April 9

Lakeview Presbyterian Church
April 9, 2023
Easter Sunday

Prelude                   “Living God”                                                             Prime

Welcome:

Call to Worship         (“Christ is Risen! Shout Hosanna!”)
Christ is Risen! Shout Hosanna!
Hosanna! Hosanna!
Celebrate this day of days!
Hosanna! Hosanna!
Let all creation be amazed!
Hosanna! Hosanna! Christ is Risen!

*Hymn           “Jesus Christ is Risen Today”                                          GG #232

Call to Confession     (unison)
The joy of this Easter Sunday reminds us of God’s resurrecting power.  Let us confess all that turns us toward death, so we can know the grace of new life through Christ.

Prayer of Confession   
Savior God, forgive our life-alienating ways, our exclusion and judgment of others;
the way we evaluate and compare. Forgive our habits that demean and degrade,
our addiction to violent and destructive behavior.
Redeem us. Restore us. Resurrect us for life in Christ. Amen.

Assurance of Pardon             (“Jesus Christ Is Risen Today”)
“Jesus Christ is risen today. But the pains which he endured, our salvation have procured.” In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven. Alleluia. Amen.

Prayer for illumination
Divine redeemer, bearer of life, open us to the wisdom of your Word today and enlighten us with your truth. Liberate us from all that distracts us and turns us from your path. Guide us and ground us in Christ’s everlasting hope. Amen.

Reading from the Hebrew Scriptures                   Psalm 118:1-2 and 14-24
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever! Let Israel say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” The Lord is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation. here are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous: “The right hand of the Lord does valiantly; the right hand of the Lord is exalted; the right hand of the Lord does valiantly.”  I shall not die, but I shall live and recount the deeds of the Lord. The Lord has punished me severely, but he did not give me over to death.  Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it. I thank you that you have answered me and have  become my salvation. The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Reading from the Gospel                        John 20:1-18

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So, she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’s head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed, for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes.  But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb, and she saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not touch me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and she told them that he had said these things to her.

Hymn     please remain seated        “Living Hope”                         Wickham

Sermon                        “Can I Get A Witness”                             Peter Murray

Affirmation of Faith   (from Book of Common Worship)
This is the good news which we have received, in which we stand, and by which we are saved, if we hold it fast: that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day, and that he appeared first to the women, then to Peter, and to the Twelve, and then to many faithful witnesses. We believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus Christ is the first and the last, the beginning and the end; he is our Lord and our God. Amen.

Invitation to Offering Give thanks to God for God is good. Let us gratefully give of our offerings to the glory of God and in praise of Christ’s resurrecting ministry. 

 Donations can be placed in the offering plate near the baptismal font in the center of the sanctuary.
Or mailed to:
    Lakeview Presbyterian Church, 1310 22nd Av S, St Petersburg, FL, 33705
or given online at:    lakeviewpresbyterianchurch.org

Prayer of Dedication
God of the empty tomb, your grace astounds us, your generosity fills us to overflowing. Accept these offerings as signs of our gratitude and bless our work on Christ’s behalf. May we love as Christ loved. May we serve as Christ served. Call us forth into your world, guided by Christ’s spirit.  Amen.

Special Music      “Thine Is the Glory”                            GG# 238               

Sharing of Joys and Concerns

Pastoral Prayer

Lord’s Prayer

*Hymn                           “Because He Lives”                                  AAHH #281

Announcements

Charge and Benediction
Celebrate this day of days! Rejoice in God, your Savior! Know the new life gifted through Jesus Christ! Shout your Alleluia’s for all to hear!
May the grace, hope, peace and love of God our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer be with us all, now and forever. Amen.

Postlude "My Redeemer Lives”                                                Mullen

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