CALL TO WORSHIP
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed.
God is my strength and my song; he has given me victory.
Songs of joy and victory are sung in the camp of the godly.
The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things!
The strong right arm of the Lord is raised in triumph.
The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.
This is the Lord’s doing, and it is wonderful to see.
This is the day the Lord has made.
We will rejoice and be glad in it.
For Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
—Psalm 118:14-15, 22-24
Lord Jesus Christ, we greet you! The cross has not defeated you; the grave has not kept you silent. At the first dew of the morning, you met our sister, Mary, and called her by name. We, too, are your family and friends. And though numbed and frightened by your death, we come hesitantly but gladly to confirm the rumor that you are alive! Meet us as you met Mary, with gentleness and resolution. Speak our names quietly in our hearts, that we may proclaim your Name boldly on our lips.
—Common Order, Church of Scotland (alt.)
Christ our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed for us— therefore let us keep the feast. The table has been prepared, and no matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey, you’re welcome here. As the deacons bring our gifts forward, let us sing the Doxology together.
—from 1 Cor. 5:7-8
God of life, we thank you that you have made this day your own and called us out of darkness into your marvelous light. Open now the gates of your justice and love, that we, your pilgrim people may approach your table and be built into a living temple on the cornerstone of your salvation. As we receive the bread and the cup, bless us with the knowledge of your infinite love. And as we gathered at the foot of your cross, so welcome us to the empty tomb and to life eternal, in the Name of the One who offered himself that we might live forever in your presence, even Jesus Christ our Lord, in whose Name we pray. Amen.
BENEDICTION
Go forth into the world in the knowledge that Christ is risen!
Go forth into the world in the knowledge that Christ is risen!
The tomb that you dread is empty, and Christ has gone ahead of you on your path!
The Creator of the universe knows you in Christ and speaks your name into the silence!
Go forth in the Name of the God of love, the Lord of life, and the Spirit of unity—
for Christ is risen, indeed!
