O God of our greatest joy; God of our salvation and satisfaction, we come to praise your glorious name. We praise you this day that Jesus Christ is the victor, the conqueror of death, hell, and all opposing might. We praise you that Jesus bursts the bonds of death, tramples the powers of darkness down, and lives forever. Gracious Redeemer, you were lifted up upon a cross; you, who as a Man of sorrows were crowned with thorns upon a cross, have now ascended to God the Father’s right hand, crowned with glory; you are our Lord and giver of life everlasting. Oh, how we praise you this day, Christ is risen, Christ is risen indeed!
God Almighty, we praise you, that on the cross your wrath was satisfied; we praise you that on the cross justice was uncompromised; we praise you that on the cross love was magnified. We praise you that on the third day, as Jesus rose from the grave grace and mercy burst forth triumphant over Satan, sin, and death for all those who turn from their sin and trust in Jesus.
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, what more could be done that you have done! Your death is our life; your resurrection our peace; your ascension our hope that one day you will return and restore all things. Holy Spirit, open the eyes of our hearts that we might behold the glories of Christ; grant us a true heart of full assurance, an unwavering confidence in Jesus. Cause us to hold fast to the confession of our faith without wavering, for we know you have promised us all good things in Christ, and you are faithful.
Almighty God, in Christ Jesus, we praise you that relate to us as a gracious, compassionate Father, not an angry, tyrannical judge. Oh, how we praise you for all that we have in Jesus. And we confess that we often still sin against you; that we forget of the lavish things you have given us; we forget how you have so often protected us and brought us through trials; we confess that we reject you when we desire the things of the world – status, money, acceptance, sex, drugs – more than you; we confess that we often find you dull and boring; we confess that we are often ashamed to speak the truths of the gospel to our friends and family. We confess our sins to you this day. By your grace would you grant us repentance that we might turn from our sin and trust in our Savior, Jesus Christ? We confess with our mouths and believe in our hearts that he is Lord.
Father, in the name of Jesus and by the power of your Spirit, we pray it’s this gospel message that remains central in our church. And we pray the same for other churches here in DC. We pray for Justin and Allan as they pastor Sojourn Fairfax; give them abundant grace and mercy to exalt Jesus above all things. We pray for Jumaine Jones as he leads The Bridge in Silver Spring; cause him to marvel at Jesus and lead his people to do the same. We praise you for Capitol Hill Baptist and Church of the Resurrection and Christ Our Shepherd; may they faithfully labor to teach and preach the gospel; give these churches much grace to persevere for the hallowing of your great name.
We pray for our brothers and sisters around the globe this day, especially those who face persecution for simply trusting in Christ and trying to live faithfully unto him. We pray for the believers in northern Nigeria; as they think about the resurrection of the persecuted Lord today, cause them to take heart in all that they face. We pray the resurrection of Christ would be a great comfort this day to Asia Bibi, as she sits in a prison, sentenced to death, because she refused to renounce Christ; give her grace we pray.
And we pray for those peoples around the globe who have not heard of Jesus. Bring the gospel message to the Bohra in Sri Lanka, and the Ongkor in China. Raise up gospel labors to go to the Hazara in Afghanistan the Behdini Kurds in Northern Iraq and the Baloch in Western Iran. For the glory of your name, we plead for mercy upon these peoples that they might come to know you and sing your praises.
We pray for our own church. Give use grace to humbly and boldly speak the gospel to those around use. We praise you that you have used our gospel ministry to see people go from spiritual death to life, from the domain of darkness to the Kingdom of light. Use our church to see more and more people come to faith in Jesus. And help us always be a church marked with a sweet mixture rock-solid biblical conviction and Christ-like compassion. Help us always be a church that is marked by repentance of our sin as we bring the gospel to bear on the sin around us. Help us always be a church that delights in the supremacy of Jesus Christ and seeks to invite and equip others to share in that delight. In the name of our resurrected Savior, we pray. Amen.