EASTER DAY
Worship
Lectionary Worship Aids -- Series C
First Lesson: Exodus 15:1-11
Theme: Jubilation over deliverance from death to life
Call to Worship
Pastor:
My, what jubilation Moses and the Israelites felt after crossing the Red Sea!
People:
They sang as if they had been delivered from death to life!
Pastor:
They had! And that is exactly why we are so jubilant this morning. Christ has shown us our deliverance through death to life eternal!
People:
Christ has triumphed gloriously! He has broken the chains of death, and shared with us eternal life. Hallelujah! Christ is risen! Praise the Lord! We, too, shall live!
Collect
Triumphant God, great giver of life: You can divide a sea and lead your people through to life in your promised land! You can conquer even death, and lead your people through to your promised eternal life! Give us the vision this morning to see the deliverance you have given us through Christ your Son, in whose name we pray. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Our dear heavenly Father, we have clung to death, when you would give us life. Forgive us for standing in defeat on this side of deliverance, when you have made possible a jubilant victory over death. May the presence of our risen Lord give us assurance of the glorious eternity we cannot see with our eyes. Hear us for his sake, we pray. Amen.
Hymns
"Christ the Lord is Risen Today"
"Come, Ye Faithful, Raise the Strain"
"The Day of Resurrection"
"Thine is the Glory"
No. 89 - EASTER DAY
Second Lesson: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Theme: The truth of the resurrection
Call to Worship
Pastor:
Glory be to God on high! Christ our Lord is risen from the dead!
People:
Hallelujah! Not only is Christ risen from the dead; but we too, shall be raised to new life because of him!
Pastor:
Yes! We have identified with Adam and his sinful nature. Now we can identify with Christ, and enjoy eternal life.
People:
We worship our risen Lord who lives within our hearts!
Collect
Eternal God, our Father, who has reached down to man in our sinful nature with the gift of eternal life through your Son Jesus, our Lord: Raise us to new life, that, turning from our sinfulness, we may enjoy the blessings of resurrection living, now and forever more. We pray through Christ the Resurrection and the Life. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Dear Lord, we thank you for the message of Christ's Resurrection and ours. But we confess, even with our knowledge of the resurrection hope, we still drift so easily into the sinful nature of Adam. Forgive us for not committing ourselves to the reality of our resurrection that Christ has proven to us. We have been united with Adam too long; now, and forever, unite us with Christ our risen Savior, in whose name we pray. Amen.
Hymns
"I Know that My Redeemer Lives"
"Sing with All the Sons of Glory"
"Now the Green Blade Riseth"
"The Strife Is O'er, The Battle Done"
No. 90 - EASTER DAY
Gospel:
John 20:1-18 or Luke 24:1-35
Theme: Praise for Christ's Resurrection
Call to Worship
Pastor:
Easter says to us, we do not go to a cemetery to pay tribute to our beloved Lord, because he is among the living, not the dead!
People:
Praise God for the wonderful experience of that first Easter when Jesus arose from the dead!
Pastor:
Amen! And that experience is just as joyful for us today, because Christ's Resurrection is the proof of our resurrection!
People:
Yes, and also because Christ lives within our hearts as our risen Lord!
Collect
Almighty God our Father, who has conquered death through the resurrection of Jesus Christ: Hear our praise we offer to you in thanksgiving for the assurance of life eternal which you have given to us through your Son, who lives within our hearts. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Dear Lord, this day of Resurrection reminds us that we, too, have searched in the wrong places for our risen Lord. Forgive us for mourning in the shadow of death, when we can rejoice over his presence in our lives. Lead us into our community with a convincing witness of the reality of Christ's resurrection in us. In his name we pray. Amen.
Hymns
"Christ the Lord is Risen Today"
"Jesus Christ Is Risen Today"
"Low in the Grave He Lay"
"Thine is the Glory"
Theme: Jubilation over deliverance from death to life
Call to Worship
Pastor:
My, what jubilation Moses and the Israelites felt after crossing the Red Sea!
People:
They sang as if they had been delivered from death to life!
Pastor:
They had! And that is exactly why we are so jubilant this morning. Christ has shown us our deliverance through death to life eternal!
People:
Christ has triumphed gloriously! He has broken the chains of death, and shared with us eternal life. Hallelujah! Christ is risen! Praise the Lord! We, too, shall live!
Collect
Triumphant God, great giver of life: You can divide a sea and lead your people through to life in your promised land! You can conquer even death, and lead your people through to your promised eternal life! Give us the vision this morning to see the deliverance you have given us through Christ your Son, in whose name we pray. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Our dear heavenly Father, we have clung to death, when you would give us life. Forgive us for standing in defeat on this side of deliverance, when you have made possible a jubilant victory over death. May the presence of our risen Lord give us assurance of the glorious eternity we cannot see with our eyes. Hear us for his sake, we pray. Amen.
Hymns
"Christ the Lord is Risen Today"
"Come, Ye Faithful, Raise the Strain"
"The Day of Resurrection"
"Thine is the Glory"
No. 89 - EASTER DAY
Second Lesson: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Theme: The truth of the resurrection
Call to Worship
Pastor:
Glory be to God on high! Christ our Lord is risen from the dead!
People:
Hallelujah! Not only is Christ risen from the dead; but we too, shall be raised to new life because of him!
Pastor:
Yes! We have identified with Adam and his sinful nature. Now we can identify with Christ, and enjoy eternal life.
People:
We worship our risen Lord who lives within our hearts!
Collect
Eternal God, our Father, who has reached down to man in our sinful nature with the gift of eternal life through your Son Jesus, our Lord: Raise us to new life, that, turning from our sinfulness, we may enjoy the blessings of resurrection living, now and forever more. We pray through Christ the Resurrection and the Life. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Dear Lord, we thank you for the message of Christ's Resurrection and ours. But we confess, even with our knowledge of the resurrection hope, we still drift so easily into the sinful nature of Adam. Forgive us for not committing ourselves to the reality of our resurrection that Christ has proven to us. We have been united with Adam too long; now, and forever, unite us with Christ our risen Savior, in whose name we pray. Amen.
Hymns
"I Know that My Redeemer Lives"
"Sing with All the Sons of Glory"
"Now the Green Blade Riseth"
"The Strife Is O'er, The Battle Done"
No. 90 - EASTER DAY
Gospel:
John 20:1-18 or Luke 24:1-35
Theme: Praise for Christ's Resurrection
Call to Worship
Pastor:
Easter says to us, we do not go to a cemetery to pay tribute to our beloved Lord, because he is among the living, not the dead!
People:
Praise God for the wonderful experience of that first Easter when Jesus arose from the dead!
Pastor:
Amen! And that experience is just as joyful for us today, because Christ's Resurrection is the proof of our resurrection!
People:
Yes, and also because Christ lives within our hearts as our risen Lord!
Collect
Almighty God our Father, who has conquered death through the resurrection of Jesus Christ: Hear our praise we offer to you in thanksgiving for the assurance of life eternal which you have given to us through your Son, who lives within our hearts. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Dear Lord, this day of Resurrection reminds us that we, too, have searched in the wrong places for our risen Lord. Forgive us for mourning in the shadow of death, when we can rejoice over his presence in our lives. Lead us into our community with a convincing witness of the reality of Christ's resurrection in us. In his name we pray. Amen.
Hymns
"Christ the Lord is Risen Today"
"Jesus Christ Is Risen Today"
"Low in the Grave He Lay"
"Thine is the Glory"
