KOONUNG HEIGHTS – SURREY HILLS UNITING CHURCH
Service led and prepared by Rev. Randall Prior
Introit – TiS 720 during which The Bible is processed in, the candle is lit.
Halle – Halle – Halle – lujah
Halle – Halle – Halle – lujah
Halle – Halle – Halle – lujah
Halle – lujah Halle-lujah
(3 x)
Call to Worship
…
The Lord is Risen! Allelujah!
Allelujah! He is Risen indeed!
…
This is ‘The Day’ that the Lord has made
We will rejoice and be glad in it
HYMN – TiS 375 Come let us with our Lord, arise!
- Come let us with our Lord arise,
our Lord, who made both earth and skies;
who died to save the world that he made,
and rose triumphant from the dead;
he rose, the prince of life and peace,
and stamped the day for ever his
2. This is the day the Lord has made,
that all may see his love displayed,
may feel his resurrection’s power,
and rise again to fall no more,
in perfect righteousness renewed,
and filed with all the life of God.
3. Then let us render him his own,
with solemn prayer approach the throne,
with meekness hear the gospel word,
with thanks his dying love record;
our joyful hearts and voices raise,
and fill his courts with songs of praise.
Welcome
Acknowledgement of First Peoples
Prayer in Praise of the Easter God
Lord Jesus Christ …
By your resurrection you have conquered the powers of death.
Praise the Lord ‘Allelujah’
By your resurrection, you have won your victory over evil
Praise the Lord ‘Allelujah’
By your resurrection, you have shattered the gates of hell
Praise the Lord ‘Allelujah’
By your resurrection you filled the disciples with joy, turned fear into courage
Praise the Lord ‘Allelujah’
By your resurrection, you declared the good news of your life-winning love – healing, well-being, salvation to the whole world. Praise the Lord ‘Allelujah’
Because of your resurrection, the whole earth shakes and the heavens rejoice, and we are compelled to shout:
Praise the Lord ‘Allelujah
Risen Lord Jesus, in the power of your Holy Spirit, come to us again this day. Declare again your victory, into the midst of our own personal lives, into the lives of all peoples in every place and circumstance. Come to us, you who alone can bring life out of death, you who alone can make all things new.
Praise the Lord ‘Allelujah
WORD for ALL – ‘Sharing the Peace’
HYMN – TiS 370 Christ the Lord is risen today
- Christ the Lord has risen today:
Hallelujah!
Let the whole creation say:
Hallelujah!
Raise your joys and triumphs high:
Hallelujah!
Sing now, heaven, and earth reply:
Hallelujah! - Love’s redeeming work is done;
fought the flight, the battle won;
vain the stone, the watch, the seal:
Christ has burst the gates of hell. - Lives again our glorious king;
where, O death, is now your sting?
Once he died our souls to save;
where your victory, O grave? - Soar we now where Christ has led,
following our exalted Head;
made like him, like him we rise:
ours the cross, the grave, the skies.
READINGS
God, speak your Word to us, that the risen Christ may be present to us.
Psalm 118: 15-25
Revelation 1:4-8
John 20:19-23
God, send your Spirit upon us,
that we may be your Easter people.
SERMON ‘The Peace of God’
‘PEACE’ is
- the uniquely Christian word to announce God’s Easter victory – over us, over the world
- God’s final protest against all forms of captivity
- Not a wish to be hoped, not a battle to be won, but Easter’s gift and accomplishment – to be celebrated / embodied / declared
John 14:27 … My peace I give to you …not as the world gives … let not your hearts be troubled !!
John 16:33 … forecasting his death: I have said this to you that you may have peace. In the world you face persecution, but take courage, I have conquered the world!
HYMN – TiS 390 Allelujah, allelujah
Refrain: Alleluia, alleluia, give thanks to the risen Lord, alleluia, alleluia, give praise to his name.
- Jesus is Lord of all the earth;
he is the king of creation.
Refrain - Spread the good news o’er all the earth:
Jesus has died and has risen.
Refrain - We have been crucified with Christ;
now we shall live for ever.
Refrain - God has proclaimed his gracious gift:
new life for all! Alleluia!
Refrain - Come, let us praise the living God,
joyfully sing to our Saviour.
Refrain
Offering and Prayers
Prayers of the People
In today’s prayer, there will be two moments of silence for your own prayer. In addition, there will be a response, which will be on the screen. When I say
“Inspiring God, may your peace be with us”
Could you please respond
And may we be moved by your Spirit
Resurrection people – let us pray.
God of this new day and all days, we come before you as people who have received your peace, upon whom you have breathed your Spirit.
We pray today that your Spirit will fill us with peace and with compassion and will make us bold to take up your work.
We pray for your church, and especially for our sisters and brothers in the Roman Catholic Church as they mourn the death of their spiritual leader, Pope Francis. We pray that other leaders of such vision and courage and pastoral compassion may rise up in every church and in every faith. May we be inspired by Francis to raise our voices for justice for people on the edges of society, for the climate, and for a church that welcomes all.
We pray, too, for our own Uniting Church throughout this country, and for our own newly created congregation. We pray for our minister, Rev Heather Hon, and for all who gather today under the leadership of Rev Randall Prior.
Inspiring God, may your peace be with us
And may we be moved by your Spirit
We pray for this your world, in all its beauty and all its tragedy. Make us bold to do what we can where we can to bring your peace, your justice, and your hope to people in every corner of the globe who are suffering due to war, dictatorship, climate change and violence in families and communities.
In a few moments of silence, we lift before you those parts of the wider world that most worry us.
Inspiring God, may your peace be with us
And may we be moved by your Spirit
We pray for this nation. As we approach an election next Saturday, we pray that those who would govern will seek solutions that are fair to all. Help us to be part of building an Australia where every person is treated with respect, and where all can get the supports they need in times of trauma, illness, unemployment, childhood and old age.
This community – our friends here, our families, and all whom we love – help to build our nation. May we be strong when others need us, and willing to receive help when we need them.
In a few moments of silence, we lift before you those close to us whose needs are most on our hearts.
Inspiring God, may your peace be with us
And may we be moved by your Spirit
We gather all these things now into the prayer taught by Jesus:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your Name,
your kingdom come, your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread
and forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial, and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours,
now and for ever. Amen.
HYMN – 367 The strife is past, the battle done !
- The strife is past, the battle done;
now is the victor’s triumph won;
now let the song of praise be sung:
Alleluia! - Death’s mightiest powers have done their worst,
and Jesus has his foes dispersed;
let shouts of praise and joy outburst:
Alleluia! - On the third day he rose again
glorious in majesty to reign;
let us take up the great refrain:
Alleluia! - He closed the frowning gates of hell;
the bars from heaven’s high portals fell;
ley hymns of praise his triumph tell:
Alleluia! - Now by your stripes, our wounded King,
your servants free from death’s dread sting,
that we may live in you, and sing
Alleluia!
Blessing and Commission
In the light of the Easter Event, now go forth in joy and in hope. Live your lives as those who are already raised from death into life, in anticipation of the fullness of glory in time to come.
And the blessing of God Almighty, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, be with you all, now and forever.
AMEN.
The candle is extinguished, the Bible is processed out
