Prelude
Greeting and Welcome
Lighting of the Candles
Processional Hymn – Jesus Christ is Risen Today (LSB 457)
Jesus Christ is ris’n today, Alleluia!
Our triumphant holy day, Alleluia!
Who did once upon the cross, Alleluia!
Suffer to redeem our loss. Alleluia!
Hymns of praise then let us sing, Alleluia!
Unto Christ, our heav’nly king, Alleluia!
Who endured the cross and grave, Alleluia!
Sinners to redeem and save. Alleluia!
But the pains which He endured, Alleluia!
Our salvation have procured; Alleluia!
Now above the sky He’s king, Alleluia!
Where the angels ever sing. Alleluia!
Sing we to our God above, Alleluia!
Praise eternal as His love; Alleluia!
Praise Him, all ye heav’nly host, Alleluia!
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Alleluia!
+ Preparation +
Invocation
P: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit
C: Amen.
Easter Acclamation
P: Alleluia! Christ is risen!
C: He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Confession and Absolution
P: For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
C: So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
A moment of silence to reflect on our sin and our need for the Lord’s mercy and forgiveness.
P: Let us confess our sins to God our Father.
C: Heavenly Father, You have created each of us to live life with You and in Your image. Yet our sin destroys that life and brings death into our world. Forgive us, Father, for our sins against You in the things that we think, the words that we speak, and the ways that we act. Forgive us for failing to live our lives as You designed them and for failing to share Your life with others. Breathe into us Your life-giving Spirit so that we turn from our sin and receive the fresh start of a forgiven life. For the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who lived, died, and rose from the grave for us, call us back from the death of sin to live for Your glory all our days. Amen.
P: Your merciful God is the author and giver of life! He hears your prayers and forgives you all your sins. Through Jesus, He takes your death upon Himself at the cross and, by His resurrection, gives you the free gift of life everlasting. As your pastor, it is my privilege to remind you of this forgiving grace of Jesus and, because He has granted His authority to do so, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
P: Alleluia! Christ is risen!
C: He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Salutation and Collect of the Day
P: The Lord be with you.
C: And also with you.
P: Let us pray. O God, for our redemption You gave Your only-begotten Son to the death of the cross and by His glorious resurrection delivered us from the power of the enemy. Grant that all our sin may be drowned through daily repentance and that day by day we may arise to live before You in righteousness and purity forever; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C: Amen.
+ Word +
First Reading – Isaiah 65:17-25
“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness. I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress. No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days, for the young man shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed. They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain or bear children for calamity, for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the Lord, and their descendants with them. Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,” says the Lord.
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Epistle – 1 Corinthians 15:19–26
If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Holy Gospel – John 20:1–18
P: The Holy Gospel according to St. John, the twentieth chapter.
C: Glory to You, O Lord.
Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples went back to their homes.
But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.
P: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C: Praise to You, O Christ.
Children’s Hymn – Lord of the Dance (AGPS 170)
I danced in the morning when the world was begun,
And I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun,
And I came down from heaven and I danced on the earth;
At Bethlehem I had my birth. Refrain
Refrain: Dance then wherever you may be;
I am the Lord of the dance, said he,
And I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he.
I danced on a Friday when the sky turned black,
It’s hard to dance with the devil on your back.
They buried my body and they thought I’d gone,
But I am the dance and I still go on. Refrain
Children’s Sermon – Tim Cosby
Hymn of the Day – Crown Him with Many Crowns (LSB 525)
Crown Him with many crowns,
The Lamb upon His throne;
Hark how the heav’nly anthem drowns
All music but its own.
Awake, my soul, and sing
Of Him who died for thee,
And hail Him as thy matchless king
Through all eternity.
Crown Him the virgin’s Son,
The God incarnate born,
Whose arm those crimson trophies won
Which now His brow adorn:
Fruit of the mystic rose,
Yet of that rose the stem,
The root whence mercy ever flows,
The babe of Bethlehem.
Crown Him the Lord of love.
Behold His hands and side,
Rich wounds, yet visible above,
In beauty glorified.
No angels in the sky
Can fully bear that sight,
But downward bend their wond’ring eyes
At mysteries so bright.
Crown Him the Lord of life,
Who triumphed o’er the grave
And rose victorious in the strife
For those He came to save.
His glories now we sing,
Who died and rose on high,
Who died eternal life to bring
And lives that death may die.
Sermon
Apostles' Creed
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life + everlasting. Amen.
Prayer of the Church
+ Celebrating birthdays this week: 19 – David Bentzinger; 22 – Andrea Anderson
+ Wedding anniversaries: 23 – Jeanne & David Lipinski
Special Celebrations and Needs:
+ Church family members: Fred Aufderheide, now in hospice; Jennifer Grossenheider, recovering at home from pneumonia; Gayle Sappington, recovering from a fall; Sarah Cooney, with pregnancy complications; Sandy Barbercheck, recovering from surgery
+ Friends of our congregation: Kim, daughter of Beverly Dixson, for healing; Brian, cousin of Tim Cosby, with Covid complications; the nephew of Tim & Jan Cosby, whose wife is pregnant with twins, one of whom has a serious heart defect; Kim, daughter of Greg & Karen Frimel, diagnosed with cancer
+ Those who are homebound or in nursing facilities: Twylah Atwood, Fred & Mary Aufderheide, Jules & Mary Bush, Carol Fisher, Mary Guion, Jerry & Jane Keathley, Gayle Sappington, Shirley Williams, Ruth Wussler
+ Our Refugee family, the Mohammeds
Offertory
