The Gathering
Tolling of the Hour
Welcome and Announcements ** Indicates, please stand.
Whether we are old or young, whether we are first-time or longtime worshipers, whether we come full of doubts or confidence, joy or sorrow, in this place we are all family, because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. Welcome to all of you today!
Prelude
Prayer of Invocation
God of life, we praise you for the miracle of Easter. We pray for great joy for ourselves and for all who come to worship today to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection. We pray especially for those who will join us for worship and whose lives are filled with pain, loss, or deep sadness. May they sense how the resurrection is a source of great hope. Amen.
**Responsive Call to Worship Please stand in body or spirit as you are able.
My dear friends, we have known grief. We have known loss. We have known the long road, tired and winding. We have whispered prayers on bended knees. We have stared at the sky, empty of stars. But today—
today we know hope.
Today we know life.
Today we know the sound of Alleluias.
Today we know that death does not have the last word.
Today we know that nothing can separate us from the love of God.
It is Easter.
May hope find you.
And may you know, deep in your bones,
that today is a new day.
Alleluia! Amen.
**Opening Hymn Jesus Christ Is Risen Today #123
Call to Confession and Silent Prayer
Faithful friends, today is a joyful day! If I were to ask you what parts of today’s service feel joyful, you'd probably say the music, the passing of the peace, the flowers in the sanctuary. You might say the children’s sermon, or the crowded room. But it’s unlikely that any of you would name the prayer of confession, because the prayer of confession has a reputation for being somber and serious. But perhaps the prayer of confession can feel like a fresh page. Maybe the prayer of confession can allow us to start again. When we move closer to God, we are always met with grace, mercy, and abundant love. And my friends, that is joyful. That feels like Easter, doesn’t it? So join me in the prayer of confession. It’s a joyful day. That joy doesn’t stop here. Let us in silence lift our prayers of confession:
Unison Prayer of Confession
The Gospel of Luke says: “It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told the apostles [of the resurrection]. But these words seemed to the disciples an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb."
Forgive us, God, when good news lands in our lap and we refuse to believe it. Forgive us, God, when grief and fear crowd out any room in our hearts for hope. Forgive us, God, when we dismiss the stories of others and minimize the voices of our neighbors. In a world that teeters between grief and hope, show us how to be like Peter. Show us how to hold onto hope. Show us how to run toward you. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
Family of Faith, At first, the disciples didn’t believe that Jesus had risen. They stayed locked in an upper room, shaking and afraid. Peter was the only exception. Fortunately, Jesus loves us on our best days and our worst days. God’s grace exists for us when we are hopeful and when we’re grieving, when we’re shouting and when we’re silent, when we’re full of faith and when we’re full of fear. God’s grace exists for us on the best days, the worst days, and every day in between. Thanks be to God for this good news! Alleluia! Amen.
** Passing the Peace
The Peace of Christ be with you…
And also with you.
**Gloria Patri #579
Hearing the Word
Prayer of Illumination
God of Alleluias and empty tombs, God of garden plots and good news, it is Easter. It is finally Easter. In a world full of grief and heartache, in a world full of violence and oppression, in a world full of loss and separation, we long for this day because Easter sings a different song. Easter sings a song of hope. Easter sings a song of new life. Easter sings a song of love that makes you want to jump out of your chair and run barefoot to the tomb. Easter smells of fresh flowers and baked bread. It sounds like trumpets and laughter. It feels like a crowded table and a warm hug. Yes, Easter sings a different song. So in a world full of grief, help us to cling to Easter’s hope. In a world full of grief, help us hear this story of good news. In a world full of grief, we’re ready to jump out of our chairs and run barefoot to the tomb. With hope we pray, with hope we listen. Amen.
Scripture
Old Testament Reading Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
Instrumental Anthem
New Testament Reading Luke 24:1-12
Sermon Everything in Between – Grief and Hope Rev. Morris
Prayers of the People and The Lord’s Prayer
...using the prayer Your Son taught us to pray, Our Father...
**Hymn Christ Is Alive! #108
**Affirmation of Faith
In the dark before dawn, we believe that God is alive. In the midst of our grief, we believe the Spirit is at work. In the chaos of our broken world, we believe that love is on the loose. For no stone could keep God at bay, and no violence could keep God’s love from us. So today we sing, Alleluia! For somewhere in between our belief and doubt, hope lives. Christ has died, and Christ has also risen. Thanks be to God! Amen.
Invitation to Offering
No one gives oneself freely and willingly to God’s service unless, having tasted the Father’s love, that one is drawn in love and worships God in return. With love and joy, we offer our gifts to God as a sign of our deep devotion and covenant faithfulness.
Offertory
**Doxology #592
**Unison Prayer of Dedication
Merciful Lord, we offer with love, joy, and thanksgiving what you have first given us— our selves, our time, and our possessions—signs of your gracious love. Receive them for the sake of him who offered himself for us— Jesus Christ, our risen Savior. Amen.
Celebration of the Lord’s Supper
Words of Institution
On that first Easter morning when the women discovered the empty tomb, they told the disciples what they’d found. When Peter heard the news, he ran to the garden. He left the grief of the upper room, looking for a reason to hope. Friends, maybe you are like Peter, running to this Table, hungry and longing for a taste of good news. Maybe you are like the other disciples, hanging back, arms crossed, tentative and unsure. Or maybe you are somewhere in between it all. No matter where you stand and what you feel, this Table is for you. The one who walked this earth, healed the sick, welcomed the children, and loved the outcast, welcomes you to this Table. So, come. Bring your grief. Bring your questions. Bring your hope. Bring the messy middle of your life. Bring your faith and your dreams. Bring it all. For God meets us exactly where we are, smack-dab in the middle, with nothing but love. So come. This Table is for you.
Great Prayer of Thanksgiving and the Lord’s Prayer
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right for us to give thanks and praise.
It is our joy and our peace, at all times and in all places to give thanks to you, holy Father, almighty, everlasting God, through Christ, our Lord.
God of yesterday, tomorrow, and right now, God of the sun, the moon, and the pink before dawn, God of our head, our heart, and our gut, we are full of Alleluias. Holy God, we are full of Alleluias because this morning the sun rose once again. This morning, the birds sang for you.
#568 Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, holy, holy, holy Lord God of power and might, heaven and earth are full, full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest, hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest, hosanna in the highest.
This morning children laughed, f lowers bloomed, and hope was shared. This morning, we heard how the stone was rolled away. This morning we dare to believe that life is stronger than death and love is stronger than evil.
#569 Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.
So today, we are full of Alleluias. Today we are full of hope. However, we know that not every day feels like today. Just two days ago, we walked the path to the cross. Just two days ago, we remembered the violence humanity is capable of. Just two days ago, we remembered the cruelty that this world knows all too well. So on this hopeful day, as well as on those grief-filled days, we ask that you would meet us here. Meet us in this sanctuary. Meet us in this community. Meet us at this Table. Pour out your Spirit on this bread and cup. Roll back the stone, again and again, as many times as it takes for us to see you. Call us by name, again and again, as many times as it takes for us to hear you. Pull us from the trenches of our grief, and give us reason to hope. As you do, we will keep singing your praises, we will come back to this Table, we will continue to bring you our hope, our grief, and everything in between.
#570 Amen, amen, amen. Amen, amen.
With a mouth full of Alleluias, we join our voices once more to pray the prayer you taught us to pray, saying…Our Father who art in Heaven…
Preparing the Bread and Cup
We celebrate this feast in obedience to Christ’s example and mandate.
The Lord Jesus, on the night of his arrest, took bread, and after giving thanks to God, he broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take, eat. This is my body, given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
In the same way he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant sealed in my blood, shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this in remembrance of me.”
Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the saving death of the risen Lord until he comes.
Sharing the Bread and the Cup
Unison Prayer after Communion
God of the mountain, the valley, and every step in between, may this meal be a fresh start. May this moment, where all are fed and all are welcomed, be the start of something new. Show us how to carry the love we experience here from the walls of this church into the world we encounter in the days ahead. Show us how to leave breadcrumbs of good news along our path and everywhere in between. With deep hope we pray, amen.
We Go Out to Serve
**Hymn Christ the Lord Is Risen Today! #113
The service will continue outside as we gather around the cross.
**Charge & Blessing
“I am the resurrection and the life,” says the Lord. May Christ’s rising lift your spirits and gladden your hearts.
Alleluia! Amen.
All those who believe in Christ will never perish. May you pass with Christ from death to life.
Alleluia! Amen.
Christ has gone to prepare a place for us. May his resurrection bring you all joy and peace in believing so that you may abound in hope.
Alleluia! Amen.
Almighty God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit— bless you now and forever.
Alleluia! Amen.