For the week of March 31 – Easter Sunday
Morning Celebration: Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Opening Hymn #302 Christ the Lord is Risen Today
- Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia! Earth and heaven in chorus say, Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia! Sing, ye heavens, and earth reply, Alleluia! - Love's redeeming work is done, Alleluia! Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!
Death in vain forbids Him rise, Alleluia! Christ has opened paradise, Alleluia! - Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia! Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!
Once He died our souls to save, Alleluia! Where's thy victory, boasting grave? Alleluia! - Soar we now where Christ has led, Alleluia! Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!
Made like Him, like Him we rise, Alleluia! Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia! - Hail the Lord of earth and heaven, Alleluia! Praise to Thee by both be given, Alleluia!
Thee we greet triumphant now, Alleluia! Hail the Resurrection, thou, Alleluia! - King of glory, soul of bliss, Alleluia! Everlasting life is this, Alleluia!
Thee to know, Thy power to prove, Alleluia! Thus to sing, and thus to love, Alleluia!
Psalm 118:19-24
Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord.
This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it.
I thank You that You have answered me and have become my salvation.
The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.
This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Children’s Time WHITE Psalm 51:6-7
You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Children’s Message
Welcome to Easter morning and just like the lilies, our color is white. White is mentioned more than 70 times in scripture. It is most prominent in the book of Leviticus and it is in reference to healing. If a diseased part of skin turned white, the priests deemed that person as clean and they could return to their daily lives. This meant they could return home to live with their families, they could return to work and to worship. This was a healing of all their relationships in their lives, that healing would make them whole in the eyes of the community.
Yet, while our bodies may be healed, we have a clean heart problem. It becomes stained with our sins and we need forgiveness for the sins we have committed. The priests, then and now, can point you to the One who forgives, but they can’t do the forgiving. There is only One who can and that is Jesus.
This morning we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection, His returning to life after sacrificing His life for our sins. It removes the stain on our hearts and reconnects us with God. This is the absolute healing from God, given to us by Jesus. This is why we celebrate, we are no longer dead, but alive with Jesus.
Prayers of Intercession: Thank You, Lord, for hearing our prayers for those dear to our hearts. We now pray as You have taught us: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us, not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Offering spotlight: Easter Sunday we prayed over and dedicated the two Lenten challenges. Continue to pray for students and staff at Withrow University College. LUMC Scholarship students are listed in the prayer section of the weekly bulletin. The 30 Pieces of Silver offering will build a bathhouse for the resident students of Withrow University College.
Thank you for giving your offering to LUMC. Thank you for doing ministry with us.
Offering prayer: God of the victory of life over death; on this glorious Easter Sunday, we rejoice in the resurrection of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Just as the women encountered the empty tomb and the angelic message of new life, we too encounter the living Christ in our hearts and lives. As we come to present our tithes and offerings, may they be an affirmation of our search for the risen Christ, the One who challenges us to see beyond our own expectations. Bless our giving and help us discover the transformative power of the living Jesus in our lives. In the holy name of our risen Savior, we pray. Amen. (Discipleship Ministries)
Hymn of Preparation: #314 In the Garden
- I come to the garden alone while the dew is still on the roses,
and the voice I hear falling on my ear, the Son of God discloses.
Refrain: And He walks with me, and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own;
and the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known.
- He speaks, and the sound of His voice is so sweet the birds hush their singing,
and the melody that He gave to me within my heart is ringing. (Refrain) - I'd stay in the garden with Him though the night around me be falling,
but He bids me go; thru the voice of woe His voice to me is calling. (Refrain)
Message Scripture: John 20:1-18
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed 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.” Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who 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 returned to their homes.
But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other 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.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” 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 Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to Me, because 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 she told them that He had said these things to her.
Message: Pastor Becky
Happy Easter! Today reminds us of the greatest gift given to us, the resurrected Jesus! Death has no power over us, living or dying we are in the presence of God. Jesus bridged the gulf for us and now our lives are seamless. This is the product of love.
We talk about God’s great love for us in the expectation of Christmas. We love that kind of love. The warm and snuggly love of a new baby. It is the season of presents and Jesus is the gift. But Easter is different. The love displayed at Easter is a love we don’t quite understand. We even have to name it differently; we refer to it as grace.
Grace has a tinge of sadness to it. Grace counts the cost, while what we know as love in our experiences comes up short. We talk about what we would sacrifice for someone we love and the lengths we would go to for our love ones, it doesn’t equal the fullness of grace.
Grace is the ultimate unconditional expression of love. God offers it in spite of our shortcomings. It is available to all. It is limitless and boundless. Grace can’t be requited or extended back to God by us. It is the truest expression of the difference between us and God. We can only mimic grace as we extend it to others and it is limited.
We’ve observed this day before, each of us, year after year. It becomes etched in our memories. We breathe in the floral scented air and we are transported to our favorite Easter memory. For each of us it will be different. We may go back to an Easter morning with a baptism, or one in which we served in the service, or the one that we really liked our Easter outfit, or it was the first Easter we began to recognize God’s love expressed as grace.
Mary was early to the tomb, long before sunrise to perform what she thought was her last act of love and devotion. Finding the tomb empty, she ran to the disciples. The disciples, Peter and John, run back with her to the tomb hoping to disprove what she has said. Jesus’ body is truly gone. With no reason to stay, they return to their homes.
Yet, Mary’s love keeps her there, not because she thought she would see Jesus, but because she needed an answer. Where was Jesus? She had to know and she had to be the one to find out. She had been with Jesus up until the end and she would see this through. Her mind is set on finding out what happened to the point that she doesn’t recognize Jesus when she sees Him.
This isn’t what she is expecting; it makes no sense. He isn’t where she expected Him to be. Now He is standing in front of her and alive. The resurrection is the summation of love. Love is what motivated Mary to be there, it is what carried the disciples to the tomb and it is what raised Jesus from the grave.
The resurrection of Jesus is only identifiable in terms of love. God’s love for us. Jesus’ love for God and then the mandate to tell of this great love. This is the greatest love story and you are loved. Happy Easter!
Closing Hymn: #322 Up from the Grave He Arose
- Low in the grave He lay, Jesus my Savior, waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord!
Refrain: Up from the grave He arose; with a mighty triumph o'er His foes;
He arose a victor from the dark domain, and He lives forever, with His saints to reign.
He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!
- Vainly they watch His bed, Jesus my Savior,
vainly they seal the dead, Jesus my Lord! (Refrain) - Death cannot keep its prey, Jesus my Savior; He tore the bars away, Jesus my Lord!
(Refrain)
Go into your week with the blessings of The Father, The Son, The Holy Spirit.
