The Bulletin is at:  04-28-2019 – Bulletin

The Service in PDF format is at:  04-28-2019 – Service

SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER

April 28, 2019

AS WE GATHER…Easter changes everything.  Without the resurrection of Jesus, we have no hope; we have no true peace; we have no forgiven life now nor the eternal life assured.  Easter changes everything!  Though many in this world deny that fact or fail to admit the need for the resurrected Savior, Jesus comes to us still and speaks to us as He did to Thomas long ago, “Stop doubting, and believe!”  Because Jesus lives, we live.  As Easter has changed everything, let us live as His changed people—because Jesus is alive forevermore, so in Him we will live also!

RINGING OF THE BELLAfter the ringing of the bell, we take a few moments in silence to prepare our hearts and minds for today’s worship.

WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

OPENING BLESSING

P:  In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C:  Amen. 

P:  Alleluia!  Christ is risen!

C:  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia! 

P:  He brings us light

C:  that shines in our darkness. 

P:  He brings us life

C:  that death cannot overcome

P:  God is light.

C:  In Him there is no darkness at all. 

P:  Alleluia!  Christ is risen!

C:  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia! 

WE CONFESS OUR SINS

P:  Psalm 28 says, “Lord, I love the habitation of Your house and the place where Your glory dwells.”  This passage reminds us that we are to revere God and His place of worship above all other things.  A rightly prioritized life has God in the center.  Let us now take some time to reflect upon the priorities we have chosen.

Silence for Reflection

P:  We confess.

C: We have to face it Lord, we are sinners in need of your grace.  We have not made You the number one priority in our lives.  Instead, we have valued those things that have little to do with you: comfort, fear of the unknown, work.  For this reason, we come to you now, confessing our sin, asking for your forgiveness, and grace to reprioritize our lives. 

RECEIVE GOD’S FORGIVENESS

P:  Jesus’ number one priority is us.  There were no distractions that slowed Jesus down as He made His way to the cross.  Jesus set aside earthly concern to make us His priority.  Because of this, grace is ours.  I announce this grace to you today in the forgiveness of sins.  By the command of Jesus, your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.

C: Amen. 

SONG OF PRAISE: “Before You, Lord, We Bow”                   LBW 401

1 Before you, Lord, we bow,
Our God who reigns above
And rules the world below,
Boundless in pow’r and love.
Our thanks we bring in joy and praise,
Our hearts we raise to you, our king!

2 The nation you have blest
May well your love declare,
From foes and fears at rest,
Protected by your care.
For this bright day, for this fair land –
Gifts of your hand – our thanks we pay.

3 May ev’ry mountain height,
Each vale and forest green,
Shine in your Word’s pure light,
And its rich fruits be seen!
May ev’ry tongue be tuned to praise
And join to raise a grateful song.

4 Earth, hear your Maker’s voice;
Your great Redeemer own;
Believe, obey, rejoice,
And worship him alone.
Cast down your pride, your sin deplore,
And bow before the Crucified.

5 And when in pow’r he comes,
Oh, may our native land
From all its rending tombs
Send forth a glorious band,
A countless throng, with joy to sing
To heav’n’s high king salvation’s song!

 

PRAYER OF THE DAY

P:  The Lord be with You!

C: And also with you!

P:  We pray.

C: O Lord, we thank you for being the One who delivers people.  Give us a heart that cherishes Your deliverance of us.  Let us cling to your rescuing arms so tightly that You may define our whole being.  Now that you have brought us back to you, may we never want to be anywhere else, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.  Amen. 

  

SCRIPTURE LESSONS

First Reading                                                                       Acts 5:12-20  

God’s Word goes out to the people through the apostles

    Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon’s Portico. None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem. And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, so that they even carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them. The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed.

But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.”

Reader:  This is the Word of the Lord.

People:  Thanks be to God.

 

Epistle                                                                          Revelation 1:4-18  

John’s vision of Christ’s eternal glory.

John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. “Look, he is coming with the clouds,”and “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”So shall it be! Amen. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.” I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

 Reader:  This is the Word of the Lord.

People:  Thanks be to God.

 

GOSPEL                                                                           John 20:19-31  

Thomas needed to see Jesus to believe.

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Now Thomas (also known as Didymus ), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Pastor:  This is the Gospel of the Lord.

People:  Praise to You, O Christ.

 

CHILDREN’S MESSAGE

 

SERMON HYMN: “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty”              LSB 543

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!

O my soul, praise him, for he is your health and salvation!

Let all who hear Now to his temple draw near,

Joining in glad adoration!

 

Praise to the Lord, who o’er all things is wondrously reigning

And, as on wings of an eagle, uplifting, sustaining.

Have you not seen All that is needful has been

Sent by his gracious ordaining?

 

Praise to the Lord, who will prosper your work and defend you;

Surely his goodness and mercy shall daily attend you.

Ponder anew What the Almighty can do

If with his love he befriend you.

 

Praise to the Lord! Oh, let all that is in me adore him!

All that has life and breath, come now with praises before him!

Let the amen Sound from his people again.

Gladly forever adore him!

 

SERMON      Seeing is Believing

 

APOSTLES’ CREED

C: I believe in God, the Father almighty,

             Creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.

             He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit

                     And was born of the virgin Mary. 

             He suffered under Pontius Pilate. 

                     Was crucified, died, and was buried.

             He descended into hell.

             On the third day he rose again.

             He ascended into heaven,

                     And is seated at the right hand of the Father.

             He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

             The holy Christian Church,

             The communion of saints,

             The forgiveness of sins,

             The resurrection of the body,

             And the life everlasting.  Amen. 

 

OFFERING

We offer our thanksgiving for what God has first given us—ourselves, our time, our possessions.

OFFERTORY: Concerto No. 2 in G Major, Op 13, 3rd Mvt.       by Seitz

                                                                               Played by Clara Stanley

 

PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH

After each portion of the prayers, these words are spoken:

Pastor:  Lord, in your mercy.

People:  hear our prayer.

 

LORD’S PRAYER

 

CLOSING BLESSING

 

CLOSING SONG: “To God Be the Glory”                              TOSB 241

To God be the glory, great things He has done;

So loved He the world that He gave us His Son,

Who yielded His life an atonement for sin,

And opened the life gate that all may go in.

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,

 Let the earth hear His voice!

 Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,

 Let the people rejoice!

 O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son,

 And give Him the glory, great things He has done.

 

O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood,

To every believer the promise of God;

The vilest offender who truly believes,

That moment from Jesus a pardon receives.

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,

 Let the earth hear His voice!

 Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,

 Let the people rejoice!

 O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son,

 And give Him the glory, great things He has done.

 

Great things He has taught us, great things He has done,

And great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son;

But purer, and higher, and greater will be

Our wonder, our transport, when Jesus we see.

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,

 Let the earth hear His voice!

 Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,

 Let the people rejoice!

 O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son,

 And give Him the glory, great things He has done.

 

DISMISSAL

P:  Go in peace!  Serve the Lord!

C:  Thanks be to God! 

POST-SERVICE MUSIC