Easter as God's "Yes"
Worship
LECTIONARY WORSHIP AIDS
Series II
Exegetical note: The heart of the kerygmatic recapitulation contained in Peter's speech to Gentiles here is his view of the resurrection (in v. 40) as God's validation of Jesus after the crucifixion. The latter was the "no" of humanity (designated with an indefinite "They") to Jesus' ministry, while Jesus was God's resounding, and ultimately prevailing "Yes."
Call to Worship
(based on Psalm 118)
Leader:
God is our strength and song!
People:
GOD HAS BECOME OUR SALVATION!
Leader:
We therefore shall not die!
People:
WE SHALL LIVE TO RECOUNT GOD'S MIGHTY ACTS!
Collect
Gracious God, you have given us in Jesus' resurrection your most profound affirmation over all that would destroy us. Make us receptive and responsive to your Word of grace: that, our every obstacle overcome, we may lead new lives of purpose and peace. In the name of the Christ we pray. Amen
Prayer of Confession
Most merciful God, we confess that our ears and hearts are often closed to your divine affirmation of us, and that we therefore live in subjection to self-depreciation and guilt, feeling wretched and worthless. Forgive us, we pray, and set our eyes once again this Easter Day upon the empty tomb of Christ Jesus. Help us to see there your profound "Yes" to our lives and our very natures, over against all of the world's powers and principalities that would negate and destroy us. In the name of the resurrected Christ we pray. Amen
The Resurrection of Our Lord
(Easter Day)
Second Lesson: Colossians 3:1-4
Theme:
The incompleteness of the Resurrection
Exegetical note: Paul still has in mind baptism as a symbolic participation of the believer in Jesus' death and resurrection. The point he wants to make in these verses is that the raising of Jesus is not the end of the story. For one thing, there is the ethical demand placed on those "raised with Christ." For another, there is the appearance of that same Christ at the parousia, which suggests that the Christian's life until then remains "hidden with Christ in God."
Call to Worship
(based on Psalm 118)
Leader:
Thanks be to God, who has become our salvation!
People:
THANKS BE TO GOD, WHO HAS GIVEN US A GREAT LIGHT!
Leader:
God has opened to us the gates of righteousness!
People:
LET US ENTER THROUGH THEM AND GIVE THANKS!
Collect
Living God, you have given us new life in the death and resurrection of Jesus. Help us to see that great gift as a beginning rather than an end: that, responding to your grace, we may grow in faith and works until your risen one returns. In his name we pray. Amen
Prayer of Confession
Life-giving God, we confess our tendency to be complacent, and even smug, in our status as children of the resurrection, and to forget your expectation that we who have been given the possibility of new life must actually live new lives in response. Forgive us, O God, and inspire us anew with the image of the resurrected Jesus. Let it stir us and move us to wholeness and holiness, to the end that we ourselves shall become evidence of the truth of the resurrection of the Christ. In his holy name we pray. Amen
The Resurrection of Our Lord
(Easter Day)
Gospel:
Matthew 28:1-10
Theme:
Women as witnesses of the risen Christ
Exegetical note: Among the many nuances added to Mark's earlier resurrection account by Matthew's redaction is a heightening of the role of the women in the event. Mark had ended his account (in its original version) at 16:8, with the women's fearful silence. Matthew, however, has the women departing with joy, not fear, and bearing the first testimony to the fact of the resurrection, having been commissioned as witnesses not only by an angel, but by the risen Jesus as well!
Call to Worship
(based on Psalm 118)
Leader:
This is the day that God has made!
People:
LET US REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT!
Leader:
Blessed are those who enter in God's name!
People:
LET US GIVE THANKS FOR GOD'S GOODNESS AND STEADFAST LOVE!
Collect
God of all miracles, you revealed the resurrection of Christ Jesus first to women of faith. Help us to emulate their witness, that, beholding your mighty victory of life over death, we may be moved as they were to testify to your majesty, mercy, power, and grace. In the name of the resurrected Christ we pray. Amen
Prayer of Confession
God of all mercies, we are sorry to admit how feeble our witness to the resurrection of Christ Jesus really is. We affirm it in our hearts, but bear little testimony to it either in our words or our lives, which often have the appearance and odor of death rather than of new life. Forgive us, we pray, and set before us again the fact of the open tomb and empty grave. Fill us with resurrection power and renewed life, so that we may at last reflect the glow of that first Easter dawn. In the name of the risen Christ we pray. Amen
Call to Worship
(based on Psalm 118)
Leader:
God is our strength and song!
People:
GOD HAS BECOME OUR SALVATION!
Leader:
We therefore shall not die!
People:
WE SHALL LIVE TO RECOUNT GOD'S MIGHTY ACTS!
Collect
Gracious God, you have given us in Jesus' resurrection your most profound affirmation over all that would destroy us. Make us receptive and responsive to your Word of grace: that, our every obstacle overcome, we may lead new lives of purpose and peace. In the name of the Christ we pray. Amen
Prayer of Confession
Most merciful God, we confess that our ears and hearts are often closed to your divine affirmation of us, and that we therefore live in subjection to self-depreciation and guilt, feeling wretched and worthless. Forgive us, we pray, and set our eyes once again this Easter Day upon the empty tomb of Christ Jesus. Help us to see there your profound "Yes" to our lives and our very natures, over against all of the world's powers and principalities that would negate and destroy us. In the name of the resurrected Christ we pray. Amen
The Resurrection of Our Lord
(Easter Day)
Second Lesson: Colossians 3:1-4
Theme:
The incompleteness of the Resurrection
Exegetical note: Paul still has in mind baptism as a symbolic participation of the believer in Jesus' death and resurrection. The point he wants to make in these verses is that the raising of Jesus is not the end of the story. For one thing, there is the ethical demand placed on those "raised with Christ." For another, there is the appearance of that same Christ at the parousia, which suggests that the Christian's life until then remains "hidden with Christ in God."
Call to Worship
(based on Psalm 118)
Leader:
Thanks be to God, who has become our salvation!
People:
THANKS BE TO GOD, WHO HAS GIVEN US A GREAT LIGHT!
Leader:
God has opened to us the gates of righteousness!
People:
LET US ENTER THROUGH THEM AND GIVE THANKS!
Collect
Living God, you have given us new life in the death and resurrection of Jesus. Help us to see that great gift as a beginning rather than an end: that, responding to your grace, we may grow in faith and works until your risen one returns. In his name we pray. Amen
Prayer of Confession
Life-giving God, we confess our tendency to be complacent, and even smug, in our status as children of the resurrection, and to forget your expectation that we who have been given the possibility of new life must actually live new lives in response. Forgive us, O God, and inspire us anew with the image of the resurrected Jesus. Let it stir us and move us to wholeness and holiness, to the end that we ourselves shall become evidence of the truth of the resurrection of the Christ. In his holy name we pray. Amen
The Resurrection of Our Lord
(Easter Day)
Gospel:
Matthew 28:1-10
Theme:
Women as witnesses of the risen Christ
Exegetical note: Among the many nuances added to Mark's earlier resurrection account by Matthew's redaction is a heightening of the role of the women in the event. Mark had ended his account (in its original version) at 16:8, with the women's fearful silence. Matthew, however, has the women departing with joy, not fear, and bearing the first testimony to the fact of the resurrection, having been commissioned as witnesses not only by an angel, but by the risen Jesus as well!
Call to Worship
(based on Psalm 118)
Leader:
This is the day that God has made!
People:
LET US REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT!
Leader:
Blessed are those who enter in God's name!
People:
LET US GIVE THANKS FOR GOD'S GOODNESS AND STEADFAST LOVE!
Collect
God of all miracles, you revealed the resurrection of Christ Jesus first to women of faith. Help us to emulate their witness, that, beholding your mighty victory of life over death, we may be moved as they were to testify to your majesty, mercy, power, and grace. In the name of the resurrected Christ we pray. Amen
Prayer of Confession
God of all mercies, we are sorry to admit how feeble our witness to the resurrection of Christ Jesus really is. We affirm it in our hearts, but bear little testimony to it either in our words or our lives, which often have the appearance and odor of death rather than of new life. Forgive us, we pray, and set before us again the fact of the open tomb and empty grave. Fill us with resurrection power and renewed life, so that we may at last reflect the glow of that first Easter dawn. In the name of the risen Christ we pray. Amen
