Sunday 5th April - Easter Sunday
- Apr 3
- 5 min read
EASTER SUNDAY A
5th April 2026
A short act of worship and daily devotions
Opening Prayers
Risen Lord,
First there was nothing, then there was light.
Later, the stone was rolled away, revealing the emptiness of the tomb.
What was once seen as sorrow, you turned into joy and a sense of peace.
What once was lost, you restored to life.
On this Easter Sunday, I come to you in prayer, O God, and give thanks because you raised Christ from death, you held my hand and lifted me, lifted all of us, to your glory and the warmth of your parental love.
This day, this week, and beyond, let me learn to live life with a fresh and beautiful outlook, in awe of all you created.
Now, when I look at the wonders of this world, let me truly appreciate your sacrifice and move with a renewed heart and sense of self.
Let the flowers smell that much sweeter, the stars shine brighter, the love I have for others feel stronger; let the woes of the day drift away like a distant dream.
Lord, let every breath I draw be done in gratitude for the life I have been gifted. In appreciation of all you have done for me, and in giving your Son, let me go and tell.
Go tell of how you turn sorrow into joy.
Tell of your steadfast love, renewed hearts, and victorious love, of how Jesus is truly risen, not a memory, but alive and well in me, in each of us.
Let me live in appreciation of all things, big and small, in my renewed sense of self, opportunity, and love for you.
For now and forever more.
Amen.
You may now wish to say the Lord’s Prayer in a version or translation with which you are familiar
Reading: Matthew 28:1-10 – Click here for Reading
Responding to the reading
Easter morning begins quietly.
Two women, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, walk toward a tomb. They are not expecting resurrection. They are carrying grief. Their teacher has been executed. Their hopes have been shattered. They come simply to mourn.
But the story refuses to stay in that place. The earth shakes. The stone is rolled away. And an angel speaks the words that echo throughout the resurrection story: “Do not be afraid.”
It’s striking how often those words appear when God is doing something new. Because new life, even when it is good, can be frightening. Resurrection disrupts the familiar. It overturns what we thought was final.
The angel tells them: “He is not here; for he has been raised.” And suddenly the world is different.
Notice who receives the news first. Not the powerful. Not the religious leaders. Not the disciples hiding behind locked doors. The first witnesses to the resurrection are women, people whose testimony was often dismissed in their culture at that time. Yet they are entrusted with the most important message in the Christian story. This is how God works: lifting voices the world ignores, placing hope in unexpected hands.
As the women run to tell the others, Jesus meets them on the road. His first words are simple: “Greetings.” And again: “Do not be afraid.”
Easter is not just a miracle to admire from a distance. It is an invitation into a new way of living. Resurrection tells us that death, despair, injustice, and violence do not have the final word. It tells us that love is stronger than fear, that life can rise where we thought everything was lost.
For those of us trying to follow Jesus today, Easter asks us some searching questions:
Where in your life do things feel sealed up like a tomb?
What grief or fear are you carrying this morning?
And where might God already be rolling away stones you thought would never move?
Discipleship after Easter means becoming people who live as if resurrection is real. It means choosing hope when cynicism feels easier. It means working for justice even when change seems impossible. It means trusting that God is still bringing life out of places the world has given up on.
The women leave the tomb with fear and great joy, both at the same time. Perhaps that’s what resurrection faith looks like: courage that moves forward even while our hearts are still trembling.
And like them, we are sent with a message.
Christ is risen.
Life is stronger than death.
Love will have the final word.
So go, and do not be afraid.
Responding in music
On this resurrection Sunday, you might like to sing along to one or both of these hymns:
305 STF – Low in the grave he lay – YouTube
706 STF – Longing for light – YouTube
Blessing
Go out with peace in your hearts,
And encounter a story of new life emerging all around.
Go and bring the love of Christ into your midst, always.
Amen. ____________________________________________________________________
Prayers and Prayer Pointers For This Week
Monday 6th April
On this bank holiday, this day-after-the-night-before, this Easter Monday, May you take a moment to see new life emerging, to see rhythms and patterns changing, to see the possibility of resurrection.
Come, by your Spirit, I pray. Amen.
Tuesday 7th April
God of Easter, Help me to enter into the Spirit of the season, The signs of new life and light shining in God’s own world, Today and always. Amen.
Wednesday 8th April
God of all grace, May I become aware of your presence in my midst in this moment. Help me to notice just how close you are, Just how present you are, How you walk with me each step.
Guide me this day, by your grace, I pray. Amen
Thursday 9th April
Take time to pray for the world and in particular those who live and work in your community. The shopkeepers, restaurants and bars. For service providers, hairdressers, beauticians and the Post Office. For health providers like the Doctors and Chemist.
Friday 10th April
Holy, holy, holy God, Come and transform me by your grace, we pray. Help me to see the world differently, with more hope, with more grace, with more joy, and with God’s love all around me. Help me to see your grace at work, Amen.
Saturday 11th April
At the end of this first week of the Easter, why not pause again to take a moment and notice the signs of new life in your life, in the world around you, in your home.
Give thanks for the daily miracle of resurrection, happening all around us, all the time.