Sunday Worship – 5th April 2026 – Easter Sunday

(All our songs this morning are from Singing the Faith (StF) numbers will be given where available)

Welcome to our Sunday Service, today shared on paper across our circuit and with the congregation at Saltaire Methodist Church and led by Rev Phil Drake our Circuit Superintendent Minister.

Click on the blue links to follow them for bible readings and associated links

Call to worship

Risen Lord Jesus, breaking forth from the tomb,
breaking the power of death,
breaking new ground where faith will flourish –
we greet you with joy and jubilation
on this Easter Day! Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Amen.

Song – StF 298/H&P 193 – Christ the Lord is risen today

Prayer

Risen Lord Jesus,
we praise you that you are alive,

that you are here with us now.
We worship you

as your friends did on the very first Easter Day,
and we pray that you will renew our faith

and make us strong,
so that we may tell others your good news
and bring your peace to the world.
Amen.

We join in the Lord’s Prayer.

Reading:

Psalm 118: 1-2, 14-24

Gospel Reading:

Luke 24: 1-12

Reflection

Hope resurrected.

You may want to shout out loud the response ‘Roll away the stone!’

Hopes ruined. Who went to visit the tomb of Jesus?

Let’s think about the women who went to the tomb of Jesus on that first Easter day – We might ask ourselves, what hope did they have? Their hopes lay in ruins, as dead and buried as their Master and Friend. Hopes which had accompanied them during their time with Jesus – as they followed him from Galilee; seeing Jesus bring help and healing to the people, meeting their needs – all that was hopeful about the ministry of Jesus had gone with the death of Jesus.

God’s plans are sometimes hidden, in darkness, as if trapped by a big stone rolled over the entrance. We live as a people so easily trapped by whatever hard circumstances we find ourselves in. In times of distress, it is difficult to see what God is doing, but even in death God is still at work.

What are we asking God to do? Roll away the stone!

Hopes remembered – Who did the women meet at the tomb?

Something happened at the tomb. The women were met by the angels, who reminded them of Jesus’ words. The women remembered what Jesus had said to them: about how he would suffer, be put to death and would rise again three days later – words that had puzzled them back then now came back to them.

Words which would not have made any sense at all when they first heard them, suddenly became really important. If Jesus is indeed risen from the dead, then his words and his promises are true and can be relied upon.

So we too are called to be a people who remember the life of Jesus, his death and resurrection. It is what we do each time we share bread and wine at this table. Jesus said, ‘Do this to remember me.’ It is because of that remembering that we are offered hope for the future, of a future with Jesus and the new life he brings. Remembering Jesus is like having the stone rolled away from our darkness. It lets new light into our lives.

What are we asking God to do? Roll away the stone!

Hopes reported. Who did the women go off to see?

The women still did not fully understand what had happened, but they too did something really important – they shared their good news. They weren’t told or instructed by the angels to tell others about what they had seen and heard, but that is exactly what they did. They returned to the disciples and the other followers of Jesus, reporting on what had happened.

Sometimes as Christians we are not always as forthcoming in telling good news. But each and every piece of good news, no matter how small, where it lifts the human Spirit, where there is cause for rejoicing gives witness to our resurrection hope. So the challenge for us is : where is the good news in our life which speaks of new life in Christ.

A word kept to ourselves is trapped inside. But a word shared is a living hope – who knows where it may lead us. Ultimately, it led the disciples from an empty tomb to an encounter with the risen Christ. So let’s share our good news with those we meet, that they too may come to know the living love of Jesus.

What are we asking God to do? Roll away the stone!

The stone has been rolled away, and we can see that the tomb is empty. Jesus is not there – he is risen and is in our hearts and lives. Amen.

Take time to reflect on this Easter message as you read the words of StF 306 Now the green blade rises

To think about

Consider the phrase ‘groundbreaking’ and what it means. Consider what it means in terms of the natural world – how bulbs and seeds break through the surface of the soil as they start to grow.
New research in science and technology is sometimes described as ‘groundbreaking’ if there is a big leap forward in understanding.
In what ways is the Easter story groundbreaking? Do we make the Easter story too ‘safe’ in our retellings? How can we share the ‘seismic joy’ of the resurrection?

Easter intercessions