O Happy Easter

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree,
that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.

When the centurion and those who were with him,
keeping watch over Jesus,
saw the earthquake and what took place,
they were filled with AWE and said,
“Truly this was the Son of God!"

Toward the dawn of the first day of the week,
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.
And behold, there was a great earthquake,
for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven
and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.
“Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek
Jesus who was crucified.
He is not here, for he has risen, as he said."

Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them,
“PEACE TO YOU!”
But they were startled and frightened
and thought they saw a spirit.
And he said to them,
“Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?
See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself.
Touch me, and SEE.”

Thus it is written,
that the Christ should suffer
and on the third day RISE from the dead
and that repentance
and forgiveness of sins
should be proclaimed in his name to all nations.

We shall all be changed
in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye...
For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable,
and we shall be changed.
Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?
Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ!

1Pet. 2:24; Matt. 27:54, 28:1-6; Luke 24:36-40, 46-47; 1 Cor. 15:51-57