| Reader:
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Friends, we have
gathered here to worship our Lord and Risen Savior, Jesus Christ.
As we begin, let's read together. Let's proclaim this truth with boldness
and joy:
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| Congregation:
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Jesus,
You are the Son of the Living God! (Matthew 16:16, para.) |
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(Accompanist
begins introduction to "Discover Jesus Christ".)
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| Reader:
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God so
loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes
in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16, NIV) |
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| Hymn: |
*Discover
Jesus Christ 
(congregation) |
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| Congregation: |
Jesus,
You humbled Yourself for us. You made Yourself a servant. (Philippians
2:5-8, para.) |
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(Accompanist
begins introduction to "See the Servant" and plays throughout
the following reading.)
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| Reader: |
God says,
"Look, here is my servant. He is the One I have chosen, and I delight
in Him! I will put my own Spirit on Him, and He will bring justice to
all the nations.
"He won't act
like other conquerors. He won't shout or call attention to Himself or
rally an army in the streets. He will be so gentle that He wouldn't
tear a bent blade of grass or snuff out a smoldering candle.
"Yet He will
not falter and He will not fail and He will not grow discouraged until
He has established My justice throughout all peoples. The farthest corners
of the earth will put their hope in Him." (Isaiah 42:1-4, para.)
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| Hymn: |
See
the Servant
(congregation, solo, ensemble, or choir) |
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| Congregation: |
Jesus,
You are the Word of God. You are God's expression of love for us.
(John 1:14, para.) |
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| Reader: |
One of
the most intriguing things about Jesus is the way He talked to people,
especially individuals, one on one. He talked with lawyers and criminals,
religious leaders and prostitutes, fishermen, tax collectors, soldiers,
and children. He spoke with women, even when it was against the social
conventions of His day.
He always spoke
to these people with personal respect--respect for the independence
and dignity of the individual.
He never pushed
or steam-rolled anybody. He spoke with understanding, consideration,
and patience. He took time. He provided reason. And He always spoke
face-to-face, not looking over their shoulders or talking over their
heads. He didn't "hammer" or "preach at" individuals.
He was never harsh or condemning...at least not with the humble.
He was not repulsed by the unrespectable people of His day. He was attracted
to them, genuinely drawn to them...not to a class of people, but to
individual persons.
He loved them just
where they were, as they were, but He cared too much to abandon them
there. He drew them on, drew them in, toward the simple truth and toward
a life-giving trust in himself.
That's still the
way He comes to us--individually, personally, with kindness and respect
and genuine love.
(From "The Way He Speaks", from the pocketsize evangelistic
book, Knowing God, © 1993, 1996, 1998
by Ken Bible, c/o lnwhymns.com.)
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| Hymn: |
*When
Jesus Speaks
(congregation) |
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| Congregation: |
Jesus,
You are our Healer. You came to touch us and make us whole. (Isaiah
53:5, para.) |
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| Reader: |
As Jesus
was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood
at a distance and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have
pity on us!"
When he saw them,
he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they
went, they were cleansed.
One of them, when
he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw
himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him--and he was a Samaritan.
Jesus said to him,
"Rise and go, your faith has made you well." (Luke 17:12-16,
19, NIV adapted)
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| Hymn: |
I
Was the One
(congregation, solo,
ensemble, or choir) |
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| Congregation: |
Jesus,
You are King, the promised Messiah! We welcome You with praise! |
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| Reader: |
As they
approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus
sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you,
and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie
them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, tell him that
the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away."
The disciples went
and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the
colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. A very large
crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from
the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of
him and those that followed shouted,
"Hosanna to
the Son of David!"
"Blessed is
he who comes in the name of the Lord!"
"Hosanna in
the highest!"
When Jesus entered
Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, "Who is this?"
(Matthew 21:1-3, 6-10, NIV)
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| Hymn: |
*Who
Is He? |
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| Congregation: |
Jesus,
You are the Lamb of God. You laid down your life as a sacrifice for us.
(John 1:29; 1 Corinthians 5:7b, para.) |
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| Reader: |
The Jewish
leaders arrested Jesus at nighttime in the Garden of Gethsemane where
he prayed. After a mock trial, they led him off to Pontius Pilate, the
Roman governor.
After questioning
Jesus, Pilate took him and had him flogged. The soldiers twisted together
a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple
robe and went up to him again and again, saying, "Hail, king of
the Jews!" And they struck him in the face.
Pilate came out
and said to the Jews, "Look, I am bringing him out to you to let
you know that I find no basis for a charge against him." When Jesus
came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said
to them, "Here is the man! Here is your king."
But they shouted,
"Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!"
"Shall I crucify
your king?" Pilate asked.
"We have no
king but Caesar," the chief priests answered.
Finally Pilate handed
him over to be crucified.
So the soldiers
took charge of Jesus. Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place
of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). Here they crucified
him. (John 18, summarized; 19:1-5, 14b-18, NIV adapted)
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| Hymn: |
*Lead
Me to Calvary (congregation) and/or
See What Love Has Done
(congregation, solo, ensemble, or choir)
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| Reader: |
Knowing
that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled,
Jesus said, "I am thirsty." A jar of wine vinegar was there,
so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop
plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus
said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave
up his spirit. (John 19:28-30 NIV) |
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(Brief
moment of silence)
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| Hymn: |
*I
Love You, Jesus, Savior, Lord
(congregation) |
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| Congregation: |
Jesus,
You are the Resurrection and the Life. You were dead, and now You are
alive forevermore. (John 11:25; Revelation 1:18, para.) |
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| Reader: |
At dawn
on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to
look at the tomb.
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. His appearance was
like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were
so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
The angel said to
the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for
Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen." (Matthew
28:1-6, NIV)
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| Hymn: |
*Christ
Is Alive! We Live in Him! (congregation) |
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| Congregation: |
Jesus,
because You live, we will live also. (John 14:19, para.) |
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| Reader: |
We were…buried
with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was
raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live
a new life.
If we have been
united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united
with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified
with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should
no longer be slaves to sin. (Romans 6:4-6, NIV)
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| Hymn: |
*Risen
from Eternal Death (EASTER HYMN
or LLANFAIR) |
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