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CONCORDIA’S PURPOSE

“To Make the Love of Jesus R.E.A.L. in the Lives of All People”

EASTER SUNDAY THE RESURRECTION OF OUR LORD CHRIST IS RISEN! ALLELUIA! April 24, 2011 7:00 and 10:00 a.m. AS WE GATHER In all of life, nothing so defeats us, nothing so causes our world, plans, hopes and dreams to come crashing down in hopeless and irrevocable chaos as death, the great destroyer, the great curse. But the first Easter Sunday changed all of this for everyone who receives the precious free gift of Easter. When Jesus Christ, our Lord, entered our world of death, He did battle with and defeated death for us. This glorious result gives us life—abundant life! His Easter victory became our bridge between time and eternity, between this world of death and the Glory of our Lord in the world to come. Christ is risen! Alleluia! (prepared by Jim Gann)  means to be seated  means to stand, unless repeated standing is difficult PRELUDE

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(As you enter our church, the sanctuary is bare and dark. It is symbolic of the women who went to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus with spices, as was their custom. Their light had gone out. They came in sorrow and mourning. Their sorrow turned to one of amazement and then joy as the darkness lifted and the revelation came that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ had risen. As the altar and sanctuary are prepared for our celebration of the resurrection, contemplate that Jesus has made us into a New Creation by his victory over death.) [7:00 a.m.]

Pastor: Why are you here? Why do you seek the Living among the dead? Congregation: We seek Jesus who was crucified. Pastor: He is not here. He has risen! Congregation: He has risen indeed! Alleluia!

(We stand as the lights come on and the music begins for our opening hymn) [7:00 a.m.] HYMN

#457

“Jesus Christ Is Risen Today”

 INVOCATION P: In the name of the Father who raised our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead; and of the Son, who rose victoriously from the grave; and of the Holy Spirit, who brings resurrection victory to our mortal bodies here now and into eternity. C: Amen, Alleluia, Amen!

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 EASTER ACCLAMATION P: Alleluia! Christ is risen! C: He is risen indeed! Alleluia! P: Jesus is risen! Lift up your hearts! C: This is the day that our Lord has made. P: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. C: The joy of Christ’s resurrection fills our lives with hope. P: Our lives are hidden with Jesus Christ. C: He is the source of our eternal salvation. P: He lives! We too shall live! The joy of Christ’s resurrection renews our lives now C: And Jesus will restore our lives in eternity! P: Alleluia! Christ is risen! C: He is risen indeed! Alleluia! CONFESSION P: Even on this joyous day of celebration let us not forget that we are sinful people who do not deserve the precious gift of salvation that God has given us in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. C: Lord God, heavenly Father, we approach You today with mixed emotions. We are filled with sorrow for our sin, yet we are overwhelmed with the joy of forgiveness. We confess that we have not lived up to Your expectations. We have sinned in our thoughts, by our words, and with our actions. For the sake of Jesus Christ, Your Son and our Lord, forgive us all our sins and show us Your mercy and love. Amen.

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ABSOLUTION P: Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins. As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all of your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Our Risen Lord has removed your sins! God forgives you. You are forgiven! C: We are forgiven indeed! Alleluia! Amen. INTROIT P: I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; C: The horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. P: The LORD is my strength and my song, C: And he has become my salvation; P: our right hand, O LORD, shatters our enemies; C: Your right hand, O LORD, destroys even death! ALL: Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

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HYMN OF PRAISE

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SALUTATION AND PRAYER OF THE DAY P: The Lord be with you. C: And also with you. P: Let us pray. ALL: Almighty God the Father, through Your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, You have overcome death and opened the gate of everlasting life to us. Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the day of our Lord’s resurrection, may be raised from the death of sin by your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

FIRST READING Acts 10:34-43 (Having witnessed the miracle of miracles in the resurrection of Jesus, Peter now shares his testimony with others.) R: The First Reading is from Acts, chapter ten. (After the reading..) R: This is the Word of the Lord. C: Thanks be to God. HYMN

#461, vs. 1, 3, 4, 5, 8 “I Know That My Redeemer Lives”

 SECOND READING Colossians 3:1-4 (Paul reminds Christians where our focus in life should be.) R: The Second Reading is from Colossians, chapter three. (After the reading…) R: This is the Word of the Lord. C: Thanks be to God.

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ALLELUIA AND VERSE

GOSPEL READING Matthew 28:1-10 (The first witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus were the guards at the tomb, followed by many others.) P: The Gospel according to St. Matthew, the twenty-eighth chapter.

P: This is the Gospel of the Lord.

 AFFIRMATION OF BAPTISM P: In Holy Baptism our sins are forgiven and we are granted a new life in Christ, our Lord. I ask you, as an affirmation of what God has done for you in your Baptism, do you renounce the devil and all his works and all his ways? C: I do renounce them.

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P: Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty? C: Yes, I believe in God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth. P: Do you believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son? C: Yes, I believe in Jesus Christ His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead. P: Do you believe in the Holy Spirit? C: Yes, I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. P: Is it your earnest intention to continue steadfast in this faith and in the promise of your Baptism, and as a member of the Church, to be diligent in the use of the Means of Grace and prayer? C: Yes, with the help of God. P: Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has given you the new birth of water and the Spirit and has forgiven you all your sins, strengthen you with His grace to life everlasting. C: Amen. CHILDREN’S MESSAGE

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SERMON HYMN #741, v. 1-5 “Jesus Christ, My Sure Defense” SERMON “A Man of His Word” OFFERING OFFERTORY – “Let the Vineyards”

 PRAYER OF THE CHURCH P: Rejoicing in His victory over sin and death, we come before You, Father, pleading on behalf of Jesus Christ to hear our prayers and grant our supplications.

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(Silence for prayer) P: Cast off the veil of fear, darkness, and unbelief that we, Your people, may rejoice in the boundless hope afforded to us by Jesus' sacrificial death and triumphant resurrection. Help us keep this feast in hearts that trust in what He has accomplished for us and do not waver from this hope. Lord, in Your mercy, C: hear our prayer. P: Bring the news of Your victory into every facet of our life and to every corner of the earth and to every people living in darkness and the shadow of death. Cause all the leaders of the nations to work for peace, that everywhere there may be freedom to proclaim the Gospel and to worship without fear. Lord, in Your mercy, C: hear our prayer. P: Visit the dwellings of Your people that in their sorrows they may be comforted, in their troubles they may have peace, and in their struggles they may find relief. Lord, in Your mercy, C: hear our prayer. P: Come to the aid of all those wounded in body or spirit, the sick and hospitalized, those recuperating from illness and surgery, and those in their last days on earth (especially _________), that everyone who calls to You may know Your presence, Your peace, Your healing grace, and the full consolation of Your love found in the hope of the resurrection. Lord, in Your mercy, C: hear our prayer. P: Be with those underemployed and unemployed. Be with the poor and those in need, and lead us by Your grace to share with them what You have so generously supplied to us. Lord, in Your mercy,

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C: hear our prayer. P: Equip us with Your Spirit and with faith, that we who come to Your table may be ready to receive the body and blood of Jesus Christ, to strengthen our lives in Christ and enable us to complete the good works that glorify You. Bless our songs of praise and the tithes and offerings borne of a grateful heart and a living faith. Lord, in Your mercy, C: hear our prayer. P: Lord, You know us better than we know ourselves. Grant to us only that which is wholesome and good for us and profitable for our salvation and keep from us all things harmful. Into Your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in Your mercy, through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. C: Amen.  PREFACE P: The Lord be with you. C: And also with you. P: Lift up your hearts. C: We lift them to the Lord. P: Let us give thanks to the Lord our god. C: It is right to give Him thanks and praise.  PROPER PREFACE P: It is truly good, right and salutary………evermore praising You and singing:

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SANCTUS

WORDS OF OUR LORD  PROCLAMATION OF CHRIST P: As often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. C: Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. P: O Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, in giving us Your body and blood to eat and to drink, You lead us to remember and confess Your holy cross and passion, Your blessed death, Your rest in the tomb, Your resurrection from the dead,

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Your ascension into heaven, and Your coming for the final judgment. So remember us in Your kingdom and teach us to pray:  THE LORD’S PRAYER ALL: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.  PAX DOMINI P: The peace of the Lord be with you always. C: Amen. (This morning, rejoicing at the resurrection of our Lord, we do not kneel at the altar for Communion. We will celebrate Communion in a continuous fashion. The ushers will guide you forward. Then take the Host from the pastor, after which you may eat or dip the Host into the chalice. You may also sip from the chalice or the small cups after you have received the Host.) COMMUNION INVITATION Baptized and confirmed persons who sincerely repent of their sinful nature and sinful behavior, and wish to experience once again the forgiveness of God through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, and truly believe that Jesus Christ is present in, with, and under the elements of Holy Communion, and are prepared to submit their lives and will to Jesus Christ as Savior are invited to come forward to receive Holy Communion. Children and others who have not yet been confirmed may come forward to receive a blessing.

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AGNUS DEI

DISTRIBUTION HYMNS L.U.Y.H. (Little Song Book) #30 “I Am the Bread of Life” LSB #475 “Good Christian Friends, Rejoice and Sing” LSB #458 “Christ Jesus Lay in Death’s Strong Bands”

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POST-COMMUNION CANTICLE

POST-COMMUNION PRAYER P: We thank You, Lord of heaven and earth, for raising Your Son, Jesus Christ, from the dead and through Him promising us eternal life in our own resurrection to come. As You have promised, we trust in You to strengthen us in faith through this sacrament You have given us. We ask You to rule in our hearts so that we may proclaim our risen, resurrected and living Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to a world lost and suffering in sin; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. C: Amen.

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THE BENEDICTION P: Alleluia! Christ is risen! C: He is risen indeed! Alleluia! P: Alleluia! May God the Father who raised His Son from the dead; C: And through whom our Father gives us life; P: May God the Son who lives and rules forever; C: Jesus Christ, our Savior, is risen from the dead! P: May God the Holy Spirit give you the light of our risen Savior; C: The Holy Spirit gives us the light of life. P: May our Triune God, the Father, the Son + and the Holy Spirit bless you and preserve you, now and forever. C: We depart now in God’s peace. Christ is risen! Alleluia! Amen.  CLOSING HYMN #477 “Alleluia! Alleluia! Hearts to Heaven”

POSTLUDE

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A special ―Thank You‖ to all who purchased Easter Lilies. Ron and Millie Bucher –in honor of their 6 grandchildren Dawson Family – in memory of Mike Dawson Mike and Nancy Flicekin memory of Mavis Flicek and Vern Flatau in homor of Cyril Flicek and Lorraine Flatau Roland and Marian Foster— in memory of Daniel M. Koster and Gerald A Forster Bill and Lorraine Gladhill – in memory of Jane R. Hoover, Mr. & Mrs. William Gladhill, Sr., the Fortunato Family Rev. and Mrs. Emil Gretarsson – in memory of Edward Dettling, Sr. Regina Haines – in memory of Robert Haines Mike and Debbie Jorgensen -in memory of Carolyn Rogers and in honor of Sue Hennings

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Bob and Judy Keane—in memory of Ethel & Robert Keane in memory of Robert Keane, III in memory of Olga Imwold Dorothy McAllister—in memory of Ned McAllister Karen and Ray Meinelschmidt— in memory of Erik & Kirk Meinelschmidt; Rhona & Fred Sauthoff; Ivy & Oscar Meinelschmidt Shirley Morrison – in memory of Thomas L. Morrison, Sr. in honor of Mike & Roberta Taylor Rosella Rogers—in memory of loved ones Bob and Carol Rosicky—in honor of their children and grandchildren Rudow Family—in memory of Marilyn Rudow Bob and Sylvia – in memory of Preston & Lucy Shives Ruth Ziem – in memory of loved ones