Call to Worship

Easter people, Christ is risen!
Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Christ is risen indeed! Yet we, like Thomas, may find questions bubbling up: How do we know? What’s the proof? Is Resurrection real?
Within our questioning, Christ appears.

We may find ourselves like the other disciples, witnesses of Christ’s resurrection who struggle to understand the doubt of others.
Within our certainty, Christ appears.

Whether you come to worship full of certainty or doubt, you are welcome here, for we are all participants in the story of God’s salvific work in the world, a story still unfolding all around us.
We gather to worship, believing that in certainty and doubt, the resurrected Christ dwells among us! Amen.

Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, September 2025.

Prayer for the Day

God of the risen Jesus, we praise you for the great love that you have shown to redeem us by sending your Son, Jesus. Help us today to embrace the New Life that the resurrected Christ is giving us. A Life beyond our doubts, faith over fear, courage over confusion, belief over disbelief, and trust to follow your guidance. As we worship today, help us to feel the presence of resurrected Jesus in our midst, reminding us of your love and our purpose. Amen.

Written by Rev. Vinod Wesley and posted on the Worship Ways (United Church of Christ) website at https://www.ucc.org/worship-way/easter-2a-april-16/.

Prayer of Confession

God’s mercy is deeper than the depths of the sea, and God’s grace is wider than the whole of the earth. Trusting in that mercy and that grace, let us make our confession, before God and each other, first in silent prayer.

Holy God, we open our hearts to you this day, and offer the truth of our lives:
The fear that stifles us,
The prejudice that impedes us,
The ignorance that hinders us,
The doubt that plagues us.
Help us, we pray, that we will
Find courage in unlikely places,
Move to those places where love is needed,
And have faith that you are with us.
This we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Hear the Good News: we are forgiven! We are set free to go out into the world and be the loving, gracious, hopeful people of God! Alleluia! Amen.

Adapted from Beth Merrill Neel on her blog, ‘Hold Fast to What Is Good.’ Used with permission. Posted at https://holdfasttowhatisgood.com/liturgy/prayer-of-confession.

Benediction

May God bless you with open hearts to recognize the resurrected Christ in our midst and with the courage to reach out and touch the wounds of our neighbors, believing that we will find Resurrection in the meeting of our vulnerability.

Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, September 2025.