Worship Notes for Easter Sunday, March 31, 2013
Christ is risen indeed! The days of mourning and sorrow are past for Christ has risen from the grave. Great exuberance is expressed in the songs and readings of Resurrection Sunday. Some traditions refrain from the use of the word “Alleluia!” during the season of Lent, which is one reason why so many of the carols and songs of Easter make use of “Alleluia!” as a joyous refrain.We start the service with the bold assertion that “I Know that My Redeemer Lives.” Christ the Lord is Risen Today and Christ Is Risen! Hallelujah! continue the statement of our hope and confidence in the risen Lord. The Corporate Prayer of Confession focuses on themes of the resurrection. In Christ Alone we are confronted with the sufficiency of the work of Christ and the power of living in the light of the resurrection.
Our Scripture passage from John 11 proclaims the glorious fact that Jesus is the resurrection and the life. The Communion Hymns, There is No Greater Portrait and I Will Glory in My Redeemer, both draw our attention to the cross and the work of salvation that Christ accomplished there.
Our final hymn, Christ the Lord Is Risen Again, is an energetic 12th century German Carol rejoicing in the ransom and restoration found in the cross and the “breaking of every chain” in Christ’s resurrection. The Benediction Response, He is Risen!, is a recent hymn text that looks forward to the spreading of the Gospel message to all nations.
