Christ Presbyterian Church

Worship Service

April 9, 2023
Facebook Live: @christpc
Call and Listen: 351-888-7756
Sanctuary Parking Area: FM105.3
 Welcome to Sunday Worship Service
Easter Sunday
April 9, 2023 10:00AM
* Please stand if you are able.

Prelude
Welcome and Announcements
GATHERING AROUND THE WORD

Call to Worship
One: This is the Good News – the light shines in the darkness & the darkness will never
overcome it.
All: Hallelujah! Christ is risen.
One: This is the Good News: once we were no people; now we are God’s people.
All: Hallelujah! Christ is risen.
One: This is the Good News – the grave is empty & Christ is risen.
All: Hallelujah! Christ is risen indeed!
One: Let us worship God with Easter joy!

Invocation and Adoration

God of resurrection power, we celebrate the joy of Easter and your love fills us with
expectation. Death will never overcome life, and the powers of chaos will never
overcome your love for all your creation. Just as Jesus spoke to Mary in the garden
that first Easter day, you speak to each of us this day and every day because you love
us. We praise you for the hope you have given us, your renewing love and your promise
of new life in Christ. So may we live our love for you gladly, today and every day, as we
sing with our hearts full of praise: AMEN

*Hymn
Jesus Christ Is Risen Today
Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia!
our triumphant holy day, Alleluia!
who did once upon the cross, Alleluia!
suffer to redeem our loss. Alleluia!
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 Hymns of praise then let us sing, Alleluia!
unto Christ, our heavenly 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 God's love. Alleluia!
Praise our God, ye heavenly host, Alleluia!
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Alleluia!

Prayer of Confession
God of tender mercy, we confess that faith doesn’t come easy every Easter. When we
face loss in our own lives, sorrow can weigh us down. Our challenges can feel like a
stone too heavy to roll away. Forgive us, O God. Let the hope of new life in Christ assure
us that the power of your love that raised Jesus will never let us go. Amen.

Silent Confession
Assurance of Pardon
*Affirmation of Faith 1 Corinthians 13:4-13
I believe Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or
rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice
in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all
things, endures all things. Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an
end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we
know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the
partial will come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child,
I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now
we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part;
then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love
abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

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 PROCLAIMING THE WORD

Prayer of Illumination
Reading from the Old Testament
Psalms 118:1-2, 14, 19-24
O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his steadfast love endures for ever! 2 Let Israel say,
‘His steadfast love endures for ever.’ 14 The LORD is my strength and my might; he has become
my salvation. 19 Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give
thanks to the LORD. 20 This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter through it. 21 I
thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. 22 The stone that the
builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. 23 This is the LORD’s doing; it is marvelous
in our eyes. 24 This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989)

Reading from the New Testament

Colossians 3:1-4
So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at
the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth,
3 for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life is
revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.
The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989)

One: This is the Word of the Lord.

All: Thanks be to God!

Family Choir
Good Christians all. Rejoice and Sing
Good Christians all, rejoice and sing!
Now is the triumph of our King!
To all the world glad news we bring:
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thy name we bless, O risen Lord,
And sing today with one accord
The life laid down, the life restored:
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

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Reading from the Gospel
John 20:1-18
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and
saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. 2So 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.’ 3Then Peter and the other disciple set
out and went towards the tomb. 4The two were running together, but the other disciple outran
Peter and reached the tomb first. 5He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying
there, but he did not go in. 6Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He
saw the linen wrappings lying there, 7and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with
the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. 8Then the other disciple, who reached the
tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9for as yet they did not understand the scripture,
that he must rise from the dead. 10Then the disciples returned to their homes. 11 But Mary stood
weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; 12and she saw two
angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at
the feet. 13They 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.’ 14When she had said this, she turned
round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15Jesus said to her,
‘Woman, why are you weeping? For whom are you looking?’ 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.’ 16Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbouni!’ (which
means Teacher). 17Jesus said to her, ‘Do not hold on to me, because 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.” ’ 18Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen
the Lord’; and she told them that he had said these things to her.
The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989)

One: This is the Word of the Lord.

All: Thanks be to God!

Special Music
He Is Risen
Solo – Susan Taylor

Sermon Rev. William Cowfer

“He Is Here, He Has Risen”

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 RESPONDING TO THE WORD
Hymn
In the Bulb There Is a Flower
In the bulb there is a flower;
in the seed, an apple tree;
in cocoons, a hidden promise:
butterflies will soon be free!
In the cold and snow of winter
there’s a spring that waits to be,
unrevealed until its season,
something God alone can see.

There’s a song in every silence,

seeking word and melody;
there’s a dawn in every darkness,
bringing hope to you and me.
From the past will come the future;
what it holds, a mystery,
unrevealed until its season,
something God alone can see.

In our end is our beginning;

in our time, infinity;
in our doubt there is believing;
in our life, eternity.
In our death, a resurrection;
at the last, a victory,
unrevealed until its season,
something God alone can see.
Invitation to Giving
*Doxology
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

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Prayer of Dedication
Prayers of the People
The Lord’s Prayer
GOING OUT INTO THE WORLD

*Hymn
The Day of Resurrection
The day of resurrection!
Earth, tell it out abroad,
the Passover of gladness,
the Passover of God.
From death to life eternal,
from sin’s dominion free,
our Christ has brought us over
with hymns of victory.
Now let the heavens be joyful;
let earth its song begin;
the round world keep high triumph
and all that is therein.
Let all things seen and unseen
their notes of gladness blend,
for Christ the Lord has risen,
our joy that has no end.
Benediction
Postlude

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 ANNOUNCEMENTS
Blood Drive
The Big Red Bus will be coming to CPC next week on April 16th from 10:00 AM to 12 PM. If your able, please
consider donating blood.
CPC Night Out on The Town
Join us on Thursday April 20th at 5 PM for dinner at Red Lobster in Largo Mall. If interested, please contact the
church office at 727-584-8695 or Chad at 727-304-7577 by Monday April 17th to make a reservation.
Donation of Toiletries
If you have traveled lately and have unused toiletries articles that can donated to one of mission groups at
St Vincent de Paul in their work with homeless. Please contact Jeanne Gres.
Hymn Studies
Want to learn and understand more about the hymns we sing on Sunday morning? Terry Mapes is leading a
discussion group each Tuesday at 10 AM in the pantry room next to the church office. Hope to see you there!
Wednesday Night Take Out Dinner
Meals are available for delivery or pickup at 4:45 PM on Wednesdays. This week’s menu is salad, lasagna, garlic
bread, and strawberry jello cake. If interested in receiving a meal, please contact June Sanchez at 727-409-4199
or the church office at 727-584-8695. Delivery area is limited.
Neighborhood Ministries
Please help us keep the pantry full as our community continues to struggle with hunger. Food items can be
dropped off on Sunday mornings prior to service and placed in the wheeled grocery cart or at the church office.
The Neighborhood Meals continue to provide bagged meals on Tuesdays at 5PM in front of the church.
Ways to support your church in tithes and offerings
1. Online at www.largocpc.org
2. Through Vanco Mobile Faith Engagement App on Apple or Android devices
3. Mail a gift directly to the church or drop in office mail slot
4. Use the bill pay option through your bank
5. Scan the QR code to the right using your phone

CHRIST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Phone: 727-584-8695 • Fax: 727-585-1079 • 3115 Dryer Ave, Largo FL 33770
www.LargoCPC.org • email: Office.largocpc@gmail.com
Office Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday 9 AM – 11:30 AM or by appointment.
Face covering coverings remain optional for personal use.

Secretary Sarah Reeves email: Office.largocpc@gmail.com

Director of Music Steven Radeck email: StevenRadeck@gmail.com
Custodian June Sanchez email: JuBug616@aol.com
All songs used by permission CCLI #863215 and streaming CPSL 139714, Expiration date 7/31/2023
Video and audio equipment are used for the livestreaming
8 & recording of the worship service.
By participating in this service, you consent to being recorded for this purpose.