GREETING (Adapted from Mark 11:9b-10)
Hosanna!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!
HYMN 302 “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today”
PSALM 98
PRAYER
(Consider the following subjects and concerns for prayers of thanksgiving, intercession, and petition. Follow with your personal prayer list.)
For the resurrection of Christ For the death of death
For our own future resurrection For those who might be lost
For those who do not believe in resurrection For the eternity of time ahead of us
For victory over death For God’s grace in resurrecting us
For those who have died but live on For God’s love shown in resurrection
For our future reunion with the saints above That Heaven is our home now
For the life to come For peace that resurrection provides
For our new resurrected bodies _____________________________
For the hope that Christ has resurrected for all _____________________________
For the joy that now fills our days _____________________________
THE LORD'S PRAYER
SCRIPTURE LESSON
(Choose a passage of scripture to read. It can be a chapter, a paragraph, or a particular story. Daily lectionaries are available online or in print that assign a lesson each day from the gospels, epistles, Old Testament and psalms on a three-year cycle. Or you can create a plan to read a book of the Bible, or the whole Bible. Then follow the steps below.)
Read a passage of scripture. Read it out loud, very slowly and carefully as if for the first time. Continue reading until a word, phrase or sentence captures your attention. Stop there to repeat the word, phrase or sentence over and over, listening to it deeply in your heart.
Reflect on why the passage got your attention. Consider the area of your life to which this may apply. Is God saying something to you in this passage? Take time to listen carefully to whatever God may be saying to you.
Respond to God in prayer (or with journaling, music, art or whatever you choose) about what you have heard. Ask questions. Open yourself to God’s will for you.
Rest in God’s company. Be still and quiet. Move beyond thinking, practicing interior silence. Let yourself be open to God’s presence. Savor this moment with God.
PRAYER
God of the living, who lifted Christ from his tomb,
it is said that eternity begins now for those who believe.
Then that means, Lord, that today is part of our forever-more.
So help us, God, to live this truth in the way we go through this day.
But how do eternal ones live? This is very new.
We live fearless, do we not, since there is no death?
And we live in your company, since you are everywhere.
Humility, joy, love, thankfulness and praise pour from us to you.
Now this world’s temporary concerns are nothing,
except you, God, are eternal and care deeply about them.
You know when a sparrow dies, and count the hairs on our heads.
And you sent Christ to save this world, all because you love it and us.
This calls for us to have new eyes and new ears,
and most certainly a new heart in regard to the world.
This world may be passing away soon, but it still matters.
We cannot just dismiss all this world’s troubles and heart-aches.
Knowing that we live forever with you calls us
to stand up for justice and righteousness everywhere.
But it is not this world’s standard of justice and righteousness,
but yours, God, for which we are now willing to dedicate our lives.
Your prophets long ago pointed us to the poor,
to the orphans, widows and the foreigners in our land.
Today you add those refugees who flee the devastation of war,
those hungry, enslaved by addictions or strangers to forgiveness.
Those who know your eternity are called to love
those trapped by the past and overwhelmed by today.
We have been given an abundance of what they need most:
forgiveness, love, hope and the company of an eternal friend.
Your Son has given us resurrection and eternal life.
Now let your Spirit direct us in meeting temporary needs,
so that we might understand living eternally with you, God.
We pray to you, through that Spirit, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
SILENCE AND COMMITMENT
(Pause to reflect and listen. Work to push out of your mind any distracting or irrelevant thoughts. Concentrate your thoughts on the words of the hymns and choruses you have sung, the prayers you have spoken and the scriptures you have read. Be aware of what you are feeling. Listen for anything that God might be saying to you in this time you have spent together. As God responds to your prayer-time, seek guidance for how you can best respond to God’s will. Then commit to serving God’s will for you.)
HYMN 318 “Christ Is Alive”
CLOSING PRAYER
God of good news, plant your gospel deep within us.
Let it sprout and grow penetrating roots and strong branches.
Let its fruit feed the hungry crowds and heal the sin-sick souls.
God of love, for such an exquisite pearl of good news
we would sell all we have, but you freely give this gift to us.
Now send us to employ this gospel to plow and seed your fields. Amen.
Copyright 2020. Robert D. Ingram, 32746 Jourden Rd., Albany, Ohio 45710 (dr.bobingram@gmail.com). Used by permission.
