Third Sunday of Easter, April 26, 2020
Welcome
Opening Hymn 633, vs. 1, 5, 7-8 At the Lamb’s High Feast We Sing
Confession and Absolution, p. 151
Collect
First Reading - Acts 2:36-41
36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
Epistle 1 Peter 1:17-25
17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, 23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; 24 for
“All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
and the flower falls,
25 but the word of the Lord remains forever.”
And this word is the good news that was preached to you.
Holy Gospel Luke 24:13-35
13 That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles[a] from Jerusalem, 14 and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17 And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. 18 Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” 19 And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. 22 Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, 23 and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. 24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” 25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
28 So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, 29 but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” 33 And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34 saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.
Song “Shine, Jesus, Shine” by Graham Kendrick © 1987
1. Lord, the light of Your love is shining
in the midst of the darkness shining;
Jesus, Light of the World, shine upon us,
Set us free by the truth You now bring us
Shine on me, shine on me.
Refrain:
Shine, Jesus, shine, fill this land with the Father’s glory;
Blaze, Spirit, blaze, set our hearts on fire.
Flow, river flow, flood the nations with grace and mercy;
Send forth Your Word, Lord, and let there be light.
- Lord, I come to Your awesome presence,
From the shadows into Your radiance;
By the blood I may enter Your brightness,
Search me, try me, consume all my darkness,
Shine on me, shine on me. Refrain:
- As we gaze on Your kingly brightness,
So our faces display Your likeness;
Ever changing from glory to glory,
Mirrored here may our lives tell Your story,
Shine on me, shine on me. Refrain:
CCLI # 2488514
Sermon Burning Hearts
Grace, mercy, and peace to you…
Our theme is burning hearts… from our Gospel verse 32, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”
Have you ever had heartburn? Some do, some don’t. My wife thinks it’s a myth…
That’s a bad kind of burning.
Our hearts can burn in good ways or bad ways, for the right things or the wrong things, worldly things or godly things…
Jesus rose and sent His Spirit from heaven so our hearts would burn for what’s good and right and true, for the Gospel.
- In our first reading… Acts 2:14a, 36-41
- Takes places on Pentecost… Peter shows himself the spokesmen for the apostles…
- He explained to them what was happening, and all because Jesus…
- Then he confronted them and called them to believe… “know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
- They were cut to the heart, they said, “What should we do”…
- Peter said, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”
- There’s nothing to do to set it right, just to repent and believe that Jesus has set things right for us… and let him help do the right things now…
- “So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.” 3000 suddenly on fire for Christ…
- Just like that, by the amazing power of the Gospel proclaimed to them, they went from having hearts that burned with hatred against Jesus, to love for him.”
- Baptism and the Gospel have that same power for us…
2. Our Epistle is a continuation of last week’s, when we talked about with the theme: Easter ongoing. Because Jesus is risen we live everyday as Easter.
- This means 1) our hope never dies, 2) our inheritance never runs out, 3) our faith is tried and true, 4) our joy is glorious, 5) our outcome is selfless…
- In today’s Epistle, the last part of chapter 1, Peter tells us in verse 17 to conduct ourselves with fear… live in honor and respect of Christ…
- Verse 18 reminds us we have been ransomed from futile ways by the blood of Christ…
- In Verse 21, Peter goes back to what he said earlier in the chapter, last Sunday’s Epistle, that God raised and glorified Jesus, and so our faith and hope are in Him…
- And then Peter teaches us what comes from hope and faith in the Gospel. He says, Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth (believing in the Gospel) for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart… (living hope and genuine faith result in pure love) since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God…
- Our love isn’t perfect in this world because sin remains, but the Gospel, which is the pure seed that our faith was born from, helps to make our love for God and others more pure and true…
- Through the Living and abiding Word of God…
- The world changes but the Word remains… so we depend on it to guide and save us…
- New challenges will always come along in this world, like the challenge of the pandemic we’re facing, but the abiding Word of God gives our hearts strength for this and every challenge…
- So may our hearts always burn for the true and eternal Word of God for us…
3. Which leads to our Gospel…
- This takes place the afternoon Jesus rose…
- Two of Jesus’ followers, one named Cleopas, where walking from Jerusalem back to Emmaus where they were staying…
- They were discussing all that had happened the last few days…
- Suddenly Jesus came up to them and asked them what they were talking about…
- He kept them from recognizing him… it gave him an opportunity to teach them while they still searching and seeking, and their minds were open…
- He asked them what they were discussing and Cleopas said, “Are you the only person who doesn’t know what just happened in Jerusalem? Everybody’s talking about it.”
- Jesus said, “Tell me about it.”, and they told him about Jesus of Nazareth…
- Then they said, and this morning some saw the tomb open and empty and angels told them he had risen… we don’t know what to think…
- Then Jesus explained to them from the prophecies of the Old Testament that the Messiah had to rise…
- They were so taken by what they were being taught that they asked him to stay with them for awhile and teach them more…
- So Jesus went to where they were staying and sat down by the table to eat, and he took the bread and prayed, and then they recognized that was Jesus himself…
- As soon as they saw and believed, he vanished from their sight, showing His Divine power, leaving them to go tell the others…
- Even though it was late, they hurried back to Jerusalem and told the disciples that they had seen Jesus, he was risen.
- And the disciples said, “We know. He appeared to Simon (Peter), too.”.
- After Jesus had vanished from their sight, they said, “Were not our hearts burning as he opened up the Scriptures to us?”…
4. Burning hearts… hearts on fire for the Gospel, minds open to Word that never perishes…
- The disciples were at their best when their hearts were burning for the Gospel…
- We’re at our best when our hearts burn for God’s eternal Word…
1) Our doubts are overcome… (obedience to the truth, as our epistle says)
2) Our love is increased, as Peter said, with a sincere brotherly love, so love one another earnestly from a pure heart…
3) Our apathy is replaced… with godly passion and devotion…
4) Our purpose is purified…
5) Our hope is made known…
In this world there are many things that would compete for the passion of our hearts. Some would quench our passion for the Gospel.
The Holy Spirit, through His Word and Sacraments, would keep our minds open to the truth that sets us free, and set our hearts on fire for the Gospel that gives us love now and joy forever.
May your heart always burn for the Good News of our risen Lord.
And as your heart burns for Him, your mind will be filled with the peace of God, which passes understanding, and guards you in Christ Jesus, our risen Lord, who has made Himself known to us in His eternal, abiding Word. Amen
Apostles’ Creed, p. 159
Prayers
Benediction
Closing Hymn 477 Alleluia! Alleluia! Hearts to Heaven