Call to Worship (from Isaiah 65 and John 20)

In the light of this Easter morning
God is doing something new!
New heavens.
New earth.
New life.
Weeping turns to joy.
Sorrow to delight.
Be glad and rejoice.
The stone is rolled away.
The grave clothes lie in a heap.
Jesus, who was dead, is alive again,
And he speaks our names. So let us proclaim with Mary,
“I have seen the Lord.”
Let us proclaim with the faithful around the world: Jesus Christ is risen.
He is risen indeed!

Easter Prayer

God of this Easter morning,
In our grief
grant us comfort;
In our confusion
grant us clarity;
In our fear
grant us peace;
In our silence
grant us voices to proclaim the Good News of the Resurrection:
Death has been swallowed up in the life of Christ.
Let us live into Christ’s abundant life–
wholly forgiven; wholly free. Amen

Call to Worship (based on Matthew text)

Carrying Friday’s stale grief,
we come to see the tomb.
We come to mourn on solid ground,
and instead find the earth shifting beneath our feet.
We expect bloody grave clothes,
and instead see the gleaming white robe of the angel.
The angel who says, “I know you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he is risen.”
And our hearts swell with fear and great joy as we run to share the news:
Christ is risen!
Christ is risen indeed!

Links:

• Calls to Worship
• A Call, Offertory Prayer, and Benediction
• Communion Liturgy
• “i thank you god for this amazing day” by e.e. cummings

And a benediction from Romans 8:

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through God who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.