Saturday evening April 2
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Preparation
Opening response
O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.
In your resurrection, O Christ,
let heaven and earth rejoice. Alleluia.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Sovereign Lord,
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
to you be glory and praise forever.
From the deep waters of death
you brought your people to new birth
by raising your Son to life in triumph.
Through him dark death has been destroyed
and radiant life is everywhere restored.
As you call us out of darkness into his marvelous light
may our lives reflect his glory
and our lips repeat the endless song.
Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God forever.
Hymn
Jesus, My Lord, Mighty to Save
Charles Wesley
Jesus, my Lord, mighty to save,
What can my hopes withstand,
While thee, my advocate, I have
Enthroned at God’s right hand?
Nature is subject to thy word,
All power to thee is given,
The uncontrolled, almighty Lord
Of hell, and earth, and heaven.
And shall my sins thy will oppose?
Master, thy right maintain;
Oh, let not thy usurping foes,
In me, thy servant, reign.
Come, then and claim me for thine own,
Savior thy right assert,
Come gracious Lord, set up thy throne,
And reign within my heart.
So shall I bless thy pleasing sway,
And, sitting at thy feet,
Thy laws with all my heart obey,
With all my soul submit.
So shall I do thy will below,
As angels do above,
The virtue of thy passion show,
The triumphs of thy love.
Thy love, the conquest more than gains,
To all I shall proclaim,
“Jesus, the King, the Conqueror reigns,
Bow down to Jesus’ name.”
To thee shall earth and hell submit,
And every foe shall fall,
Till death expires beneath thy feet,
And God is all in all.
Confession of sin
When we cry out to the Lord in our distress,
he will save us from our desperate circumstances.
God will bring us out of darkness
and out of the shadow of death.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.
May the Father forgive us
by the death of his Son
and strengthen us
to live in the power of the Spirit
all our days.
Amen.
Let us thank the Lord for his faithful love,
and his wondrous works for all people.
Let us offer thanksgiving sacrifices
and declare what God has done in songs of joy.
cf Psalm 107
The Word of God
Psalm 145
Refrain:
The Lord is great and so worthy of praise!
I will lift you up high, my God, the true king.
I will bless your name forever and always.
I will bless you every day.
I will praise your name forever and always.
The Lord is great and so worthy of praise!
God’s greatness can’t be grasped.
One generation will praise your works to the next one,
proclaiming your mighty acts.
They will talk all about the glorious splendor of your majesty;
I will contemplate your wondrous works.
They will speak of the power of your awesome deeds;
I will declare your great accomplishments.
They will rave in celebration of your abundant goodness;
they will shout joyfully about your righteousness:
“The Lord is merciful and compassionate,
very patient, and full of faithful love.
The Lord is good to everyone and everything;
God’s compassion extends, to all his handiwork!”
All that you have made gives thanks to you, Lord;
all your faithful ones bless you!
They speak of the glory of your kingdom;
they talk all about your power,
to inform all human beings about God’s power
and the majestic glory of God’s kingdom.
Your kingdom is a kingship that lasts forever;
your rule endures for all generations.
The Lord is trustworthy in all that he says,
faithful in all that he does.
The Lord supports all who fall down,
straightens up all who are bent low.
All eyes look to you, hoping,
and you give them their food right on time,
opening your hand
and satisfying the desire of every living thing.
The Lord is righteous in all his ways,
faithful in all his deeds.
The Lord is close to everyone who calls out to him,
to all who call out to him sincerely.
God shows favor to those who honor him,
listening to their cries for help and saving them.
The Lord protects all who love him,
but he destroys every wicked person.
My mouth will proclaim the Lord’s praise,
and every living thing will bless God’s holy name
forever and always.
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.
Refrain:
The Lord is great and so worthy of praise!
Psalm prayer
King of the universe,
you show the bright glory of your reign
in acts of mercy and enduring love;
raise the spirits of the downcast
and restore those who have fallen away,
that we may sing forever of your love;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Song of Solomon 8:5-7
Who is this coming up from the wilderness
leaning against her lover?
Under the apple tree I aroused you—
there, where your mother labored with you,
there where, laboring, she bore you.
Set me as a seal over your heart,
as a seal upon your arm,
for love is as strong as death,
passionate love unrelenting as the grave.
Its darts are darts of fire—
divine flame!
Rushing waters can’t quench love;
rivers can’t wash it away.
If someone gave
all his estate in exchange for love,
he would be laughed to utter shame.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
John 11:17-44
When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Bethany was a little less than two miles from Jerusalem. Many Jews had come to comfort Martha and Mary after their brother’s death. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him, while Mary remained in the house. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died. Even now I know that whatever you ask God, God will give you.”
Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.”
Martha replied, “I know that he will rise in the resurrection on the last day.”
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me will live, even though they die. Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
She replied, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, God’s Son, the one who is coming into the world.”
After she said this, she went and spoke privately to her sister Mary, “The teacher is here and he’s calling for you.” When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to Jesus. He hadn’t entered the village but was still in the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who were comforting Mary in the house saw her get up quickly and leave, they followed her. They assumed she was going to mourn at the tomb.
When Mary arrived where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.”
When Jesus saw her crying and the Jews who had come with her crying also, he was deeply disturbed and troubled. He asked, “Where have you laid him?”
They replied, “Lord, come and see.”
Jesus began to cry. The Jews said, “See how much he loved him!” But some of them said, “He healed the eyes of the man born blind. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?”
Jesus was deeply disturbed again when he came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone covered the entrance. Jesus said, “Remove the stone.”
Martha, the sister of the dead man, said, “Lord, the smell will be awful! He’s been dead four days.”
Jesus replied, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believe, you will see God’s glory?” So they removed the stone. Jesus looked up and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. I know you always hear me. I say this for the benefit of the crowd standing here so that they will believe that you sent me.” Having said this, Jesus shouted with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his feet bound and his hands tied, and his face covered with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Untie him and let him go.”
Silence may be kept.
Gospel canticle
The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)
Refrain:
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone. Alleluia.
With all my heart I glorify the Lord!
In the depths of who I am I rejoice in God my savior.
He has looked with favor on the low status of his servant.
Look! From now on, everyone will consider me highly favored
because the mighty one has done great things for me.
Holy is his name.
He shows mercy to everyone,
from one generation to the next,
who honors him as God.
He has shown strength with his arm.
He has scattered those with arrogant thoughts and proud inclinations.
He has pulled the powerful down from their thrones
and lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away empty-handed.
He has come to the aid of his servant Israel,
remembering his mercy,
just as he promised to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to Abraham’s descendants forever.
Luke 1:46-55
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.
Refrain:
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone. Alleluia.
Brief silence
The Apostle’s Creed
Let us unite in this historic confession of the Christian faith:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
Prayers
Thanksgiving and intercession
Thanksgiving may be made for the day.
Intercessions are offered
for peace
for individuals and their needs
Response
In faith we pray
We pray to you, our God.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Almighty Father,
you have given your only Son to die for our sins
and to rise again for our justification:
grant us so to put away the leaven of malice and wickedness
that we may always serve you
in pureness of living and truth;
through the merits of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Rejoicing in God’s new creation,
as our Savior taught us, so we pray
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and forever.
Amen.
Conclusion
May the risen Christ grant us the joys of eternal life.
Amen.