New Life, Living Hope

Order of Worship

 

 

Sunday, April 12, 2020

Easter Sunday

Fourth Pre-recorded Service

 

Welcome & Announcements

 

Moment of Preparation

 

Hearing from the Savior

 

Call to Worship                                                                                                                    Psalm 16:7-11

Leader:          I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also, my heart instructs me.

All:                   I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

 

Leader:          Therefore, my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.

All:                   For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.

 

All:                   You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

 

Responding to the Savior

 

Prayer of Adoration and Invocation

 

Song of Praise                                                                                      Christ the Lord is Risen Today

Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia!

Sons of men and angels say: Alleluia!

Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!

Sing, ye heav’ns, and earth reply: Alleluia!

 

Vain the stone, the watch, the seal:  Alleluia!

Christ has burst the gates of hell:  Alleluia!

Death in vain forbids his rise; Alleluia!

Christ has opened paradise.  Alleluia!

 

Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia!

Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!

Once he died, our souls to save; Alleluia!

Where Thy victory, O grave?  Alleluia!

 

Soar we now where Christ has led, Alleluia!

Following our exalted head; Alleluia!

Made like Him, like Him we rise.  Alleluia!

Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!

 

Prayers of the Church

 

Hearing from the Savior

 

Old Testament Reading                                                                                                   Isaiah 40:28-31

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.

 

He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.

 

Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

 

Responding to the Savior

 

Silent Confession of Sin

 

Hearing from the Savior

 

Assurance of Pardon                                                           Matthew 20:17-19 & Matthew 28:1-9

And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way, he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.”

 

 

Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men.

 

But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.”

 

So, they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him.

 

Responding to the Savior

 

Song of Rejoicing                                                                                         Up From the Grave He Arose

Low in the grave he lay - Jesus, my Savior,

Waiting the coming day - Jesus, my Lord.

 

Chorus:          Up from the grave he arose,

with a mighty triumph o’er his foes.

He arose a victor from the dark domain,

and he lives forever with his saints to reign.

He arose!  He arose!

Hallelujah!  Christ arose!

 

Vainly they watch his bed – Jesus, my Savior;

Vainly they seal the dead - Jesus, my Lord.

Chorus

 

Death cannot keep his prey - Jesus, my Savior;

He tore the bars away - Jesus, my Lord.

Chorus

 

Prayers of the Church

Heavenly Father, if there be no resurrection, then we of all people are most miserable.

But indeed, your Spirit raised Your Son on that third Day; indeed, the power of sin and death was eternally defeated for Your people.

 

Please give us rest in these truths as we navigate the pains of life; the loss of jobs; broken family relationships; loneliness; wayward adult children; health struggles and uncertainties; the death of loved ones; meet us in those places with the reality of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus.

 

Give the one with no hope belief and trust this day in Jesus Christ. Bring them from death to life; from despair and cynicism to hope and encouragement.

 

We present to you all of who we are; we celebrate and rejoice in our Risen Savior Jesus Christ. Fill us with Your Spirit that we might worship you well and be taught and strengthened by Your Word; receive our tithes and offerings to further Your mission through your church at CCC.

 

Moment of Quiet Contemplation and Worship Through Tithes and Offerings

Please give online at our church website under the “Give” tab or mail your giving’s into Christ Community Church, 700 Harrison Bridge Road, Simpsonville, SC, 29680.

 

Prayer of Thanksgiving

 

Hearing from the Savior

 

Affirmation of Faith                                                                                                1 Corinthians 15:1-7

Leader:        Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

 

All:                 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though

some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 

 

Responding to the Savior

 

Song of Preparation                                                                                                      In Christ Alone

In Christ alone my hope is found,

He is my light, my strength, my song;

This cornerstone, this solid ground,

firm through the fiercest drought and storm.

What heights of love, what depths of peace,

when fears are stilled, when strivings cease.

My comforter, my all in all,

here in the love of Christ I stand.

 

In Christ alone, who took on flesh,

fullness of God in helpless Babe!

This gift of love and righteousness,

scorned by the ones He came to save.

‘Til on the cross as Jesus died,

the wrath of God was satisfied.

For ev’ry sin on Him was laid; 

Here in the death of Christ I live.

 

There in the ground His body lay,

Light of the world by darkness slain;

Then, bursting forth in glorious day,

up from the grave He rose again!

And as He stands in victory,

Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me;

For I am His and He is mine,

bought with the precious blood of Christ.

 

No guilt in life, no fear in death,

this is the power of Christ in me;

From life’s first cry to final breath,

Jesus commands my destiny.

No power of hell, no scheme of man,

can ever pluck me from His hand;

‘til He returns or calls me home,

here in the power of Christ I’ll stand!

 

Hearing from the Savior

 

Sermon                                                                                                                          Rev. Paul L. Sanders

     1 Peter 1:3   ·   “New Life, Living Hope”

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, …

 

Responding to the Savior

 

Song of Response                                                                        Yet Not I, But Through Christ In Me

What gift of grace is Jesus my redeemer.  There is no more for heaven now to give.

He is my joy, my righteousness, and freedom, my steadfast love, my deep and boundless peace.

To this I hold, my hope is only Jesus.  For my life is wholly bound to his.

Oh, how strange and divine, I can sing: all is mine!

Yet not I, but through Christ in me

 

The night is dark but I am not forsaken.  For by my side, the Saviour He will stay.

I labor on in weakness and rejoicing, for in my need, His power is displayed.

To this I hold, my Shepherd will defend me.  Through the deepest valley He will lead.

Oh, the night has been won, and I shall overcome!

Yet not I, but through Christ in me

 

No fate I dread, I know I am forgiven.  The future sure, the price it has been paid.

For Jesus bled and suffered for my pardon, and He was raised to overthrow the grave.

To this I hold, my sin has been defeated.  Jesus now and ever is my plea.

Oh, the chains are released, I can sing: I am free!

Yet not I, but through Christ in me

 

With every breath I long to follow Jesus. For He has said that He will bring me home.

And day by day I know He will renew me, until I stand with joy before the throne.

To this I hold, my hope is only Jesus.  All the glory evermore to Him.

When the race is complete, still my lips shall repeat:

Yet not I, but through Christ in me!

 

To this I hold, my hope is only Jesus.  All the glory evermore to Him.

When the race is complete, still my lips shall repeat:

Yet not I, but through Christ in me!

When the race is complete, still my lips shall repeat:

Yet not I, but through Christ in me!

Yet not I, but through Christ in me!

 

Hearing from the Savior

 

Benediction                                                                                                                              Romans 15:13

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

 

Sermon Questions for Families & Community Groups

Easter Sunday, April 12, 2020 --- 1 Peter 1:3 “New Life, Living Hope”

 

1. Discuss the kind of life and hope the disciples experienced while the body of Jesus laid in the Grave.
2. What was your life like before you understood the salvation and forgiveness of sins and certain future that comes through faith in Jesus?
3. Share the newness of life that you have experienced since coming to faith in Jesus Christ.
4. What does new life look like on a practical day-to-day basis?
5. What kind of new life and hope is there really if Jesus stayed dead?
6. What is the difference between the kind of hope Christ offers vs. what we often fixate on in this world?
7. Discuss the brokenness of the temporal hopes of this world (i.e. wealth, health, success, etc.).
8. Discuss the benefits of having a genuine hope because of who Jesus is, what he did and what he promises.
9. What does living hope look like on a practical day-to-day basis?
10. Pray for each other to fixate on the life and hope that Christ and His resurrection brought.