Koonung Heights Uniting Church
Service of Worship at Home
Easter Day – 5 April, 2026 – 10am or whenever possible
You may like to light a candle during your time of worship.
Feel free to text the Peace to other members of the congregation.
During the service we will share Communion so you might like to have the elements ready.
Introit: Easter Song – (TiS 389)
Hear the bells ringing, they’re singing that we can be born again.
Hear the bells ringing, they’re singing, ‘Christ is risen from the dead.’
The angel upon the tomb stone said, ‘He is risen, just as he said.
Quickly now, go tell his disciples that Jesus Christ is no longer dead!’
Joy to the world, he is risen, alleluia, he’s risen, alleluia,
he’s risen, alleluia!, alleluia!, alleluia!
Candle Lighting:
Today is a day of celebration
for new life is released.
Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed!
Death has not won.
The grave has lost its sting.
Christ is risen.
Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Acknowledgement of Country:
As we joyfully gather today,
we acknowledge that this is God’s land
and God’s Spirit dwells here.
I acknowledge the Wurundjeri WoiWurrung
People of the Kulin nations,
traditional custodians of this land under God.
I pay my respects to elders past and present,
and to all people who have guided us.
Call to Worship:
On Friday, we thought the good news had been silenced.
On Friday, we thought the good news had taken its last breath.
On Friday, we thought the good news had been buried.
But today, we know the good news is alive and well.
The good news is dancing!
The good news is on the loose!
The good news is out in the world, calling your name!
Alleluia! Even death has lost its sting.
Let us worship our Good-News Christ.
Opening Prayer:
God of the cross and the empty tomb,
you sent Jesus to show us the way to life, and we praise you,
knowing the heavy and deep cost you paid for coming among us in Jesus.
In the place where his body lay we sense
unparalleled mystery and unending possibility,
guarded by angels, unbounded by death, released into life eternal.
In the freshness of the morning,
when we expect death,
you meet us and call our name.
Coming to you with hearts full of grief
you send us on our way with nothing but an outrageous message of hope.
May we have the courage to share this hope,
which transcends all of our expectations.
In the name of the risen Jesus we pray,
Amen.
We Sing: At the dawning of salvation” – (TiS 392)
At the dawning of salvation;
in the morning of the world,
Christ is raised, a living banner
by the love of God unfurled.
Through the daylight, through the darkness,
Christ leads on his great array:
all the saints and all the sinners
he has gathered on his way.
He is risen in the morning,
he is risen from the dead;
he is laughter after sadness,
he is light when night has fled.
He has suffered, he has triumphed,
life is his alone to give:
as he gave it once he gives it
evermore, that we may live.
For the glory of salvation
in the dawn of Easter day
we will praise you, loving God,
and we rejoice to sing and pray
with the Son and with the Spirit.
Lead us on, your great array,
saints and sinners celebrating
your triumphant love today.
Call to Prayer:
Friends, on Easter Sunday
we remember that the world did its worst to God.
The world battered and bruised,
betrayed and abandoned,
crucified and buried our living God.
And despite it all, Jesus still chose to return.
Jesus rose again and immediately went to work
spreading God’s love to the very people who had hurt him.
So hear me when I say, there is nothing you can do that could keep God’s love at bay.
With that good news in mind, let us go to God in prayer,
trusting that Jesus Christ loves, claims, and seeks us.
Let us pray …
Prayer of Confession:
Gracious God,
we want to be Easter people.
We want to shout your good news from the rooftop.
We want to follow the disciples, who ran to look for you.
We want to follow the angels, who said, “Be not afraid,”
but we are afraid.
We don’t know where to look,
and we worry that we’ll say the wrong thing.
So forgive us, for we are imperfect Easter people.
We are best intentions and best laid plans.
We are an out-of-tune chorus of alleluias.
We are on our way, but we are not there yet.
Show us how to embody your good news in this world.
Show us how to be your Easter people.
With hope for tomorrow, we pray,
Amen.
Words of Assurance:
Family of faith,
even when we are an out-of-tune chorus of alleluias, we belong to God.
Jesus died and rose for you. And there is nothing that could keep God’s love at bay.
So join me in sharing this good news declaration:
Through Jesus Christ we are seen, saved, loved, and claimed.
This is the good news of the gospel! Thanks be to God.
A Time for All:
I wonder if anyone got a surprise this morning? Maybe you found something special on the table when you got up, or maybe you discovered something hiding in your garden? Maybe you found something where you went to sit when you arrived at church? Hopefully it was a good surprise. (If by any chance you missed out, I’m sure there will be a surprise for you before you head home.)
Today is a day that is full of surprises. When the women got up that morning, I doubt they had any idea of what they were going to find out. When they went to see Jesus’ tomb, they were surprised to see an angel. They were also surprised to find that Jesus’ body was not in the tomb and to hear that he had been raised to life. They were so excited to share this good news that they ran to tell the disciples. It is then that the best surprise comes – Jesus meets the women and says hello to them.
These women must have wondered how all this could have happened, how Jesus could have been raised back to life. But mostly they were excited to see him, and to hear his voice. Jesus told them to go and tell his disciples that he was alive and that they would see him in Galilee.
I wonder how Jesus might surprise us today and tomorrow? If we open our eyes and ears maybe we might be surprised by Jesus in the places that we least expect.
We Sing: Morning has broken – (TiS 156)
Morning has broken like the first morning;
blackbird has spoken like the first bird.
Praise for the singing, praise for the morning,
praise for them, springing fresh from the word.
Sweet the rain’s new fall sunlit from heaven,
like the first dewfall on the first grass.
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden,
sprung from completeness where his feet pass.
Mine is the sunlight; mine is the morning
born of the one light Eden saw play.
Praise with elation, praise every morning,
God’s recreation of the new day.
Bible Reading: Matthew 28:1-10
– The Resurrection of Jesus
1 After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2And suddenly there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.
3 His appearance was like lightning and his clothing white as snow. 4 For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.
7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.” 8 So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to tell his disciples.
9 Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshipped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers and sisters to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”
Reflection:
Today, we come to the last week in our Lenten series, Tell me something good, and I wonder what good news might come to mind for you. We have seen, among other things, that the good news is that we are all invited, the good news is great love for God and neighbour, and that the good news is embedded is justice, faith and mercy. Today we are invited to remind ourselves that the good news is alive in the world. Most Easter services begin with the statement Christ is risen, in fact we opened our service with these words today. In speaking them each year, neither are these words new, nor the story they tell, but we all need to be reminded again that the story of Easter resurrection is good news. We need to be reminded, not because the story has changed, but because we have changed.
What are you carrying as you come to this Easter? I wonder if some of us are carrying more than we expected? Our Moderator, Rev Salesi Faupula, reflects on this … Summer fires have left deep impact across our Victorian rural communities, and recovery will take time. Our public life has felt strained: immigration protests, hate speech, and language that turns people into categories rather than neighbours. And there is a growing concern: when Christianity is blended with nationalism, faith can become a badge of belonging rather than a life shaped by Jesus.’ This is why we need to be reminded of the resurrection – to know that no matter what is going on, God who has created us and loved us, has overcome even death.
Today we have heard Matthew’s account of the resurrection. Perhaps more than the other Gospels, Matthew emphasises the seismic shift occurring: the earth quakes, the angel descends from heaven and rolls back the stone in dazzling grandeur, the Roman guards fall to the ground as if dead. For Matthew, the resurrection is not quiet or ambiguous. It is loud, astonishing, perhaps even a little fearful.
Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb, though no reason is given. The earthquake takes place, and the angel rolls back the stone. As a story, the stage is now set for a marvellous event. We might expect Jesus to rise and come out of the tomb, but that doesn’t happen, because the resurrection has taken place already, while the tomb was sealed.
While the tomb is empty, in this gospel we don’t actually have a ‘resurrection account’ in the strict sense, but a ‘post-resurrection account’. The transformation of Jesus’ body has already taken place – an act of God which happens apart from human view.
The angel commissions the women to tell the disciples of Jesus’ resurrection, and as they are on their way to do just that, they meet Jesus who they recognise and worship. They are the first witnesses to the resurrection. ‘Do not be afraid’ says Jesus, recalling the words of the angel, before he commissions the women to inform the disciples that they will see him in Galilee.
I have been thinking about Jesus’ words. ‘Do not be afraid’, he says, just as the angel has and God has said many times in the Bible. Maybe this is because they have just met an angel and felt an earthquake, or maybe it’s because they might now be in awe of God and all that God can do. The text says they were fleeing the tomb with excitement and fear, so maybe after what they’ve witnessed they know more fully who this Jesus really is … Emmanuel, God with us. The one whose feet they have washed and dinners they have cooked, this friend they have teased is really God. Perhaps, they are also afraid because the people who scorned Jesus and told him to save himself are still here too. The soldiers who mocked him with vinegar, and those who taunted him on the cross. Even Pontius Pilate, the man who sentenced Jesus to death, is still in power.
Despite their fear, Jesus engages the women and his disciples in his mission. He invites them to participate in what he has begun. He forgives the disciples for their mistakes, and restores them as his emissaries, trusting them to represent him. So it is with us. We can easily get things wrong, but despite that, Jesus continues to call us to follow him into the world and to represent him.
Where do you see the good news of the resurrection coming to life in the world today? What is coming alive in you, and in this community? What do you see that’s creating and moving and dancing in the world? For the women at the tomb, the good news is not just that the tomb is empty, but that the risen Christ is still undeniably present with them. The Risen Christ is also present with us and will continue to be seen and known.
This is the good news that is alive in the world. Even death cannot stop it. It is alive, unbound and wild in the world. Like the mustard seed, it grows without limit. Like water turned into wine, it surprises us with joy. Like loaves of bread, it expands to feed each hungry soul. And now, even in the face of death, it will not be buried or silenced. As we celebrate the good news of Easter, let us also go out seeking Christ in the faces of neighbours and strangers, and in the good works that are alive in this world.
Amen.
We Sing: Yours be the glory – (TiS 380)
Yours be the glory, risen, conquering Son,
endless is the victory over death you’ve won;
angels in bright raiment rolled the stone away,
kept the folded graveclothes, where your body lay.
Yours be the glory, risen, conquering Son,
endless is the victory over death you’ve won.
See, Jesus meets us, risen from the tomb;
lovingly he greets us, scatters fear and gloom;
let the church with gladness hymns of triumph sing,
for the Lord is living, death has lost its sting.
Yours be the glory …
No more we doubt you, glorious Prince of life;
life is naught without you: aid us in our strife;
make us more than conquerors through your deathless love;
bring us safe through Jordon to your home above.
Yours be the glory …
Prayer for Others:
Risen Christ,
good-news God, and ever-present Spirit,
today is a day we’ve been waiting for.
We’ve been waiting
for the holy mystery of this morning.
We’ve been waiting
for the good news of an empty grave.
We’ve been waiting for the sound of alleluias.
Today is a day we’ve been waiting for, and now that we’re here, all we can say is thank you.
Thank you for showing the world what could be. Thank you for loving us with abandon.
Thank you for facing death and returning with mercy. Thank you for the empty tomb.
Thank you for morning birdsong. And thank you for meeting us here, as you always do.
Today we celebrate the good news that you are alive in the world.
The grave couldn’t hold you. Death couldn’t keep you. The empire couldn’t confine you.
Instead, you are here and everywhere.
You are risen. You are on the move in the world.
Your love meets us and calls us out into the world, and that is good, good news.
So on this Easter Sunday, this holiest of days, we ask for your help noticing you in our midst.
When our feet walk beside wildflowers, may we think of you.
When the stars light up the sky, may we see you.
When we break bread with our neighbours, may we feel you.
When a stranger acts with kindness and love, may we recognize you.
We know that you are out in the world, God, and we don’t want to miss a minute of it.
And while we pray these prayers with gratitude and joy,
we also pray for those who still find themselves at the foot of the cross.
We pray for those stuck in the pain of Good Friday.
We pray for …
those who find themselves trapped in war-torn areas.
our country as she continues to hurt over violence and political differences.
those in our pews who are saddled with grief.
our earth as creation continues to cry out.
Holy One, so many days feel like Good Friday,
but the promise of Easter is that Good Friday does not have the last word.
So may we live like that is true.
May we speak this hope to our neighbours.
May we look for you in our midst.
May we live like Easter people.
Amen.
Communion:
The Peace:
The peace of the Risen Christ be with you
and also with you.
Invitation to the table:
On Easter morning, the women went looking for Jesus.
The angel said he was not in the tomb, so they ran, afraid yet filled with joy.
They sought after him.
They hurried to Galilee, looking for their risen Christ.
And in their seeking, the text tells us: ‘Suddenly, Jesus met them’.
Jesus met the women in their seeking.
Jesus met them in their moment of fear and grief.
Jesus met them when they felt lost.
Jesus met them and provided hope.
Friends, if like the women you are seeking Christ, if you have known grief or fear,
if you have ever felt lost, or if you are in need of some hope, then come to this Table.
All are welcome here.
For just as Jesus met the women in their seeking,
I am confident that Jesus meets us here, saying, “Do not be afraid.”
Prayer of Thanksgiving:
Resurrecting God, Mary went to the tomb looking for you.
Two thousand years later, we follow in her footsteps.
We seek after you,
hungry for a moment when we might encounter you.
So before the hallelujahs begin,
we remember where we’ve been.
With gratitude, we recall Maundy Thursday.
We are grateful for the tables we gather around,
for the friends that feel like family,
and for this church—which acts as our band of disciples.
We hold onto the reminder of you washing the disciples’ feet that night,
and trust that the same love extends to us.
With sorrow, we recall Good Friday.
We grieve the depths of cruelty woven into that day –
a cruelty so many in this hurting world know.
So, for those who are still caught in grief and loss,
for those whose days have turned to night,
relieve them of their suffering.
Find them in the crowd and wipe their tears.
Hold their grief for them and point them toward peace.
Now, with hope we enter into this Easter morning,
finding ourselves face-to-face with the Good News that Jesus is alive.
Thank you for giving us reason to hope.
Thank you for the sunrise after a long night,
for the healing of bones and hearts,
for laughter that is contagious,
and for the joy felt in community.
May every gratitude and joy in our life come back to you.
Now as we come to the Table,
we ask that in every stage of our seeking, you would be near to us.
Pour out your Spirit on this bread and cup that we might see you as clearly as Mary did.
And may this meal nourish us to build your kingdom here.
Until that promised day, we pray together …
Most compassionate Life-giver, may we honour and praise you:
may we work with you to establish your new order of justice, peace and love.
Give us what we need for growth,
and help us through forgiving others, to accept forgiveness.
Strengthen us in a time of testing, that we may resist all evil.
For the tenderness, strength and love are yours, now and forever.
Amen.
Distribution:
So in recollection of the meal that Jesus shared with his disciples
we affirm that the bread we take is a sharing in the body of Christ,
a body broken for justice.
Also the wine we take is a sharing in the blood of Christ, shed for liberation.
These are the gifts of God for the people of God.
The bread of life – the cup of hope.
May this meal nourish and refresh you, strengthen and renew you,
and may it remind you that you are loved. Amen.
(eat and drink)
Prayer:
Loving Christ,
thank you for the bread that nourishes our bodies.
Thank you for the cup that quenches our thirst.
Thank you for this community, which reminds us who we are.
Thank you for this Table that brings us together.
Thank you for the music that lifts our spirits.
Thank you for the promise that at this Table, and every table, you will be there.
May this holy meal nourish us to go out into the world speaking of your good, good news.
With joy and hope we pray,
Amen.
We Sing: This day God gives me – (TiS 642)
This day God gives me
strength of high heaven,
sun and moon shining, flame in my hearth
flashing of lightning, wind in its swiftness,
deeps of the ocean, firmness of earth.
This day God sends me
strength to sustain me,
might to uphold me, wisdom as guide.
Your eyes are watchful, your ears are listening,
your lips are speaking, friend at my side.
God’s way is my way, God’s shield is round me,
God’s host defends me, saving from ill.
Angels of heaven drive from me always
all that would harm me, stand by me still.
Rising, I thank you, mighty and strong One,
king of creation, giver of rest,
firmly confessing threeness of persons,
oneness of Godhead, trinity blest.
Blessing and Sending:
As you leave this place,
when you meet anger, speak with love.
When you meet fear, speak with hope.
When you meet pain, speak with gentleness.
But no matter what, speak this good news.
For the good news of the gospel is love and justice for all.
It is joy that surprises, and nonviolence that transforms.
The good news of the gospel is alive in the world,
so go forth speaking.
For if you won’t, then who will?
Thanks be to God
for the good, good news of resurrection Sunday.
And the blessing of God the Father,
God the Son and God the Spirit,
the One God who is Mother to us all,
go with you today and always.
Amen.
Thanks to all those who have assisted in preparation for this liturgy with encouragement, prayers and conversation. I have also utilised the following resources: Working Preacher, Interrupting the Silence, Fig Tree Worship and Sanctified Art (Tell me something good).
Alternate Lord’s Prayer written by W Wallace.