Opening Prayers/Prayers of Adoration on Resurrection
O God, our resurrection and life, the promise of Your new life in Christ is like a breath of fresh air in a dry and thirsty land. We have gathered as believers, and as those who are honestly seeking the truth. Guide our worship this hour.
O God who makes all things new, speak to us as whole people today. May Your truth touch not just our intellects, but also our deeper yearnings of heart and soul. We bring with us our daily concerns, as well as our more eternal questions. May Your new creation in us shed light upon our everyday walk.
O God who fed the multitudes with but a few loaves and some fish, feed us now with the abundance of what You freely offer, that we might overflow with Your goodness right where we live. All this we pray in the name of, and because of, Jesus our Christ. Amen.
Rev. Linda Smallwood, My Redeemer Lives Blog.
Prayer Based on 2 Corinthians 4:5-12
This prayer could be offered by a single voice, a group praying in unison, or as indicated with a single voice on the regular print and all voices on the bold print.
Yes, we are merely clay jars
But within us is treasure
The extraordinary resurrection power of Jesus
Hallelujah! Glory to God!
Yes, we are afflicted
Yes, we are confused
But within us is treasure
The extraordinary resurrection power of Jesus
We are not crushed
We do not give in to despair
Hallelujah! Glory to God!
Yes, we are persecuted
Yes, we are knocked down
But within us is treasure
The extraordinary resurrection power of Jesus
We are not abandoned
We are not destroyed
Hallelujah! Glory to God!
Yes, death is constantly at work in us
Yes, we are chipped and cracked, frail and mortal
But it is nothing compared to the brutal death and suffering of Jesus
It is nothing compared to his victorious resurrection
His extraordinary and endless life is at work in us
We are his treasure
We wield his power
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Glory to God!
The Treasure Within Us © 2017 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia, www.revlisad.com
Bless Christ Through Whom All Things Are Made
Inspired by Colossians 1:11-28
Bless Christ through whom all things are made.
Join seen and unseen in their praise
of One who both creates, sustains
who goes before, in justice reigns.
Who makes the lion and the lamb,
the farthest star, the smallest hand,
dominions, rulers, and their pow’rs,
the steadfast mount, the fleeting hours?
Who made the ore for blood-soaked nails?
Who made the thorns and whipping tails?
Who made the sun that would not shine
and made the tree on which Christ died?
Who makes the waters of our birth?
Who makes the dust where we return?
Who makes the way for us to die
and rise to everlasting life?
Bless Christ though whom all things are made.
Join seen and unseen in their praise
of One who both creates, sustains
who goes before, in justice reigns.
You can sing this poem to tunes with this meter: 88.88 (LM)
Suggested tune: POXON
Bless Christ, Through Whom All Things Are Made © 2000 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia, www.revlisad.com
and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ:
We praise and thank you today and always!
You are worthy of our praise
simply for who You are:
You are good and You are strong,
You are gracious, just and loving.
As we confront this world that lacks hope,
a world caught up in war, hunger, poverty and
spiritual emptiness,
in Your great mercy You freely give us a new birth
into the living hope
through Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.
There is no darkness so great
that your light is not greater still.
There is not conflict so disruptive
that your peace cannot quell it.
There is no death so final,
that your resurrection life
cannot break its icy grip. And, …
There is no thief so sneaky or strong
that he can steal the inheritance you give
that can never perish, spoil or fade—
kept in heaven for us.
Therefore, we rightly worship You!
However, we are quick to trust
our strength more than yours,
our wisdom more than yours,
our abilities more than yours,
our resources more than yours.
our love more than yours.
And our misplaced trust in ourselves
has led us into sin.
Christ the Lord is Risen- A Prayer Litany for Easter
This prayer incorporates texts from Christ the Lord is Risen Today by Charles Wesley as a congregational response, a choral response, or a second voice. The responses may be sung or spoken. If sung, consider underscoring the prayer with continued music.
RESPONSE:
Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia!
Earth and heaven in chorus say, Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!
Sing, ye heavens, and earth reply, Alleluia!
ONE:
Holy One, Eternal and Blessed
We lift our hearts to You
Your love overflows, calling the wonder of creation into being
Filling the world with beauty and goodness
Receive our thanks and praise
We join the company of heaven
and Your faithful in every time and place
in celebrating Your victory over sin and shame
Alleluia!
RESPONSE:
Love’s redeeming work is done, Alleluia!
Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!
Death in vain forbids him rise, Alleluia!
Christ has opened paradise, Alleluia!
ONE:
Glory to You, God of grace and majesty
and glory to Your Son, Jesus Christ,
our Savior and Savior of the world
On the third day, You raised Jesus from the dead.
Death could not destroy him!
The grave could not enslave him!
Break the bonds of evil in us and our world
Raise us all to new life, now and forever
Alleluia!
RESPONSE:
Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia!
Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!
Once He died our souls to save, Alleluia!
Where’s thy victory, boasting grave? Alleluia!
ONE:
Come Lord Jesus
And come Holy Spirit,
Abide with us and in us
So we may live each day as Your Easter people,
Whole, Holy, Alive
One with You and one with each other
Together fulfilling Your saving work
Alleluia!
RESPONSE:
King of glory, soul of bliss, Alleluia!
Everlasting life is this, Alleluia!
Thee to know, Thy power to prove, Alleluia!
Thus to sing, and thus to love, Alleluia!
Christ the Lord is Risen- A Prayer Litany for Easter © 2022 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia, www.revlisad.com
Gracious and loving God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
We praise you for how wide, how high,
and how deep is Your vast love for all people.
Incarnate in Jesus, You offered Your life
for the healing of the world through the forgiveness of all our sins.
Your arms outstretched on the cross embrace us all
as Your love transcends our divisions and differences.
Breaking out of the tomb, You broke the powers that bind us
and released us to live new and free.
Your wide and welcoming love for all challenges us.
Forgive us when we find it hard to forgive others.
Teach us how to value and respect one another.
Give us the necessary strength and courage to reach beyond ourselves
To those who are unfamiliar, and even those we find disagreeable.
Make us a safe place in a dangerous world,
a people in which Your Hope lives,
Your Love welcomes,
Your Compassion restores and
Your Grace lifts all who are downcast.
(Prayer of Adoration)
Thine is the glory – risen conquering Son
Endless is the victory, Thou over death have won.
Jesus – You are amazing! You are wonderful!
What we couldn’t do – You’ve done:
Breaking bonds of fear, sin, guilt and death
which kept us imprisoned for so long.
We’re free – and You’re our Liberator.
We’re beloved – and You’re our Lover.
We’re joyful – and You’re our Laughter and Joy.
That’s why we love You. That’s why we praise You.
That’s why we need You every day. After all …
(Prayer of Confession)
We aren’t very good at living like Your forgiven and free people.
Having received grace –
we’re still reluctant to give grace to others.
Having been forgiven – we still find it hard to forgive.
Having been loved just as we are –
we still struggle to love others as they are,
not as we want them to be.
Forgive us, Lord,
we don’t live much like Your resurrection people.
In small ways and big ways,
we hold onto our old lives and nurse our old ways;
particular ways and personal ways,
like those we now confess to you in the quiet
of Your presence in this place of worship: (Silence)