You are invited to worship with us at 11:00 am on Easter Sunday, April 5, 2026.
Below, you will find the Order of Service so you can follow along and participate in the worship service. If you would prefer, you can also download a bulletin here:
Before we start, please share the live stream on your favorite social media site and invite your friends.
Welcome
Old Testament Reading – Job 19:23-27
“Oh, that my words were written! Oh, that they were inscribed in a book! Oh that with an iron pen and lead they were engraved in the rock forever! For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!
Reader: This is the Word of the Lord.
Opening Song: I Know that My Redeemer Lives
I know that my Redeemer lives.
What comfort this sweet sentence gives!
He lives, He lives, who once was dead.
He lives, my ever-living Head.
He lives triumphant from the grave.
He lives eternally to save.
He lives all-glorious in the sky.
He lives exalted there on high.
He lives to silence all my fears;
He lives to wipe away my tears;
He lives to calm my troubled heart;
He lives all blessings to impart.
He lives and grants me daily breath.
He lives, and I shall conquer death.
He lives my mansion to prepare.
He lives to bring me safely there.
He lives, all glory to His name!
He lives, my Jesus, still the same.
Oh, the sweet joy this sentence gives;
I know that my Redeemer lives!
I Know That My Redeemer Lives! © Public Domain
Invocation
Confession and Forgiveness:
Psalm 118:15-29
P: Glad songs of salvation are in the tents of the righteous:
C: “The right hand of the Lord does valiantly,
P: The right hand of the Lord exalts,
C: The right hand of the Lord does valiantly!”
P: I shall not die, but I shall live,
C: And recount the deeds of the Lord.
P: The Lord has disciplined me severely,
C: But he has not given me over to death.
All: Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord.
Women: This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it.
Men: I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation.
All: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
P: This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.
C: This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
P: All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We take a moment to reflect on our lives and confess our sins.
(A moment of silence to reflect and confess)
C: Save us, we pray, O Lord!
All: Heavenly Father, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed. We have not loved you with our whole heart and have not loved our neighbor as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ and His suffering and death on the cross, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.
P: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
C: We bless you from the house of the Lord.
P: The Lord is God, and he has made his light to shine upon us.
P: The Lord our God is merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. Therefore, I announce unto you the grace of our Risen Lord Jesus Christ. In His stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
P: You are my God; I will extol you.
All: Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!
Song of Praise and Thanksgiving: Lift High the Cross
Chorus:
Lift high the cross the love of Christ proclaim,
Till all the world adore His sacred name.
Come Christians, follow where our captain trod,
Our King victorious, Christ, the Son of God.
(Chorus)
All newborn servants of the crucified,
Bear on their brows the seal of him who died.
(Chorus)
O Lord, once lifted on the glorious tree,
As Thou hast promised, draw us all to Thee.
(Chorus)
Let ev’ry race and ev’ry language tell,
Of Him who saves our lives from death and hell.
(Chorus)
So shall our song of triumph ever be:
Praise to the Crucified for victory!
(Chorus) © 1974 Hope Publishing Company
Epistle Reading – 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
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.
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. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
Reader: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
1st Gospel Reading – John 17:20-21
Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples went back to their homes.
P: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C: Praise be to You, O Christ.
Children’s Message
2nd Gospel Reading – John 20:11-18
But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.
P: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C: Praise be to You, O Christ.
Sermon Song: Jesus Christ is Risen, Today
Jesus Christ is ris’n today, Alleluia!
Our triumphant holy day, Alleluia!
Who did once upon the cross, Alleluia!
Suffer to redeem our loss, Alleluia!
Hymns of praise then let us sing, Alleluia!
Unto Christ, our heav’nly king, Alleluia!
Who endured the cross and grave, Alleluia!
Sinners to redeem and save, Alleluia!
But the pains which He endured, Alleluia!
Our salvation have procured; Alleluia!
Now above the sky He’s king, Alleluia!
Where the angels ever sing, Alleluia!
Sing we to our God above, Alleluia!
Praise eternal as His love; Alleluia!
Praise Him, all ye heav’nly host, Alleluia!
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Alleluia! © Public Domain
Sermon – “Faith, but not Blind Faith”
Prayers
Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth,
And 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 there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
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.
The Lord’s Prayer
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
Offering (Please click to give online)
Benediction – The online service ends. The closing song is below the lyrics as an embedded YouTube video.
Please see the announcements below as well.
God bless and thank you for worshiping with Faith!
Closing Song Lyrics: Crown Him With Many Crowns
Crown Him with many crowns, the Lamb upon His throne.
Hark how the heavenly anthem drowns all music but its own.
Awake, my soul, and sing of Him who died for thee,
And hail Him as thy matchless King through all eternity.
Crown Him the Lord of life who triumphed o’er the grave,
And rose victorious in the strife, for those He came to save.
His glories now we sing, who died and rose on high,
Who died eternal life to bring, and lives that death may die.
Crown Him the Lord of love. Behold His hands and side,
Rich wounds yet visible above in beauty glorified.
No angels in the sky can fully bear that sight,
But downward bend their wond’ring eyes at mysteries so bright.
Crown him the Lord of Heaven, enthroned in worlds above.
Crown Him the King to whom is given the wondrous name of Love.
Crown Him with many crowns, as thrones before Him fall.
Crown Him, ye kings, with many crowns, for He is King of all. © Public Domaine
Closing Song Video:
Upcoming Events
Apr 9, 7 PM – In-Person Growth Group Bible Study
Renee’s home
Apr 9, 7 PM – Online Growth Group Bible Study
Zoom
Apr 12, After the Service – In-Person Growth Group Bible Study
Faith Lutheran Church
Apr 12, 6 PM – Youth Group (Activities and Bible Study)
Grace Community Church
Meeting Address:
27221 Foamflower Blvd.
Wesley Chapel, FL 33544
Ph: (813) 602-1104
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