People (raising their wine cups together):
Blessed are you, O Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, Creator of the fruit of the vine.
Blessed are you, O Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who has chosen us from among all peoples. You have sanctified and exalted us with your commandments. In love you have given us days of joy and seasons of gladness, even this Feast of Unleavened Bread, a memorial of our exodus from Egypt. You have chosen us for your service and caused us to share in the blessings of your holy festivals. Blessed are you, O Lord, who has sanctified Israel and the festive seasons.
Reader: (I Peter 2.9-10)
You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Reader: (Romans 14.5 ff)
One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. For this very reason, the Messiah died and returned to life so that He might be the Lord of both the dead and living. You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.
Reader: (Colossians 2.16-17)
Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in the Messiah.
People:
Blessed are you, O Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who has given us life, kept us safely, and brought us to this holy season.
All drink the first cup of wine (the cup of sanctification).
