EASTER SUNDAY SERVICE

Opening Words
As you light a candle:
Why do we light this candle?
To remember that Jesus is with us. 

Repeat the following a few times with growing excitement till all loudly proclaim:
Christ is Risen!
He is Risen indeed! 

Easter Video (click play on the following video)

Gathering (click on the song title to listen to it)

Prayer: Risen Christ, the disciples were filled with fear and uncertainty but you revealed yourself as the conqueror of death. On this Easter day as we gather, some grieving, some fearful, some unsure of the future, reveal yourself and fill us with hope. Amen.

Song (click on the song title to listen to it)

God Speaks to Us (click play on the sermon video)

Prayer
Gracious God, you loved the world so much that you sent your only son to save the world through him. We worship you and thank you for the gift of life now and the promise of new and everlasting life through your mercy. 

Living Christ, by your death and resurrection you have restored us to life and replaced our fear with hope. We love you and follow you into the world as your disciples, eager to serve and love as you taught us. 

Enlivening Spirit, you comfort and strengthen us each day. Guide us in our lives, in what we do and say, in what we think and imagine, in how we interact with others,  especially in this challenging time. May we outwardly live as “resurrection people” in this world. Through Christ our Lord who lives in us, AMEN. 

Blessing
May God go before you to guide you
behind you to protect you
beneath you to support you
above you to watch over you
beside you to be your friend.
Do not be afraid. Go in peace. 

Closing Song:

Living out our Resurrection Life
In the coming weeks as we are still at home for work and school, seek out ways to grow in faith, hope and love. 

Consider what brings you comfort in life and in death.
Learn these words of promise and comfort from the Heidelberg Catechism by memory. Memorize one new line each day and in 5 days you will have the whole thing memorized. (We’ve separated the lines out for you).

Heidelberg Catechism Q & A 1
What is your only comfort in life and in death?
That I am not my own, but belong—body and soul, in life and in death— to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.
He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil.
He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven;
in fact, all things must work together for my salvation.
Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.