Easter Sunday by Rev Gayle Taylor

We have journeyed through Holy week with our friends from “Spill the Easter Story with Fischy” and with Christians across the world. Today we have arrived at the most celebrated day in our faith calendar – Easter Sunday. Welcome to our church service.

Call to Worship

Holy One,

we celebrate the joy of this day,

Christ has risen!

To say aloud : The Light of Christ shines out.

We come to worship.

We exalt with each other:

Christ is risen!

He is risen indeed.

Halleluiah!

With joyful thanksgiving let us sing together and share a blessing from Dunblane Cathedral:

HYMN Jesus Calls us Here to Meet Him (which we sing in a different way from the way it was sung earlier in the week as we remembered the last supper. Then after the blessing, we sing our resurrection anthem Thine be the Glory.

Reading: John 20 v 1 -18 read from your own bible at home.

Dramatised reading:

Reflection:

Prayer of Dedication
Giving God,
creator of all that we have,
and all that we are.
We rejoice in resurrection,
as those who have not seen,
and yet believe.
We dedicate ourselves to you,
to your commission,
to your commandment,
to go forward and spread your love.
Accept our offerings of time, talent and money,
as a sign of our gratitude and our resolve,
to walk every day in the light of Christ.
Amen.

Today’s things to make and do:

The song “Tiny Seed” that we will learn shortly reminds us of how things grow from very small beginnings and that growth is happening even in the dark times.

Spring flowers – have a look online for pictures of spring flowers – see how many colours and shapes they have – create a picture of your favourite spring flowers using crayons and pens or coloured paper or tissue paper if you have it. Let’s give thanks and celebrate the new life that is blooming all around in gardens and parks.

The Stone has rolled

Talk about the story and the women arriving in the garden to discover the stone had been rolled away and Jesus was not there in the tomb. Discuss how the women might have been feeling at this time. Talk about how their feelings changed when they discovered Jesus had risen and explore with the children how they feel on Easter Day knowing the good news that Jesus is alive.

Boil an egg, let it cool down in cold water, dry it, then paint or colour your egg with felt pens and get ready to roll it! Hollow chocolate eggs can be rolled too and if they break they remind us of the stone that rolled away when Jesus broke free from the tomb to bring new life to the world.

Reflection – The First Preachers
Fear and death flow about their feet
as the first preachers plod
towards the finality of stone and grave.
The angels speak their peace and hope rises.
A gardener, who is not a gardener, speaks a name,
and their re-cognition turns fear into hope;
finality into resurrection.
Before the sun is up, the tomb is empty,
and they flee with terror and joy.
Then heavy of breath and alight with love
their first fear fuelled sermon begins:
Christ is risen.
Easter joy begins in the grip of chaos and fear-
Behind locked doors with a future uncertain, a timescale unknown.
Yet it is hope that rises in the darkness before the dawn.
The first sermons whisper on the wind:
He is risen indeed!

HYMN – Jesus Christ is Risen Today

Sending

The stone is rolled away!

Death is overcome!

Jesus is alive, and all is well!

Halleluiah, halleluiah, Christ is risen! Amen.