Easter Sunday

COLOR: White
EASTER READINGS: Acts 10:34-43; Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; John 20:1-18 or Mark 16:1-8

THEME IDEAS

Resurrection—light and life—comes from the creative energy of God who makes all things new. This holy feast day is the core of the Christian faith. It celebrates God’s activity in the risen Christ on the first day of the new creation. God’s response to the darkness of the crucifixion parallels God’s response to the darkness shrouding the earth on the first day of creation—“Let there be light.” Darkness and death are not the final words. They are light and life. The liturgies of Easter connect us with the presence of the risen Christ who calls us to be heralds of this good news today.

INVITATION AND GATHERING

Call to Worship (Acts 10)

God sent Jesus to preach peace, saying,
God is God of all.
We gather to worship as witnesses.
God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit,
with the power to heal and do good.
We gather to worship as witnesses.
They put Jesus to death,
but God raised him on the third day.
We gather to worship as witnesses.
We are called to preach peace, saying,
God is God of all.
We gather to worship as witnesses.

—Or—

Call to Worship (John 20)

We run to the tomb
to be forever surprised.
Christ is risen!
Through our tears of sorrow and despair,
we don’t recognize him.
Christ is risen!
Then he calls us by name.
Christ is risen!
We run into the world announcing,
“We have seen the Lord!”
Christ is risen!

Opening Prayer or Prayer of Thanksgiving (Acts 10)

O God,
we thank you for sending Jesus
to proclaim your peace,
and that you are God of all.
We give you thanks that the forces of evil
could destroy neither him nor your peace.
We gather to worship you and to proclaim
that we are your Easter people.
By your Holy Spirit
help us preach your peace
by the way we live,
in the name of the risen Christ. Amen.

PROCLAMATION AND RESPONSE

Prayer of Confession or Response to the Word (John 20)

O God,
we love surprises,
but this is the greatest of all.
Jesus Christ is risen.
He is risen indeed!
Just when we give in
to the forces of darkness and death,
there you come again
and roll away the stone.
Surprise!
O God,
help us offer your wonderful surprises
to all of your creation,
in the name of the risen one. Amen.

Words of Assurance (John 20, Easter)

Surprise! The stone is rolled away!
Christ is risen! Be gone, darkness and death!
You have no power here! Christ is risen!
Christ is risen indeed!

Passing the Peace of Christ (Easter)

Christ is risen! Share this great news with one another as we offer signs of joy and love by passing the peace of Christ.

Response to the Word or Opening Prayer (John 20, Mark 16)

O God,
we worship on this holy day,
knowing that we are your Easter people.
We read the story again
and marvel at the sight of the rising Son.
It’s as if we were a polar people
who wonder at the glimpse
of the light of the sun
after a season of darkness.
Memory recalls the return of light,
yet we still marvel and wonder
at its arrival.
Help us reflect the light of your rising Son,
that others might see and give glory to you,
by the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.

THANKSGIVING AND COMMUNION

Invitation to the Offering (Psalm 118)

Give thanks to God.
God’s steadfast love endures forever.
God is our strength and our salvation.
God’s steadfast love endures forever.
God does not give us over to death, but to life.
God’s steadfast love endures forever.
The stone that the builders rejected has become
the chief cornerstone.
God’s steadfast love endures forever.
Sharing our gratitude, let us offer signs of God’s love
in the giving of our tithes and our offerings.

 

SENDING FORTH

Benediction (Acts 10)

May the risen Christ go with us— before us to show us the way; behind us to encourage us; beside us to befriend us; above us to watch over us; and live within us and through us, that all might know the peace of God.

CONTEMPORARY OPTIONS

Contemporary Gathering Words (John 20)

It’s Easter. What shall we say about it?
God is the source of light and life.
But there’s so much darkness and death in the world.
God is the source of light and life.
May this Easter worship renew us,
that we might announce with our lives:
God is the source of light and life.

Praise Sentences (Psalm 118)

Praise God, for God is good.
God’s steadfast love endures forever.
Praise God, for God is our strength and our salvation.
This is the day that the Lord has made,
let us rejoice and be glad in it. Praise God!