Easter Vigil
St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church † Bingen
Missouri Synod
The Reverend John Dreyer, Pastor Mrs. Leanne Busick, Director of Music
Easter Sunrise Divine Service 6:30 am Easter Day Divine Service 10:30 am
Easter Breakfast 8:00 – 10:00 am
VIGIL OF EASTER
8:00 pm
11 April 2009
Service of the Light
The congregation gathers in the parish hall and candles are given to all to be lighted from the paschal candle.
(Paschal Candle is processed into the church)
A The light of Christ.
C Thanks be to God.
The easter proclamation (Exsultet) sung by pastor
P The Lord be with you.
C And also with you.
P Lift up your hearts.
C We lift them to the Lord.
P Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
C It is right to give Him thanks and praise.
Exsultet sung by pastor
P …lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
The congregation extinguishes their candles, the paschal candle remains lit.
Service of readings
P In this most holy night our Savior, Christ the Lord, broke the power of death and by His resurrection brought life and salvation to all creation. Let us praise the Lord, for He truly keeps His Word. The sun of righteousness has dawned upon us who have sat in darkness and in the shadow of death.
The Creation Genesis 1:1-2:3
A A reading from Genesis, chapters one and two.
After the reading:
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
P Let us pray. Almighty God, through Your Word and Spirit You most wonderfully created all things, and through the Word made flesh You brought new life to fallen humanity. Grant that in Your mercy we may be conformed to the image of Him who shares fully in our humanity, even Jesus Christ, our Lord.
C Amen.
A Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,
C have mercy on us.
A Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,
C have mercy on us.
A Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,
C grant us Your peace.
A O Lord,
C have mercy.
A O Christ,
C have mercy.
A O Lord,
C have mercy. Amen.
Service of the word
easter acclamation
P Alleluia! Christ is risen!
C He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Hymn of Praise “All Who Believe and Are Baptized” (Hymn 601)
salutation and collect of the day
P The Lord be with you.
C And also with you.
P Let us pray. O God, You made this most holy night to shine with the glory of the Lord’s resurrection. Preserve in us the spirit of adoption which You have given so that, made alive in body and soul, we may serve You purely; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
Holy Gospel Mark 16:1-8
P The Holy Gospel according to St. Mark, the 16th chapter.
C Glory to You, O Lord.
After the reading:
A This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C Praise to You, O Christ.
A Who revealed Yourself to the two disciples on the Emmaus road and made Yourself known to them in the Scriptures and in the breaking of the bread,
C have mercy on us.
A Who appeared to the disciples, bestowing on them Your peace and Your Spirit,
C have mercy on us.
A Who showed Your wounded hands and side to the apostle Thomas that he too might believe,
C have mercy on us.
A Who appeared to seven disciples on the Sea of Tiberias, bringing a miraculous catch of fish
C have mercy on us.
A Who appeared to Peter and to the Twelve, to over 500 disciples, to James and to all the apostles, and to Paul on the Damascus road,
C have mercy on us.
A Who commissioned Your Church to make disciples of all nations by baptizing and teaching them,
C have mercy on us.
A By Your glorious resurrection from the dead,
C good Lord, deliver us.
A By Your victory over sin and death,
C good Lord, deliver us.
A By the majesty of Your risen body,
C good Lord, deliver us.
A We poor sinners implore You
C to hear us, Lord Jesus.
A That we may daily die and rise with You in our Baptism and walk in the freedom of Your forgiveness,
C grant us, good Lord.
A That we may set our minds on things above and not on earthly things, serving others as we have been served by You,
C grant us, good Lord.
A That we may dwell with You forever in the new creation as citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem, together with all the saints,
C grant us, good Lord.
The Flood Genesis 7:1-5, 11-18; 8:6-18; 9:8-13
A A reading from Genesis, chapters seven, eight and nine.
After the reading:
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
P Let us pray. O Lord, You kill and You raise to life; You brought the flood upon a wicked and perverse generation, and yet You saved faithful Noah and his family in the ark. Keep us in safety in the ark of Christ’s body, the Church, that Your mercy may come to its fullness and Your salvation be preached to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
C Amen.
The Testing of Abraham Genesis 22:1-18
A A reading from Genesis, chapter 22.
After the reading:
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
P Let us pray. O God, You promised faithful Abraham that he would be the father of a great multitude, You provided a substitute for his son Isaac. In the fullness of time, You sent Your Son, the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world, to lay down His life that we might live as faithful children of Abraham. Grant to all people a living trust in Your mercy; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
C Amen.
Israel’s Deliverance at the Red Sea Exodus 14:10-15:1
A A reading from Exodus, chapters 14 and 15.
After the reading:
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
P Let us pray. O God, You delivered Your people Israel from bondage under Pharaoh and led them by a pillar of cloud and fire through the sea to safety. Grant that we may so follow Christ that through the waters of Baptism we may daily die and rise with Him and walk in safety through the wilderness of this life until we see Your salvation; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
C Amen.
homily
Service of holy baptism
P On this holiest of nights, the whole Church of our Lord Jesus Christ recalls His death and burial, rejoicing with great joy in the Gospel of His glorious and mighty resurrection from the dead. The apostle Paul says:
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His. We know that our old self was crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him. We know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death He died He died to sin, once for all, but the life He lives He lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Romans 6:3-11
P Let us pray. Almighty and eternal God, according to Your strict judgment You condemned the unbelieving world through the flood, yet according to Your great mercy You preserved believing Noah and his family, eight souls in all. You drowned hard-hearted Pharaoh and all his host in the Red Sea, yet led Your people Israel through the water on dry ground, foreshadowing this washing of Your Holy Baptism. Through the Baptism in the Jordan of Your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, You sanctified and instituted all waters to be a blessed flood and a lavish washing away of sin. We pray that You would behold us all according to Your boundless mercy and bless us with true faith by the Holy Spirit, that through this saving flood all sin in us, which has been inherited from Adam and which we ourselves have committed since, would be drowned and die. Grant that we be kept safe and secure in the holy ark of the Christian Church, being separated from the multitude of unbelievers and serving Your name at all times with a fervent spirit and a joyful hope, so that, with all believers in Your promise, we would be declared worthy of eternal life; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
C Amen.
P Do you renounce the devil?
C Yes, I renounce him.
P Do you renounce all his works?
C Yes, I renounce them.
P Do you renounce all his ways?
C Yes, I renounce them.
P Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth?
C Yes, I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
P Do you believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son?
C Yes, I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
P Do you believe in the Holy Spirit?
C Yes, I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life X everlasting.
Service of prayer
litany of the resurrection
A O Lord,
C have mercy.
A O Christ,
C have mercy.
A O Lord,
C have mercy.
A Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God
C hear us.
A Paschal Lamb, who was offered for us and has taken away the sin of the world,
C have mercy on us.
A Who was crucified for our transgressions and raised for our justification,
C have mercy on us.
A Who foretold Your passion saying, “The Son of Man must be crucified and on the third day rise again,”
C have mercy on us.
A Who destroyed death by dying, and by rising to life again brought life and immortality to light,
C have mercy on us.
A Whose resurrection was first announced by an angel to the women,
C have mercy on us.
A Who appeared to Mary Magdalene and was worshiped by her,
C have mercy on us.
Easter Vigil
The Prayer and BLessing
P Let us pray. O God, for our redemption You gave Your only-begotten Son to the death of the cross and by His glorious resurrection delivered us from the power of the enemy. Grant that all our sin may be drowned through daily repentance and that day by day we may arise to live before You in righteousness and purity forever; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
A Let us bless the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
P The almighty and merciful Lord, the Father, the X Son, and the Holy Spirit, bless and preserve you.
C Amen.
Hymn “Come, You Faithful, Raise the Strain” (Hymn 487)
The offering will be collected in the back.