Here are the worship readings and hymns for this Easter Sunday, April 17^th.  I am also including a prayer for our call committee.  Please keep their important tasks in prayer.  We hope you can join us for worship Sunday at 8:00am and 11:00am.  HE IS RISEN!  HE IS RISEN INDEED!

The Resurrection of our Lord

Easter Day

Sunday, April 17, 2022

Call to Worship:  #352 “I Know that My Redeemer Lives!” vs. 1,2

Entrance Hymn:  #151 “Jesus Christ Is Risen Today”

Prayer of the day:  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.  Amen.

First Reading:

Isaiah 65:17-25                                                                                             

New Heavens and a New Earth

¹⁷ “For behold, I create new heavens
    and a new earth,
and the former things shall not be remembered
    or come into mind.
¹⁸ But be glad and rejoice forever
    in that which I create;
for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy,
    and her people to be a gladness.
¹⁹ I will rejoice in Jerusalem
    and be glad in my people;
no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping
    and the cry of distress.
²⁰ No more shall there be in it
    an infant who lives but a few days,
    or an old man who does not fill out his days,
for the young man shall die a hundred years old,
    and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.
²¹ They shall build houses and inhabit them;
    they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
²² They shall not build and another inhabit;
    they shall not plant and another eat;
for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,
    and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
²³ They shall not labor in vain
    or bear children for calamity,
for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the Lord,
    and their descendants with them.
²⁴ Before they call I will answer;
    while they are yet speaking I will hear.
²⁵ The wolf and the lamb shall graze together;
    the lion shall eat straw like the ox,
    and dust shall be the serpent’s food.
They shall not hurt or destroy
    in all my holy mountain,”
says the Lord.

Exodus 15:2, 6, 13, 17-18; antiphon: Exodus 15:1

L:  I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;

C:  the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.

L:  The Lord is my strength and my song,

C:  and he has become salvation.

L:  Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power,

C:  your right hand, O lord, shatters the enemy.

L:  You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed;

C:  you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode.

L:  You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain,

C:  the place, O Lord, which you have made for your abode,

L:  the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established.

C:  The Lord will reign forever and ever.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever.  Amen

L:  I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;

C:  the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.

Epistle:

1 Corinthians 15:19-26                                                

¹⁹ If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

²⁰ But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. ²¹ For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. ²² For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. ²³ But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. ²⁴ Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. ²⁵ For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. ²⁶ The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

Choir Anthem (11:00am service)

Gospel:

Luke 24: 1-12                                                                  

The Resurrection

24 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. ² And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³ but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴ While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. ⁵ And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? ⁶ He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, ⁷ that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” ⁸ And they remembered his words, ⁹ and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. ¹⁰ Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, ¹¹ but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. ¹² But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.

Pre-Sermon Hymn:  #131 “Christ Is Risen Alleluia”

Post-Sermon Hymn:  “Up From the Grave He Arose”

Verse 1:

Low in the grave He lay, Jesus my Savior,

Waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord!

Refrain:

Up from the grave He arose;

With a mighty triumph o’er His foes;

He arose a victor from the dark domain,

And He lives forever, with His saints to reign.

He arose!  He arose!  Hallelujah!  Christ arose!

Verse 2:

Vainly they watch His bed, Jesus my Savior,

Vainly they seal the dead, Jesus my Lord!

(Refrain)

Verse 3:

Death cannot keep its prey, Jesus my Savior,

He tore the bars away, Jesus my Lord!

(Refrain)

Public Domain; source Hymnary.org

Prayer Hymn:  #352 “I Know that My Redeemer Lives!” vs. 1,2

Closing Hymn:  #145 “Thine Is the Glory”

A prayer for the members of the Call committee

Let us pray for the welfare of all our call committee members. We pray that they may be comforted by the self-examination of Bethany Lutheran Church. Remind them that as a committee we are representing the church body, not the individual. Lord see their role as members of the call committee as a blessing from God. The congregation is awaiting the important summary of our work and praying we find a new leader soon so we can again feel as a complete family. As a family we support and pray for all our members. Through service, we give of ourselves to help lead our congregation forward. Thank you God for this wonderful experience.

Jennifer Friedel