Easter Vigil, 2024

Easter Vigil and the Lighting of the Paschal Candle

Welcome to the teaching ministry of Kungsvinger Lutheran Church. Kungsvinger is a beacon for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and is located on the plains of northwestern Minnesota. We proclaim Christ and Him crucified for our sins and salvation by grace through faith alone.

And now, here's a message from Pastor Chris Roseberg.

All right, I would like to welcome everybody to Kungsvinger Lutheran Church. Tonight is the Easter Vigil, and there's much to do. I've heard this service described as we gather in the dark and we read the entire Bible as we anticipate the resurrection of Christ.

By the end of this, you will say that that is a correct understanding of the service that we are doing. But there is so much that we need to do. And the first order of business for the Vigil is the commissioning of our brand-new Paschal candle for this new year that starts with Easter, which means I have to find the service here real quick.

I actually put a bookmark on this earlier. But this book, there we go. All right, a little bit of a note. So the three services, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil, are all considered to be one service.

All right? Collectively, they are called the tritium, the three days. But it is actually considered to be one big, long service. So thank you for all of you who have joined us for each and every one of the three parts of the one service.

And so you're going to note that partway through the service, as we get towards the end, the Lenten pyramids are coming down, and the Easter pyramids are going up. And you need to understand this. According to biblical time, we are not out of order due to the fact that the new day begins at sunset.

So we get to sneak in kind of the first hallelujahs of Easter,.

And it always kills me.

It's like, oh, it's like the best thing ever. Okay, now, I need some help. So I need a man to be the bearer of our Paschal candle. All right? So there are things that have to be done with it. And then I need a man to actually hold this book up so that I can read it to do the things that we need to do to the Paschal candle.

And once the things are done to the Paschal candle and it's lit, then you all will light your individual candles, and we will process into the sanctuary together. And if you look at the order there, you'll note that when I hit the entrance to the sanctuary, I will stop, and my candle holder will stop, and I will say the light of Christ, and you all will respond very, very vocally so everyone can hear it.

Thanks be to God. When we get halfway to through the sanctuary, we'll do the same, and then we'll do it one more time once I get up to the candle holder, the place where it'll be.

Okay?

And so there's a lot that we have to do, and the best bit, I think, about our history, and that is that the first vigil we did was online during COVID, right? That was the first time we ever pulled that off, and I think that was an appropriate time for us to fire up the vigil.

We've since then added all the different bits of it, which is kind of fun. All right, so let's see here. Who's going to be my... All right, so let's get the candle. I want you in the center over here holding the candle.

And you are going to be holding this. Get those fingers over there.

Good. All right.

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

The New Fire and the Exsultet

Beloved in the Lord, on this most holy night in which our Lord Jesus passed over from death to life, we are gathered here in vigil and prayer. This is the Passover of the Lord, in which by hearing his word and celebrating his sacrament, we share his victory over death.

Let us pray. O God, you are like a refiner's fire, and your spirit enkindles the hearts of your faithful people with the fire of your love. Bless, we implore you, this new flame and those who keep this joyful Easter festival that burning with the desire for life with you, we may be found rightly prepared to share in the feast of light which has no end.

Through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Amen.

All right, so you step forward, and I will trace the sign of the cross on the candle. Lift it up a little higher. There we go.

It happens to have a cross.

There we go. Jesus Christ, the same yesterday and today and forever, the beginning and the ending. And then I will trace the Alpha and the Omega. The Alpha and the Omega over the candle. The Alpha and the Omega.

And then we trace the year.

What year is this?

2024.

Trace that over that. And his are time and eternity. His are the glory and the dominion now and forever. And then we have the five nails of Christ. Trace the sign of the cross within the cross. By his wounds we have healing both now and forever.

Amen.

And now I need a way to light the candle. Have we thought of that? We set off the ring. That's awesome. Who turned the lights on?

Thank you.

May the light of Christ who has risen in glory from the dead scatter all darkness out of the hearts and our minds.

Amen.

Let us pray. Almighty most merciful God, pour out on us your abundant blessing that all who in true faith share this night in joyful celebration of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead may be filled with your heavenly benediction.

Once we were in darkness, but now we are in light. Even Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Now everybody light your candles from this candle and follow me into the sanctuary.

The light of Christ. Thanks be to God. The light of Christ. Thanks be to God. The light of Christ. Thanks be to God. Rejoice now, all you heavenly choirs of angels. Rejoice now, all creation. Sound forth the trumpet of salvation and proclaim the triumph of our King.

Rejoice, too, all the earth in the radiance of the light now poured upon you and made brilliant by the brightness of the everlasting King. Know that the ancient darkness has been forever banished. Rejoice, O Church of Christ, clothed in the brightness of His light.

Let all this house of God ring out with the rejoicing, with the praises of all of God's faithful people. The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts.

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is truly good right and salutary that we should at all times and in all places with all of our heart and mind and voice praise you, O Lord, Holy Father, almighty everlasting God, and your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.

For he is the very paschal lamb who offered himself for the sin of the world, who has cleansed us by the shedding of his precious blood. This is the night when you brought our fathers, the children of Israel, out of bondage in Egypt and led them through the Red Sea on dry ground.

This is the night when all who believe in Christ are delivered from bondage to sin and are restored to life and immortality. This is the night when Christ, the life, rose from the dead, the seal of the grave is broken, and the morning of the new creation breaks forth out of the night.

Oh, how wonderful and beyond all telling is your mercy toward us, O God, that you redeemed a slave. You gave your Son. How holy is this night when all wickedness is put to flight and sin is washed away.

How holy is this night when innocence is restored to the fallen and joy is given to those who are downcast. How blessed is the night when man is reconciled to God in Christ. Holy Father, accept now the evening sacrifices of our thanksgiving and praise.

Let Christ, the true light and morning star, shine in our hearts. He who gives light to all creation, who lives and reigns with you in the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. You may extinguish your candles at this time and be seated.

Excuse me while I get everything organized up here. Limited space, lots of items.

Oh, I know what I'm looking for. Hold on.

Creation, the Flood, and the Covenant with Noah

In this most holy night, our Savior, Christ the Lord, broke the power of death by his resurrection, brought life and salvation to all creation. Let us praise the Lord, for he truly keeps his word. The sun of righteousness has dawned upon us, who have sat in darkness and in the shadow of death.

A reading from Genesis chapters 1 and 2. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

And God said, Let there be light, and there was light. And God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light day, and the darkness he called night. And there was evening, and there was morning the first day.

And God said, Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters. And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse.

And it was so. And God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening, and there was morning the second day. And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let dry land appear.

And it was so. And God called the dry land earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called seas. And God saw that it was good. And God said, Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit, in which is their seed, each according to its kind on the earth.

And it was so. And the earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, trees bearing fruit, in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

And there was evening, and there was morning the third day. And God said, Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years.

And let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth. And it was so. And God made the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, the lesser light to rule the night, and the stars.

And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning the fourth day.

And God said, Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens. So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves with which the waters swarm according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind.

And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth. And there was evening, and there was morning the fifth day.

And God said, Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds, livestock and creeping things, and beasts of the earth according to their kinds. And it was so. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds, and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind.

And God saw that it was good. Then God said, Let us make man in our image after our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over the livestock, and over all of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.

So God created man in his own image. In the image of God he created him, male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.

And God said, Behold, I have given you every plant, yielding seed, that is on the face of the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the heavens, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.

And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.

And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all of his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all of his work that he had done in creation.

This is the word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Let us pray. Almighty God, through your word and spirit, you most wonderfully created all things. And through the word made flesh, you brought new life to fallen humanity. Grant that in your mercy we may be conformed to the image of him who shares fully in our humanity, even Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

The hymn is 914, if I'm not mistaken. Yes, 914. A reading from Genesis 7, 8, and 9. Then the Lord said to Noah, Go into the ark, you and all of your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation.

Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and his mate, and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and his mate, and seven pairs of the birds of the heavens, also male and female, to keep their offspring alive on the face of all of the earth.

For in the seven days I will send rain on the earth 40 days and 40 nights, and every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground. And Noah did all that the Lord had commanded him.

In the 600th year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the 17th day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth and the windows of the heavens were opened, and rain fell upon the earth 40 days and 40 nights.

On the very same day Noah and his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark. They, and every beast according to its kind, and all the livestock according to their kind, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth according to its kind, and every bird according to its kind, every winged creature, they went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh, in which there was the breath of life.

And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him, and the Lord shut him in. The flood continued 40 days on the earth, and the waters increased and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth.

And the waters prevailed and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the face of the waters. At the end of the 40 days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made, and sent forth a raven.

And it went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth. And then he sent forth a dove from him to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground. But the dove found no place to set her foot, and she returned to him to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of the whole earth.

So he put out his hand and took her and brought her into the ark with him, and he waited another seven days, and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark. And the dove came back to him in the evening, and behold, in her mouth was a freshly plucked olive leaf.

So Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth, and then he waited another seven days and sent forth the dove, and she did not return to him anymore. In the 601st year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the waters were dried off of the earth, and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and behold, the face of the ground was dry.

In the second month, on the 27th day of the month, the earth had dried out. Then God said to Noah, Go out from the ark, you and your wife and your sons and your sons' wives with you. Bring with you every living thing that is with you, of all flesh, birds and animals, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, that they may swarm on the earth and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.

So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives with him. Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, And behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, and every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark.

It is for every beast of the earth I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.

And God said, This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you for all future generations. I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.

This is the word of the Lord. Let us pray.

O Lord, you kill and you raise to life. You brought the flood upon the wicked and a perverse generation, and yet you saved faithful Noah and his family in the ark. Keep us in safety in the ark of Christ's body, the church, that your mercy may come to its fullness, and your salvation be preached to the ends of the earth through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

The next hymn is 597.

The Sacrifice of Isaac and the Lamb of God

A reading from Genesis chapter 22.

After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, Abraham, and he said, Here I am. He said, Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.

So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.

On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. Then Abraham said to his young men, Stay here with the donkey. I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.

Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. And Isaac said to his father Abraham, My father.

And he said, Here I am, my son. He said, Behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? Abraham said, God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son. So they went both of them together.

When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.

But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham. And he said, Here I am. He said, Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, seeing that you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.

And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.

So Abraham called the name of that place the Lord will provide, as it is said to this day, on the mount of the Lord it shall be provided. And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son.

I will surely bless you. I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.

This is the word of the Lord. Let us pray. O God, since you promised faithful Abraham that he would be the father of a great multitude, you provided a substitute for his son Isaac. In the fullness of time you sent your Son, the Lamb, who takes away the sin of the world, to lay down his life that we might live as faithful children of Abraham.

Grant to all people a living trust in your mercy through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

The next hymn is 544. You may be seated. A reading from Exodus chapters 14 and 15. When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly.

And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt?

Is this not what we said to you in Egypt? Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians, for it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness. And Moses said to the people, Fear not.

Stand firm and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.

The Lord said to Moses, Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. Lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground.

And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all of his hosts, his chariots and his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.

Then the angel of God, who was going before the host of Israel, moved in and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel.

And there was the cloud and the darkness, and it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night. Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land.

And the waters were divided. And all the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. The Egyptians pursued and went in after them in the midst of the sea, all of Pharaoh's horses, his chariots and his horsemen.

And in the morning watch, the Lord in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic, clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily.

And the Egyptians said, Let us flee from before Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians. Then the Lord said to Moses, Stretch out your hand over the sea that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and upon their horsemen.

So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared, and as the Egyptians fled into it, the Lord threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea.

The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea. Not one of them remained. But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians so that the people feared the Lord, and they believed the Lord and in his servant Moses.

Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord, saying, I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously, the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. This is the word of the Lord.

Let us pray. O God, you once delivered your people, Israel, from bondage under Pharaoh and led them by a pillar of cloud and fire through the sea to safety. Grant that we may so follow Christ that through the waters of baptism we may daily die and rise with him and walk in safety through the wilderness of this life until we see your salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

The next hymn is 521.

The Invitation to the Thirsty and the New Covenant

From Isaiah chapter 55.

Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters, and he who has no money, come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread and your labor for that which does not satisfy?

Listen diligently to me and eat what is good and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear and come to me. Hear that your soul may live, and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.

Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know and a nation that did not know you shall run to you because of the Lord your God and of the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you.

Seek the Lord while he may be found. Call upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to the Lord that he may have compassion on him and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth.

It shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and it shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. This is the word of the Lord. Almighty God, by your word, you created and sustain all things, and by your spirit you renew your creation.

Grant now the water of life to all who thirst for you, for you, that they may bring forth abundant fruit in your glorious kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

The next hymn is 539. You may be seated. A reading from Ezekiel chapter 36. I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle you with clean water, and you shall be clean from all of your uncleanliness, and from all of your idols.

I will cleanse you, and I will give you a new heart and a new spirit I will put within you, and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh, and I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my just degrees.

You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. This is the word of the Lord.

Hang on a second here. Let's see if I can, there we go.

Let us pray. Almighty and everlasting God, by the death and resurrection of your Son, you cleansed our hearts and put a new spirit within us. Grant that all who are brought to newness of life in the fellowship of the body of Christ may show forth in their lives what they confess with their lips through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

The next hymn is 761. Reading from Ezekiel chapter 37. The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley. It was full of bones.

And he led me around among them, and behold, there were many, very many on the surface of the valley. And behold, they were very dry. And he said to me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, you know.

And then he said to me, Prophesy over these bones and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones, Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.

And I will lay sinews upon you and will cause flesh to come upon you and cover you with skin and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord. So I prophesied as I was commanded.

And as I prophesied, there was a sound. And behold, a rattling. And the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them, but there was no breath in them.

And then he said to me, Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, Son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God, Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me.

And the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. And then he said to me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say our bones are dried up and our hope is lost.

We are clean cut off. Therefore prophesy and say to them, Thus says the Lord God, Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people, and I will bring you into the land of Israel, and you shall know that I am the Lord.

When I open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people, and I will put my spirit within you and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land, and then you shall know that I am the Lord.

I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord. This is the word of the Lord. Let us pray. O God, your Son came as the Son of man to breathe his word and spirit upon the dry, dead bones of Adam's children.

Grant that we may hear your holy word, receive your spirit, and rise each day from the death of sin to live in newness of life before you through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

The hymn now is hymn number 834.

You may be seated in a second here.

The Humble Remnant, the Lord's Presence, and Joyful Restoration

A reading from Zephaniah chapter 3. I will leave in your midst a people humble and lowly. They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord. Those who are left in Israel, they shall do no injustice and speak no lies, nor shall there be found in their mouths a deceitful tongue, for they shall graze and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.

Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion. Shout, O Israel. Rejoice and exult with all of your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. The Lord has taken away the judgments against you. He has cleared away your enemies.

The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst. You shall never again fear evil. On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear not, O Zion. Let not your hands grow weak. The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save.

He will rejoice over you with gladness. He will quiet you by his love. He will exult over you with loud singing. I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival so that you will no longer suffer reproach.