The Fourth
Sunday Of Easter
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Prelude, Welcome, and
Information Hymn #369 Christ the Lord Is Risen Today; Alleluia! |
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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 23 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not
want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads
me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths
for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I
fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of
my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the
days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of
the Lord my whole life long. |
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The Lord be with you. And
also with you. Let us pray. O God
our shepherd, you know your sheep by name and lead us to safety through the
valleys of death. Guide us by your voice, that we may walk in certainty and
security to the joyous feast prepared in your house, through Jesus Christ,
our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one
God, now and forever. Amen. |
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Reading:
Acts 2:42-47
A reading from the Acts of the
Apostles
They devoted themselves to the
apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the
prayers. Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being
done by the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in
common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the
proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time
together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad
and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the
people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being
saved.
The Word of the Lord
Reading: 1 Peter 2:19-25
A reading from the first letter of
Peter
For it is a credit to you if, being
aware of God, you endure pain while suffering unjustly. If you endure when
you are beaten for doing wrong, what credit is that? But if you endure when you
do right and suffer for it, you have God’s approval. For to this you have
been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so
that you should follow in his steps. “He committed no sin, and no deceit
was found in his mouth.” When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when
he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who
judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that,
free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been
healed. For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to
the shepherd and guardian of your souls.
The Word of the Lord.
Gospel Verse:
Alleluia!
I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me. Alleluia! (John 10:14)
Gospel Reading:
John 10:1-10
A reading from the Gospel of John
(Jesus said) “Very truly, I tell
you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by
another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the
shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the
sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them
out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the
sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a
stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of
strangers.” Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not
understand what he was saying to them. So again Jesus said to them, “Very
truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are
thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate.
Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find
pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that
they may have life, and have it abundantly.
This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.
Sermon (added at the end of the document)
Hymn #502 The King of Love My Shepherd Is
Thanks
and Offertory
Prayers
of the Church:
Lord God, you care for us as a true shepherd cares for their
flock. Hear these prayers this day for your world, your church, and for your
people according to their needs.
Good Shepherd, lead us on the safe paths to your final goal.
Strengthen our faith as we follow you. Lord, in your mercy, Hear
our prayer.
Good Shepherd, 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.
Good Shepherd, you call us each by name and lead us. Help us
to be aware of just how close you are to us. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Good Shepherd, lead all those suffering from natural disasters
to a place of peace and trust. Continue to give strength to all who work for
recovery. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our
prayer.
Good Shepherd, you are the guardian of our hearts and souls.
Turn the hearts of all to peace, especially where there is war - Ukraine,
Russia, and Sudan. Grant peace of heart
all who suffer the terrors and dangers of war anywhere, we pray… Lord,
in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Good Shepherd, you call us to abundant life. Grant life and
health to 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.
Good Shepherd, you call many to serve as shepherd here on
earth. We pray for our national bishop, Bishop Susan Johnson, the ELCIC office
and support staff. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Good Shepherd, you lead us and care for us like a flock. 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}
Good Shepherd, give peace and comfort to the Toth family in
their time of sorrow at the loss of their mother, Dorothy. Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Shepherding God, hear our prayers this day. Grant what is best
for us in all things as we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Hymn #484 You
Satisfy the Hungry Heart
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
Lord, we thank you that you
have taught us what you would have us believe and do. Help us by your Holy
Spirit, for the sake of Jesus Christ, to keep your Word in pure hearts, that
thereby we may be strengthened in faith, perfected in holiness, and comforted
in life and in death. Amen.
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 #536 God Be With You Till We Meet Again
Go in
peace. Serve the Lord. Thanks be to
God.
W
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Upcoming
Services for May: (All services begin at 11:00am) 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) |
I came that they may have life, and have it
abundantly.
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In the Scripture, there
are “code words”, recurring words or phrases that have a particular meaning to each
Evangelist and to the evangelist’s readers. They vary and what is used in
Matthew, Mark, and Luke – the “seeing-together” Synoptic Gospels - are not the
same as words used in John.
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John uses “life” where
the other Gospels use “salvation”, “the Kingdom of God”, or similar terms. Theologically
they mean just about the same things, but the words used have a different ring
to them.
·
Jesus in this passage
from John speaks of life and in fact, about “abundant life.” He says that this
is the reason he came among us. There is a hint of a new creation here. Christ
rising from death on the first day of the week also points to a new creation.
The life referred to here is not a life delayed until the afterlife. It is not
a life postponed until Heaven, nor is it a heavenly reward. It begins in the
here and now, while the disciples are in the middle of their mission. All of
the Gospels speak of this while using different words.
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Jesus came to bring abundant
life – not just in the time to come, but now. A change of attitude and view
will be needed and a realization of what we have received and what we have to
be thankful for. It’s a life that is more than “stuff.” This abundant life we
seek comes through losing our own lives in service to others. In that the
Kingdom of God/abundant life is already here among us and God is with us and in
us.
·
Now this abundant life
is not the “Prosperity Gospel”, a
concept saying that the faithful will not face trouble, will always be blessed
with health, wealth, and plenty, and will have – in many cases – political dominance,
all as a sign of their faith. This is a false Gospel and a false understanding
of what “abundant life” means. The attention is on rewards and “gim-mes” and
not on the one who constantly calls us to his own life. Basically, this
Properity Gospel is a life of “abundant things” and in the end, all things
fail.
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Abundant life is not
something limited to those who deserve it or have earned it. It is a way of
grace and grace for everyone, for the righteous and for the “lost” – sinners
and those separated from God, but also for the excluded, the ignored, the
unwanted, and for those exiled to the margins of life, even by the church
itself. All of us are those whom the Good Shepherd seeks out.
·
No doubt, we live in a
world where we are surrounded and bombarded by many, many voices, all competing
for attention and allegiance. The voice of the Good Shepherd, the one who the sheep follow (him) because they know
his voice can pierce through all that other noise, although we have
to be listening. Even today, actual sheep in the fields follow their shepherd
because they can distinguish his/her voice from all others. For us, the voice
of Jesus can be discerned and followed despite the distraction and competition.
His is the voice that makes our hearts burn within us. (cf. Luke 24:32) It
may take some work and it requires openness because the other voices are many
and can be quite subtle. Hearing the voice of our true Good Shepherd, we know
that we and all the world belong to God.
·
Abundant life in Christ
is what is given to us and what is promised in the presence of Jesus among us.
For all of us, it is God’s grace. For all of us then, Easter is both a
proclamation of abundant life and a guarantee of it.
I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
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