Tuesday 21st April
Hymn: Risen
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, thank you for the hope and promise of Easter! For the amazing truth that through your death and glorious Resurrection the power of sin and death has been broken once and for all, that through this we can come home to God, and have the assurance, and, indeed, the experience of your living presence with us each and every day. This means that whatever our circumstances, whatever challenges or difficulties we are facing, we can be sure that we are never alone, but that your love is surrounding us and your Holy Spirit upholding us today, and through this may we know your peace.
Amen
Liz Stuart
Monday 20th April
Hymn: Now is eternal life (H&P 203)
Prayer:
If we are going to live as your disciples in this dark and difficult and often fearful world, we need to rely on the power and presence of your Holy Spirit, Lord Jesus. For only then will we be given the wisdom and guidance and strength that will help us remain firm in our faith and resist the temptations that bombard us on every side. And so, Lord, we thank you that eternal life, life in all its fullness, is not a future promise but life we can experience right now when we put our trust in you. Whatever today, whatever this week holds, help us to hold on tight to this promise, and know your risen power in our own lives.
Amen
Liz Stuart
Sunday 19th April
Hymn: This joyful Eastertide (StF 314/H&P 213)
Prayer:
‘Come, share our Easter joy’ we sing, and raise our voices in praise of all you have done for us, Lord Jesus! But for this to mean anything, and if it is to last, it has to be more than words, Lord – it has to come from our hearts, hearts which, like those Emmaus disciples, have ‘burned within us’ as we have listened to the Easter story and allowed it to move us and change us and fill us with a new gladness and hope. For this is for real and this is for now! The power of evil and death has been defeated once and for all time, and we have been set free from all that would separate us the love of God. So let us celebrate, let us rejoice, and, most of all, let us share our Easter joy with those around us!
Amen
Liz Stuart
Saturday 18th April
Hymn: Lord Jesus Christ (StF 594/H&P 617/SofF 357/MP 435)
Prayer:
Because you came as one of us, Lord Jesus, growing up in an ordinary home, living an ordinary human life, facing the problems, the disappointments, the highs and lows that we all face, we know that whatever our need we can trust you to understand. Because you suffered pain and injustice, betrayal and denial, we know that you are aware of how cruel a place the world can be, and that you stand alongside those who are oppressed, abused and ill-treated, and long for their freedom and for them to find hope. May we, Lord, who seek to live in your way, follow your example of reaching out to those who are marginalised and suffer discrimination, and speak up for those whose voices are not heard. For then we shall be truly living out our faith as Easter people, sharing with others the love and new life we have found in you.
Amen
Liz Stuart
Friday 17th April
Hymn: When Easter to the dark world came (StF 316/H&P 200)
Prayer:
Lord God, we thank you that in the Easter story there is so much that gives us hope. After the gloom and grief of Good Friday, it seemed that everything had come to an end, and yet it was in so many ways the doorway to a new beginning, particularly for those close to Jesus. And we can take so much comfort in the way Jesus came to individuals in their confusion and doubt, reassuring them with His risen presence and turning their despair to joy. It is because of this, Lord, that we can be sure that when we go through difficult times you will come to us, dispelling our fear and giving us your peace. May this be so for us today.
Amen
Liz Stuart
Thursday 16th April
Hymn: Famous One (SofF 1653)
Prayer:
Loving God, Easter is not a festival and a celebration simply to look back on, it is something for us to experience each and every day, and for us to keep on declaring its joy and hope, because what you have done for us in Jesus you continue to do in the world and in our lives through your Holy Spirit. So, Lord, we look forward in faith to all the new things we have yet to discover about you, about ourselves and about your plans for our lives, knowing that you are able to do in us and for us immeasurably more than we can ever ask for or hope to receive. And in it all and through it all may all the glory be yours and may your love be made known!
Amen
Liz Stuart
Wednesday 15th April
Hymn: Go peaceful
Prayer:
It’s the middle of the week, Lord God, and for some of us everything is going well, but for others it’s been a stressful time, with unexpected problems cropping up, causing us anxiety and maybe sleepless nights. Either way, today let’s try to take time out to be with you, Lord, to listen to you, to seek your guidance, and allow ourselves to be wrapped in your love. For then we will be able to go forward refreshed, renewed and more able to carry on with all you are calling us to do and be – not in our own strength but in yours!
Amen
Liz Stuart
Tuesday 14th April
Hymn: Now the green blade rises (StF 306/ H&P 204)
Prayer:
This is the season of new life! We see it all around us in the blossom on trees and bushes and the different shades of greening as buds give way to leaves. We hear it in the sounds of birds throwing their cheerful songs from tree to tree, and we feel it in the clean freshness of early morning and the growing warmth of the sun. But none of this compares with the joy of the new life we have received from you, Lord Jesus, as we continue to revel in the wonder of your Resurrection with all its hope and promise. Help us to take this Easter exuberance into all the places we visit today, Lord, and to share it with all those we meet!
Amen
Liz Stuart
Monday 13th April
Hymn: The Galilean fishers toil (MHB 509)
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, as we begin a new week, and for some, a new term, it’s so easy to let all the pressures of everyday life dampen our enthusiasm and undermine our commitment to follow you. And yet we know, Lord, that when this happens, and we begin to live our lives relying on our own abilities and in our own strength, we constantly fail, for it is you who makes the difference between life with a small ‘l’ and Life in all its fullness. This was the experience of those first disciples, Lord, and, in all the intervening years, this has not changed. So today, Lord, however rushed we feel, let’s begin our day with you, and discover a love and peace and joy that will keep us going through whatever challenges we face.
Amen
Liz Stuart
Sunday 12th April
Hymn: Christ is alive! Let Christians sing (StF 297/H&P 190)
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, in this Easter season we lift our voices in praise of all you have done for us through your Cross and Resurrection. For the new life and hope we have received, and which will continue to fill us with joy and gratitude long after the cards are put away and the chocolate eaten, for through your Holy Spirit you are alive in us. And so on this day set apart each week to celebrate your Resurrection we bring you not only the worship of our lips but the love of our hearts, asking both for your forgiveness for the times we have let you down, and for your strength as we seek to follow your example. May we truly live as Easter people, sharing all the love and joy we have received with those around us.
Amen
Liz Stuart
Saturday 11th April
Hymn: I serve a risen Saviour (MP 295)
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, through your glorious Resurrection you proved beyond all doubt that the power of sin and death has been broken once and for all, but the joy of your presence is one that never fades or goes away. For although, unlike those first disciples, we cannot see you face to face, we can be certain that you are with us, and that, in spite of what we see and hear in our news bulletins of wars and abuse of power, you are still very much at work in the world and also with us in every part of their lives. And so we hold onto your promise that you will never leave us or abandon us, and that through your Holy Spirit you will be our guide, our strength and our constant companion – and we thank you, Lord.
Amen
Liz Stuart
Friday 10th April
Hymn: Because
Prayer:
Because you came to earth and lived our life, facing the sort experiences we face, we can be confident that you will always stand by us in times of difficulty and need. Because you endured scorn and betrayal, pain and suffering we know that you will give us the courage to bear the challenges that come our way. Because you experienced death, and in your Resurrection proved that its power has been broken, we can live free from fear in the hope of your promise of eternal life. All this for us, Lord, we who have done nothing to deserve it and who so often allow anxiety to shadow our lives. Help us to put our trust more securely in you, and to live each day in the love and joy and exhilaration of Easter.
Amen
Liz Stuart
Thursday 9th April
Hymn: Jesus is Lord! The cry that echoes through Creation (SofF 1387)
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, we continue to celebrate your Resurrection – that the ‘tomb is gloriously empty’ proving that ‘not even death could crush this King of love’ – and this in itself is amazing and gave new life to your followers both then and now. But this was not all, Lord, for you sent your Holy Spirit to live in them and in us, giving the inspiration and the power to go out into the world to spread this Good News and to share and show your great love. With the state of the world today, Lord, we may wonder what the future will be, but this Easter season reminds us that nothing is beyond your power, and also of your promise to come again. Help us to hold onto this in these scary times, Lord, and to let nothing destroy or diminish the hope we have in you.
Amen
Liz Stuart
Wednesday 8th April
Hymn: The head that once was crowned with thorns (StF 312/H&P 209/SofF 531/ MP 647)
Prayer:
They put a crown of thorns on your head, Lord Jesus, and it was intended to mock, to add to your suffering, but little did they know that this would turn out to be a crown of glory. But all the time you knew, Lord – you knew that death would never be the end of the story, and though it meant unimaginable pain and suffering, an empty Cross and an empty tomb would prove for all time that you were, you are alive! And it is this that has given and continues to give hope to your disciples of every age. To those who in our day who are suffering persecution for their faith in you, and to those of us whose battle is more often with ridicule or apathy. Give us courage, Lord, we pray, to tell both your story and our story, so that others may come to believe and receive the new life you offer, and in it all may you be glorified.
Amen
Liz Stuart
Tuesday 7th April
Hymn: Low in the grave He lay (StF 305/H&P 202/SofF 378/MP 453)
Prayer:
We will never know what happened in the silence of that empty tomb, Lord Jesus – or how you came to be resurrected from the dead. And this is how it should be, Lord, for that mystery is too deep, too wonderful for human minds to understand. But what we do know is that, in some amazing way, you were raised to life, and because of this we have the assurance that we, too, will also be raised – that the power of sin and death has been conquered once and for all! When we are feeling low, Lord Jesus, when we are facing problems we feel are too big for us to handle, help us to remember that nothing is beyond your power to help, to raise us up, and to give us new hope and joy. For we are Easter people, and through your Holy Spirit, you are alive in us.
Amen!
Liz Stuart
Monday 6th April
Hymn: He has risen (StF 302/SofF 753/CMP 839)
Prayer:
Let’s shout it from the roof-tops – ‘He has risen’, because, Lord Jesus, you are alive! In your glorious Resurrection the power of death has been defeated and the doorway to eternal life is open to all who put their trust in you. And this, Lord, is not something we have to wait for when we die, for this Life in all its fullness is available for each and every one of us right now. For Jesus is risen – He is risen indeed! Darkness has given way to light, despair to hope, grief to joy and fear to freedom. Let us revel in all that has been won for us and give you, Lord Jesus, all the praise and glory!
Amen
Liz Stuart
Sunday 5th April
Hymn: See what a morning (StF 309/SofF 2020)
Prayer:
And what a morning it was, Lord Jesus! Finding the stone rolled away and your body gone! Seeing angels with unbelievable messages! And then you, yourself, Lord, so unexpected, so alive! Lord, help us to experience that same excitement – to open our minds to the wonder of it all, and to know you not only alive in body but alive in us, transforming our lives, and changing us through your Holy Spirit from the inside out. So may our songs this Easter Day be full of joy and hope, and our souls be full of light and laughter. And may our worship come from hearts overflowing with love and thanksgiving.
Amen
Liz Stuart
Saturday 4th April
Hymn: Beneath the cross of Jesus (StF 442/SofF 1725)
Prayer:
It’s quiet here now, Lord, and plenty of space to stand and gaze at your Cross. After the rabble rousers of yesterday, the cries and taunts, the tears of the women watching and grieving, it’s eerily still. Well, of course, it’s the Sabbath, and one wouldn’t expect people to be hanging about. The mourners have gone, your body has been put in a tomb, the religious leaders will be doing their duty in the Temple, the people dispersed to their homes or lodgings. But it’s more than that, Lord – it’s as if everything is waiting, holding its breath, expecting something to happen. Perhaps when you cried, ‘It is finished!’ you didn’t mean it was the end of the story, but that there’s more to come. May we be ready, Lord, for when it happens!
Amen
Liz Stuart
Friday 3rd April
Hymn: When I survey the wondrous Cross (StF 287/H&P 180/SofF 596/MP 755)
Prayer:
There are no words, Lord Jesus, nothing we can say to adequately describe the suffering you went through on that Cross, the pain, the agony of bereavement as our sin separated you from the Father, the jeers of the crowd and, although you knew it would happen, the betrayal, denial and abandonment of those who you had called your friends. And yet even in your darkest hour you asked for the forgiveness of those who caused your suffering, and spoke words of care and comfort to those who were close by. What can our response be, Lord, to such amazing love, except to offer you ‘our souls, our lives, our all’!
Amen
Liz Stuart
Thursday 2nd April
Hymn: All the room was hushed and still (StF 266/SofF 2211)
Prayer:
Would we have let you wash our feet, Lord Jesus, or would we have been like Peter and objected, knowing that it was the wrong way round – that instead we should be washing yours? But maybe it wasn’t so much about feet, Lord, as a symbol of the way we should love and serve one another. Not standing on our dignity, not thinking that anything is beneath us, not considering how it might look to the outsider, but purely acting out of love, sensing another’s need, willing to get down on our knees and do the humblest tasks. And actually, when we measure that against your ‘as I have loved you’ we realise it’s not a lot to ask of us – and also that we have a long way to go!
Amen
Liz Stuart
Wednesday 1st April
Hymn: Saviour, thy dying love (MP 586)
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, you held nothing back from us, even life itself, and yet we are often reluctant to make even small sacrifices for you. Is it sometimes because we think that such a sacrifice as you made on our behalf demands a grand gesture on our part, and anything we can offer would seem too small and insignificant in comparison? And then we remember that in your eyes the widow’s coin was worth more than the gifts of the wealthy, and this surely encourages us to reassess our values. And see that if our giving to you is from the heart, out of love, then we will hold nothing back, or consider it as of little worth. So today we come, Lord, offering you our all, knowing that you will accept us as we are, and use the gifts we bring to your glory.
Amen
Liz Stuart