Worship Helps for Easter Sunday
Christ Is
Risen! He Is Risen Indeed! The Resurrection of Our Lord
After forty days of repentance
and prayer, the Church bursts forth in jubilant praise at the Resurrection of
our Lord. The alleluias and glorias which were muted for Lent ring out again as
the Bride of Christ welcomes her Bridegroom back from the dead. Easter is the
pinnacle of the Church Year, the oldest festival and season celebrated by the
worshipping Church. For a full week-of-weeks (49 days) the Church celebrates
the resurrection of Christ on the Sundays of Easter which culminate on the 50th
day, Pentecost.
Worship Theme: Christ
is risen! He is risen indeed! Sinners should fear God. Sinners ought to die for
their wickedness. The grave should be the place of ultimate defeat for mankind.
Yet on this day, the Second Adam did all that the first had left undone.
Bearing our guilt and suffering our verdict, the Son of Man died, but three
days later he rose in glory. As a result, fear is gone, mankind is redeemed,
and Christ calls us his own brothers. Jesus came from death to life, and
through baptism he brings us with him.
Old Testament: Jonah 2:2-9 [Jonah] said: "In my distress I called to the
LORD, and he answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and
you listened to my cry. 3 You hurled me into the deep, into the very
heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and
breakers swept over me. 4 I said, 'I have been banished from your
sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.' 5 The
engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped
around my head. 6 To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the
earth beneath barred me in forever. But you brought my life up from the pit, O
LORD my God. 7 "When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you,
LORD, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple. 8 "Those
who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. 9
But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I
will make good. Salvation comes from the LORD."
1. Was this the prayer Jonah prayed while in the belly of
the fish, or are these thoughts that came to him later?
2. What was the real depth of Jonah's misery (verse 4)?
3. Why could we describe Jonah's prayer as a prayer of
thanks more so than a prayer of confidence?
Epistle: Colossians 3:1-4 Since, then, you have been raised
with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the
right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly
things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in
God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will
appear with him in glory.
4. What does Paul mean when he says, "You
died"? And how is it that our life is now "hidden with Christ
in God"?
Gospel: Matthew 28:1-10 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the
first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the
tomb. 2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord
came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on
it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white
as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and
became like dead men. 5 The angel said to the women, "Do not be
afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6
He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he
lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from
the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee . There you will see him.' Now I
have told you." 8 So the women hurried away from the tomb,
afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9
Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him,
clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them,
"Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee ; there they will see me."
5. Why did the angel roll back the stone from the tomb?
6. How might the angel's words, "He is not here; he
has risen, just as he said," have made the women feel ashamed?
7. Why were Jesus' words "my brothers" so
comforting to the disciples?
1. Certainly Jonah wrote the prayer's final form at a later date. The flow
of thought, however, is consistent with the thoughts of one who has just had a
very close brush with death. Jonah recounts his hopeless situation and
immediately follows that up with his amazing rescue.
2. Jonah was lying on the ocean floor, entangled by seaweed, covered by
the swirling sands of the deep. But that paled in comparison as Jonah
felt the seaweed of his terrible sins strangling him, dragging him from the
gracious presence of his Lord. Isn't it ironic that earlier Jonah had
tried to flee from his Lord?
3. When the fish swallowed Jonah he wasn't moving from one danger to
another. The fish was a part of the solution. Jonah's time in the
fish was similar to the time Jesus spent in the grave (Matthew 12:39 -40). When Jesus died, his mission was
complete. The grave was not a punishment, but a place to await the
Father's exaltation. So it was for Jonah in the belly of the fish.
4. We died when our sinful connection to this earth was put to death on
the cross. Our life is now in Christ. That life is hidden to the
world that doesn't understand the power of the cross. We now live each
day in eager anticipation of Christ's return in glory.
5. Certainly not to let Jesus out. It was to prove to the world that
Christ had risen.
6. Why were they bringing burial spices for their risen Savior?
Hadn't Jesus told them on several occasions that he would rise on the third
day? It's actually sad to note that crowds weren't gathered there that
morning to see the risen Savior.
7. The women walked to the tomb, arms full of spices and hearts full of
disappointment. They had come to a place of disappointment, broken promises,
and fear. All they had hoped to do was anoint the body of a dead man. A dead
Jesus does no good for anyone—not for the women, not for the disciples, not for
us. But when the angel spoke, the tomb became a place of victory, a place of
promises fulfilled, a place of joy. Do not be afraid! The angel spoke two
amazing words, “was” and “is.” Yes, he was crucified, but no, he is not here in
the grave. He is very much alive, just as he said. That fact fundamentally
changes our relationship with God forever. You can see in it the words of Jesus
to the women, “Go and tell my brothers.” Jesus had good reason to remind those
men of their desertion. Jesus had good reason to remind them that they were
nothing but servants. Instead, he took this moment to call them “my brothers”
for the very first time. The living Son of God had made full payment for sin so
that he could call us brothers. Mankind is redeemed; death is defeated; fear is
conquered. And Christ looks upon us forgiven sinners and calls us his brothers.
This is the day the Lord has made!
Putting your faith
into action
Because the Lord has led us to
believe in Jesus’ resurrection, we are like the women who just could not
contain themselves. They had to get to the disciples as quickly as possible to
share the good news. It’s also interesting to know the rest of the story
regarding those present that first Easter morning. All of them spent the
remainder of their lives sharing the good news of Jesus’ resurrection. May our
lives reflect the same joy and faith in Jesus’ resurrection.
The Second Article: Redemption
[I believe] in Jesus Christ,
His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin
Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He
descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended
into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence
He will come to judge the living and the dead.
What does this mean? Answer: I believe that Jesus Christ, true
God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the
Virgin Mary, is my Lord. He has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature,
purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the
devil. He did this not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood
and with His innocent suffering and death, so that I may be His own, live under
Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and
blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all
eternity. This is most certainly true.
The Third Article: Sanctification
I believe in… the resurrection
of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
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