Saturday -Holy Week- The Gospel According to Mark

Apr 4, 2026

Welcome to Daily Prayer. Today is Holy Saturday. On this day we remember that Christ was buried for us.

Todays readings and prayers are from the archive of the Daily Liturgy Podcast.

Credits and source information are in the notes.

As we begin our time together, let’s quiet our hearts and minds before the LORD.

Opening Prayer

O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know my thoughts before I think them. You know my words before I speak them. You know my past, my present, and my future. Awaken me now, to seek you while you may be found, to call upon you while you are near, and to live a life that brings glory to your name.

Confession of Sin & Prayer for Grace:

Lord Jesus: on this day, I confess my lack of joy. Your resurrection has changed the world! It is the most joyful news in all of history! Yet I remain stoic or even despondent, not allowing the joy of the resurrection to permeate my disposition. Forgive me, Lord Jesus. Help me to rejoice!

Especially today, as I prepare for worship on Easter Sunday, fill my heart with joy and life and my body with exuberant gladness. Let my joy be contagious, and my gratitude evident, through the grace of your Holy Spirit: Amen.

The Word of the Lord from The Old Testament : Job 14:1-14

“Man who is born of a woman

is few of days and full of trouble.

He comes out like a flower and withers;

he flees like a shadow and continues not.

And do you open your eyes on such a one

and bring me into judgment with you?

Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?

There is not one.

Since his days are determined,

and the number of his months is with you,

and you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass,

look away from him and leave him alone,

that he may enjoy, like a hired hand, his day.

“For there is hope for a tree,

if it be cut down, that it will sprout again,

and that its shoots will not cease.

Though its root grow old in the earth,

and its stump die in the soil,

yet at the scent of water it will bud

and put out branches like a young plant.

But a man dies and is laid low;

man breathes his last, and where is he?

As waters fail from a lake

and a river wastes away and dries up,

so a man lies down and rises not again;

till the heavens are no more he will not awake

or be roused out of his sleep.

Oh that you would hide me in Sheol,

that you would conceal me until your wrath be past,

that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me!

If a man dies, shall he live again?

All the days of my service I would wait,

till my renewal should come.

The Lord’s Prayer:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

The Word of the Lord from the New Testament: Mark 15:42–47:

42 And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died. And summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead. 45 And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph. 46 And Joseph bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and laid him in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. And he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.

A Prayer of Adoration:

Lord Jesus: I praise you for the quiet anticipation of this day. Death could not hold you, sin could not defeat you, Sheol could not contain you. I adore you as the one who tasted death for me.

The Word of the Lord from Psalm 31:1-5 and 14-24:

In you, O Lord, do I take refuge;

let me never be put to shame;

in your righteousness deliver me!

Incline your ear to me;

rescue me speedily!

Be a rock of refuge for me,

a strong fortress to save me!

For you are my rock and my fortress;

and for your name's sake you lead me and guide me;

you take me out of the net they have hidden for me,

for you are my refuge.

Into your hand I commit my spirit;

you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.

But I trust in you, O Lord;

I say, “You are my God.”

My times are in your hand;

rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors!

Make your face shine on your servant;

save me in your steadfast love!

O Lord, let me not be put to shame,

for I call upon you;

let the wicked be put to shame;

let them go silently to Sheol.

Let the lying lips be mute,

which speak insolently against the righteous

in pride and contempt.

Oh, how abundant is your goodness,

which you have stored up for those who fear you

and worked for those who take refuge in you,

in the sight of the children of mankind!

In the cover of your presence you hide them

from the plots of men;

you store them in your shelter

from the strife of tongues.

Blessed be the Lord,

for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me

when I was in a besieged city.

I had said in my alarm,

“I am cut off from your sight.”

But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy

when I cried to you for help.

Love the Lord, all you his saints!

The Lord preserves the faithful

but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride.

Be strong, and let your heart take courage,

all you who wait for the Lord!

Lord Jesus: how unsurprising that the words you spoke from the cross were the words of Scripture. The Scriptures were your life; let them be mine as well. This Psalm concludes, “Be strong, and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord!” As I wait for Easter Sunday tomorrow, let my heart take courage. And remind me that in one way, all of life is Holy Saturday. We are always looking back and looking forward. So let me anticipate the new heavens and the new earth in the same way I anticipate the morning. Let the joy of Easter Sunday remind me of the eternal joy that awaits all who hope in you. Amen.

And now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us now and always, until the day of Christ's return.

We’ll see you tomorrow as we worship the risen Lord together.

Source: The Daily Liturgy Podcast

Saturday, April 19, 2025 — Holy Saturday

Produced by Coram Deo Church, Omaha, Nebraska

Written by Mike Kresnik

Original available at: https://dailyliturgy.com/read/april-19-2025

adapted by replacing Matthew 27:57-66 with Mark 15:42–47 and reading Psalm 31:1-5, 14, 24 instead of the entire chapter.

Used by permission