Almighty God, you gave your only Son to be for us both a sacrifice for sin and an example of godly living: Give us grace thankfully to receive his inestimable benefits, and daily to follow the blessed steps of his most holy life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Preface of Easter
But chiefly are we bound to praise you for the glorious resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; for he is the true Paschal Lamb, who was offered for us, and has taken away the sin of the world; who by his death has destroyed death, and by his rising to life again has won for us everlasting life.
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A prayer Cranmer composed himself for the 1549 prayer book, pairing two truths at the heart of the Christian faith: that Christ's death is the atonement for sin, and that his life is the pattern for our own. For nearly five centuries it has been prayed in English, first on Good Shepherd Sunday and now in Eastertide.