Easter Sunday
We wish you all a joyful and Happy Easter as we celebrate through worship this day when Jesus was resurrected. Join us in prayer, read today’s Bible Readings and listen to hymns and anthems selected for Easter Day.
God of glory, by the raising of your Son you have broken the chains of death and hell: fill your Church with faith and hope; for a new day has dawned and the way to life stands open in our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
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Opening Hymn 110
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The Collect
Lord of all life and power, who through the mighty resurrection of your Son overcame the old order of sin and death to make all things new in him: grant that we, being dead to sin and alive to you in Jesus Christ, may reign with him in glory; to whom with you and the Holy Spirit be praise and honour, glory and might, now and in all eternity. Amen.
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The Readings
Acts 10: 34-43
Colossians 3: 1-11
John 20: 1-18
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The Anthems
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Hymn 104
At the Lamb’s high feast we sing
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The Intercessions
Heavenly Father, we come before You on this day of remembrance and deepest thanks for Your Son’s sacrifice, overcoming the world’s temptations and offering Himself for the sins of the whole world.
A life of selfless love and a sacrifice of this extent is impossible for us to imagine – despite our best intentions we all consider our own interests first.
But however unworthy we are, Father, we thank You that You have given us the eyes to see, though dimly, the wonder of Your Son’s sacrifice and resurrection, the re-birth of Your creation, and the blessing of that glorious hope that You have set before us of entering Your Kingdom, when Your Son shall come again;
We continue to pray of the world at large; vainly struggling to make human sense of Your unfathomable creation, looking only to its own devices, but sliding ever further into chaos;
Lord in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
We continue to pray for the Church world-wide struggling in the restless waters of the world;
particularly for the Church of England facing a profound rift within its leadership,
and for all Christian leaders, particularly for our kings, Charles and William Alexander;
Lord in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
We pray for all in need or distress at this time,
for those suffering from the atrocities being perpetrated in so many areas of the world;
for those suffering directly or indirectly from the consequences of climate change;
for all sick and suffering; the mentally ill, the lonely, and the bereaved;
We pray particularly for our own congregation, for those on our Chaplaincy Prayer List,
and for all those for whom we personally wish to pray ….
Comfort, O God, all in distress, relieve them from their suffering if it be Your will,
and lift them up in Your everlasting arms;
Lord in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly Father, as You have given us to believe with confidence that Your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ is risen from the dead, grant that we may ever be conscious of His presence and ready to meet Him when He shall return again;
Merciful Father, accept these prayers for the sake of Your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ, Amen
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Closing Hymn 120
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Closing Prayers
God of Life, who for our redemption gave your only-begotten Son to the death of the cross, and by his glorious resurrection have delivered us from the power of our enemy: grant us so to die daily to sin, that we may evermore live with him in the joy of his risen life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
God our Father, whose Son, the light unfailing, has come from heaven to deliver the world from the darkness of ignorance:let these holy mysteries open the eyes of our understanding that we may know the way of life, and walk in it without stumbling; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
