Sunday,  April 5, 2026
Resurrection Sunday Year A
Matthew 28:1-10 | "They Left the Tomb"

Call to Worship (inspired by Psalm 118)
One: O give thanks to the Holy One, for God is good; God's love abides, endures, and prevails forever!
Many: Alleluia! The resurrection life comes to us. Christ is risen!
One: In distress, I call. In grief, I cry. In despair, I come. The Holy One answers. The Holy One comforts. The Holy One comes. 
Many: Alleluia! The resurrection life comes to us. Christ is risen!
One; God, my refuge and confidence, surrounds me with strength and victory! Exalt God's holy name!
Many: Alleluia! The resurrection life comes to us. Christ is risen!

Invocation
Holy One, just as they came to the tomb to honor you on that early Easter morning, we gather to praise you this day. May our alleluias resound in adoration and shared joy that you are risen and we share in the promise of new life. May we encounter your glory in this assembled community as we follow you from the empty tomb into the possibilities that await. Amen.

Prayer for Transformation and New Life
Holy Love, in every ending, there is a beginning. In the same way, beginnings signal an end. May the promise of new life enable us to end the things that do not serve us, to end the attitudes that do not honor you, and to end the ways in which we are complacent and complicit in the world. Empower us to leave those things in the tomb and follow your trail. Jesus, you have demonstrated the path of your kindom, keep us on the road of abundant and transformed life as revived and encouraged participants in your resurrected and glorified body. Grant us grace when the realities of life overwhelm, threaten to consume us, and mire us in the past. For the newness of life, we pray. 
Have mercy on us, Holy One. Amen.

Words of Grace
Beloved, Jesus is risen. The Holy One is yet alive, and therefore, doing a new thing. Receive the grace of God that requires no resurrection to rise to meet us in our weakness. Embrace the grace of God to move forward boldly in new life. Hold fast to the grace of God to guide you in living the resurrected life. 

Ritual of Affirmation of the Resurrected Life
For this ritual, set up an empty tomb in a prominent space in the sanctuary with visibility for online worshippers. You may invite worshippers to receive the affirmations following Words of Grace, as a response to the sermon, or as they depart worship as an extension of the Benediction. An empty tomb may be created by draping fabric on a large basket or box turned on its side so that the opening faces the worshipper. It should be open. Print the affirmations on cardstock and lay them within the tomb prior to worship. Depending on the size of the worshipping community, you may need multiple stations. For online worshippers, you might have someone offering the affirmations in the comments/chats or have someone on site pull and read the affirmations for those joining online, understanding that online worshippers may not engage in the chat or comments to receive an individual affirmation.

Invitation to the Resurrected Life
Early that morning, as the women went to the tomb, they expected to anoint the remains of Jesus. Instead, they received a message from heaven that filled them with both fear and joy. The resurrected life inspires both—fear for the responsibility of carrying the good news and joy for the manifestation of the kindom of God on earth. As Christ followers, we receive the invitation to live the resurrected life. Let us encourage one another on this journey with divinely-inspired words of affirmation. 

For those onsite, please come forward to receive an affirmation from the empty tomb. As you return to your seat, share your affirmation with one or two others. For those joining online, if you type "Receiving" or "I come to receive" in the chat or comments, we will reply with an affirmation for you.

Affirmations of the Resurrected Life 
(The list below is not exhaustive. Feel free to craft affirmations that fit your context and provide enough for anticipated attendance. You may need to duplicate multiple times depending on the size of the gathered body.)

I am faithful (Ephesians 1:1)
I am God's child (John 1:12)
I am Christ's friend (John 15:15)
I am a member of Christ's Body (1 Corinthians 12:27)
I have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love and self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7)
I have purpose (Ephesians 1:9 & 3:11)
I am salt and light of the earth (Matthew 5:13-14)
I am a personal witness of Jesus Christ (Acts 1:8)
I am God's coworker (2 Corinthians 6:1)
I am a minister of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:17-20)
I am alive with Christ (Ephesians 2:5)
I am raised up with Christ (Ephesians 2:6; Colossians 2:12)
God's power works through me (Ephesians 3:7)
I can approach God with freedom and confidence (Ephesians 3:12)
I can stand firm in the day of evil (Ephesians 6:13)
I am not alone (Hebrews 13:5)
I am part of God's kingdom (Revelation 1:6)
I am a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Acceptance of the Resurrected Life
One: You have received an affirmation of new life in Christ–the resurrected life. Do you accept it?
Many: We receive the gift and affirmation of resurrected life in Christ.

Thanksgiving for the Resurrected Life
Holy One, giver of life and new life, restorer and repairer of brokenness, redeemer and sustainer of our souls, we give thanks that, in you, an end becomes a beginning, destruction may lead to renewal, death may seed new life. We thank you that the tomb that contained Jesus body at rest was too small to contain his life. We too leave the tomb, renewed and encouraged that, despite the concerns and uncertainties of our times, that the power of resurrection courses through our spiritual veins. May your glory radiate as we embrace and live the resurrected life. In thanksgiving, hope, and trust, we pray. Amen.

Communion
Invitation 
One: On the night of betrayal, denial, and desertion, Jesus prepared his disciples for life beyond the tomb. He demonstrated with wine and bread what he would later perform in his flesh and blood. 
Many: Jesus wanted them to remember and to understand his solidarity and his sacrifice.
One; Jesus still prepares a place for each and all of us at this table. Will you come?
Many: In awe and wonder, humility and thanksgiving, we come to the table to feast with the Risen One.

Words of Institution

Prayer of Thanksgiving
Holy One, thank you for this feast at your table.As we receive bread and cup, may we encounter your grace and be filled with your love. May we go forward from this table with great joy, ever seeking your resurrecting presence among us and discerning your call for us to be present for our neighbors in the world. By your spirit, we pray. 
Sanctus: Holy, Holy, Holy One, God of power and might. Heaven and earth are full of your glory, Hosanna in the Highest! Blessed is the One who comes in the name of our God. Hosanna in the Highest!

Invitation to Generosity
Alexander Carmichael said, "The people say that the sun dances on this day in joy for a risen Saviour." Whether clouds obscure the view, the sun takes the gifts it has been given to glorify God. Let us also take the gifts we have been given and use them to bring glory to the Holy One through the generosity of the resurrected life that proclaims that nothing is impossible for God.

Prayer of Dedication and Thanksgiving
Holy Love, receive these gifts as seeds given in thanksgiving for your generosity. Let us rejoice in giving just as the sun dances in its power. Help us to nourish these offerings to meet the needs of our community and to witness to your goodness. We dedicate them to the flourishing of your kindom. Amen. 

Benediction
May the tomb be just a stop
Reminding us that God's reign knows no bounds
The realm of God's possible knows no limits
God's presence always remains
God's protection endures
God's glory radiates the day and the night
And the power of Christ lives in us.

May we go forth from the tomb
Renewed and rededicated to witness to this good news
To live the resurrected life in spirit and in truth
And to be the good news in the world God loves.

They Left The Tomb:  Service Prayers for Resurrection Sunday Year A was written by the Rev. Dr. Cheryl A. Lindsay, Minister for Worship and Theology for the United Church of Christ.