CALL TO WORSHIP
Christ is Risen!
He is Risen Indeed!
Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He gave us new life and hope by raising Jesus from the dead.
He has claimed us as his own.
He called us from our darkness into the light of his new day.
Christ is risen! Alleluia!
He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!
GATHERING SONG "This is the Day"
CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS
In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Rejoicing in the resurrection, let us seek God's forgiveness, that dying to sin,
we may walk in newness of life.
Silence for reflection and self-examination.
Faithful God,
we confess that we have tried to live by our own poor strength,
shunning the earth-shaking power of the resurrection.
We have doubted your promises. We have failed to recognize you in the poor and needy.
Have mercy on us, forgive us our sin,
and restore to us the joy of your salvation
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Christ died to sin once for all, and now, victorious, lives to God. Our Savior has delivered you from the power of darkness and welcomed you into the realm of light. For his sake God grants you pardon and peace, the remission of all your sins. Amen
PRAYER OF THE DAY
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.
THE EPISTLE LESSON: 1 Peter 1:3–9
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.
Word of God, word of life. Thanks be to God.
THE GOSPEL FOR THE DAY: John 20:19-31
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.
SERMON Pastor Phil Wold
HYMN OF THE DAY “Thine Is the Glory” ELW #376
THE NICENE CREED
In infinite mercy God watched over the people of Israel. In unending love God sent his Son to be our Savior. God delivered us from sin through the waters of Baptism. With joy we proclaim in words and action the faith which makes us God’s own people. . .
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven,
was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary and became truly human.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again in accordance with the scriptures;
he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
THE PEACE IS SHARED
The peace of Christ be with you always. And also with you.
(May we join the Church throughout the world, praying for God’s peace and justice to reign over us all.)
OFFERING PRAYER - Blessing of Quilts and Care Kits
Almighty and gracious God, you have so richly blessed us, but we pray for more, much more.
We pray for grateful hearts, for a humble awareness of our abundance
amid all the world’s poverty and pain.
Lord, we pray for more.
We pray for the courage to give generously of our resources - our imaginations,
our time and abilities, our material wealth.
We pray yet for more, Lord.
We pray for the strength to reject the rationalizations which lead to
indifference and silence in this climate of entitlement and insatiable desire.
Lord, for much more we pray.
We pray for confident hope, in the presence of such overwhelming needs,
to know that each offering of money, quilts, and material resources
makes a welcome difference to others, and to you.
For still more, Lord, we pray.
We pray for lifestyles of justice and mercy, living more simply, being advocates for those
more needful than we, being faithful and compassionate in our role as citizens.
Lord, yet again we pray for more.
We pray for your promised forgiveness for the fears, the selfishness, the thoughtlessness,
the suspicions, the self-righteousness which hinder our loving service,
and then pray for grateful and greater obedience to mark our thanksgiving.
Yet for one more thing we pray.
We pray you would bless those who labor on our behalf through all the work of Lutheran World Relief and its partners, that we would uphold them with our prayers, our encouragement, our gifts,
our willingness to learn and to invite the support of others.
In the name of our Lord who encouraged us to ask boldly when we pray, Amen.
Litany written by Pastor Ed Whetstone, Salem Lutheran Church in Catonsville, Maryland.
THE SERVICE OF PRAYERS FOR HEALING
Grant your healing power and presence, O Lord,
Upon all who sorrow, or are distressed in spirit and mind;
Upon all anxious, defeated, and troubled souls;
Upon those everywhere who seek forgiveness and restoration,
Who hunger for enlightenment and communion with you;
Upon us all, bestow again the love of your Holy Spirit
and the peace of your communion with us,"
Begotten in your Light, O God, deliver us from all darkness.
Lifted by the powerful tide of your creative purpose,
save us from all despair and loneliness.
Pour out upon us the power of your healing grace,
so that knowing ourselves created afresh by the glory of your Love,
our hearts may be washed in your transforming power.
Through Christ who lives and reigns with you, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
THE SIGN OF PEACE IS SHARED
The peace of the Lord be with you always. And also with you.
NOISY OFFERING
THE LORD’S PRAYER
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
BLESSING
SENDING SONG “Jesus Christ is Risen Today” ELW #365
SENDING
Go in peace. Share the good news. Alleluia, alleluia!
Thanks be to God. Alleluia, alleluia!
From SundaysAndSeasons.com. Copyright 2024 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #26385.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.