Easter Resource Guide
This list of Eastertide resources—including art, music, drama, devotions, liturgies, books, and sermons for the "Great Fifty Days" from Easter Sunday to Pentecost—will help you plan worship to celebrate Jesus Christ’s resurrection.
Worship During Eastertide
All the hopes of Christians are realized in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, making Easter the most celebrative day of the church year. Some traditions begin their Easter celebration with an Easter Vigil, using biblical readings to help worshipers see the powerful sweep of God’s actions throughout history and providing the entrance into Easter. Baptism of persons instructed in the faith often takes place as part of this vigil.
The Easter morning service is a time of joy, celebration, and renewal. In contrast to the somber starkness of Holy Week, on Easter the worship space should be bright and celebratory, including the liturgical colors white and gold. Music and songs reflect the full joy of the victorious Christian faith because of Christ’s resurrection.
Since the good news of Easter can hardly be contained in a single day’s celebration, Easter is the first of fifty days of Eastertide, the “Great Fifty Days” that lead to Pentecost. This season is designed for extended celebration, for exploring the ramifications of Easter for the redemption of all creation, and for joyful Christian living.
Find more in The Worship Sourcebook.
Planning Resources and Services
- Resources from Zeteo Preacing and Worship
- An Easter Vigil
- An Easter Sunrise Service
- Were You There in the Garden When He Arose? - Matthew 28
- Go Tell Peter! – Mark 16
- Who will Roll the Stone Away? - Mark 16
- Easter Baptism: An Ancient Tradition
- Easter Celebration at Symposium 2003
- He Kept Showing Up: A series for Eastertide
- Weekday Chapel for Eastertide: Resurrection Hope
- Eastertide service of African-American Songs and Prayer
- An Eastertide Series of Narratives
- Planning a Series for Eastertide
- Robes of Righteousness: An Easter Drama
- A Tableaux Script for John 20:1-10
Song Resources
- Songs for Lent, Palm Sunday, Easter, and Ascension, from Reformed Worship
- Songs for Easter
- Browse Lectionary Hymns for Easter at Hymnary
Visual Arts Resources
Children's Books
Water, Come Down! Walter Wangerin, Jr. (Augsburg Fortress)
Jubilee, Ellen Yeomans (Eerdmans Books for Young Readers)
Featured Resources
The Worship Sourcebook
- Part N of The Worship Sourcebook, 2nd Edition, pp. 631-660, offers sample prayers and other worship resources for each act of worship for Easter and Eastertide, including the Call to Worship, Opening Responses, Confession and Assurance, Prayers for Illumination, the Lord's Supper, and Blessing/Benediction.
Reformed Worship magazine
Coop's Column
- Read about Christ’s Resurrection and Ascension in Coop’s Column
- Read about the Wardrobe of Easter in Coop's Column
Center for Excellence in Preaching
Browse resources related to Easter from our ministry partner, Center for Excellence in Preaching.