Welcome to ROOTS at home for adults on Easter Day
Worship-at-home resources to help you read and reflect on this week's Bible passages
Copyright
You are welcome to copy this material for use in your own resources e.g. printed sheets or web pages including audio/video recordings. If you do so, please include this acknowledgement to ROOTS:
© ROOTS for Churches Ltd (www.rootsontheweb.com) 2002-2020.
Reproduced with permission.
Come, worship the God of wonders,
of majesty and might.
Come, worship the God who defeats the darkness,
and rolls away the stone.
Amen.
The emotions of Easter
Lord God, today is a day of fear and joy.
A day to make us tremble with shock and tingle with excitement;
a day to unsettle us and to thrill us;
a day of mystery and delight.
Today is the day we remember that you have turned history around.
You have turned death into life;
you have turned despair into hope;
you have turned hate into love.
Thank you for planning this day from the beginning of time for all of us.
Help us to receive its message with open hearts, so that our lives may also be turned around.
Help us in our turn to bring this Easter Day to others.
To replace their fear with peace;
to replace their sadness with joy;
to replace their despair with hope.
Thank you Father that you raised Jesus from the dead for us. Hallelujah!
This week's Live your faith sheet
(Bible notes, prayers, a picture and questions for reflection, a live your faith action)
Resurrection reflection
There are four Gospels each with different accounts of the resurrection:
- Matthew focuses on the dramatic: the earthquake, the angel, the terror of the guards, women whose fear is displaced by overwhelming joy.
- Mark’s brief, abrupt account highlights the mystery of the event.
- Luke expands the narrative with the rejection of the women’s story until a series of encounters convinces the men of the truth.
- John develops the account of the women’s discovery: the race to the tomb, and Mary’s meeting with the ‘gardener’.
Is Matthew’s version over the top? Does Mark’s seem incomplete? Does the failure to recognise Jesus in Luke and John add or detract from their authenticity? Which of these accounts resonates most for you?
Resurrection campaign
Think about how products and services are advertised. What do you think makes a good advert or social media post? How could you advertise the resurrection? Create an advert or slogan. Post it on Social Media or email it to your contacts.
Ways into prayer
Consider these questions.
What excites you most about Easter?
What disturbs you most? What challenges you most?
How does the Easter message change you?
Has it become too comfortable?
Pray:
God of steadfastness and surprise,
where I am stuck in the tomb
of stale thoughts and shallow faith,
empower me with the wonder and the energy of Easter
and set me free to experience your Son’s risen presence
in a new way. I ask this in his name.
Amen.
Easter praise
Darkness, light,
angels, women,
cloths, stones,
emptiness and weeping.
All proclaim
this day,
first and last,
ending and beginning,
new life, new wine,
new body, new people.
Old clothes, old skin,
old ways, old habits,
left behind
to gather dust
while resurrection takes hold,
holds sway
and moves on the world.
This is the day
of resurrection.
He is not here.
He has been raised
and he goes ahead to meet us.
Story, dreaming,
past, present,
turn and spin
on this moment
as an empty tomb,
folded cloths,
bright angels
and faithful followers
declare Christ risen,
spring come,
new life for heaven and earth.
Glory be to God
for the dawn of this day.
Glory be to God
for the rising of the Son.
Glory be to God
for the fresh Spirit of life.
Amen.