Bulletin for Easter Sunday

EASTER

P Alleluia! Christ is risen!

C He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

457 JESUS CHRIST IS RISEN TODAY

1 Jesus Christ is ris’n today, Alleluia!
Our triumphant holy day, Alleluia!
Who did once upon the cross, Alleluia!
Suffer to redeem our loss. Alleluia!

2 Hymns of praise then let us sing, Alleluia!
Unto Christ, our heav’nly king, Alleluia!
Who endured the cross and grave, Alleluia!
Sinners to redeem and save. Alleluia!

3 But the pains which He endured, Alleluia!
Our salvation have procured; Alleluia!
Now above the sky He’s king, Alleluia!
Where the angels ever sing. Alleluia!

4 Sing we to our God above, Alleluia!
Praise eternal as His love; Alleluia!
Praise Him, all ye heav’nly host, Alleluia!
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Alleluia!

Text: Public domain

P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C Amen.

P If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

C But if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

P In the mercy of almighty God, Jesus Christ was given to die for us, and for his sake God forgives us all our sins. To those who believe in Jesus Christ he gives the power to become the children of God and bestows on them the Holy Spirit. May the Lord, who has begun this good work in us, bring it to completion in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

C Amen.

INTROIT Psalm 8:1, 5–6, 9; antiphon: Luke 24:5b–6b

He is risen! Alle- | luia!*
Why do you seek the living among the dead? Alle- | luia!
Remember how he told you, Alle- | luia,*
that the Son of Man must be crucified and on the third day rise. Alle- | luia!
O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in | all the earth!*
You have set your glory above the | heavens.
Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly | beings*
and crowned him with glory and | honor.
You have given him dominion over the works | of your hands;*
you have put all things under | his feet.
O | Lord, our Lord,*
how majestic is your name in | all the earth!
Glory be to the Father and | to the Son*
and to the Holy | Spirit;
as it was in the be- | ginning,*
is now, and will be forever. | Amen.
He is risen! Alle- | luia!*
Why do you seek the living among the dead? Alle- | luia!
Remember how he told you, Alle- | luia,*
that the Son of Man must be crucified and on the third day rise. Alle- | luia!

THIS IS THE FEAST LSB 155

C This is the feast of victory for our God.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

Worthy is Christ, the Lamb who was slain, whose blood set us free to be people of God.

This is the feast of victory for our God.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

Power, riches, wisdom, and strength, and honor, blessing, and glory are His.

This is the feast of victory for our God.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

Sing with all the people of God, and join in the hymn of all creation:

Blessing, honor, glory, and might be to God and the Lamb forever. Amen.

This is the feast of victory for our God.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

For the Lamb who was slain has begun His reign. Alleluia.

This is the feast of victory for our God.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

COLLECT OF THE DAY

P Let us pray.

Almighty God the Father, through Your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, You have overcome death and opened the gate of everlasting life to us. Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the day of our Lord’s resurrection, may be raised from the death of sin by Your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C Amen.

OLD TESTAMENT READING Job 19:23–27

²³“Oh that my words were written!
Oh that they were inscribed in a book!
²⁴Oh that with an iron pen and lead
they were engraved in the rock forever!
²⁵For I know that my Redeemer lives,
and at the last he will stand upon the earth.
²⁶And after my skin has been thus destroyed,
yet in my flesh I shall see God,
²⁷whom I shall see for myself,
and my eyes shall behold, and not another.
My heart faints within me!”

A This is the Word of the Lord.

C Thanks be to God.

PSALM Psalm 118:15–29

¹⁵Glad songs of salvation are in the tents of the righteous: “The right hand of the Lord does valiantly, 

¹⁶the right hand of the Lord exalts, the right hand of the Lord does valiantly!”

¹⁷I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the Lord.
¹⁸The Lord has disciplined me severely, but he has not given me over to death.

¹⁹Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the Lord. 

²⁰This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it.
²¹I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation.
²²The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
²³This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.
²⁴This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

²⁵Save us, we pray, O Lord! O Lord, we pray, give us success!

²⁶Blessèd is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We bless you from the house of the Lord.
²⁷The Lord is God, and he has made his light to shine upon us.
Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar!

²⁸You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you.
²⁹Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!

EPISTLE 1 Corinthians 15:51–57

⁵¹Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, ⁵²in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. ⁵³For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. ⁵⁴When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
⁵⁵“O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”

⁵⁶The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

A This is the Word of the Lord.

C Thanks be to God.

ALLELUIA AND VERSE LSB 156

C Alleluia.

Lord, to whom shall we go?

You have the words of eternal life.

Alleluia, alleluia.

HOLY GOSPEL Mark 16:1–8

P The Holy Gospel according to St. Mark, the sixteenth chapter.

C Glory to You, O Lord.

¹When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. ²And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. ³And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” ⁴And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. ⁵And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. ⁶And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. ⁷But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” ⁸And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

P This is the Gospel of the Lord.

C Praise to You, O Christ.

SERMON

Grace, mercy and peace are yours from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,

Mark 16   ¹When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him.

In those days, a mixture of spices was used to mitigate the effects of death. For one thing, the spices would have some preservative effect, slowing down the decay of a dead body. And another thing, well, let me be blunt, death stinks. The aroma of the spices would cover up the smell of death.

Mark, who recorded this scene, doesn’t tell us whatever happened with the spices he mentions here in the first verse of chapter 16, but it’s very clear, that the body of Jesus did not need embalming spices. God kept the promise of Psalm 16, “You will not let your holy one see decay.” Jesus’ body would not long have the effects of death and decomposition. His body wasn’t in the tomb long enough to really start to smell bad. In ancient times, Moses had taught the people of Israel how to make offerings and sacrifices to the Lord. He talked about it in several places in Holy Scripture, of how, when the people of Israel would offer up burnt offerings, sacrifices, and incense, there would be a pleasing aroma reaching to the Lord. Now we have the one sacrifice for all times, Jesus who pleases His Father and placates His wrath against our sin.

When we have to deal with death, it stinks. There are attempts to mitigate the stink and the ugliness and the pain of death, cosmetics and flowers for the body. Some of us also try to cover up the fact that we are daily getting closer to our death. We try to slow the effects of aging and hide the signs of aging. What if there were a long term solution? What if there were help that didn’t just cover up appearances but got to the deeper problem, at the core of it all? The Easter message of our Lord Jesus risen from the dead is for us and this great need we have.

²And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. ³And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” 

These dear ladies are considering an impossible task. That stone was going be way to big for them. They are frantic. “Who can we get to help us? Oh, this is going to take a miracle!” As it turns out, moving that rock out of the way was the smallest miracle to occur that day.

 ⁴And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. ⁵And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed.

Can’t blame them for being alarmed. It’s unsettling when things don’t turn out as expected. They had to anoint Jesus body and there’s no body. When things change, it’s uncomfortable. We take comfort in consistency and predictability. I know that’s especially true for you stubborn Lutherans who are listening to this. But when life spills some unexpectedness on us, we can’t lose everything over it. We have to remain steady and solid, even when everything around us shakes and falls. We find our solid footing in Christ and His word and promises. That’s what Job was talking about when He says, even if my body dies and decays, I’m promised a resurrection of the body and the life everlasting and I will, with my own eyes, see my Redeemer.

 ⁶And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. ⁷But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.”.

“He has risen; he is not here.” God is not the the God of the dead but of the living. We are of God’s Kingdom. We are God’s children. The grave then is not ours, finally, because our Lord is not there. He has risen.

Alleluia! Christ is risen!

This truth enlightens our darkness. It lifts our despair. It enlivens our death. It cures our decay.

⁸And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

Well, that’s where our Gospel reading for today stopped. We know it goes on from there for those first believers. They went from fear to faith. But faith, at this point is still working on them.

It’s helpful to remember the old definition of faith as having three components: Knowledge, Assent and Trust. It seems these women had some knowledge, but were still gaining assent and trust.

But you know the rest of the story. You know that Jesus is risen as He said.So assent to it, which is to say, “Yes, that’s good for me.” And trust it. That means there is no fear, no need to worry. My Redeemer lives.  Amen.

APOSTLES’ CREED

C I believe in God, the Father Almighty,

     maker of heaven and earth.

And 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.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

     the holy Christian Church,

          the communion of saints,

     the forgiveness of sins,

     the resurrection of the body,

     and the life T everlasting. Amen.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH

Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.

All glory to You, dear Father in heaven, for You have fulfilled Your Word and brought Your holy servant Jesus, our Lord and God, through death to resurrection. His resurrection is proof positive that He defeated sin, death and the devil on the cross. Let this news of redemption spread far and wide, that the joy of the Easter Gospel would be received in faith throughout the world. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

All thanksgiving to You, dear Father in heaven, for You have adopted us into Your divine family through the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. Baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection, we have died to sin and risen to new life. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit, that we would live lives of daily repentance and faith, ever clinging to Jesus, our living Redeemer, for forgiveness, life and salvation. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

Dear Father in heaven, You have given our risen Lord all dominion over the works of Your hands. Grant that all who bear earthly authority would exercise their offices with humility, restraint and integrity for the well-being of all and for the preservation of Your Holy Church. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

All praise to You, dear Father in heaven, for You have opened up to us the way to eternal life in the resurrection of Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. We give You thanks for Robert Rogers, John Ross and all those who have gone before us in the faith and now rest from their labors. Keep us in that same faith, and embolden us by Your resurrection to be fearless in the face of disease, chaos, loneliness and every sorrow of this world. Give us, with Job, the solemn expectation to cheer us: our Redeemer lives, and we, too, shall be resurrected and glorified to live with Him in His eternal Kingdom; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our resurrected Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

BENEDICTION LSB 166

P The Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you.

The Lord look upon you with favor and T give you peace.

C Amen.

I KNOW THAT MY REDEEMER LIVES

1.   I know that my Redeemer lives!

What comfort this sweet sentence gives!

He lives, He lives, who once was dead;

He lives, my everliving head!

2.   He lives triumphant from the grave;

He lives eternally to save;

He lives exalted, throned above;

He lives to rule His Church in love.

8.   He lives, all glory to His name!

He lives, my Savior, still the same;

What joy this blest assurance gives:

I know that my Redeemer lives!

EASTER ACCLAMATION

P Alleluia! Christ is risen!

C He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Divine Service, Setting One from Lutheran Service Book

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV^® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version^®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Created by Lutheran Service Builder © 2018 Concordia Publishing House.