Service Preview for April 1 Easter Sunday

Service Preview for April 1 Easter Sunday

Call To Worship
We confess the supremacy of God in Christ through both responsive reading and song.

Our Spoken Call to Worship
Based on Mark 16; John 1:5; romans 6:8; 1 Peter 2:10 (ESV)

This is good news—
the grave is empty;
Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed!

This is good news—
the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.
He is risen indeed!

This is good news—
once we were not a people;
now we are God’s people!
He is risen indeed!

This is good news—
if we have died with Christ,
we will also live with him.
He is risen indeed!

Hallelujah!

Amen.

Our Sung Call to Worship
He is Risen

Confession
We confess our need for mercy through both responsive reading and song.

Our Spoken Confession
Based on Mark 10:33-37; John 18:15-27; 20:24-28

Father, we confess that Jesus is risen!
He is risen indeed!

Yet we confess that we have not lived
as though Jesus is our Risen King.
We are sinners indeed!

Like James and John, we hear of
the death and resurrection of the Son of Man
and we strategize to get glory for ourselves.

Like Peter, we boldly proclaim
our unflinching allegiance to the Messiah,
only to deny him and deny him and deny him.

Like Thomas, we know Christ and his power,
but we demand proof on our terms.

We need a Savior, merciful and mighty—
one who died for sin and rose again—
to show grace to weak, failing disciples,
to raise James and John to glory,
to restore Peter to ministry,
to overcome the doubt of Thomas,
to forgive our sins,
and to raise us from the dead.

Lord we believe.
Help our unbelief.

TIME OF SILENT CONFESSION

Our Sung Confession
Man of Sorrows

Assurance and Peace
We profess our assurance of salvation and peace in Christ through both responsive reading and song.
Remember the Gospel
Based on Colossians 1:13-15, 19-22; 2:13-14 (ESV)

Hear the Good News!

The Father has delivered us from the domain of darkness
and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Jesus is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation.

In him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,
and through him to reconcile to himself all things,
whether on earth or in heaven,
making peace by the blood of his cross.

And you, who once were alienated
And hostile in mind, doing evil deeds
he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death,
in order to present you holy and blameless
and above reproach before him.

And you, who were dead in your trespasses
and the uncircumcision of your flesh,
God made alive together with him,
having forgiven us all our trespasses,
by canceling the record of debt
that stood against us with its legal demands.
This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

Our Sung Profession of Assurance
I Will Rise

Thanksgiving and Petition

We Give Thanks in Prayer and Offer Petitions to God
We express our gratitude to God our Father for Christ’s work on the cross for us and bring our requests before him. In bringing our requests, we confess that we believe God truly is a good father, who cares about our needs and gives us what he knows is best.

We Give Thanks by Giving
We give financial offerings to support the work of the church because of our gratitude to God. By giving we confess we are trusting in God’s provision for us as well.
On the first Sunday of each month we have two offerings—one for the general fund and a second one for the benevolence ministry of our church.

We Give Thanks in Song
All Glory Be to Christ

Scripture Reading
Mark 15:33-16:8 (ESV)

33 And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.
34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means,
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
35 And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” 36 And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait,let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.”
37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. 38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.
39 And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
40 There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome.41 When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ministered to him, and there were also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem.
42 And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath,
43 Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died. And summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead.
45 And when he learned from thecenturion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph.
46 And Joseph bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and laid him in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. And he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.
47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.

1 When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him.
2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” 4 And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large.
5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. 6 And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazereth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go,
tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” 8 And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God!
Amen!

Sermon
Mark 15:33-16:20 – The Resurrection of the King – Pastor Michael Felkins

Sending
Having heard and confessed the Gospel, we are sent into the world on mission in Christ, which we express in both song and spoken word.

Sending Song
Crown Him With Many Crowns

Baptism

Blessing
Based on Mark 16:6 (ESV)

Go, and do not be afraid!
For Jesus of Nazereth,
who was crucified,
he is risen!

He is risen indeed!

He is risen!
He is risen indeed!

He is risen!
He is risen indeed!

Hallelujah!

Amen.