Worship at Home - By David Godfrey

Middlesbrough and Eston Circuit - Easter Sunday 5th Apr 2026

Hymn:  StF 298,  H&P 193 “Christ the Lord is risen today”

Prayers:

Confession and words of assurance (taken from rootsontheweb.com):    

Lord Jesus, we ask your forgiveness for when we have failed to perceive the power in your story.  Even the Easter story has become so familiar to us that we fail to feel the immense impact of it.  The stone rolled away!  The ground itself shaking beneath us!  A crucified man defeating death itself!  Today, Lord, we seek to follow in the footsteps of the women who witnessed your resurrection; to hear and see and feel as they did, so that we can truly proclaim your groundbreaking gospel. 

Amen. 

Heavenly Father, you did not spare your only Son, but gave him up to death on the cross so that in his resurrection we might be delivered from our sins and from death itself.  How great is the forgiveness of such a loving Father! 

Amen.

Reading: Matthew 28:1-10

Reflection:

I don’t know if you’ve ever had the experience of terrible things all happening at once and spiralling out of control.  A threatening situation might escalate into noise and violence.  Or a disagreement might escalate into a chaotic row with multiple people involved.  In such out of control circumstance, we might look back and say that, ’All hell broke loose’.  The experience of it happening can be very scarring.  However, when we turn to Matthew’s gospel, we find the opposite happening.  In Matthew’s account of the Resurrection, all heaven breaks loose.  Guards tremble and fall over.  There is an earthquake which seems to be inspired by an angel who shines like lightning.  A heavy stone is moved like a pebble and rolled away to reveal an empty tomb.  When the two Marys arrive, there is the angel sitting atop the stone like a general surveying a field of victory after a battle.  The message that Matthew is trying to convey is that this is God’s doing and it is wonderful to behold.  God is injecting a dose of heaven into all the pain and misery of this world.

Of course, these Resurrection events are not of human origin.  In spite of the horror of the times, and all the pain that came before, it is God who is now taking the initiative.  An assurance is given to the women that they need not be afraid, because nothing will thwart God’s purposes.  We take comfort from that assurance too.  When war rages in the Middle East; when the cost of living escalates and it is hard to make ends meet; when national life is polarised by culture wars and political divisions; and when the future seems uncertain, God is still at work and heaven still breaks loose in our world.  Whatever may happen to us, the Resurrection is a sign that nothing we encounter is stronger than God’s love.  Ultimately, God gets the last word, and in the end, God is triumphant.

Hymn:  StF 306 H&P 204 “Now the Green Blade Rises”

Prayers:  

Intercessions:   Risen Lord Jesus, amazing things happened on that first Easter morning.  Give us the courage to tell our friends and family the wonderful news of your Resurrection.   In our prayers we remember those who are struggling at this Easter time.  We pray for those who are filled with the sorrow of loss, the pain of illness, or the despair of being alone.  We ask that you meet them at their point of deepest need.  We pray for the Church celebrating throughout the world this day.  Unite us in our mission, in our love for you and in the joy of resurrection life.  We also pray for those who struggle to find hope and see your resurrection because they are surrounded by war, violence and death.  We lift to you the countries of the middle East, and Ukraine.  Bring hope in the midst of death and destruction.  May those who oppose your ways of love and peace be astonished at your glory revealed in Jesus Christ.  We offer our prayers in the name of Jesus Christ our risen Lord,

  Amen. 

 Our Father…

Hymn: StF 313, H&P 212 “Thine be the glory”

Blessing: The Lord bless you and keep you:  behold your Lord, receive his peace.  And may the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be with you always.

Amen.