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.

That this evening may be holy, good and peaceful,
let us pray with one heart and mind.

Silence is kept.

As our evening prayer rises before you, O God,
so may your mercy come down upon us
to cleanse our hearts
and set us free to sing your praise
now and forever.
Amen.

Hymn

Rejoice, the Lord is King!

Charles Wesley

Rejoice, the Lord is King!
Your Lord and King adore,
Mortals, give thanks, and sing,
And triumph evermore;
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice,
Rejoice, again, I say, rejoice.

Jesus the Savior reigns,
The God of truth and love,
When he had purged our stains,
He took his seat above:
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice,
Rejoice, again, I say, rejoice.

His kingdom cannot fail,
He rules over earth and heaven;
The keys of death and hell
Are to our Jesus given:
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice,
Rejoice, again, I say, rejoice.

He sits at God’s right hand,
Till all his foes submit,
And bow to his command,
And fall beneath his feet.
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice,
Rejoice, again, I say, rejoice.

He all his foes shall quell,
Shall all our sins destroy,
And every bosom swell
With pure seraphic joy;
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice,
Rejoice, again, I say, rejoice.

Rejoice in glorious hope,
Jesus the judge shall come;
And take his servants up
To their eternal home:
We soon shall hear the archangel’s voice,
The trump of God shall sound, Rejoice.

Confession of sin

Let us admit to God the sin which always confronts us.

A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.

Almighty God,
patient and of great goodness:
I confess to you,
I confess with my whole heart
my neglect and forgetfulness of your commandments,
my wrong doing, thinking, and speaking;
the hurts I have done to others,
and the good I have left undone.
O God, forgive me, for I have sinned against you;
and raise me to newness of life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

May the God of love and power
forgive us and free us from our sins,
heal and strengthen us by his Spirit,
and raise us to new life in Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Psalm 105

𝙍: Remember the wonders the LORD has done.

Give thanks to the LORD, call upon His name;
make known His deeds among the nations.
Sing to Him, sing praises to Him;
tell of all His wonders.
Glory in His holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
Seek out the LORD and His strength;
seek His face always.
Remember the wonders He has done,
His marvels, and the judgments He has pronounced,
O offspring of His servant Abraham,
O sons of Jacob, His chosen ones. 𝙍

He is the LORD our God;
His judgments carry throughout the earth.
He remembers His covenant forever,
the word He ordained for a thousand generations—
the covenant He made with Abraham,
and the oath He swore to Isaac.
He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant:
“I will give you the land of Canaan
as the portion of your inheritance.” 𝙍

When they were few in number,
few indeed, and strangers in the land,
they wandered from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another.
He let no man oppress them;
He rebuked kings on their behalf:
“Do not touch My anointed ones!
Do no harm to My prophets!” 𝙍

He called down famine on the land
and cut off all their supplies of food.
He sent a man before them—
Joseph, sold as a slave.
They bruised his feet with shackles
and placed his neck in irons,
until his prediction came true
and the word of the LORD proved him right.
The king sent and released him;
the ruler of peoples set him free.
He made him master of his household,
ruler over all his substance,
to instruct his princes as he pleased
and teach his elders wisdom. 𝙍

Then Israel entered Egypt;
Jacob dwelt in the land of Ham.
And the LORD made His people very fruitful,
more numerous than their foes,
whose hearts He turned to hate His people,
to conspire against His servants. 𝙍

He sent Moses His servant,
and Aaron, whom He had chosen.
They performed His miraculous signs among them,
and wonders in the land of Ham.
He sent darkness, and it became dark—
yet they defied His words.

He turned their waters to blood
and caused their fish to die.
Their land teemed with frogs,
even in their royal chambers.
He spoke, and insects swarmed—
gnats throughout their country.
He gave them hail for rain,
with lightning throughout their land.
He struck their vines and fig trees
and shattered the trees of their country.
He spoke, and the locusts came—
young locusts without number.
They devoured every plant in their land
and consumed the produce of their soil.
Then He struck all the firstborn in their land,
the firstfruits of all their vigor. 𝙍

He brought Israel out with silver and gold,
and none among His tribes stumbled.
Egypt was glad when they departed,
for the dread of Israel had fallen on them.
He spread a cloud as a covering
and a fire to light up the night.
They asked, and He brought quail
and satisfied them with the bread of heaven. 𝙍

He opened a rock, and water gushed out;
it flowed like a river in the desert.
For He remembered His holy promise
to Abraham His servant.
He brought forth His people with rejoicing,
His chosen with shouts of joy.
He gave them the lands of the nations,
that they might inherit the fruit of others’ labor,
that they might keep His statutes
and obey His laws.

Hallelujah!

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.

𝙍: Remember the wonders the LORD has done.

Psalm prayer

God of our earthly pilgrimage,
feed your Easter people with the bread of heaven,
that we may hunger and thirst for righteousness
until we reach our promised land;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading

Exodus 12:37-51

The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth with about 600,000 men on foot, besides women and children. And a mixed multitude also went up with them, along with great droves of livestock, both flocks and herds.

Since their dough had no leaven, the people baked what they had brought out of Egypt into unleavened loaves. For when they had been driven out of Egypt, they could not delay and had not prepared any provisions for themselves.

Now the duration of the Israelites’ stay in Egypt was 430 years. At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the LORD’s divisions went out of the land of Egypt. Because the LORD kept a vigil that night to bring them out of the land of Egypt, this same night is to be a vigil to the LORD, to be observed by all the Israelites for the generations to come.

And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the statute of the Passover: No foreigner is to eat of it. But any slave who has been purchased may eat of it, after you have circumcised him. A temporary resident or hired hand shall not eat the Passover.

It must be eaten inside one house. You are not to take any of the meat outside the house, and you may not break any of the bones.

The whole congregation of Israel must celebrate it. If a foreigner resides with you and wants to celebrate the LORD’s Passover, all the males in the household must be circumcised; then he may come near to celebrate it, and he shall be like a native of the land. But no uncircumcised man may eat of it. The same law shall apply to both the native and the foreigner who resides among you.”

Then all the Israelites did this—they did just as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron. And on that very day the LORD brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt by their divisions.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

1 Corinthians 15:20-28

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ the firstfruits; then at His coming, those who belong to Him.

Then the end will come, when He hands over the kingdom to God the Father after He has destroyed all dominion, authority, and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For “God has put everything under His feet.” Now when it says that everything has been put under Him, this clearly does not include the One who put everything under Him. And when all things have been subjected to Him, then the Son Himself will be made subject to Him who put all things under Him, so that God may be all in all.

Silence may be kept.

The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

Luke 1:46-55

Refrain:
The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. Alleluia.

My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
For He has looked with favor on the humble state of His servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed.
For the Mighty One has done great things for me.
Holy is His name.
His mercy extends to those who fear Him,
from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with His arm;
He has scattered those who are proud
in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
but has exalted the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped His servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful,
as He promised to our fathers,
to Abraham and his descendants forever.

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 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.

Thanksgiving and intercession

Thanksgiving may be made for the day.

Intercessions are offered
for peace
for individuals and their needs

Prayers may include the following concerns:

The people of God, that they may proclaim the risen Lord
God’s creation, that the peoples of the earth may meet their responsibility to care
Those in despair and darkness, that they may find the hope and light of Christ
Those in fear of death, that they may find faith through the resurrection
Prisoners and captives

Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.

Response

God of grace,
hear our prayer.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Lord of all life and power,
who through the mighty resurrection of your Son
overcame the old order of sin and death
to make all things new in him:
grant that we, being dead to sin
and alive to you in Jesus Christ,
may reign with him in glory;
to whom with you and the Holy Spirit
be praise and honor, glory and might,
now and in all eternity.
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Rejoicing in God’s new creation, as our Savior taught us, so we pray

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. Amen.

Conclusion

May the risen Christ grant us the joys of eternal life.
Amen.