The Word
Rev. Dr. Nevada DeLapp
John 1:1-18; Genesis 1:1-3
ORDER OF WORSHIP
Prelude: Miriam Hector
“Open the Gates of the Temple”
Welcome & Announcements
Call to Worship and God’s Greeting
Grace and peace to you from the one who is,
who always was,
and who is still to come,
and from the sevenfold Spirit before his throne,
and from Jesus Christ.
He is the faithful witness to these things,
the first to rise from the dead,
and the ruler of all the kings of the world.
All glory to him who loves us
and has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us.
He has made us a kingdom of priests for God his Father.
All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.
Look! He comes with the clouds of heaven.
And everyone will see him—even those who pierced him.
And all the nations of the world will mourn for him.
Yes! Amen!
“I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,”
says the Lord God.
“I am the one who is, who always was,
and who is still to come—the Almighty One.”
Come, Lord Jesus!
Song “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today”
Readers’ Theater “Resurrection Morning”
Song: “See, What a Morning”
Passing of the Easter Blessing
Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed!
Song “He Is Lord”
Prayer of Confession
Christ, we come to the empty tomb,
we see our own death,
we see our own tomb, we see our own emptiness.
And we remember how we have treated other people—
members of our family, friends and neighbors.
Lord, we come to your tomb,
we see a hungry world before us,
the pain of starving children,
the guilt of war on our hands,
and we know that collectively we share in those injustices.
Lord, we come to the empty tomb,
we search within ourselves and we cannot escape what we are,
people caught up in the pain of our own wrongdoing,
for some a deep sense of loneliness
and a frustration of what we would be but are not.
Lord, when we come to the empty tomb,
we lay before you our pain,
our emptiness, and look to you for hope.
People of God,
why do you seek the living among the dead in an empty tomb?
Are you afraid, are you uncertain, and are you uncomfortable here?
Our wounds are deep,
we have turned away,
we have broken with him
and yet seek his fellowship.
Lighting of the Christ Candle
Words of Assurance
Do not dwell on your wounds any longer
for Christ has risen to heal you,
Christ has risen to forgive you;
Christ has risen to change us all and bind us together now.
Christ has risen to forgive us.
Thanks be to God.
Song“You Are My King (Amazing Love)”
Scripture Reading:
John 1:1-18
Genesis 1:1-3
Message: Pastor Nevada “The Word”
Song “Low in the Grave He Lay”
Blessing
Closing Song “Oh, How Good Is Christ the Lord”
Postlude