“Jesus and Doubting Thomas” (c. 1800) by Franciszek Smuglewicz. Public domain.

Opening response

Lord, open our lips.
Our mouth will declare your praise.

In your resurrection, O Christ,
let heaven and earth rejoice. Alleluia.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Lord God of our salvation,
to you be praise and glory forever.
As once you ransomed your people from Egypt
and led them to freedom in the promised land,
so now you have delivered us from the dominion of darkness
and brought us into the kingdom of your risen Son.
May we, the first fruits of your new creation,
rejoice in this new day you have made,
and praise you for your mighty acts.
Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God forever.

The night has passed, and the day lies open before us;
let us pray with one heart and mind.

Silence is kept.

As we rejoice in the gift of this new day,
so may the light of your presence, O God,
set our hearts on fire with love for you;
now and forever.
Amen.

Hymn

In Answer to Ten Thousand Prayers

Charles Wesley

In answer to ten thousand prayers,
Thou pardoning God descend,
Number me with salvation’s heirs
My sins and troubles end.

Nothing I ask or want beside
Of all in earth or heaven,
But let me feel thy blood applied,
And live and die forgiven.

Confession of sin

The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
nor repaid us for our iniquities.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is his loving kindness towards those who fear him.

Silence is kept for reflection.

Holy God,
Holy and strong,
Holy and immortal,
have mercy upon us.

As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
Like a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.
Praise the LORD, my soul!
All that is within me, praise his holy name!
Praise the LORD, my soul,
and don’t forget all his benefits.

Psalm 16

Refrain:
You, LORD, assigned my portion and my cup. You made my lot secure.

Preserve me, God, for I take refuge in you.
My soul, you have said to the LORD, “You are my Lord.
Apart from you I have no good thing.”
As for the saints who are in the earth,
they are the excellent ones in whom is all my delight.

Their sorrows shall be multiplied who give gifts to another god.
Their drink offerings of blood I will not offer,
nor take their names on my lips.
The LORD assigned my portion and my cup.
You made my lot secure.

The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places.
Yes, I have a good inheritance.
I will bless the LORD, who has given me counsel.
Yes, my heart instructs me in the night seasons.
I have set the LORD always before me.
Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my tongue rejoices.
My body shall also dwell in safety.
For you will not leave my soul in Sheol,
neither will you allow your holy one to see corruption.
You will show me the path of life.
In your presence is fullness of joy.
In your right hand there are pleasures forever more.

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:
You, LORD, assigned my portion and my cup. You made my lot secure.

Psalm prayer

Give to us, Lord Christ,
the fullness of grace,
your presence and your very self,
for you are our portion and our delight,
now and forever.

Psalm 30

Refrain:
Sing praise to the LORD, you saints of his.

I will extol you, LORD, for you have raised me up,
and have not made my foes to rejoice over me.
LORD my God, I cried to you,
and you have healed me.
LORD, you have brought up my soul from Sheol.
You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.
Sing praise to the LORD, you saints of his.
Give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger is but for a moment.
His favour is for a lifetime.
Weeping may stay for the night,
but joy comes in the morning.
As for me, I said in my prosperity,
“I shall never be moved.”
You, LORD, when you favoured me, made my mountain stand strong;
but when you hid your face, I was troubled.
I cried to you, LORD.
I made supplication to the Lord:
“What profit is there in my destruction, if I go down to the pit?
Shall the dust praise you?
Shall it declare your truth?
Hear, LORD, and have mercy on me.
LORD, be my helper.”
You have turned my mourning into dancing for me.
You have removed my sackcloth, and clothed me with gladness,
to the end that my heart may sing praise to you, and not be silent.
LORD my God, I will give thanks to you 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:
Sing praise to the LORD, you saints of his.

Psalm prayer

Lord, you hide your face
when we trust in ourselves;
strip us of false security
and re-clothe us in your praise,
that we may know you
as the one who raises us from death,
as you raised your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ.

Old Testament reading

Deuteronomy 3:18-29

I commanded you at that time, saying, “The LORD your God has given you this land to possess it. All of you men of valour shall pass over armed before your brothers, the children of Israel. But your wives, and your little ones, and your livestock, (I know that you have much livestock), shall live in your cities which I have given you, until the LORD gives rest to your brothers, as to you, and they also possess the land which the LORD your God gives them beyond the Jordan. Then you shall each return to his own possession, which I have given you.”

I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, “Your eyes have seen all that the LORD your God has done to these two kings. So shall the LORD do to all the kingdoms where you go over. You shall not fear them; for the LORD your God himself fights for you.”

I begged GOD at that time, saying, “Lord GOD, you have begun to show your servant your greatness, and your strong hand. For what god is there in heaven or in earth that can do works like yours, and mighty acts like yours? Please let me go over and see the good land that is beyond the Jordan, that fine mountain, and Lebanon.”

But the LORD was angry with me because of you, and didn’t listen to me. The LORD said to me, “That is enough! Speak no more to me of this matter. Go up to the top of Pisgah, and lift up your eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and see with your eyes; for you shall not go over this Jordan. But commission Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him; for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which you shall see.” So we stayed in the valley near Beth Peor.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

John 20:19-31

When therefore it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were locked where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the middle and said to them, “Peace be to you.”

When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples therefore were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus therefore said to them again, “Peace be to you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit! If you forgive anyone’s sins, they have been forgiven them. If you retain anyone’s sins, they have been retained.”

But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, wasn’t with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

After eight days, again his disciples were inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, the doors being locked, and stood in the middle, and said, “Peace be to you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Reach here your finger, and see my hands. Reach here your hand, and put it into my side. Don’t be unbelieving, but believing.”

Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”

Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”

Therefore Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.

Silence may be kept.

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Luke 1:68-79

Refrain:
The Lord is risen from the tomb
who for our sakes hung upon the tree. Alleluia.

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
for he has visited and redeemed his people;
and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David
(as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets who have been from of old),
salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us;
to show mercy toward our fathers,
to remember his holy covenant,
the oath which he swore to Abraham our father,
to grant to us that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies,
should serve him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life.
And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the remission of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the dawn from on high will visit us,
to shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death;
to guide our feet into the way of peace.

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 risen from the tomb
who for our sakes hung upon the tree. 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.

Intercession and thanksgiving

Prayers may be offered for:

the day and its tasks
the world and its needs
the church and her life

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

Lord, hear your people
and answer our prayers.

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.