Sunrise Service – April 16, 2006
Welcome and Instructions:
Opening Prayer (spoken together)
Lord Jesus, we greet You, risen from the dead, victorious over sin and
death, over suffering and shame, over all evil and wrong.
Lord Jesus, we greet You, risen from the dead, overcoming by the power of
love, by patient trust and perseverance, by faith in God alone.
Lord Jesus, we greet You, risen from the dead, proving that nothing can
separate us from God’s love, showing us how far that love will go, and
suffering for the sins of the world.
Lord Jesus, we greet You, risen from the dead, and we offer You our thanks
and our praise, our prayers and our worship, our devotion and our service.
Lord, Jesus, we greet You, and we pray to you, and we pray through you,
and we pray with joy and confidence as you taught us, saying Our Father...
Gospel Reading: John 19:31-20:18
Prayer:
PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
On this day we overflow with thanks and praise, O God,
for this is the day you have made,
- the day that fills us with both fear and great joy.
On this day you sent your angels to roll back the stone
and you raised Jesus, who had been crucified, from the dead.
Never again need we search for Jesus
in the places of dead memories and buried dreams,
for now he has been raised and goes forever ahead of us
to open the gates of justice,
preaching peace and the forgiveness of sins.
Indeed though he was the stone rejected by the builders,
you have made him the cornerstone,
the rock on which is founded the life everlasting,
the life that is hidden for us in Christ
until it is revealed with Christ in glory.
We thank you and we praise you O God,
both now, and through your living word,
eternally. Amen. Amen.
Hym 215 “Alleluia! Alleluia!”
John Donne (1572-1631)
Holy Sonnets: Death, be not proud
1Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
2Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;
3For those whom thou think’st thou dost overthrow,
4Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
5From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
6Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,
7And soonest our best men with thee do go,
8Rest of their bones, and soul’s delivery.
9Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
10And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell;
11And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well
12And better than thy stroke; why swell’st thou then?
13One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
14And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.
Introducing the Exsultet:
The Exsultet, sometimes seen as "Exultet" is an ancient chant (from before 300AD) sung during the Easter Vigil. It is traditionally sung by the deacon after the Paschal candle has been lit and the clergy have processed to the altar. The tone of the hymn is very much one of joy at having received so great a gift as our redemption and eternal life.
The Exsultet:
Rejoice, heavenly powers! Sing, choirs of angels!
Exult, all creation around God’s throne!
Jesus Christ, our King, is risen!
Sound the trumpet of salvation!
Rejoice, heavenly powers!
Sing, choirs of angels!
Jesus Christ, our King, is risen!
Rejoice, 0 earth, in shining splendor,
radiant in the brightness of our King!
Christ has conquered! Glory fills you!
Darkness vanishes for ever!
Rejoice, heavenly powers!
Sing, choirs of angels!
Jesus Christ, our King, is risen!
Rejoice, 0 holy Church! Exult in glory!
The risen Savior shines upon you!
Let this place resound with joy,
echoing the mighty song of all God’s people!
Rejoice, heavenly powers!
Sing, choirs of angels!
Jesus Christ, our King, is risen!
It is truly right that we should praise you,
invisible, almighty, and eternal God, and your Son, Jesus Christ.
for Christ has ransomed us with his blood,
and paid the debt of Adam’s sin to deliver your faithful people.
Rejoice, heavenly powers!
Sing, choirs of angels!
Jesus Christ, our King, is risen!
This our Passover feast, when Christ, the true Lamb, is slain.
This the night when first you saved our forebears,
you freed the people of Israel from their slavery
and led them with dry feet through the sea.
Rejoice, heavenly powers!
Sing, choirs of angels!
Jesus Christ, our King, is risen!
This the night when the pillar of fire destroyed the darkness of sin!
This the night when Christians everywhere,
washed clean of sin and freed from all defilement,
restored to grace and grow together in holiness.
Rejoice, heavenly powers!
Sing, choirs of angels!
Jesus Christ, our King, is risen!
This the night when Jesus Christ broke the chains of death
and rose triumphant from the grave.
truly blessed, when heaven is wedded to earth,
we are reconciled to you!
Rejoice, heavenly powers!
Sing, choirs of angels!
Jesus Christ, our King, is risen!
Amen.
SCRIPTURAL JOURNEY REHEARSING GOD’S GOODNESS
Sometimes, it helps to take a big step back and look at the whole, big picture. That is what Lent and Easter is about – stepping back again, rehearsing God’s goodness to us, and being reminded of His faithfulness and goodness.
What better way to do that than through Scripture.
Genesis 2
4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created.
When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens- 5 and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground, 6 but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground- 7 the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
Gen 3:6-10
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?"
10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."
Genesis 12
The Call of Abram
1 The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.
2 "I will make you into a great nation
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you."
Exodus 14
19 Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, 20 coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.
21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, 22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.
23 The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. 24 During the last watch of the night the LORD looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. 25 He made the wheels of their chariots come off [b] so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, "Let’s get away from the Israelites! The LORD is fighting for them against Egypt."
26 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen." 27 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward [c] it, and the LORD swept them into the sea. 28 The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.
29 But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. 30 That day the LORD saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. 31 And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.
2 Chron 7:11-18
The LORD Appears to Solomon
11 When Solomon had finished the temple of the LORD and the royal palace, and had succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to do in the temple of the LORD and in his own palace, 12 the LORD appeared to him at night and said:
"I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices.
13 "When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. 16 I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.
17 "As for you, if you walk before me as David your father did, and do all I command, and observe my decrees and laws, 18 I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father when I said, ’You shall never fail to have a man to rule over Israel.’
Ezek 36:24-27
" ’For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
Luke 1
The Birth of Jesus Foretold
26In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."
29Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
34"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
35The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
death and resurrection
Romans 8
Life Through the Spirit
1Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,[a] 2because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature,[b] God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering.[c] And so he condemned sin in sinful man,[d] 4in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
5Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6The mind of sinful man[e] is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; 7the sinful mind[f] is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.
9You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 10But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.
AN EASTER AFFIRMATION
L There was darkness over the earth before creation;
P There is darkness in the womb before birth;
L The seed grows in darkness before it meets the light;
P There is darkness in the tomb before resurrection.
L But now Christ is risen!
P The dawn has come
L A new creation has commenced
P The world is born anew.
L Christ is Risen.
P HE IS RISEN INDEED!
L Thanks be to God!
P ALLELUIA! ALLELUIA! AMEN!
The Breaking of the Fast:
The practice of fasting through the Easter vigil is an ancient practice of Christians, and is traditionally broken at the sunrise service by the celebration of The Lord’s Supper, in which we proclaim the Lord’s death and victory over sin, and in which we await Jesus’ return. And so I’m going to pass the bread, and the cup, and give you the space and time here to commune with our risen, conquering savior, Jesus Christ.
BENEDICTION
Go out now as God’s chosen witnesses
to testify that Christ has been raised
and that we are raised with him.
Set your minds on the things of God
and do not be afraid
for your life is safe with Christ in God.
And may God raise you from all that would entomb you.
May Christ Jesus be your life.
And may the Holy Spirit empower you for all that is good.
Amen.
