that is over the top, no exercise of new life that can be shut down. Easter calls for excess. Don’t let it slip in silently; it needs brass accompaniment. And not just on one day. Easter is not a day; it is a season. That is why our worship series grabs hold of Easter and runs all the way to Pentecost, breathless and panting for the Spirit to come and breathe new life into our lungs so that we can endure the journey through the long season after Pentecost. The joy of Easter needs to sustain us until the Spirit can launch us into the next phase of experiencing the kin-dom of God.

This Week's Theme: "Touch and See"
Liturgical Resources

Jesus is trying to ground the disciples’ faith in the reality of his presence, in the concreteness of his being. He told them to touch him; he ate in front of them. He was announcing that he was real. What can we provide, what hands-on proof can we give that Jesus is alive among us? Of course, we have been in a pandemic and touching is still not something we want to engage in. But we can still give examples of lives being touched, hearts being touched.