Easter Sunrise Service 2012 (LHBC)
Welcome - The Fire Comes:
AN EASTER PRAYER AND THE OUR FATHER
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...
Scripture: Mark 16
Saturday evening, when the Sabbath ended, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went out and purchased burial spices so they could anoint Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on Sunday morning, just at sunrise, they went to the tomb. 3 On the way they were asking each other, Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb? 4 But as they arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled aside.
5 When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe sitting on the right side. The women were shocked, 6 but the angel said, Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body. 7 Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died.
8 The women fled from the tomb, trembling and bewildered, and they said nothing to anyone because they were too frightened.
Then they briefly reported all this to Peter and his companions. Afterward Jesus himself sent them out from east to west with the sacred and unfailing message of salvation that gives eternal life. Amen.
Prayer:
Blest are you, Lord Jesus who came to us a little child
one of us, flesh and blood to share in our humanity
For God so loved the world
ALL: That all might have eternal life
Blest are you, Lord Jesus who came to us as carpenter
and yet in whose creative hands a world was fashioned
For God so loved the world
ALL: That all might have eternal life
Blest are you, Lord Jesus who came to us as fisherman
and yet pointed to a harvest that was yet to come
For God so loved the world
ALL: That all might have eternal life
Blest are you, Lord Jesus who came to us as teacher
and opened eyes to truths that only
the poor could understand
For God so loved the world
ALL: That all might have eternal life
Blest are you, Lord Jesus who came to us as healer
and opened hearts to the reality of wholeness
For God so loved the world
ALL: That all might have eternal life
Blest are you, Lord Jesus who came to us as prophet, priest and king
and yet humbled himself
to take our place upon the cross
For God so loved the world
ALL: That all might have eternal life
Blest are you, Lord Jesus who came to us as servant
and revealed to us the extent of his Father's love
for human kind
For God so loved the world
ALL: That all might have eternal life
Blest are you, Lord Jesus, who rose
from the ignominy of a sinner's death
to the triumph of a Saviour's resurrection
For God so loved the world
ALL: That all might have eternal life
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son
for the sake of me
and you
and other sinners too
God so loved the world
Blest are you Lord Jesus, our Saviour and Redeemer
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!
Agnus Dei
Alleluia, alleluia
For our Lord God almighty reigns
Alleluia, alleluia
For our Lord God almighty reigns
Alleluia
Holy, Holy
Are You Lord God almighty
Worthy is the Lamb
Worthy is the Lamb
You are holy
Prayer (by Richard K. Morton).
From the dust of vainly traveled highways and the weariness of almost forgotten hopes:
Lift up our eyes to thee, O Lord.
From the mysteries of evil, and pain, and sorrow, and from the dark records of history and tradition:
Lift up our eyes to thee, O Lord.
From scenes of temporal power and splendor and from all evidences of human confidence in might, oppression, and the enslavement of mankind:
Lift up our eyes to thee, O Lord.
From the depths of our sin, the limitations of our vision, the failures of our will, the littleness of our experience in a vast and eternal world:
Lift up our eyes to thee, O Lord.
That we may know life with its eternal setting and background and become new creatures with minds set on things above:
Grant us the victory, we pray.
That we may see fulfilled before our eyes the miracle of seed-growth and the recurring and symbolic miracles of nature:
Grant us the victory, we pray.
That we may have the power to do greater things, to suffer even a cross, to die that we might no longer be holden of death through the spirit in us:
Grant us the victory, we pray.
That we may burst asunder all tombs of pride, unbrotherhood, and unworthiness, and attain unto thy fullness through his power:
Grant us the victory, we pray.
That we may transform every defeat into triumph, every opposition into a way of help, every sacrifice into a means of new attainment:
Grant us the victory, we pray.
That we may know life abundant and eternal, and face the mysteries beyond with radiant confidence and smiling hope unto the eternal day of brotherhood, peace, and fully spiritual living:
Grant us the victory, we pray.
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!
Accept this Easter candle, a flame divided but undimmed,
A pillar of fire that glows to your honor.
Let it mingle with the lights of heaven,
And continue bravely burning to dispel the darkness of the night!
Rejoice, heavenly powers!
Sing, choirs of angels!
Jesus Christ, our King, is risen!
May the Morning Star, which never sets, find this flame still burning.
Christ, that Morning Star, who came back from the dead,
And shed his peaceful light on all creation,
Your Son who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Rejoice, heavenly powers!
Sing, choirs of angels!
Jesus Christ, our King, is risen! AMEN!
Renewal of Baptismal Vows:
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.
