Order of Service
April 12, 2020 | Easter Sunrise Service | 7:00 AM
We invite you to join us on Facebook Live. You can follow along with the order of service below or download a pdf of the service to print.
INVOCATION
M: In the name of the Father, and of the ☩ Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
EASTER SUNRISE GOSPEL: John 20:1-18
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said,
“They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in.
Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed.
(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) Then the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”
At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. “Woman,” he said, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”
Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (Which means Teacher). Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.
OPENING HYMN: Morning Breaks upon the Tomb | CW 159
1 Morning breaks upon the tomb;
Jesus scatters all its gloom.
Day of triumph through the skies,
See the glorious Savior rise.
2 You who are of death afraid,
Triumph in the scattered shade.
Drive your anxious cares away;
See the place where Jesus lay.
3 Christian, dry your flowing tears;
Chase your unbelieving fears.
Look on his deserted grave;
Doubt no more his pow’r to save.
EASTER RESPONSE
M: He is not here. He has risen just as he said.
C: He is risen indeed.
M: God, our Father, each day is a gift of your grace.
C: Your mercies are new every day.
M: Guide our steps by the light of your risen Christ.
C: Shield us from harm and keep us from evil.
M: Your love is better than life.
C: Put joy in our hearts and praise on our lips. Alleluia!
PRAYER OF THE DAY
M: O God, you made the dawn of this most holy day shine with the glory of our Lord’s resurrection. Grant that we who have been raised from the death of sin by your life-giving Spirit may worship you in sincerity and truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, now and forever.
C: Amen.
FIRST LESSON: Isaiah 12:1-6
1In that day you will say: “I will praise you, Lord.
Although you were angry with me,
your anger has turned away
and you have comforted me.
2 Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid.
The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense;
he has become my salvation.”
3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
4 In that day you will say:
“Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;
make known among the nations what he has done,
and proclaim that his name is exalted.
5 Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things;
let this be known to all the world.
6 Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion,
for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.”
SECOND LESSON: 1 Corinthians 15:51-57
51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
55 “Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
SERMON: John 20:1-18
Easter Changes Everything
OFFERING
Giving an offering is an act of worship, when we give back to the one who gave us eternal life. At this time we encourage you to make use of our Online Giving. You can find that at www.abidingwordtx.org/support. We will take a few minutes to pray. Please use this time to pray with your family, or comment below or message us directly with prayer requests to pray in our service.
PRAYER FOR EASTER
M: O Lord God, our strength, our song, and our salvation, you fulfilled your promises by the resurrection of your Son, Jesus Christ, from the dead. You have given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. In your compassion, you sent Christ to lie down his for us and to rescue us. Drive away all doubt and gloom, fear and anxiety that may fill our hearts and lives. Lift our eyes heavenward to see him who lives to make intercession for the saints, and grant us confidence in the greatness of his power. Make us instruments of your peace as we bring the good news of hope and new life to those around us. Guide us in the use of all that you have entrusted to us: our time, our talents, and our treasures. Merciful Lord Jesus, grant healing to the sick, and strengthen the faith of the suffering and the dying. Assure them of your abiding presence, and comfort them with the hope of eternal life.
C: Alleluia! Thanks be to God! Amen.
LORD'S PRAYER
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is 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.
BLESSING
M: As you go on your way, may God go with you.
May God go before you to show you the way.
May God go behind you to encourage you,
beside you to befriend you,
above you to watch over,
within you to give you peace.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Spirit. Amen.
M: Jesus Christ is risen!
C: He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
CLOSING HYMN: Alleluia! Jesus Lives | CW 149
1 Alleluia! Jesus lives! He is now the living one;
From the gloomy house of death Forth the conqueror has gone,
Bright foreruner to the skies Of his people, yet to rise.
2 Jesus lives! Let all rejoice; Praise him, ransomed ones of earth.
Praise him in a nobler song, Cherubim of heav’nly birth.
Praise the Victor-King, whose sway Sin and death and hell obey.
3 Jesus lives! Why do you weep? Why that sad and frequent sigh?
He who died our brother here Lives our brother still on high,
Lives forever to bestow Blessings on his Church below.
4 Jesus lives! And thus, my soul, Life is yours eternally;
Joined to him, your living head, Where he is, you too shall be;
You with him at his right hand Victor over death shall stand.
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Giving an offering is an act of worship to the one who gives eternal life.
Special WELS Live Streaming Services
Our Church Body, the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, will have a couple of Special Holy Week Online Events that you can watch live on Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday.
Sunday, April 12: 6:00pm: Watch here