Rejoice in God!
Service Prayers for the Second Sunday of Easter
April 23, 2017

Call to Worship

Leader:  	Sing a new song!
People:  	A springtime shout-out to new life!

Sing praise to our joyful Easter God
Whose power brings new life out of death!

Immerse  doubt and despair in the fountain of new birth
Our visions and hopes are refreshed, made new!

For God has taken ordinary things
And made them extraordinary

All: 		Sing a New Song!

Opening Prayer

Holy God, 
You have transformed absurd impossibility
into reality: resurrection…
You have coaxed us to sing springtime alleluias 
where once there was a gray dawn, 
You have called us out of the tombs we inhabit 
into an undreamed of tomorrow, 
we praise you for this day! 
Come, Risen Christ, 
in newness and hope on this Eastertide day. Amen.

Prayer of Confession

Redeeming God, 
with you there is always more life, more hope, more joy. 

When doubt assails us, and we fail to recognize you at work in our lives, 
Lord, have mercy!

When fear impairs our faith, and our eyes and ears and hearts do not know you,
Christ, have mercy! 

When anger and sorrow stop us from doing the risky work of love, 
Lord, have mercy!

Words of Assurance

Within every kernel of doubt, there is a tree of life and hope. 
In those times when our faith falters, 
when we cannot bring ourselves to see the presence of the Holy among us, 
God takes our faith and transforms it, 
patiently showing us the many ways Christ walks among us. 
Look around you: 
as close as your own beating heart, 
and in the eyes of your nearest neighbor, 
grace abounds at the heart of all life. 
You are all God’s children, loved without condition, 
go in that peace. Amen.

Call for Offering

Easter teaches us that laughter and love are at the heart of God’s work. 
Joyfully we are able to give 
knowing that our gifts will help others 
to see the blessed miracle of God’s creative joy. 

Offertory Prayer

Loving God, can a laughing prayer be lifted up to you this Eastertide? 
Can these gifts, given with love, 
be further transformed like echoes of grace, 
delighting all who receive their blessings? 
May it be so, through the giddy power of your Holy Spirit, 
and may our lives speak of a Still Laughing God, 
full of Easter surprises. Amen.

Benediction

Follow now the new path Christ has opened up for us. 
Just around the corner of your life is a spiritual surprise! 
Easter! 
Christ is Risen! 
May you dance an alleluia dance, 
and sing a resurrection song. 
Laugh with God and let joy reside in your hearts always. Amen.

Rejoice in God was written by the Rev. Susan A. Blain, Minister for Faith Formation; Curator of Worship and Liturgical Arts, UCC.

Copyright 2017 Local Church Ministries, Faith Formation Ministry Team, United Church of Christ, 700 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, OH  44115-1100.  Permission granted to reproduce or adapt this material for use in services of worship or church education.  All publishing rights reserved.