Virtual Worship for April 4, 2021
The Resurrection of Our Lord
The congregation reads the boldface responses.
PRELUDE
GATHERING
The congregation stands.
EASTER ACCLAMATION
Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed!
Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed!
Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Rejoice, heavenly powers! Sing choirs of angels! Exult, all creation around God’s throne! Jesus Christ, our King is risen! Celebrate the divine mysteries with exultation, and for so great a victory sound the trumpet of salvation!
Rejoice, O earth, in shining splendor, radiant in the brightness of your King! Christ has conquered! Glory fills you! Darkness vanishes forever!
Rejoice, O 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!
This is the day, on which all who believe in Christ are rescued from evil and the gloom of sin, are renewed in grace, and are restored to holiness. This is the day, in which breaking the chains of death, Christ arises from hell in triumph!
This is the day of which scripture says: “The night is as clear as the day: it will become my light, my joy.”
The power of this holy day dispels all evil, washes sin away, restores innocence to the fallen, brings joy to those who mourn; casts out hatred, brings us peace, and humbles earthy pride.
This is the day, truly blessed, heaven and earth are joined-things human and things divine, and we are reconciled to God!
There, O Holy One, in this day of joy and grace, receive our praise and thanksgiving, for the light of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, reflected in the burning of the Christ candle.
Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed!
Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed!
Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
GATHERING SONG
Jesus Christ is Risen Today (LBW 151)
Jesus Christ is ris'n today, Alleluia!
our triumphant holy day, Alleluia!
who did once upon the cross, Alleluia!
suffer to redeem our loss. Alleluia!
Hymns of praise then let us sing, Alleluia!
unto Christ, our heav'nly king, Alleluia!
who endured the cross and grave, Alleluia!
sinners to redeem and save. Alleluia!
But the pains which he endured, Alleluia!
our salvation have procured; Alleluia!
now above the sky he's king, Alleluia!
where the angels ever sing. Alleluia!
Sing we to our God above, Alleluia!
praise eternal as his love; Alleluia!
praise him, all you heav'nly host, Alleluia!
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Alleluia!
GREETING
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
And also with you.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Let us pray. O God, you gave your only Son to suffer death on the cross for our redemption, and by his glorious resurrection you delivered us from the power of death. Make us die every day to sin, that we may live with him forever in the joy of the resurrection, through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
The congregation is seated.
WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION
Welcome to all who are watching live, watching virtually, and are here with us today.
HAPPY EASTER!!
Thank you for making Good Shepherd a part of your Easter Celebration.
Christ is risen! Jesus is alive, and God has swallowed up death forever. With Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome, we may feel astonished and confused, unsure of what to make of the empty tomb. But this is why we gather: to proclaim, witness, praise, and affirm the liberating reality of Christ’s death and resurrection. In word and feast, we celebrate God’s unending love, and depart to share this good news with all the world. Alleluia!
WORD
God speaks to us in scripture reading, preaching, and song.
FIRST READING
Acts 10:34-43
Peter crosses the immense religious and social boundary that separates Jews from Gentiles in order to proclaim the good news of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, so that God’s forgiveness in Jesus’ name would reach out to all people.
A reading from Acts.
34Peter began to speak to [the people]: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, 35but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. 36You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all. 37That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: 38how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. 39We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; 40but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, 41not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. 43All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
PSALMODY
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
\(Read responsively.)
Give thanks to the Lord, for the Lord is good;
God’s mercy endures forever.
Let Israel now declare,
“God’s mercy edures forever.”
The Lord is my strength and my song,
and has become my salvation.
Shouts of rejoicing and salvation echo in the tents of the righteous:
“The right hand of the Lord acts valiantly!
The right hand of the Lord is exalted!
The right hand of the Lord acts valiantly!”
I shall not die, but live,
and declare the works of the Lord.
The Lord indeed punished me sorely,
but did not hand me over to death.
Open for me the gates of righteousness;
I will enter them and give thanks to the Lord.
“This is the gate of the Lord;
here the righteous may enter.”
I give thanks to you, for you have answered me
and you have become my salvation.
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.
By the Lord has this been done;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
ANTHEM
Again, I Say Rejoice, arr. Larson
Handbell Duet: Laurie and Michael Elia
SECOND READING
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
The core of the Christian faith and Paul’s preaching is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As the crucified and risen Christ appeared to the earliest of his followers, so we experience the presence of the Risen One in the preaching of this faith.
A reading from 1 Corinthians.
Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain.
For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them—though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe.
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
The congregation stands to welcome the gospel.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
Alleluia! Sing to Jesus (LBW 158) v. 1
Alleluia! Sing to Jesus;
his the scepter, his the throne;
Alleluia! his the triumph,
his the victory alone.
Hark! The songs of peaceful Zion
thunder like a mighty flood:
"Jesus out of ev'ry nation
has redeemed us by his blood."
GOSPEL
Mark 16:1-8 (NRSV)
The holy gospel according to Mark.
Glory to you, O Lord.
1When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint [Jesus’ body]. 2And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” 4When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. 5As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. 6But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. 7But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” 8So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
The gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.
The congregation is seated.
SERMON
They Were Terrified?
Pastor Harkness
HYMN OF THE DAY
Christ Has Arisen, Alleluia (WOV 678)
1. Christ has arisen, alleluia.
Rejoice and praise him, alleluia.
For our redeemer burst from the tomb,
even from death, dispelling its gloom.
Refrain
Let us sing praise to him with endless joy.
Death's fearful sting he has come to destroy.
Our sin forgiving, alleluia!
Jesus is living, alleluia!
2. For three long days the grave did its worst
until its strength by God was dispersed.
He who gives life did death undergo,
and in its conquest his might did show. Refrain
3. The angel said to them, "Do not fear.
You look for Jesus who is not here.
See for yourselves the tomb is all bare.
Only the graveclothes are lying there." Refrain
4. "Go spread the news: he's not in the grave.
He has arisen this world to save.
Jesus' redeeming labors are done.
Even the battle with sin is won." Refrain
5. Christ has arisen to set us free.
Alleluia, to him praises be.
Jesus is living! Let us all sing;
he reigns triumphant, heavenly king. Refrain
Text: Bernard Kyamanywa, b. 1938; tr. Howard S. Olson, b. 1922
Swahili text © 1968 Lutheran Theological College, Makumira, Tanzania, admin. Augsburg Fortress. English text © 1977 Howard S. Olson, admin. Augsburg Fortress.
The congregation stands.
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
Alive in the risen Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, we bring our prayers before Gpd who promises to hear us and answer in steadfast love.
A brief silence.
The response to “Lord, in your mercy,” is “hear our prayer.”
The prayers conclude:
In the hope of new life in Christ, we raise our prayers to you, trusting in your never-ending goodness and mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The congregation is seated.
MEAL
God feeds us with the presence of Jesus Christ.
OFFERING
OFFFERTORY
ANTHEM
Risen Today! Joyful, Joyful!, Wesley and Beethoven, Bourgeois; arr. Podd
Virtual Choir
The congregation stands.
OFFERTORY PRAYER
God of love,
you call us beloved children and welcome us to your table.
Receive our lives and the gifts we offer.
Abide with us and send us in service to a suffering world;
for the sake of your beloved Child, Jesus Christ.
Amen.
HOLY COMMUNION
GREAT THANKSGIVING
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
PREFACE
It is indeed right, our duty and our joy,
that we should at all times and in all places
give thanks and praise to you, almighty and merciful God,
for the glorious resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ,
the true Paschal Lamb who gave himself to take away our sin;
who in dying has destroyed death,
and in rising has brought us to eternal life.”
And so, with Mary Magdalene and Peter and all the witnesses of the resurrection,
with earth and sea and all their creatures,
and with angels and archangels, cherubim and seraphim,
we praise your name and join their unending hymn:
Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
THANKSGIVING AT THE TABLE
Holy, living, and loving God,
we praise you for creating the heavens and the earth.
We bless you for bringing Noah and his family through the waters of the flood,
for freeing your people Israel from the bonds of slavery,
and for sending your Son to be our Redeemer.
We give you thanks for Jesus
who, living among us,
healed the sick,
fed the hungry,
and with a love stronger than death,
gave his life for others.
In the night in which he was betrayed,
our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks;
broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying:
Take and eat; this is my body, given for you.
Do this for the remembrance of me.
Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks,
and gave it for all to drink, saying:
This cup is the new covenant in my blood,
shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin.
Do this for the remembrance of me.
Remembering, therefore,
his life-giving death and glorious resurrection,
we await your promised life for all this dying world."
Breathe your Spirit on us and on this bread and cup:
carry us in your arms from death to life,
that we may live as your chosen ones,
clothed in the righteousness of Christ.
Through him all glory and honor is yours,
Almighty Father, with the Holy Spirit,
in your holy Church,
both now and forever.”
Amen.
LORD’S PRAYER
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. Amen.
INVITATION TO COMMUNION
The risen Christ invites us to this table.
Come, eat and be satisfied.
COMMUNION
Holy Communion will be distributed by the pastors as you leave the sanctuary.
When giving the bread and cup, the pastors will say:
The body of Christ given and the blood of Christ shed for you.
and each person may respond: Amen.
POST-COMMUNION BLESSING
The body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ strengthen you and keep you in his grace.
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Let us pray. Wellspring of joy,
through this meal you have put gladness in our hearts.
Satisfy the hunger still around us,
and send us as joyful witnesses,
that your love may bring joy to the hearts of all people,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
SENDING
BLESSING
May our glorious God grant you a spirit of wisdom
to know and to love the risen Lord Jesus.
The God of life,
Father, ☩ Son, and Holy Spirit,
bless you now and forever.
Amen.
The congregation is seated.
You will be dismissed by the ushers after the dismissal.
SENDING SONG
The Strife Is O’er, the Battle Done (LBW 135)
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
1. The strife is o’er, the battle done;
now is the victor’s triumph won!
Now be the song of praise begun. Alleluia!
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
2. The pow’rs of death have done their worst,
but Christ their legions has dispersed.
Let shouts of holy joy outburst. Alleluia!
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
3. The three sad days have quickly sped,
he rises glorious from the dead.
All glory to our risen head! Alleluia!
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
4. He broke the age-bound chains of hell;
the bars from heav’n’s high portals fell.
Let hymns of praise his triumph tell. Alleluia!
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
5. Lord, by the stripes which wounded you,
from death’s sting free your servants too,
that we may live and sing to you. Alleluia!
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Text: Symphonia Sirenum, Köln, 1695; tr. Francis Pott, 1832-1909
DISMISSAL
Alleluia! Christ is risen.
Christ is risen indeed. Alleluia!
Go in peace. Share the good news. Alleluia!
Thanks be to God. Alleluia!
POSTLUDE
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