Calls To Worship
Adapted from Psalm 30
Leader: You have turned our mourning into dancing!
You have taken away our funeral clothes
and re-clothed us in joy,
so that our whole being—body, mind and soul—
might sing praise to you and not be silent.
People: O Lord, our Lord, we will give thanks to you forever!
Leader: Alleluia! Christ is Risen!
People: CHRIST IS RISEN INDEED!
Leader: Darkness has been vanquished!
People: THE BRILLIANT LIGHT OF HOPE HAS COME!
Leader: Come let us worship and celebrate the Good News!
People: ALLELUIA! CHRIST IS RISEN! AMEN!!
Prayer of Confession and Pardon for Easter
Risen Christ,
The world despised and rejected you
You responded with grace, humility, and welcome
The proud questioned your power, devised your death
You responded with peace, forgiveness, and new life
Forgive us, Merciful One
Our arrogance
Our selfishness
Our scheming
Our violence
Forgive us, Merciful One
We are like them
Make us like you
Time of silent confession
Risen Christ,
We claim your grace, your mercy, your forgiveness
We claim your resurrection power:
Dying, you destroy our death
Rising, you restore our life.
You come now with saving power
Alleluia. Amen.
Prayer of Confession and Pardon for Easter © 2022 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia, www.revlisad.com
Lord, like the women at the tomb on the first Easter, we come out of our darkness and into your light
We come out of emptiness to enter your fullness
We come out of our hopelessness to find your joy
We come out of our confusion to seek your peace
We come far from home because we know we have been found
We come at your invitation to celebrate your risen life and to praise you as Lord
Jacob Traeger
God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed.
Joseph E. McCabe, Service Book for Ministers, McGraw Hill Book Company, Inc, 1961.
Adapted from 1 Corinthians 15
Jesus is risen!
He is risen indeed!
Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?
Thanks be to God!
God gives us victory through our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Submitted by Austin D. Hill
Adapted from Revelation 1:17-18, John 14:19
Do not be afraid,
Jesus is the first and the last,
and the living one.
He was dead, and behold,
He is alive for forever and ever.
Because he lives, we also will live.
Jesus Christ is risen.
He is risen indeed!
Submitted by Austin D. Hill
Christ is risen:
The angels of God are rejoicing.
Christ is risen:
The tomb is empty and still.
Christ has indeed arisen from the dead.
Glory and power are Christ’s for ever and ever. Amen.
Hippolytus, Attrib., Easter hymn.
Leader: The darkness is gone!
People: Bright light floods into this new day of hope.
Leader: Those who went to the tomb received good news.
People: Christ was not there!
Leader: Christ is risen in our hearts and our spirits!
People: Christ is risen from the dead! Alleluia! Amen!
Think of a moment when someone
that you least expected to see
suddenly stands before you.
A moment when something you’d lost
is found again and you can scarcely believe your eyes.
Think of a moment when your fear
was suddenly proved unfounded
and you were surprised by joy.
This morning is such a moment.
We resign ourselves to the worst,
and suddenly life turns around.
So come this Easter morning,
to be shaken from your conviction
that nothing can change your situation.
Come if you look at the world
and feel overwhelmed by its chaos,
or disillusioned by its promises.
On this morning we remember
how Mary went to anoint a corpse,
and was greeted by a Saviour.
Come to worship prepared
to see your life and the world
through new eyes.
For Christ is risen,
he is risen indeed. Hallelujah!
Ann Siddall, Stillpoint Spirituaity Centre
Christ has risen.
He is risen indeed!
Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?
Almighty God, through Christ, you give us everlasting life. By the power of your Holy Spirit, please show us today a glimpse of that new life as we reflect upon your glory.
Submitted by Austin D. Hill
For those who first went out into the early dawn,
when the sky was grey, taking spices to the tomb,
there was terror, and surprise.
For us, resisting the impulse to sleep in as part of a long weekend,
and being over-familiar with the Easter story,
there is the risk of complacency.
So let us open ourselves
to the astounding possibility that life can break out
at any moment!
Let us challenge the thought
that we have planned the future
So efficiently that
there will be no surprises!
Let us face the fact
that the walls of this church,
and the life of our institution
cannot entirely contain Jesus Christ!
Let us celebrate the irrepressible power of God
breaking out with life
where we least expect it!
Ann Siddall, Stillpoint Spirituaity Centre
Fear not, I am the first and the last: I am he that lives forevermore. Now Christ is risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept. Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Joseph E. McCabe, Service Book for Ministers, McGraw Hill Book Company, Inc, 1961.
The Easter Sermon of John Chrysostom (344-407) Bishop of Constantinople and Doctor of the Church
Is there anyone who is a devout lover of God?
Let us enjoy this beautiful bright festival!
Is there anyone who is a grateful servant?
Let us rejoice and enter into the joy of our Lord!
Are there any weary with fasting?
Let us now receive our due!
If any have toiled from the first hour,
let them receive their due reward;
If any have come after the third hour,
let them with gratitude join in the Feast!
And those that arrived after the sixth hour,
Let them not doubt; for they too shall sustain no loss.
And if any delayed until the ninth hour,
Let them not hesitate; but let them come too.
And they who arrived only at the eleventh hour,
Let them not be afraid by reason of their delay.
For the Lord is gracious and receives the last even as the first.
He gives rest to those that come at the eleventh hour,
as well as to those that toiled from the first.
To this one He gives, and upon another He bestows.
He accepts the works as He greets the endeavor.
The deed He honors and the intention He commends.
Let us all enter into the joy of the Lord!
First and last alike receive your reward;
Rich and poor, rejoice together!
Adapted for liturgical use by Howard Baker