The Second Sunday Of Easter
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Prelude, Welcome, and
Information Hymn #376 Thine Is the Glory |
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The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. And
also with you. Psalm: Psalm 16 Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to
the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no
good apart from you.” As for the holy ones in the land, they are the noble, in whom is all my delight. Those who
choose another god multiply their sorrows; their
drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take
their names upon my lips. The Lord is my chosen portion and my
cup; you hold my lot. The
boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; I have a
goodly heritage. I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I keep
the Lord always before me; because
he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure. For you
do not give me up to Sheol, or let
your faithful one see the Pit. You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore. |
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The Lord be with you. And
also with you. Let us pray. Almighty
and eternal God, the strength of those who believe and the hope of those who
doubt, may we, who have not seen, have faith in you and receive the fullness
of Christ’s blessing, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one
God, now and forever. Amen. |
Reading:
Acts 2:14a, 22-32
A reading from the Acts of the
Apostles
But Peter, standing with the eleven,
raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in
Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. “You that
are Israelites, listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested
to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him
among you, as you yourselves know— this man, handed over to you according
to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the
hands of those outside the law. But God raised him up, having freed him
from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power. For
David says concerning him, ‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my
right hand so that I will not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and
my tongue rejoiced; moreover my flesh will live in hope. For you will not
abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One experience corruption. You
have made known to me the ways of life; you will make me full of gladness with
your presence.’ “Fellow Israelites, I may say to you confidently of our
ancestor David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to
this day. Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn with an oath
to him that he would put one of his descendants on his throne. Foreseeing
this, David spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, saying, ‘He was not
abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh experience corruption.’ This Jesus
God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses.
The Word of the Lord
Reading: 1 Peter 1:3-9
A reading from the first letter of
Peter
Blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living
hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an
inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for
you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a
salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
In this you rejoice, even if now for
a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the
genuineness of your faith—being more precious than gold that, though
perishable, is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and
honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Although you have not seen him, you
love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and
rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the
outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
The Word of the Lord.
Gospel Verse:
Alleluia!
Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.
Alleluia! (John 20:29)
Gospel Reading:
John 20:19-31
A reading from the Gospel of John
When it was evening on that day, the
first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met
were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said,
“Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his
side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to
them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send
you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
“Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are
forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” But
Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when
Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But
he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my
finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”
A week later his disciples were
again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut,
Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he
said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and
put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My
Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have
seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to
believe.” Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples,
which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may
come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through
believing you may have life in his name.
This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.
Sermon (added at the end of the document)
Hymn #635 We Walk by Faith
Thanks
and Offertory
Prayers
of the Church:
Gracious God, we rejoice in Jesus’ resurrection and hope for
your continued care. Hear these prayers this day for your world, your church,
and for your people according to their needs.
Thomas came to believe once he experienced the risen Jesus.
Strengthen the faith of all of us who believe without seeing. Lord, in your
mercy, Hear our prayer.
Jesus breathed on his disciples and gave them the Holy Spirit.
Grant all of us that same gift always. Lord, in your mercy, Hear
our prayer.
Jesus sent his disciple as the Father had sent him. Send us as
well to those around us who need comfort and the Good News of the Resurrection.
Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Jesus made himself known in places that no one expected. Grant
that his presence be found in places of natural disaster such as Turkey, Syria,
Peru, and Ecuador. Give strength to all who work for recovery. Lord, in your
mercy, Hear our prayer.
Jesus proclaimed peace when he appeared to his disciples. Grant
peace to Ukraine, Russia, Iran, and Afghanistan, and to all who suffer the
terrors and dangers of war anywhere, we pray… Lord, in your mercy, Hear
our prayer.
The Psalmist says “my flesh will live in hope.” Bless with good health all who
struggle with the COVID-19 virus, the seasonal “flu”, and the RSV virus as well
as all who work for healing in any way. Lord, in your mercy, Hear
our prayer.
Your Son granted genuine faith to his disciples. In faith, we
pray for Peace Christian Church, a Lutheran Fellowship in Chatham and their interim
pastor, Pr. Paul Sodtke. We also pray for our sisters and brothers of the
Orthodox Churches who celebrate Easter this day. Lord, in your mercy, Hear
our prayer.
We thank you for giving us what was written in order that we may
believe. Hear our prayers made in his name for those we care for and for those
who have asked for our prayers … * Lord,
in your mercy, Hear our prayer. {*Gail Mauer, Deb Kirschner, Rose Gotzmeister,
Rick Cerna, Rose Ungar
Gracious God, we pray in the name of your risen Son, Jesus and
we ask you to grant what is best for us in all things. Amen.
Hymn #619 I
Know that My Redeemer Lives
The
Lord’s Prayer
Finally let us pray for all things as our Lord would have us ask:
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 trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and
lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power,
and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
Closing prayer
Giver of life,
your Son has destroyed the power of death
for all those who believe in him.
Accept all we offer you this day
and strengthen us in faith and hope;
through Jesus Christ, the Lord of
all the living.
Benediction &
Sending
May the
Lord bless us and keep us.
May the
Lord’s face shine upon us with grace and mercy.
May the
Lord look upon us with favor and X give us peace.
Amen.
Hymn #535 Hallelujah! We Sing Your Praises
Go in peace. Serve the Lord. Thanks be to God.
W
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Upcoming Services for April & May:
(All services begin at 11:00am) April 23
Holy Communion at St. John’s (Easter III) April 30
YouTube (Easter IV) May 7
Holy Communion at St. John’s (Easter V) May 14
YouTube (Easter VI) May 21
YouTube (Easter VII) May 28
Lay-led Service at St. John’s (Pentecost Sunday) |
Now Jesus did many other signs in the
presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these
are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son
of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.
·
I’ve often wondered what
it would be like to be mentioned in the Bible. Well, my name is there and
that’s because my parents named me for my grandfathers using a Biblical name.
So I’m not specifically/personally named in the Scriptures.
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Today’s Gospel does
mention all of us, saying …these
are written so that you may come to believe... Isn’t it interesting
that John would have this reflection in his Gospel? There’s a lot there and it
needs a little “un-packing.”
·
The inclusion of this
line tells why the Gospels were written: to inform and inspire the following
generations of disciples. By the time John’s Gospel was written, some of the
disciples who knew Jesus had passed away. For example, the next chapter of
John’s Gospel alludes to Peter’s death, saying He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he (Peter) would glorify God. (John 21:19)
By this we know that the Gospel attributed to John was written after Peter was
martyred. (Tradition holds that Peter was crucified upside down somewhere in
Rome. Paul is said to have died in the same wave of persecution, although he
was a Roman citizen and was therefore beheaded.) If many of the people who had
experienced Jesus personally were gone, what would the disciples do? They could
tell the stories. And when the story-tellers passed on? The accounts were
finally written down… so that you
may come to believe.
·
All four of the Gospels
held to be true by the church have some reference to being done so the next
generations might come to faith. Mark, Matthew, and Luke all begin their
accounts with such a sort of prologue. John puts his note on this at the end of
chapter 20 which many scholars believe is the original end of the written
Gospel, with what we know of as Chapter 21 added later.
·
All that aside, we know
the purpose of the written Gospels to be the continuance of the faith of the
first disciples. It is true that they were written after a number of years,
Mark first and John last, and has little bearing on the reason they were
written – namely to include people like us who came to faith in Christ later in
time in the experience of Jesus’ words and works. So these Gospels were written
for us!
·
Do we realize that these
words, written so long ago and cherished by so many over the years, are still a
way of grace, a conduit of God’s salvation? We don’t need to discover the story
of Jesus completely for ourselves; the four evangelists made what they had come
to know available to us and to our children and our children’s children. It
takes study and interpretation to really understand what was written and yet
what was written leads to faith in the one who reads. God’s grace will find a
way to us and will be freely given to us. This is the gift of every Easter that
celebrates the first one.
These
are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son
of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.
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