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Easter

Opening words for Easter 2

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Call to Worship

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week,

Jesus came and stood among the disciples and said: Peace be with you!

The Risen Christ is with us now, offering us the gift of peace.

Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

                We too have seen the Lord. Let us rejoice and give thanks!

Let us worship God!

 

Opening Prayer

Living God,

When our Risen Lord appeared to his disciples,

he greeted them in peace

and breathed the Holy Spirit upon them.

Breathe your Spirit upon us

                as we gather to welcome Christ

                with glad hearts and joyful voices.

Meet us here, we pray;

open our ears to hear you speaking

and our hearts to respond with joy.

Fashion us into an Easter people,

and send us out

to proclaim what we have seen and heard:

Christ is risen. He is risen indeed! Amen.

Submitted by Rev. Sudie Niesen Thompson, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Wilmington, DE

POP–your mercy endures forever

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Prayers of the People (based on Psalm 118:14-27)

Lord of life, God of empty tombs, we praise you this Easter day.

You, O Lord, are our strength and our song,

for you have become our salvation!

We give thanks to you, and

We pray to you, O Lord, for you are good;

your mercy endures forever.

 

We sing with exultation, for you are victorious over death itself,

and so we entrust to you all who have died,

and we put our hope in Christ’s resurrection.

Hold us in our grief, and claim your people for life.

We pray to you, O Lord, for you are good;

your mercy endures forever.

 

We give you our thanks, O Lord,

for you have opened the gates of righteousness.

You have freed us from all fear and worry,

that we might serve you by serving our neighbor in your name.

Teach us your will and lead us in your ways.

We pray to you, O Lord, for you are good;

your mercy endures forever.

 

We proclaim your salvation,

the gift of wholeness

in our relationships, our bodies, and our souls.

We continue to seek your redemption

for the broken and rejected parts of our lives.

Work your healing for all we have lifted up,

and build us up once more in your marvelous love.

We pray to you, O Lord, for you are good;

your mercy endures forever.

 

We rejoice in the gift of this day,

the day of your triumph,

and we give thanks for all those through the years

who have proclaimed the good news of your salvation.

Unite us with each other,

and with your people in Christ throughout the world,

that we might bear witness to your grace.

We pray to you, O Lord, for you are good;

your mercy endures forever.

 

Your mercy is eternal, O Lord,

and we give you thanks, now and always,

in the name of the risen Christ,

who taught us to pray, saying:

The Lord’s Prayer

Submitted by Rev. Nathan Williams,  Echo Hill Presbyterian Church, Cedar Rapids, IA

Easter confession

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All: We come running, looking for you, Risen Christ,
but you are not where we expect you to be.
As always, you are to be found among the living—
those living at the edge, those living with uncertainty,
those living in ways we cannot imagine and may not approve.
We come running, our hands full of things and our minds full of self-reliance,
only to find that you have been here already,
you have rolled away the stone and called us to trust your word.

One: If this good news is true, it means everything is different now.
We confess that our excitement is a little bit nervous—
it’s hard for us not to be in control.

All: Today as we peer once again into your empty tomb,
remind us of all you have told us, and then guide our feet to follow.
Fill the empty tombs of our hearts with your love that cannot be contained.
Breathe new life into us, into your church, into your world,
and overcome our fear of change so that we too may be found among the living.
Turn our expectations upside down,
and lead us into the new and different world you are creating, even now, even here.
Amen.

 

Submitted by Rev. Teri Peterson, the Presbyterian Church of Palatine, IL

POP–we bless you

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Prayers of the People (based on Psalm 66:8-20)

We bless you, O God, 

for you hold our souls in life 

and will not allow us to stumble or fall. 

 

We pray for those whose faith is being tested, 

who are ensnared in the troubles of life, 

or who are burdened with injustice or fear. 

We pray to you, O Lord, for you are good; 

your mercy endures forever. 

 

We pray for all who watch chaos swirl around them: 

refugees, victims of war or natural disaster, and those in poverty. 

We pray to you, O Lord, for you are good; 

your mercy endures forever. 

 

We pray for those who seek spiritual peace, 

who long to hear the promise of your love made real; 

we pray that we might have the courage to speak your word. 

We pray to you, O Lord, for you are good; 

your mercy endures forever. 

 

We pray for those who cry out due to pain, illness, or grief. 

Pour out your healing, so that everyone might tell of your goodness. 

We pray to you, O Lord, for you are good; 

your mercy endures forever. 

 

We pray for those who seek forgiveness, 

and for those who might extend the hand of reconciliation. 

We pray to you, O Lord, for you are good; 

your mercy endures forever. 

 

Blessed be God, for you hear our prayers, 

even as we pray together as Jesus taught, saying:

The Lord’s Prayer

 

 

 

Submitted by Rev. Nathan Williams,  Echo Hill Presbyterian Church, Cedar Rapids, IA

confession: limited love

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Holy Love, first and last, you offer yourself to us completely and call us to your life. Yet we are afraid, for your Way demands much of us. We confess that we are often quick to judge and slow to forgive. We confess that we choose that which does not satisfy, even as you offer us abundant life. When our fear overrides your call, forgive us. When we act from our own limited love rather than your expansive grace, forgive us. Reach down to us again, lift us up as a mother lifts a child to her cheek. Cast out our fear and fill us with the breath of your Spirit, that we may live the love we see in your Son, Jesus the Christ, in whose perfect name we pray. Amen.