prepared by Revd David Jebb – 20th April 2025

Call to Worship

This is Easter morning.

Christ is risen! Alleluia!

Today we proclaim that Christ lives. Today we celebrate that no darkness can extinguish light, that love will always be more powerful than death, and that peace will be stronger than violence.

This is Easter morning.

Christ is risen! Alleluia!

Opening Prayer Holy God, we offer you our praise this Easter morning for the resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord, Friend, and Saviour. By your Holy Spirit fill us with your resurrection power and remind us of the new life that is given to us in Christ, who died and was raised for us so that we might live forever. In Jesus name, Amen.

StF 298 – Christ the Lord is risen today

Prayers of Thanksgiving

Loving God, In these strange and turbulent times, we look to you for our strength and reassurance. We give you thanks that you are always there for us and that on this special day; you remind us that nothing can separate us from your love in Christ Jesus. We thank you that death is not the end and that you gently hold us through grief, pain, separation and sorrow, wrapping your warmth of loving comfort and strength around us.

We thank you that even in uncertain and tough times, you give us blessing, enable us to look for the positive signs of your love. We thank you for Spring, for new shoots and blossom on the trees, for plants pushing through the dark earth to find warmth in the sun and light. We thank you for the stillness and the quiet, as we are all forced to stop and listen. For the breathing space that the Earth can use, to recover and rejuvenate.

We thank you for the sounds of nature, the birds who still sing, the trees that sway in the breeze and the sea that continues to rise and fall with the tide. For the sun that still rises and sets and paints our sky with golds and reds.

 We thank you for the key workers, who selflessly work long hours to provide medical help, food, care for others and for the generosity of spirit of all those who help, support and encourage in different ways and for drawing us closer to each other.

We thank you for children and the fun and laughter they give, echoing on the breeze, or via technology, cards and pictures. For the positive messages and creative wisdom shared on social media, in phone calls and from those who have lived through other turbulent times, who remind us of their fortitude, resilience and commitment as we follow their example.. And on this Easter morning, we especially give thanks for the gift of Love revealed in Jesus and in so many who reflect his example and life. We give thanks for new life, and your Holy Spirit active and touching our lives. We pray that you will help us to see Jesus and the hope and promise you give, moving us from confinement to a place of joy and peace and freedom. And on this Easter Day we give thanks for our Risen Lord and pray your Blessing on us all. Amen

Please read: John 20:1-18 The Empty Tomb

²⁰ Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. ² So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

³ So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. ⁴ Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵ He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. ⁶ Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, ⁷ as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. ⁸ Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. ⁹ (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) ¹⁰ Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

¹¹ Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb ¹² and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

¹³ They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” ¹⁴ At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

¹⁵ He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

¹⁷ Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

¹⁸ Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

Time to Reflect
Happy Easter!

This Sunday marks the most important day in the Christian calendar: the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the new life he offers us. In his rising from the dead, we see the defeat of sin and death, and the promise that we, too, have a place in his eternal kingdom.

Yet, for such a world-changing event, it is striking how quietly John’s Gospel tells the story. There are no earthquakes, no frightened soldiers collapsing, and no dramatic moment of Jesus stepping out of the tomb. In fact, like all four gospels, John offers no description of the resurrection itself. The story begins simply:
“While it was still dark…”
Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb.

She arrives with no particular expectations—certainly not expecting resurrection. But she sees that the stone has been moved and realises something has happened to Jesus’ body. Alarmed, she runs to tell the disciples. Peter and the other disciple (likely John) rush to the tomb and confirm her fears. They do not yet understand that Jesus has risen; they assume his body has been taken.

What follows is a moment of deep grief. Mary remains by the tomb, weeping—heartbroken by yet another painful blow. The one she loved is gone, and now, even his body is missing. It is here, in her tears, that someone appears. She assumes he is the gardener. He gently asks, “Why are you crying?”

Mary weeps, as so many do around the world, because death feels final and irretrievable. She is grieving a profound loss. And yet, it is precisely here—in the garden, while it is still dark, in the depths of sorrow and confusion—that Jesus appears to her, risen.

This is a vital reminder for us all: Easter doesn’t happen in a bright, joyful sanctuary. It happens in a place of pain, loss, and shadows. It happens while it is still dark. And that is when Easter hope is most powerful—when we need it the most.

In the darkness, the light of God shines. In despair, the promise of God is revealed. Fear gives way to joy. Christ is risen.   Mary recognises him, and joy overflows. She cries out, “Rabboni!”—Teacher. We can imagine her reaching out to embrace him, but Jesus gently tells her not to hold on to him. There’s more to be done. She must go and tell the others. The good news must be shared.

And so it is with us. The resurrection is not something to keep to ourselves. It is hope for a grieving world. A message for all who weep and mourn: death is not the end, and God’s love cannot be overcome.

This Easter, many of us may be carrying burdens, griefs, or worries that make it hard to celebrate. But this is precisely why Easter matters. Jesus rose from the dead to bring hope to those in sorrow, light to those in darkness, and life that cannot be taken away.

So we rejoice—Alleluia! Christ is risen!—because nothing, not even death, can separate us from the love of God.    May the risen Christ bring you hope, peace, and joy this Easter and always.

Prayer of Intercession
You are invited to pray silently for:

The needs of the world…
The Church and its calling…
Loved ones going through difficult times…
For peace, justice, and reconciliation…

Resurrection God,
We come before you with open hearts,
bringing our hopes, our desires, our needs, and our concerns.
In trust and in faith, we place them in your hands,
knowing that you hear us, that you see us,
and that in your mercy, you come alongside us.

For your Church –
a people of resurrection,
sometimes frightened, often weary, yet always reaching for hope – breathe into us your Spirit.
May your love sustain and empower us
to live the life we have been so graciously gifted.

For your world –
your creation, your beloved children – nations and communities burdened by fear, fatigue, and injustice,
and yet still holding onto courage and compassion.
Let your love flow like living water,
refreshing the dry and broken places.
Strengthen us all to care for one another and for the earth.

For the vulnerable among us –
those who are sick, those who grieve, those who sit in loneliness –
you know their names, their stories, their silent tears.
Wrap them in your healing presence, O Christ.
Where pain overwhelms, bring peace.
Where despair creeps in, kindle hope.
Where isolation lingers, speak belonging.

And today, I especially lift up those facing terminal illness,
those undergoing difficult treatments,
and those wrestling with the crushing weight of financial hardship—
in our own nation and across the world.
God of resurrection, draw near to them.
Let your light reach into every shadowed corner.

These, O God, are the prayers of my heart—
our longings, our burdens, our silent cries.
And I believe, truly, that you hear them.

Help me, and help each one of us,
to be your hands that heal,
your feet that walk in solidarity,
your voice that speaks peace into chaos,
your heart that loves without end.

This is the life we are gifted.
Help us to live it in the light of the risen Christ. Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven…..

StF 313 – Thine be the glory

A prayer of blessing

May you know life,
rising from the depths of death and despair.

May you know hope,
emerging gently from the heart of pain.

May you know light,
breaking through even the darkest night.

May you know and live love,
deep, unshakable, and true.

May you be held in grace,
and may the risen Christ walk beside you—
today, and always.  Amen.