SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER April 19, 2020
AS WE GATHER
Sometimes the simplest of words carry the greatest of importance. As Jesus speaks with the doubting disciple Thomas gathered in a special room with the disciples a few days after the resurrection, He says simply, “See.” But that is all He needs to say. It confirms the powerful truth that He is risen indeed!
WELCOME
OPENING HYMN 469 Christ the Lord Is Risen Today
“Christ the Lord is risen today!” Saints on earth and angels say;
Raise your joys and triumphs high; Sing, ye heavens, and earth reply.
Love's redeeming work is done, Fought the fight, the battle won;
Lo! Our Sun’s eclipse is o’er; Lo! He sets in blood no more.
Vain the stone, the watch, the seal; Christ has burst the gates of hell. Death in vain forbids His rise; Christ has opened paradise.
Lives again our glorious King! Where, O death, is now thy sting?
Once he died our souls to save; Where thy victory, O grave?
Soar we now where Christ has led; Foll’wing our exalted Head. Made like Him, like Him we rise; Ours the cross, the grave, the skies.
Hail the Lord of earth and heav’n! Praise to thee by both be giv’n!
Thee we greet triumphant now: Hail, the Resurrection, Thou!
INVOCATION AND CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION
Pastor: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen.
Pastor: Let us confess our sins to our risen Lord.
People: Almighty God, with repentant hearts we confess our sinfulness. We
have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed. We have not loved You
with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. Forgive us,
O risen Lord, that we may walk in Your love, and serve You with joy. Amen.
Pastor: God has promised His life-giving forgiveness, won by His Son, to those
who repent and turn to Him. Therefore, in the stead and by command of our risen
Lord, Jesus Christ, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen.
Pastor: God keep you in His grace by the Holy Spirit, lead you in ways of peace
and joy, and finally bring you to live with Him in glory forever, through Jesus
Christ, our Lord.
People: Amen.
Pastor: Alleluia! He is risen!
People: He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
SALUTATION AND PRAYER OF THE DAY
Pastor: The risen Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.
Pastor: Let us pray. Almighty God, grant that we who have celebrated our Lord’s
resurrection may by Your grace, confess in word and deed, that Jesus is
Lord and God; for He lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one glorious
God, now and forever.
People: Amen.
EPISTLE 1 Peter 1:3–9 (We have new hope through the resurrection of Christ.)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Reader: This is the Word of our risen Lord.
People: Thanks be to God.
HOLY GOSPEL John 20:19–31
Pastor: On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being
locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among
them and said to them,
People: “Peace be with you.”
Pastor: When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the
disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again,
People: “Peace be with you.
Pastor: As the Father has sent Me, even so I am sending you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.” Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him,
People: “We have seen the Lord.”
Pastor: But he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the mark of the nails, and
place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into His side, I will
never believe.” Eight days later, His disciples were inside again, and Thomas was
with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them
and said,
People: “Peace be with you.”
Pastor: Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see My hands; and put out your hand, and place it in My side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered Him,
People: “My Lord and my God!”
Pastor: Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen Me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, 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 risen Christ!
SONG OF THE DAY “Worthy is the Lamb” with “Crown Him with Many Crowns”
©2000 Hillsong Publishing
Thank You for the cross, Lord; Thank You for the price You paid;
Bearing all my sin and shame, in love You came, and gave amazing grace.
Thank You for this love, Lord; Thank You for the nail-pierced hands;
Washed me in Your cleansing flow, now all I know Your forgiveness and embrace.
Worthy is the Lamb, seated on the throne; We crown You now with many crowns,
You reign victorious; High and lifted up, Jesus, Son of God,
The Treasure of heaven crucified; Worthy is the Lamb, worthy is the Lamb.
Worthy is the Lamb; worthy is the Lamb.
Crown Him with many crowns, the Lamb upon the throne;
Hark, how the heav’nly anthem drowns all music but its own;
Awake, my soul, and sing, of Him Who died for thee,
And hail Him as thy matchless King through all eternity.
Crown Him the Lord of life, Who triumphed o’er the grave
And rose victorious in the strife for those He came to save.
His glories now we sing, Who died and rose on high,
Who died eternal life to bring and lives that death may die.
Worthy is the Lamb, seated on the throne;
We crown You now with many crowns, You reign victorious;
High and lifted up, Jesus, Son of God, the Treasure of heaven crucified;
Worthy is the Lamb, worthy is the Lamb, worthy is the Lamb, worthy is the Lamb,
Worthy is the Lamb.
CCLI # 2488514
SERMON Easter Ongoing…
Introduction… Easter is a season… every Sunday is Easter… live every day on earth as Easter… Heaven is eternal Easter.
Because Easter is eternal 1) our hope never dies, 2) our inheritance never runs out, 3) our faith is true, 4) our joy is glorious, 5) our outcome is selfless.
Our hope never dies… because it’s a spiritual, not worldly, hope…
- Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
- In Baptism we’re born again with Easter hope…
- Without hope, life would worse than death…
- Hope brings us through out troubles, and it makes our blessings more joyful…
- Romans 5:5 tells us that this resurrection hope we’ve been given… does not put us to shame, or disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.
- Earthly or secular hope is wishful thinking, but this Gospel hope is much more…
- As humans, we have our earthly hopes and goals, and that’s okay, good even, as long as we don’t turn them into something more than they can be…
- One of our earthly hopes is that this virus would pass quickly… we hope that our loved ones are kept safe and well… these are good things to hope for… they show we care… But we don’t know that outcome… we can only do our best, and put our lives in God’s hands…
- This virus will leave it’s mark on our world, but it will eventually pass, and life will go on, and new challenges will arise in our lives, and new joys, but what our Spirit-given hope in the resurrection and the life everlasting, will out-live all these hopes and joys and challenges and sorrows…
- With this hope alive in your heart, you have the power to live this life well…
- So never let go of this living hope… never let it die inside of you, keep it alive and powerful, by letting your heart and mind feast on the Easter Gospel…
Our inheritance never runs out…
- We have been born again… to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you…
- It’s amazing how much earthly inheritance people can burn through…
- Prodigal Son…
- Jeff Bezos… But even that will run out… when life runs out…
- God gives His children an inheritance that will never run out… God will never run out of new blessings to give us in heaven…
- Let us not squander the inheritance Jesus rose to give us… NBA athletes living paycheck to paycheck and are hurting…
- This is the inheritance never runs out…
- Share with our children and grandchildren, and with all… to know Christ and the eternal inheritance He gives, and to make Christ and his heavenly inheritance known to a world that can’t be saved by any amount of earthly inheritance…
Our faith is tried and true… (after 50 years I’m tired of you, too…)
- who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
- “These are the times that try men’s souls”… Thomas Paine “Common Sense”… We’re in that time in some ways…
- Many times in life try our souls…
- When we live with Easter hope, faith will pull us through…
- And our faith is proven true as we endure, as we remain faithful…
- Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him…
- Thomas doubted… Christ overcame his doubt…
- The power of the Gospel overcomes our doubts, and solidifies our faith…
Our joy is glorious…
- Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory…
- Think of the inglorious things we do to feel happiness or experience pleasure in life, or find humor… they all fall short of true joy…
- Jesus gives glorious joy, now, and joy inexpressible for eternity…
- This helps us in our griefs and troubles…
Our outcome is selfless… true love…
- “Obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls!”
- To refuse to believe in the Gospel is the ultimate act of selfishness…
- To believe is ultimate act of selflessness… to live and love and serve others forever…
- Knowing this helps us to be more selfless now, in this life…
Conclusion… Easter ongoing… our hope never dies, our inheritance never runs out, our faith is true, our joy is glorious, and the outcome of our lives is selfless and loving…
May God bless us to live each day with Easter in our hearts, and as we do, the peace of God…
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
Pastor: Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
All: 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.
BENEDICTION
Pastor: The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord look on you with favor, and give you peace.
People: Amen.
Pastor: Alleluia! Christ is risen!
People: He is risen indeed. Alleluia!
CLOSING HYMN 475 “Good Christian Friends”
Good Christian friends, rejoice and sing! Now is the triumph of our King!
To all the world glad news we bring: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
The Lord of life is ris’n this day; Bring flow’rs of song to strew His way;
Let all the world rejoice and say: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Praise we in songs of victory That love, that life which cannot die,
And sing with hearts uplifted high: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Your name we bless, O risen Lord, And sing today with one accord
The life laid down, the life restored: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Creative Worship for the Lutheran Parish, Series A, Quarter 2. Copyright © 2019 Concordia Publishing House. All rights reserved. Used by permission.