Pray : When the disciples heard Mary proclaim “Jesus is risen!” it was Easter day. May we live in that Good News always. When the apostles gathered in the upper room saw Jesus stand among them, it was Easter day. May we live in that presence always. When the followers knew that the promise had been fulfilled, it was Easter day. May we live in the promise always. When Thomas touched the wounds of Jesus, it was Easter day. May we live in that truth always. May this light of resurrection shine through us as we bask in the news of resurrection. May we never be silent with it; may we never become over familiar with it; may we never get used to it, but even a week later proclaim its good news and be ready to proclaim it next week and thereafter, always. When the people of God found their voice, it was Easter day. May we never be silent again. Lord, may we be open the good news of Jesus’ love and forgiveness and be willing to pass it on, this week and every week. Our Father…

Thought- Do you prefer looking back or looking forward? For many of us, there will be more time behind us than ahead of us, humanly speaking. But not when you take heaven into account! Actually, God is concerned about past, present and future. We begin where we are – here and now. Today’s lesson is a reminder that our future is determined (in part)  by what we do in the present. As the wayside pulpit said “Today is the beginning of the rest of your life!” Easter offers us a future, which is built on what Jesus did in the past – at Easter and when we met encountered him through faith, and which influences our lives from now on, into the future and eternity. The disciples and later Thomas had to think back to the cross and Jesus’ death in the light of meeting the risen Jesus. The past changed things, changed them because having met with the risen Jesus their understanding of him altered – what he did on the cross meant so much more, knowing him to be the risen Lord – and that marked a huge change for their future. If Jesus the Son of God loved them (and us) so much that he died to forgive them (and us) and he is risen from the dead, then his call to follow him, to share the good news and to live our lives in obedience to him sets out our future into eternity. Looking back to the cross calls for us to live our future for Jesus beginning right where we are in the here and now. And no matter how inadequate we may feel, Jesus promises to be with us. The future is here, it begins with the cross and meeting Jesus, and it points forward into the rest of lives even to eternity.

Pray: Lord God, remind us that Jesus is alive, that we live in the age of resurrection, he is HERE with us and for us and we are to pray, to express our praise, our concerns, our requests to one who has conquered death, who is loving and powerful – present with us.
 
We pray for the church – worldwide and in Scotland – for a recovery of the confidence in the gospel, in the forgiving power of Jesus and in the presence and power of a risen Saviour, in the Spirit’s ability to work in hearts and lives to bring love and faith, compassion and peace, spiritual renewal and vitality to what is a very needy, sad and broken world in its various communities. While we have real concerns about the needs for the necessities of life – for the eradication of poverty and injustice and the alleviation of all that hurts and diminishes the lives of so many – don’t let us forget about the need for the spiritual - for love and forgiveness, for faith and hope, for life in all its fullness that your Son came to bring.
Heavenly Father we pray for your world – not least for the trouble spots of the world or where need is greatest. We pray for your people in need – whether or not they hit the headlines. We pray nearer home too – for the people who live round about us in Montrose and district – for those near us whose lives are troubled, whose hearts are heavy, who have mountains to climb and situations to deal with which try them sorely; for those who are big decisions to make, exams to take, interviews to attend (or wish they had) for those too who have something to be pleased about. Help us to get alongside our neighbours in a positive and caring way – to let them see that being a friend of the risen Jesus isn’t something odd but something marvellous. Hear us as we pray for our neighbours, and in our prayer walk this week we particularly remember those who live or work in Faulds Road and Faulds Crescent.
SILENCE
Hear and answer our prayers, risen Lord Jesus, make up for our shortcomings, answer them in the deepest way possible, for the benefit of many and for your glory’s sake. Amen.  

Blessing - May the Lord bless you. Amen.