EASTER MORNING LITURGY 1

Millwoods Community Church

Pastor: The Lord is risen! All: The Lord is risen indeed! Pastor: The Story of Easter: Mark 16:1-7 (CEB) When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of

James, and Salome bought spices so that they could go and anoint Jesus’ dead body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they came to the tomb. They were saying to each other, “Who’s going to roll the stone away from the entrance for us?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away. (And it was a very large stone!) Going into the tomb, they saw a young man in a white robe seated on the right side; and they were startled. But he said to them, “Don’t be alarmed! You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised. He isn’t here. Look, here’s the place where they laid him. Go, tell his disciples, especially Peter, that he is going ahead of you into Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you.”

1 Adapted from the Liturgy for Easter Morning, Moravian Book of Worship (Bethlehem, PA, and Winston-Salem, NC, Moravian Church in America, 1995).

Pastor: We believe in the one only God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who created all things by Jesus Christ, and was in

Christ, reconciling the world to God’s self. Men: We believe in God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has chosen us in Christ before the foundation of the

world; who has rescued us from the power of darkness and has brought us into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son;

Women: Who has blessed us in Christ with all spiritual blessings; who has made us worthy to share in the inheritance of

the saints, having destined us for adoption as God’s children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of God’s will, to the praise of God’s glorious grace.

All: 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 trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.

Pastor: We believe in the only Son of God, by whom all things in heaven and on earth were created. We believe he became a human being like us and lived among us as a servant.

Women: We believe that through the power of the Holy Spirit Mary conceived Jesus and delivered him into this world

just like our mothers delivered us. He lived, learned, grew up, and was tempted just as we are, yet without sin. Men: The Spirit of the Lord sent Jesus to proclaim the time of the Lord’s favor by bringing good news to the poor,

proclaiming release to prisoners, recovery of sight to the blind, and to let the oppressed go free. He spoke of what he knew and testified to what he had seen. To all who receive him, who believe in his name, he gives power to become children of God.

Pastor: We believe in Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in the same way as he was seen going into heaven.

All: This is my Lord, who redeemed me, a lost and condemned human creature, from sin, from death, and

from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with his holy, precious blood, and with his innocent suffering and dying. Christ has done this so that I may be his own, live in his kingdom, and serve him in eternal righteousness, innocence, and happiness, since he, being risen from the dead, lives and reigns forever and ever.

Pastor: The Lord will descend from heaven with a shout of command, with the archangel’s call, and with the sound of God’s trumpet. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

Women: Lord Jesus Christ, who first came in great humility as our Redeemer, grant that when you come again in glorious

majesty to judge the living and the dead, we may be regarded worthy to stand before you.

Pastor: We believe in the Holy Spirit, who comes from the Father, and whom our Lord Jesus Christ sent, after he went

away, to be with us forever; to comfort us as a mother comforts her children; to help us in our weakness and intercede for us with sighs too deep for words; to bear witness with our spirit that we are children of God and teach us to cry, “Abba, Father”; to pour God’s love into our hearts and make our bodies God’s holy temple; to work in us the will of God, giving fruits to each one individually: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Men: We believe that we cannot believe in Jesus Christ our Lord, on our own, but the Holy Spirit calls us through the

gospel, enlightens us with gifts of grace, so that we can believe in Jesus Christ as Lord. Women: The Holy Spirit also dedicates us to God and preserves us in the only true faith. As members of the Christian

church God daily and completely forgives us, and every believer, for all our sin. All: Spirit of truth, direct our hearts to the love of God and to patient waiting for Christ. Strengthen our faith

and trust in you so that we may have grateful hearts for all your works of grace. Keep us as God’s own until the day of redemption. To you be glory, with the Father, and with the Son. Amen.

Pastor: We believe that our Lord Jesus Christ instituted baptism as the visible means of entry into the new covenant.

Baptism is a gift of God. In this sacrament, through grace and power of the Holy Spirit, we are united with Christ, are cleansed by his saving work, enter into the fellowship of the church, and are called to a life of faith and willing obedience.

All: We are buried with Christ through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead

through the glorious power of God, we too might be raised to live a new life. Pastor: In this communion of saints, we believe in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who died for us, and shed his blood

on the cross for the forgiveness of sins, and who has given us his body and blood in the Lord’s Supper, as a pledge of grace.

All: We believe Christ is really and truly present to each individual and community in the Holy Communion

as each needs, in order to give grace, hope, comfort, and encouragement. Pastor: We have faith that God is our creator and that creation is good. All: We love this world God has made and seek the good of all creation; so we have hope in a better age to

come. Women: We have faith that God is the redeemer who has rescued us from sin, death, and the power of the devil. All: We are filled with the love of Christ for our friends, brothers and sisters, neighbors, and our enemies, and

so we have hope in a better age to come. Men: We have faith that God blesses us, makes us holy, and more Christlike. All: We love all others because they are blessed by God, so we have hope in a better age to come when all

humanity and all creation lives into this blessing.

Pastor: We believe we shall never taste eternal death, but will experience the resurrection of the dead. All: Since our mortal bodies will put on immortality our bodies will rest in hope with the saints already at rest.

Pastor: And the God of peace, who brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, by the

blood of an eternal covenant, will also give life to our mortal bodies if the Spirit of God has dwelt in us. All: We poor sinners pray: hear us, gracious Lord and God. Pastor: Keep us in everlasting fellowship with those of our brothers and sisters who, since last Easter Day, have entered

into the joy of their Lord, [N. N.], and with the whole Church Triumphant in heaven, and let us rest together in your presence from our labors.

All: Hear us, gracious Lord and God.

Pastor: Glory be to Christ Jesus, who is the Resurrection and the Life. He was dead, and behold, he is alive forever and

ever. Those who believe in him, even though they die, yet shall they live. Glory be to Christ Jesus, in the church which waits for him on earth, and in the church which is around him in heaven, from everlasting to everlasting.

Pastor: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with all of you. All: Amen.