Easter 2 – April 19
Rejoice in God!
Service Prayers for the Second Sunday of Easter
April 19, 2020
Call to Worship
Leader: Sing a new song!
People: A springtime shout-out to life!
Sing praise to our joyful Easter God
Whose power brings new life out of death!
Immerse doubt and despair in the fountain of new birth
Find refreshment and strength for a future of hope!
For God has taken ordinary things
And made them extraordinary:
All: Sing a New Song!
Opening Prayer
Holy God,
Nothing is beyond your power to transform!
In a gray dawn, you coax songs of Alleluia!
From the tombs of despair we take refuge in
You call us to wake up and work.
We praise you for this amazing day!
Come, Risen Christ,
in newness and hope on this Eastertide morning. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Redeeming God,
with you there is always more life, more hope, more joy.
When doubt assails us, and we fail to recognize you at work in our lives,
Lord, have mercy!
When fear impairs our faith, and our eyes and ears and hearts
do not know you, Christ, have mercy!
When anger and sorrow stop us from doing the risky work of love,
Lord, have mercy!
Words of Assurance
Within every kernel of doubt, there is a spark of life and hope.
In those times when our faith falters,
when we cannot recognize the presence of the Holy among us,
God takes our faith and transforms it,
patiently showing us the many ways Christ walks among us.
Look around you:
as close as your own beating heart,
and in the eyes of your nearest neighbor,
grace abounds at the heart of all life.
You are all God’s children, loved without condition,
go in that peace. Amen.
Call for Offering
Easter teaches us that generous love is at the heart of God’s work.
Joyfully we are able to give
knowing that our gifts will help others
to see the blessed miracle of God’s creative joy.
Offertory Prayer
Loving God, can a generous prayer be lifted up to you this Eastertide?
Can these gifts, given with love,
be further transformed like echoes of grace,
delighting all who receive their blessings?
May it be so, through the surprising power of your Holy Spirit,
and may our lives speak of a loving God,
full of Easter surprises. Amen.
Benediction
Follow God’s lead into new life!
Recognize Jesus in unexpected places.
Easter!
Christ is Risen!
May you dance an alleluia dance,
and sing a resurrection song.
Laugh with God and let joy reside in your hearts always. Amen.
Rejoice in God was written by the Rev. Susan A. Blain, Minister for Worship and Gospel Arts, Faith INFO Ministry Team.
Copyright 2020 Justice and Local Church Ministries, Faith INFO Ministry Team, United Church of Christ, 700 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44115-1100. Permission granted to reproduce or adapt this material for use in services of worship or church education. All publishing rights
