Home Worship for the week of Easter Sunday – April 5
Easter Call to Worship: Easter people, Christ is risen! God is doing a new thing! Life has conquered death! Love has overcome fear! God has transformed a dead end into a new start! Easter people, raise your voices! Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed! Hallelujah!
Opening Hymn: #302 Christ the Lord is Risen Today
- 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! - 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! - 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! - Soar we now where Christ has led, Alleluia! Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!
Made like Him, like Him we rise, Alleluia! Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia! - Hail the Lord of earth and heaven, Alleluia! Praise to Thee by both be given, Alleluia!
Thee we greet triumphant now, Alleluia! Hail the Resurrection, thou, Alleluia! - 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!
Epistle Reading Colossians 3:1-4
3 Therefore, if you were raised with Christ, look for the things that are above where Christ is sitting at God’s right side. 2 Think about the things above and not things on earth. 3 You died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.
Prayers of Intercession: (CORE prayers, adapted) In the power of the Holy Spirit, let us pray to the Father of our risen Lord Jesus, on behalf of the world, the Church, and one another.
Thank You, dear Father, for the victory of Jesus over all that hurts and destroys Your people. Tune our hearts to sing His praise. Purify our spirits so we may see His beauty forever. Fortify our minds to learn the depths of His love. Open our mouths to proclaim His triumph over our ancient enemy. Direct our hands – one to clasp His nail-scarred hand, the other to draw a fellow sinner closer to His loving embrace. Fill us with Your Spirit, so that in all things, we bear witness to His love.
Look with kindness upon Your Church as it worships Your risen Son. Make it radiant in faith, lovely in holiness, and beautiful in charity. By its words and deeds, bring many to know and adore Jesus as Savior and Lord.
Feed the people of this congregation with the milk and honey of sincerity and truth. Make us lovely with Your mercy, forgiveness, and goodness. Use us to draw many who are far off into Your family, so together we sing: “Christ is risen! Alleluia!”
We ask Your blessing upon all who hear this Gospel with disbelief, doubt, bitterness, or scorn. Give us wise words and loving hearts, so we share the hope that is in us on account of Jesus’ resurrection. Give them new, or renewed, faith in Christ, for He is their hope and heart’s desire.
Bestow Your peace upon this sin-stained world. Teach all who wield authority and power, in any field or enterprise, to use those gifts wisely and humbly. And give to all – especially those who are poor, forgotten, grieving, or despairing – a foretaste of the joys You have prepared for all who love You.
We pray that Jesus’ triumph over sin and death may bless all who suffer in body, mind, or spirit. Turn mourning into singing, and exchange the sackcloth of sorrow for the mantle of praise and the garment of joy.
We praise and magnify You, most gracious God; we entrust our prayers and petitions to You in the strong name of Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who taught us to pray together by praying …
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us, not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Offering spotlight: Sunday we dedicated the 30 Pieces of Silver offering. 75% of this offering will be used by the staff and students of Withrow College in Ghana. Your offering stretches around the world. Withrow College is an innovative institution specializing in Nursing and Public Health degrees, nurturing and producing graduates who are not only skilled healthcare professionals but are also equipped to lead and innovate in their fields. Through a blend of theoretical knowledge and practical training, students graduate ready to meet the challenges of the global healthcare landscape. Withrow College believes education should be a bridge, not a barrier, and tries to make tuition fees affordable. Your offering will help with this goal.
25% of the 30 Pieces of Silver offering stays right here in this congregation, funding ministry such as today’s Easter Dinner. People who are not eating with family or friends have been coming here on Easter Sunday to enjoy hospitality, friendship and a full meal of great food. If you don’t have a place to be or people to eat with, come today at noon and enjoy this community dinner, offered to all without charge.
Thank you for supporting the ministries that are reaching out to the community … and around the world.
Offering prayer: God of New Beginnings, You roll away more than stones. You roll away despair and doubt, fear and failure. On this Resurrection morning, we offer our gifts in gratitude for the new life we have found in Christ. Let these offerings be signs of our commitment to live differently -- eyes open, hearts awakened, hands ready to serve. May what we give today help announce to the world that hope is alive, love has triumphed, and joy cannot be contained. Use us and what we offer to keep telling the story: Christ is risen, indeed! Amen. (Discipleship Ministries)
Hymn of Preparation: #322 Up from the Grave He Arose
- Low in the grave He lay, Jesus my Savior, waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord!
Refrain: Up from the grave He arose; with a mighty triumph o'er His foes;
He arose a victor from the dark domain, and He lives forever, with His saints to reign.
He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!
- Vainly they watch His bed, Jesus my Savior,
vainly they seal the dead, Jesus my Lord! (Refrain) - Death cannot keep its prey, Jesus my Savior; He tore the bars away, Jesus my Lord!
(Refrain)
Scripture: John 20:1-18
20 Early in the morning of the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 She ran to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they’ve put Him.” 3 Peter and the other disciple left to go to the tomb. 4 They were running together, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and was the first to arrive at the tomb. 5 Bending down to take a look, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he didn’t go in. 6 Following him, Simon Peter entered the tomb and saw the linen cloths lying there. 7 He also saw the face cloth that had been on Jesus’ head. It wasn’t with the other clothes but was folded up in its own place. 8 Then the other disciple, the one who arrived at the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 They didn’t yet understand the scripture that Jesus must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples returned to the place where they were staying.
Jesus appears to Mary
11 Mary stood outside near the tomb, crying. As she cried, she bent down to look into the tomb. 12 She saw two angels dressed in white, seated where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head and one at the foot. 13 The angels asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”
She replied, “They have taken away my Lord, and I don’t know where they’ve put Him.” 14 As soon as she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she didn’t know it was Jesus.
15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who are you looking for?”
Thinking He was the gardener, she replied, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where you have put Him and I will get Him.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned and said to Him in Aramaic, “Rabbouni” (which means Teacher).
17 Jesus said to her, “Don’t hold on to Me, for I haven’t yet gone up to My Father. Go to My brothers and sisters and tell them, ‘I’m going up to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.’”
18 Mary Magdalene left and announced to the disciples, “I’ve seen the Lord.” Then she told them what He said to her.
Message: Pastor Becky
He isn’t there. The tomb is empty. Mary goes to Jesus’ tomb in full expectation of finding His dead body. Really, we can’t blame her. She witnessed His death, she knew of His burial, and prepared herself to go to His tomb early in the morning. She expected to find His body in the last place He was put.
We’ve all lost something, and where is the first place we look for it? We look where we had it last. When the item isn’t there we go to where it is supposed to be. For Mary these are one and the same. She is a bundle of emotions: she is grieving, she is confused, anxious, frustrated and overwhelmed. She has lost the one person who saw and affirmed her worth and now she wants to know, Where is He? She longs to be with Jesus this one last time, to anoint Him for death, the last small act of kindness to repay His outpouring of love upon her. Yet, in the moment, she doesn’t know she isn’t dealing with a dead body, what she has is a living Savior. Jesus is alive and isn’t going to be found in a tomb, locked away from her. He isn’t someone from her past. He is forever her present and her future.
And this is true for us as well. If we believe that Jesus is alive, we shouldn’t expect Him to stay put either. Now, it would be easier for us if Jesus would just stay where we put Him. Let’s confine Him to the church building. We would come once a week to visit, have a fine time together and we leave until next week. We would have the comfort of knowing exactly where He is and because He is safely held in the building, we would not have to worry about running into Him out in our day to day living.
Or maybe, a beautiful rose garden somewhere, or a flower filled meadow or a grove of pine trees would be better fitting for the confinement of Jesus. Some place that would be a fine get away for us, a place of solitude. We could go to Jesus when we desired to be with Him, He would be easily found and at our disposal.
But that is not Jesus’ nature. He will not be contained and He is not at our bidding. He is our Savior and the grave couldn’t hold back the redeeming love of God and Jesus isn’t going to stay put. He continues to break out of the boxes and the limits we impose on Him. He isn’t going to be confined to particular places, certainly not to the places we want. Our comfort isn’t Jesus’ priority. Jesus won’t be excluded from vital issues; He won’t be left out of important conversations. If a grave won't hold Him, why would we desire to exclude Him if He has conquered death? That is truly the stuff of the Living Christ, to be the center of compassion, mercy, and grace and on the flipside of that He is also righteously angered by injustice and continually wounded by our inhumanity. He is released from death for that very reason – to bring life and life abundant.
The message of the Resurrection is that Jesus isn’t our past, but our eternal contemporary – walking with us now, redeeming us now, loving us now, and joining us to Himself eternally for this life and the next.
Closing Hymn: #310 He Lives
- I serve a risen Savior, He’s in the world today;
I know that He is living, whatever foes may say.
I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer,
And just the time I need Him, He’s always near.
Refrain: He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way.
He lives, He lives, salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart.
- In all the world around me I see His loving care,
And though my heart grows weary, I never will despair.
I know that He is leading through all the stormy blast;
The day of His appearing will come at last. Refrain:
- Rejoice, rejoice, O Christian, lift up your voice and sing
Eternal hallelujahs to Jesus Christ the King!
The hope of all who seek Him, the help of all who find;
None other is so loving, so good and kind. Refrain:
The blessing: May the Lord bless you as you repent of sins and make Lenten sacrifices.
Go Now in Peace: Go now in peace. Never be afraid. God will go with you each hour of ev’ry day. Go now in faith, steadfast strong and true. Know He will guide you in all you do. Go now in love and show you believe. Reach out to others, so all the world can see. God will be there, watching from above. Go now in peace, in faith, and in love.
