So tomorrow I’m starting a new, open-ended, video sermon series entitled “For these Hard Times.” Each week, we will search the scriptures for what we need to get us through these hard times.

Tomorrow, we will look at John 20, and focus a bit on the encounter between the disciple Thomas and Jesus. So I just had to share this amusing cartoon on how that would have gone down in the era of COVID-19:

My friends Shelagh and Rob have been producing music from their condo, and I wanted to share this selection – Thine Be the Glory – to get you ready for church tomorrow:

And I wanted to share this FREE children’s resource about the Thomas story in the Gospel According to John from the folks at illustratedministry.com:

(A word about that – I posted some resources during Holy Week that I had purchased from illustratedministry.com and a few days later there was an email – a general email, not focussed at me – asking that anyone who might have done that, to please take them down so that the for-purchase resources wouldn’t be widely available through internet searches. So those resources have been removed from this blog. However, I would make them available to Graceview members and friends who might be interested, just email me. Anything from them that I post going forward will be the free resources they send out weekly.)

I encourage you to check out the blog tomorrow morning (it should be published by sometime between 9:30am-10:am), as I will have a special greeting for you from a guest, some more great music to enjoy, and my video blog.

Until tomorrow friends, hold to this truth:

(Because, honestly, I don’t think I could come up with anything more powerful than this:)

One of the things that been really great to see during the pandemic, is the way that people have stepped up to encourage each other, to bring some joy, and to share some ‘silver linings’ in the midst of this storm.

About a week and a half ago, a friend of mine invited me to be a part of a Facebook group entitled: “Look for the Silver Lining Club!” The members of this group are invited to share whatever they’ve come across that gave them a smile, that warmed their heart, or that encouraged them. Last night my friend posted this before bed:

This is what it is to walk in faith, to follow Jesus. We meet the darkness with light – every moment, every hour, every day. And we know something about light, don’t we?

The world may seem very dark right now, but you have the power to push back the darkness by shining your light.

Until tomorrow, be encouraged and keep on meeting the darkness with light!

I was talking to some colleagues today, and we were talking about how tired we are. Some of us are doing a tonne of meetings, some are doing almost none. Some are doing livestream worship, others are sending out written materials so their congregants can worship at home. But no matter what we are doing, we are all tired.

And that makes sense. There is a level of stress and uncertainty that we have been living with for a month now, that is unprecedented. (I’m actually getting sick of that word, because it applies to so many different situations and areas of life right now!) There is a weariness of the soul that comes from hearing the news of more cases, more deaths, more difficulties, more uncertainties.

Our souls are weary.

But there is good news for our souls. Because Jesus has an invitation for us:

So today, I pray rest for your soul. That you would feel the presence of Christ, to comfort and calm you.

And, of course, there is a song I want to share with you. Andrew Peterson wrote, “The Rain Keeps Falling,” as part of his 2015 album, “The Burning Edge of Dawn.” He wrote this song (and much of this album) about a period of depression that he struggled through, and I feel like it has so much to say to us in these days. First, we hear Andrew laying out his heartbreak and darkness – that he just feels like there is no end to the rain falling.

But eventually – and it does take a while, which is kind of amazing because too often Christians rush to the solution and sometimes we just need to sit in our sadness and know that even our sorrow, God is with us – we hear another voice. A female voice that sings, “Peace, be still.”

When the album this song came out in 2015, Andrew did a companion cd in which he shared a bit about the background and meaning of each song. For this one he spoke about how this voice that speaks peace is the voice of the Holy Spirit – the comforter and helper who makes it possible for us to follow Jesus.

And yet, in the song, it seems like Andrew can’t hear this voice until the very, very end, when he begins to ask, “Is it You? Is it true?” This song breaks my heart, but I also find it so relatable. Sometimes we are weary and worn and sad, but God still whispers to us: Peace, be still.

I hope it ministers to you, to your soul, just as it has ministered to mine:

Years ago, Matt Redman wrote a song called The Heart of Worship. It was born out of a situation in the church where he was a worship leader. The band was very good, but there had been this sense for a while that the worship had begun to be about performance, rather than ascribing worth to God.

So the Lead Pastor banned the band. For several months, worship was lead with just one guitar and one voice. Simple. Stripped down. Focussed on Jesus.

And Matt Redman learned the lesson that the pastor had intended – that the heart of worship is all about Jesus. So he wrote this song.

In the midst of this pandemic, so much has been stripped away from our worship. But the heart of worship is the same as it has always been – it’s all about Jesus, all about learning from him, honouring him, inviting him into our lives to do the transformative work that only He can do.

Until tomorrow, may this song be a blessing to you!

In normal times, I’d be resting on Easter Monday. And I’ll admit to you, I have been working on this post for a few days now, with the intent that I would be able to rest on this Easter Monday, too, without depriving anyone of the solace they find in my daily posts.

So I just want to give you a couple of resources for this Easter Monday.

My friend, the other co-director of Great Lakes Touring Chorus, Rob Hennig, singing a Palm Sunday Hymn:

https://youtu.be/2gDpdNIJXQ0

And another of Shelagh singing one of my favourite Easter Hymns and Rob providing some percussion:

And this lovely bit of a take of on The Grinch that was sent to me by Al and Lynne Bishop. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one thinking about how the virus stole Easter (or at least tried):

Until tomorrow, dear friends, keep the faith, celebrate and find rest in Him.

Our Scripture for this morning is: Matthew 28:1-10.

Here is a colouring page for you to enjoy on this Easter Sunday from the folks at illustratedministry.com (why not colour it and put it up in your front windows for people to enjoy on their walks?!):***this file has been removed because illustratedministry.com asked that purchased files not be posted on the internet. If you would like to access it, please email me.***

Our own Eric Medhurst recorded a hymn for your worship-at-home experience. In his own words: “Lift high the cross,” arranged by Larry Shackley. This familiar and inspirational Easter hymn needs no introduction or further comment.  As we worship alone, but still as one, be 
uplifted by its powerful and confident setting. (Words for Lift High the Cross #643)

My Dad also recorded a chorus on guitar for you! He is Lord!

My friends Shelagh and Rob recorded this awesome anthem from their kitchen:

Here is the PWS&D Liturgy for Easter Sunday:

Yesterday, I spent most of the day working on some projects to make Easter Special. So here is a little video about that:

And some pictures of this morning’s adventures:

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

And finally – FINALLY! – my Easter video sermon!

I used that phrase in conversation with my friend, The Rev. Janet Ryu-Chan this week, and she told me she’d never heard it called that before. I call it Silent Saturday because the Scriptures are silent on that day. There are no words that tell us what the disciples were experiencing or thinking or doing.

So on this day of silence I want to share with you this song I came across on youtube. It is a setting of Psalm 130 – and what I really love about it is that there is this blend in it of lament, of calling out the promise of God, and of waiting. But it’s also triumphant.

And even as we observe the lament and waiting time of Silent Saturday, we are still an Easter people.

And I want to add this beautiful and heartbreaking tenebrea by Andrew Peterson, of the last seven words of Christ on the cross:

This poem about Holy Saturday:

Be blessed, dear friends!

This is a hard day, under normal circumstances. And we all know we are not under normal circumstances! Below are a number of different resources for you to access to experience Good Friday Worship, while staying safe at home. Be blessed, even as we grieve together.

At Graceview, we usually read the whole of the Maundy Thursday and crucifixion narratives. It’s a lot of Scripture, but it’s such a narrative passage – so many things happening – that a full read-through is the only way to go.

You can read it here: Matthew 26:31-Matthew 27:66 And I encourage you to do that!

The other traditional passage is Isaiah 53, which I also encourage you to read out loud.

We would also use the Liturgies produced by PWS&D:

My friend and co-director of the Great Lakes Touring Chorus (with which I have travelled to Scotland and Wales in the past, and with which I will travel to Ireland in the future), Shelagh Tyreman recorded this version of one of my favourite Good Friday hymns, Were You There?:

The illustratedministry.com folks have a great resource of the Seven Last Words of Jesus from the cross. Print and colour these pages for some Good Friday meditation: ***this file has been removed because illustratedministry.com asked that purchased files not be posted on the internet. If you would like to access it, please email me.***

Dear friends, here is my Good Friday video sermon:

And finally, if you’re looking for some Good Friday viewing, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber has made the full stage show of Jesus Christ Superstar free viewing on his YouTube channel. Enjoy!

Blessings to you until tomorrow!

This is the night when Jesus “mandated” the Lord’s Supper – he told us that his commandment was that we would remember him, and that we would love each other.

At Graceview, on Maundy Thursday, we have had a prayer vigil in the past few years: stations of the cross are set up in the sanctuary, and people are invited to drop in during certain hours, to walk the stations of the cross. Each station includes a description, a scripture, some images and the lyrics of a hymn. It has been deeply meaningful to those who take part.

Clearly we can’t do that this year. Even though there is a way to do it with a practice of physical distancing, our leaders and health experts have been saying over and over: Stay at home.

So, in order to give you an experience of Maundy Thursday without going against the best advice we have for stopping the spread of COVID-19, I posted some Stations of the Cross colouring pages yesterday. I hope you will consider downloading them and taking time to observe them.

But, I also present to you, the very first ever conversational Zoom sermon and communion service between my Dad (The Rev. Dr. Morley Mitchell) and I.

The passage we are discussing is Matthew 26:17-30.

There is a meme that is part of our discussion, so I wanted to post that:

We invite you to gather some bread (or bread like substance – use crackers or a granola bar or even some cheerios!) and some wine/juice (again, be creative and use what you have on hand – Jesus won’t mind if you use orange juice or ginger ale or something else entirely!), and join us in taking communion during that portion at the end of our video (I will say that our Presbytery has communicated with us that it IS permissible to serve communion in this way – extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures, even when it comes to the Lord’s Supper.).

I should also say, the title for this message was planned to be “UNDEFEATED: because of the blood of the Lamb!” I think that still applies, but since we didn’t really focus in on that in our discussion, I’ve title the video Maundy Thursday.

And, finally, again from my Dad – a little music for your soul. Here he is singing “All Hail King Jesus,” the lyrics can be found here, if you’d like to sing along!

Until tomorrow, dear friends, keep on following Jesus!