Preparation

Opening response

Favor us, Lord, and deliver us.
Lord, come quickly and help us.

If I went up to heaven, you would be there.
If I went down to the grave, you would be there too!

Psalm 139:8

Praise

Yesterday I was crucified with Christ;
today I am glorified with him.
Yesterday I was dead with Christ;
today I am sharing in his resurrection.
Yesterday I was buried with him;
today I am waking with him from the sleep of death.

Gregory of Nazianzus (389)

The Word of God

Psalm 146

Refrain:
The Lord will rule forever!

Praise the Lord!
Let my whole being praise the Lord!
I will praise the Lord with all my life;
I will sing praises to my God as long as I live.
Don’t trust leaders;
don’t trust any human beings—
there’s no saving help with them!
Their breath leaves them,
then they go back to the ground.
On that very same day, their plans die too.
The person whose help is the God of Jacob—
the person whose hope rests on the Lord their God—
is truly happy!
God: the maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them,
God: who is faithful forever,
who gives justice to people who are oppressed,
who gives bread to people who are starving!
The Lord: who frees prisoners.
The Lord: who makes the blind see.
The Lord: who straightens up those who are bent low.
The Lord: who loves the righteous.
The Lord: who protects immigrants,
who helps orphans and widows,
but who makes the way of the wicked twist and turn!
The Lord will rule forever!
Zion, your God will rule from one generation to the next!
Praise the Lord!

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 will rule forever!

Psalm prayer

Lord of all,
our breath and being come from you,
yet our earthly end is dust;
as you loose the bound and feed the hungry,
so bring us in your mercy through the grave and gate of death
to the feast of eternal life,
where you reign forevermore.

Scripture reading
Revelation 1:12-13, 17-18

I turned to see who was speaking to me, and when I turned, I saw seven oil lamps burning on top of seven gold stands. In the middle of the lampstands I saw someone who looked like the Human One. He wore a robe that stretched down to his feet, and he had a gold sash around his chest. When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. But he put his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid. I’m the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I was dead, but look! Now I’m alive forever and always. I have the keys of Death and the Grave.

Silence may be kept.

Response

Happy are people who make peace,
because they will be called God’s children.

Matthew 5:9

Prayers

Intercession and thanksgiving

Prayers may include these 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.

Prayer

Christ yesterday and today,
the beginning and the end,
Alpha and Omega,
all time belongs to you,
and all ages;
to you be glory and power
through every age and forever.
Amen.

From the Easter Vigil

The Lord’s Prayer

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 give us his peace.
Alleluia. Amen.