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Easter Day Service

 

Collect of the day
Almighty God the Father, through Your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, You have overcome death and opened the gate of everlasting life to us. Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the day of our Lord’s resurrection, may be raised from the death of sin by Your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Old Testament Reading……………………………………. Isaiah 25:6-9
On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken. It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”

Epistle Reading…………………………………….1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

Holy Gospel Reading…………………………………….Mark 16:1-8
When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

Reading from the Catechism
What are we saying when we confess that Jesus has redeemed us?
We acknowledge that Jesus has rescued us from powers we cannot overcome.

Why did we need to be redeemed? What was our situation?
The entire human race lived under the tyranny of sin, death, and the devil and stood under the judgement of God.

How did we come to be lost and condemned?
The devil led Adam and Eve into rebellion by tempting them to doubt and to desire to become like God. We have all inherited their desire to sin and the resulting punishment.

Why did God send His Son to rescue us?
As our loving Creator, He had compassion on us.

How did Jesus rescue us from sin?
By His death on the cross, He paid the entire penalty of my sin and guilt. By His death on the cross, He fully endured and appeased the wrath of God toward all people, thereby reconciling us to God. By His death on the cross, He destroyed the power of sin to enslave me.

How did Jesus rescue us from the devil?
He defeated Satan by obeying His Father’s will through his earthly life, even going all the way to the cross, in our place.

How did Jesus rescue us from death?
He put death to death by His own death and resurrection.

What does the Bible teach about Jesus’ resurrection? Why is it so comforting to us?
Scripture teaches that Jesus rose from the dead on the third day and appeared bodily to His disciples. Christ’s resurrection is the comforting testimony that He is the Son of God, His teaching is true, the Father has accepted Christ’s sacrifice for the reconciliation of the world, and that all who believe in Christ will rise to eternal life. Amen.

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