HE IS RISEN!

Sunday April 20th, 2025 | Easter Sunday
This day of days, this feast of feasts, is the climax of our Lenten meditations on “The Hand of the Lord.” It brings all of God’s promises in the Old Testament, all of our Lord’s words and works of His earthly ministry, all the peace, all the healing, and all the hope of eternal life now given to you and to each person who comes to the risen and reigning Lord of all in repentance and faith, here where He promises to be through Word and Sacrament for us. We thank the Lord for all His grace and mercy shown to us as we wend…
PINNACLE LUTHERAN CHURCH | The Hand of the Lord Who Is Risen

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OPENING HYMN #457 – Jesus Christ has Risen Today
HYMN OF THE DAY: #469 – Christ the Lord Is Risen Today
CLOSING HYMN: #463 – Christ the Lord Is Risen Today; Alleluia

PINNACLE LUTHERAN CHURCH

Sunday, April 20, 2025 – 10AM

EASTER SUNDAY

The Resurrection of Our Lord – The Hand of the Lord Who Is Risen

+AS WE GATHER+

This day of days, this feast of feasts, is the climax of our Lenten meditations on “The Hand of the Lord.” It brings all of God’s promises in the Old Testament, all of our Lord’s words and works of His earthly ministry, all the peace, all the healing, and all the hope of eternal life now given to you and to each person who comes to the risen and reigning Lord of all in repentance and faith, here where He promises to be through Word and Sacrament for us. We thank the Lord for all His grace and mercy shown to us as we wend our way through the various days and times of our earthly lives. Yet all of that is but a prelude to the great and promised feast of the day of “the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come” (Nicene Creed). As God the Father did not abandon His Son to the corruption of the grave but raised Him bodily to endless life, so also is our certain hope. God will not abandon you now or ever.

PRELUDE MUSIC

WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

Stand

EASTER PROCLAMATION                 Psalm 118:24; Romans 6:9

P  This is the day that the Lord has made;

C  let us rejoice and be glad in it.

P  Alleluia! Christ is risen!

C  He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

P  We know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again;

C  death no longer has dominion over Him.

BLESSING OF THE PASCHAL CANDLE

P  Christ Jesus, the same yesterday, today, and forever, the beginning and the ending, the Alpha and the Omega. His are time and eternity; His are the glory and dominion, now and forever. By His wounds we have healing both now and forever. Amen.

The paschal candle is lit.

P      May the light of Christ, who is risen in glory from the dead, scatter all the darkness of our hearts and minds.

OPENING HYMN #457 – Jesus Christ has Risen Today

INVOCATION

P      In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C     Amen.

CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION           1 John 1:2, 5–9

P     The word of life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us. . . . This is the message we have heard from Him and proclaim to you,

C     that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.

P     If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness,

C     we lie and do not practice the truth.

P     But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another,

C     and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

P     If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

C     If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

P     Let us then, in full faith and confidence, confess our sins to God our Father.

C     Most merciful God, even in the light and joy of the resurrection of Your Son, our Lord Jesus, we confess to You that we remain sinful and unclean while in this world. It is against You we have sinned in thought, word, and deed. We have sinned against You even as we have failed to do good for others. In short, we have not loved You with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We justly deserve Your punishment both now and even forever.

For the sake of Your Son, our crucified, risen, and ascended Lord Jesus, and by His intercession for us at Your right hand, have mercy on us. Forgive us and breathe into us once again Your renewing breath of life so that we may live according to Your will to the glory of Your holy name.

P     At His ascension into heaven, our Lord Jesus lifted up His hands and blessed His disciples. So now, upon this your confession, receive the blessing of our Lord. I, by virtue of my office as a called and commissioned servant of Christ, and by His authority, announce the grace of God to all of you, and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C     Amen.

+ Service of the Word +

INTROIT      Exodus 15:2a, 6, 13, 17–18; antiphon: v. 1b
                   (spoken responsively as marked)
I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
               the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.
The Lord is my strength and my song,
               and he has become my salvation.
Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power,
               your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.
You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed; you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode.
You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain, the place, O Lord, which you have made for your abode,
the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established.
               The Lord will reign forever and ever.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
               and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning,
               is now, and will be forever. Amen.
I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
               the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.

Kyrie           LSB 152

P     In peace let us pray to the Lord. 

 P     For the peace from above and for our salvation let us pray to the Lord.

 P For the peace of the whole world, for the well-being of the Church of God, and for the unity of all let us pray to the Lord.

P     For this holy house and for all who offer here their worship and praise let us pray to the Lord.

P     Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord.

HYMN OF PRAISE: This is the Feast, p. 155

SALUTATION and PRAYER OF THE DAY

P      The Lord be with you.

P  Let us pray.

Almighty God, we praise You as we remember all the works of Your hands, thanking You for our creation; for blessing us, from our mothers’ arms, on our way; and especially for our new birth to everlasting life by water and the Spirit into the endless life of Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Keep us firm in the faith of our salvation, for into Your hands we commend ourselves, our bodies and souls, and all things; for the sake of Him who died and is risen again for us, the same Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

CHILDREN’S MESSAGE

OLD TESTAMENT READING          Isaiah 65:17-25

¹⁷“Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth,
and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.
¹⁸But 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.
¹⁹I 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.
²⁰No 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, or the young man shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.
²¹They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
²²They 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.
²³They 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.
²⁴Before they call I will answer;

while they are yet speaking I will hear.
²⁵The 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.

L   This is the Word of the Lord.

C     Thanks be to God.

GRADUAL     adapt. from Matthew 28:7; Hebrews 2:7; Psalm 8:6
                                    (spoken together)
Christ has risen from the dead.
            [God the Father] has crowned him with glory and honor.
He has given him dominion over the works of his hands;
            he has put all things under his feet.

EPISTLE         1 Corinthians 15:19-26

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

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

L      This is the Word of the Lord.

C     Thanks be to God.

ALLELUIA, p. 156

 

HOLY GOSPEL                  Luke 24:1–12

P      The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke, the twenty-fourth chapter.

        ¹On the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. ²And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. ⁵And 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? ⁶He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, ⁷that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” ⁸And they remembered his words, ⁹and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. ¹⁰Now 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, ¹¹but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. ¹²But 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.

P      This is the Gospel of the Lord.

HYMN OF THE DAY: #469 – Christ the Lord Is Risen Today

SERMON: “The Hand of the Lord Who Is Risen!” – Luke 24:1-12

NICENE CREED

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty,
      maker of heaven and earth
            and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
      the only-begotten Son of God,
      begotten of His Father before all worlds,
      God of God, Light of Light,
      very God of very God,
      begotten, not made,
      being of one substance with the Father,
      by whom all things were made;
      who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven

            and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary
      and was made man;
      and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate.
      He suffered and was buried.
      And the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures
            and ascended into heaven
      and sits at the right hand of the Father.
      And He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead, whose kingdom will have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Spirit,
      the Lord and giver of life,
      who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
      who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified,
      who spoke by the prophets.
      And I believe in one holy Christian and apostolic Church,
      I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins,
      and I look for the resurrection of the dead
      and the life + of the world to come. Amen.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH

After each petition:                        At conclusion:

P  … Lord, in Your mercy:           P  … one God, both now and forevermore.

C  hear our prayer.                    C  Amen.

OFFERING

OFFERTORY –LSB 159

PREFACE       p. 160

P     The Lord be with you.

P     Lift up your hearts.                                                       

P     Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

PROPER PREFACE

P       It is truly good, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God. And most especially are we bond to praise You this day for the glorious resurrection of Your Son, Jesus Christ, the very Paschal Lamb, who was sacrificed for us and bore the sins of the world. By His dying He has destroyed death, and by His rising again He has restored to us everlasting life.  Therefore with Mary Magdalene, Peter and John and with all the witnesses of the resurrection, with angels and archangels, and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and saying:

SANCTUS, p. 161

PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING

P     Blessed are You, Lord of heaven and earth, for You have had mercy on those whom You created and sent Your only-begotten Son into our flesh to bear our sin and be our Savior. With repentant joy we receive the salvation accomplished for us by the all-availing sacrifice of His body and His blood on the cross.

Gathered in the name and the remembrance of Jesus, we beg You, O Lord, to forgive, renew, and strengthen us with Your Word and Spirit. Grant us faithfully to eat His body and drink His blood as He bids us do in His own testament. Gather us together, we pray, from the ends of the earth to celebrate with all the faithful the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom, which has no end. Graciously receive our prayers; deliver and preserve us. To You alone, O Father, be all glory, honor, and worship, with the Son and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C     Amen.

LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name,

      Thy kingdom come,

      Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven;

      give us this day our daily bread;

      and forgive us our trespasses

      as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory

      forever and ever. Amen.

THE WORDS OF OUR LORD        

P      Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said: “Take, eat; this is My + body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me.”

In the same way also He took the cup after supper, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying: “Drink of it, all of you; this cup is the New Testament in My + blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

Pax Domini  LSB 163

P     The peace of the Lord be with you always.

AGNUS DEI, p. 163

DISTRIBUTION

POST-COMMUNION CANTICLE: Thank the Lord          LSB 164

Post-Communion Collect

P      Let us pray.

       Gracious God, from Your Son’s loving, nail-pierced, and now glorious hands, You have fed us with His own risen body and precious blood, giving us the forgiveness He won for us on the cross as well as a foretaste of the feast to come in the day of the resurrection of all flesh and of our final redemption. We thank You now with hearts and hands and voices, and we pray that You would take us by the hand to lead us faithfully until that day when we celebrate with all the faithful the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom, which has no end; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C     Amen.

Benediction – LSB 166

P      The Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you.

The Lord look upon you with favor and + give you peace.

CLOSING HYMN: #463 – Christ the Lord Is Risen Today; Alleluia

DISMISSAL

P       He is Risen!

C       He is Risen, indeed! Alleluia!

P       Let us go forth in peace

C       In the name of our Risen Lord.

POSTLUDE MUSIC

Creative Worship for the Lutheran Parish, Series C, Quarter 3. Copyright © 2022 Concordia Publishing House. All rights reserved. Used by permission.