Heavenly Father, you are our great God and worthy of all praise. We ask that many may come to know the living hope that we have through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. We join in with the hope of your people through the ages but with more abounding joy, for our hope is in the living Jesus, the Christ who rules forever, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead. Thank you for so joining us into Christ that we stand forgiven, restored to life and free from the oppression of sin. Give us a heart that looks forward to the inheritance that you have kept for us rather than on the fleeting treasures of earth. Thank you that you have brought about your salvation according to your mercy and by your power for our hearts are helpless in their sinfulness. Keep us rejoicing in Christ and clinging to him through all the trials of life, and prove our faith to be genuine on the day that he is revealed in glory.
Amen.