Pastor Wesley Menke
Accompanist: Tatiana Thibodeaux
Producer: Chris Geach
Director : Sergio Porto
[ * Denotes Standing as you are able]
Announcements
“Even though we can’t see each other’s faces,
a smile is still something good that can be shared from the eyes”
For Your Safety PLEASE:
- Masks mandatory
- No singing
- No group recitation or responses
- 6 foot social distancing between family groups or “bubbles”
- No hugs, handshakes, elbow bumps ok
- 40 people maximum in the sanctuary (includes overflow area) which is 25%
- Dress Warm, doors will remain open for fresh air
- One person at a time in the restroom
Gathering*
Greeting
Procession
The procession begins bearing the paschal candle. The following responsive chant happens once at the entrance to the church, once at the midpoint, and finally at the baptismal font.
Easter Proclamation
This is the night that our Lord Jesus Christ overcame death and the grave.
Prayer of the Day
Eternal giver of life and light, this holy night shines with the radiance of the risen Christ. Renew your church with the Spirit given us in baptism, that we may worship you in sincerity and truth and may shine as a light in the world, through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Word
First Reading: Genesis 1:1-5
1In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, 2the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. 3Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
First Response: Psalm 136:1
1Give thanks to the Lord, for the | Lord is good, for God’s mercy en- | dures forever.
Second Reading: Genesis 7:11-12
11In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. 12The rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.
Second Response: Psalm 46
1God is our ref- | uge and strength, a very present | help in trouble.
2Therefore we will not fear, though the | earth be moved, and though the mountains shake in the depths | of the sea; 3though its waters | rage and foam, and though the mountains tremble | with its tumult. 4There is a river whose streams make glad the cit- | y of God, the holy habitation of | the Most High. R
Third Reading: Genesis 22:11-13
11But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 13And Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.
Third Response: Psalm 16
1Protect me, O God, for I take ref- | uge in you; I have said to the Lord, “You are my Lord, my good a- | bove all other.”
2All my delight is in the godly that are | in the land, upon those who are noble a- | mong the people.
Fourth Reading: Exodus 14:21-22
21Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided. 22The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.
Fourth Response: Exodus 15:1b-2
1bI will sing to the Lord, who has | triumphed gloriously; throwing horse and rider in- | to the sea. 2The Lord is my strength | and my might, and has become | my salvation;
Fifth Reading: Isaiah 55:1
1Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
Fifth Response: Isaiah 12:2-3
2Surely God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not | be afraid, for the Lord God is my strength and my might, and has become | my salvation. 3With joy you | will draw water from the wells | of salvation.
Sixth Reading: Proverbs 8:1-4
1Does not wisdom call, and does not understanding raise her voice?
2On the heights, beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand;
3beside the gates in front of the town, at the entrance of the portals she cries out: 4“To you, O people, I call, and my cry is to all that live.
Sixth Response: Psalm 19:8
8The statutes of the Lord are just and re- | joice the heart; the commandment of the Lord is clear and gives light | to the eyes. R
Seventh Reading: Ezekiel 36:26-27
26A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27I will put my spirit within you, and make you follow my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances.
Seventh Response: Psalm 42:1-2
1As the deer longs | for the water-brooks, so longs my soul for | you, O God. 2I thirst for God, for the | living God; when shall I come to appear before the pres- | ence of God?
Eighth Reading: Ezekiel 37:7-10
7So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. 9Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” 10I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.
Ninth Response: Psalm 98:4
4Shout with joy to the Lord, | all you lands; lift up your voice, re- | joice, and sing.
Tenth Reading: Jonah 1:15-2:1
15So they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea; and the sea ceased from its raging. 16Then the men feared the Lord even more, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows. 17But the Lord provided a large fish to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. 2:1Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish.
Tenth Response: Jonah 2:9
9But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacri- | fice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Deliverance belongs | to the Lord! R
Eleventh Reading: Isaiah 61:1-3
1The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; 2to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; 3to provide for those who mourn in Zion— to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, to display his glory.
Eleventh Response: Deuteronomy 32:4
4“Great is our God, the Rock, whose work is perfect, whose | ways are just: a faithful God, without deceit, | just and upright.”
Twelfth Reading: Daniel 3:24-28
24Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up quickly. He said to his counselors, “Was it not three men that we threw bound into the fire?” They answered the king, “True, O king.” 25He replied, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the middle of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the fourth has the appearance of a god.” 26Nebuchadnezzar then approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire and said, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. 27And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men; the hair of their heads was not singed, their tunics were not harmed, and not even the smell of fire came from them. 28Nebuchadnezzar said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants who trusted in him. They disobeyed the king’s command and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God.
Tweflth Response: Song of the Three 35
All you works of the Lord, | bless the Lord. R You angels of the Lord, | bless the Lord; you heavens, | bless the Lord; all you powers of the Lord, | bless the Lord. R
New Testament Reading: Romans 6:3-11
3Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
5For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. 7For whoever has died is freed from sin. 8But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Alleluia! The holy gospel according to St. Johns 20. Glory to you, O Lord.
Gospel: John 20:1-18
1Early 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. 2So 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.” 3Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. 4The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. 6Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, 7and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. 8Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10Then the disciples returned to their homes.
11But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; 12and 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. 13They 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.” 14When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15Jesus 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.” 16Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). 17Jesus 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.’ ” 18Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her.
Sermon – Wesley Menke
Interlude : Beethoven, “Pathetique,” Andante.
Prayers of Intercession
The prayers are prepared locally for each occasion. The following examples may be adapted or used as appropriate.
Washed and renewed in the mercy of God that endures forever, we pray this night for the church, the world, and all creation.
A brief silence.
You bring us from death to life with Christ. Fill and enlighten the newly baptized (especially); enliven all the baptized so that your church may be a sign of resurrection in the world. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
At creation you brought forth order and life. Bring life anew to all creation: sky, earth, and seas; sun, moon, and stars; plants and animals. Teach us to treasure and defend what you have declared to be good. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
As you delivered your people, deliver all from bondage. Bring an end to war and brutality. Raise up leaders who listen for wisdom’s voice. Cause righteousness to spring up among the nations. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
Your power extends to the depths of the grave. Bring hope and peace to all who are in the depths of sorrow or the fires of suffering. Heal all who are sick and comfort the grieving (especially). Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
In the first light of dawn Jesus’ resurrection was revealed. Guard all who keep vigil in the night: tending to the sick or ensuring public safety, working, or worrying. As they await the morning, may hope dawn upon them. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
You drew the amazed, the terrified, and the weeping to the empty tomb. Gather us with your people of all times and places to wonder at your power and rejoice in your love. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
To you, Living God, we commend ourselves and all for whom we pray, trusting in the one with whom we have been raised to new life, Jesus Christ our Redeemer. Amen.
Announcements
Dismissal
The peace of Christ be with you always. And also with you.
Alleluia. Christ is risen. Christ is risen indeed. Alleluia.
Go in peace to serve the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Postlude: Beethoven, Ode to Joy
Postlude by Tatiana
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