Holy Communion – Live Streamed – Easter Day, 5 April 2026
Presiding Minister: Revd George Mwaura
Gathering Music
Call to Worship
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Peter proclaimed: ‘I truly understand that God shows no partiality.’
God’s love and salvation are for all people.
Through Jesus Christ, who went about doing good,
who was crucified and raised on the third day.
Come and see! The stone has been rolled away. The tomb is empty.
We come with awe and joy to worship the risen Lord.
Do not be afraid. Go and tell the good news.
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
Greetings and Welcome
Hymn: Jesus Christ is risen today
Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia,
our triumphant holy day, Alleluia,
who did once, upon the cross, Alleluia,
suffer to redeem our loss. Alleluia.
Hymns of praise the let us sing, Alleluia,
unto Christ, our heavenly king, Alleluia,
who endured the cross and grave, Alleluia,
sinners to redeem and save. Alleluia.
But the pains that he endured Alleluia,
our salvation have procured; Alleluia,
now above the sky he’s King, Alleluia,
where the angels ever sing Alleluia.
Lyra Davidica (1708) and others
CCL31580
Prayers of Thanksgiving and Confession
Risen Lord Jesus Christ, on this joyful morning we gather with the women at the tomb,
astonished by the power of your resurrection.
We thank you for the victory of life over death,
for the promise that your love reaches every nation and every heart,
for the forgiveness won through your cross and the new life given through your rising.
Yet we confess that we do not always live as Easter people.
We cling to fear instead of hope, to doubt instead of faith, to silence instead of witness.
Forgive us when we forget the good news. Renew our hearts with resurrection joy.
Lift us from the shadows of sin and despair into the light of your risen life.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
[Silence]Absolution
Hear the good news: The one who was crucified has been raised by God.
All who trust in him receive forgiveness of sins through his name. In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.
Thanks be to God! Alleluia!
Gloria
Prayer of the Week
Risen and victorious God, who on the first day of the week
raised your Son Jesus Christ from the dead and opened for us the gate of everlasting life:
grant that we who celebrate his resurrection with joy
may be raised from the death of sin to the new life of righteousness.
Strengthen us by your Spirit to live as witnesses of the risen Lord, that through our words and our lives
the good news of forgiveness and new life may be made known to all people.
Amen
Bible Readings
Acts 10: 34a & 37–43
Read by Mayowa Olubayo
34 Then Peter began to speak: […] 37+You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached – 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
39 ‘We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, 40 but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. 41 He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen – by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.’
NIV®
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Hymn: The day of resurrection!
The day of resurrection!
Earth, tell it out abroad;
the Passover of gladness,
the Passover of God;
from death to life eternal,
from earth unto the sky,
our God has brought us over
with hymns of victory.
Our hearts be pure from evil,
that we may see aright
the Lord in rays eternal
of resurrection-light;
and, listening to his accents,
may hear so calm and plain
his own ‘All hail’, and, hearing,
may raise the victor strain.
Now let the heavens be joyful,
and earth her song begin,
the round world keep high triumph,
and all that is therein;
let all things seen and unseen
their notes of gladness blend,
for Christ the Lord is risen,
our joy that hath no end.
St John of Damascus (d. c. 754)
tr. J.M.Neale (1818–1866)
CCL31580
Matthew 28: 1–10
Read by Florence Olubayo
Jesus has risen
1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
5 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; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: “He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.” Now I have told you.’
8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. ‘Greetings,’ he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshipped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.’
NIV®
This is the Gospel of Christ.
Praise to Christ our light.
Sermon
By Revd George Mwaura
Musical Meditation
Affirmation of Faith
We believe in God, who raised Jesus Christ from the dead and declared him Lord of all.
We believe in Jesus Christ, who went about doing good, who was crucified for our sins,
whom God raised on the third day and revealed to his followers.
He is the living Lord, the judge of the living and the dead,
and through his name everyone who believes receives forgiveness of sins.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, who empowers us to bear witness to the resurrection of Christ.
This we believe. Alleluia!
Amen
Prayers of Intercession
Sharing Peace
The risen Christ came among his disciples and said, ‘Peace be with you.’
May the same peace of the risen Lord be always with you,
and also with you.
Let us share the peace of Christ and wave to those watching on the live stream.
Hymn: Alleluia, alleluia, give thanks to the risen Lord
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.
Alleluia, alleluia, give thanks to the risen Lord,
Alleluia, alleluia, give praise to His name.
Spread the good news o’er all the earth.
Jesus has died and has risen.
Alleluia, alleluia, give thanks to the risen Lord,
Alleluia, alleluia, give praise to His name.
We have been crucified with Christ.
Now we shall live for ever.
Alleluia, alleluia, give thanks to the risen Lord,
Alleluia, alleluia, give praise to His name.
God has proclaimed the just reward:
Life for all men, alleluia!
Alleluia, alleluia, give thanks to the risen Lord,
Alleluia, alleluia, give praise to His name.
Come, let us praise the living God,
Joyfully sing to our Saviour.
Alleluia, alleluia, give thanks to the risen Lord,
Alleluia, alleluia, give praise to His name.
Donald Fishel (b. 1950)
CCL31580
Holy Communion
The Great Thanksgiving
The Lord be with you,
and also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right for us to give thanks.
It is right indeed and a joyful thing, always and everywhere
to give you our thanks and praise, loving God.
As we gather and celebrate, what are we to make of this day?
When graves are opened; when the dead awaken … when life refuses to be contained.
Then nothing is impossible!
Hope is never extinguished, and love is never conquered.
We celebrate you today, Jesus, because you have made it clear that death does not have the last word;
because you have filled us again with hope and faith;
because you have given us a vision of new possibilities, new realities, and new ways of being.
Open our minds to believe what we cannot explain.
Open our hearts to hope for what we cannot see.
Open our lives to live and to love in the midst of death and despair.
Let resurrection happen again in us today.
We feast at the Lord’s Table this morning. Let’s celebrate this irrepressible life;
let’s open our hearts to the joy and wonder of infinite possibility, of unquenched hope,
of eternal resurrection.
And with angels and archangels and all the saints of heaven and earth,
let us join in the unending song of praise, saying together:
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
Resurrection happened because Christ was first prepared to die.
Defying death, he refused to release his hold on life and love.
So now, as he encouraged us, we choose to remember so that we too can truly live.
And so we remember that at supper with his friends on the night he was betrayed,
Jesus took bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to his disciples saying:
Take, eat; this is my body, broken so that you may know life. Every time you eat it, remember me.
After the meal Jesus took a cup of wine and blessed it. Then he gave it to his disciples saying:
Take this and drink all of you. This cup represents my blood,
which will be shed so that you may know life. Every time you drink it, remember me.
Lord of Life, as we share in this meal, we celebrate together, and we remember you.
And we will continue to do this until resurrection has flooded the whole creation.
May this bread and this wine become for us in this moment your life-giving body and blood,
and may we who share this meal, be joined with you, and with one another,
as one body united in resurrection life, and sharing with all of creation in your eternal salvation.
Amen
The Lord’s Prayer
As our Lord taught us so we pray:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen
The Communion
We break this bread to share in the body of Christ.
Though we are many, we are one body, because we all share in one bread.
Amen
Post Communion Prayer
Risen Christ, we thank you for meeting us at this table.
As you revealed yourself to the disciples, reveal your life in us.
Send us into the world to bear witness to your resurrection with joy, courage, and love.
Amen
Notice and Offertory
Offertory Prayer
Gracious God, all abundance flows from your endless love.
We humbly present these offerings before you, those placed before your altar today
and those given faithfully throughout the week,
whether shared in person or offered electronically, seen and unseen.
Receive them all as signs of our gratitude and tokens of our trust in you.
Bless these gifts and those who give them, that they may serve your purposes, proclaim your kingdom,
and reflect the generous love revealed to us in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
Hymn: Thine be the glory, risen, conquering Son
Thine be the glory, risen, conquering Son,
endless is the victory thou o’er death hast won;
angels in bright raiment rolled the stone away,
kept the folded grave-clothes where thy body lay:
Thine be the glory, risen, conquering Son,
endless is the victory thou o’er death hast won.
Lo, 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 her Lord now liveth, death hath lost its sting:
Thine be the glory, risen, conquering Son,
endless is the victory thou o’er death hast won.
No more we doubt thee, glorious Prince of Life;
life is naught without thee: aid us in our strife;
make us more than conquerors through thy deathless love;
bring us safe through Jordan to thy home above:
Thine be the glory, risen, conquering Son,
endless is the victory thou o’er death hast won.
French, 19th century, Edmond Budry (1854–1932}
tr. Richard Hoyle (1875–1939)
CCL31580
Blessings
May the God of peace, who raised our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead,
fill you with resurrection hope.
May Christ the risen Lord go before you in every place.
May the Holy Spirit empower you to proclaim the good news.
And may the blessing of God Almighty, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you always.
Amen
Dismissal
Church, go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
In the name of Christ, we will.
Congregational Hymn
May God’s blessing surround us each day,
as us trust him and walk in his way.
May his presence within guard and keep us from sin.
Go in peace, go in joy, go in love.