3rd Sunday of Easter '24

PRELUDE             “Easter Sings”         BASICS 

CALL TO WORSHIP: PSALM 4

Answer me when I call, O God, defender of my cause;

   you set me free when I was in distress; have mercy on me and hear my prayer.

Know that the LORD does wonders for the faithful;

   the LORD will hear me when I call.

Tremble, then, and do not sin; speak to your heart in silence upon your bed.   

   Offer the appointed sacrifices, and put your trust in the LORD.

Many are saying, "Who will show us any good?"

   Let the light of your face shine upon us, O LORD.

You have put gladness in my heart, more than when grain and wine abound.

   In peace, I will lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me rest secure. 

GATHERING SONGS          “Christ is Alive! Let Christians Sing”           #389 

CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS

Blessed be the holy Trinity, + one God, who calls us beloved children, who gathers us into one flock, who guides us into all truth. 

Amen.

Let us confess our sins, trusting that God will forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

  Silence is kept for reflection. 

Faithful and just God,

we confess that we are captive to doubt and fear, bound by the ways that lead to death.

We have not loved our sisters and brothers as you have first loved us.

Forgive us, God of mercy. Let your Holy Spirit work in us to change our lives and make us new, that we may know the abundant life given in Jesus Christ, our risen Lord.  Amen.

In this is love, not that we loved God but that God loved us and sent the Son to atone for our sins. In the name of + Jesus Christ, I announce to you that your sins are forgiven. Let the perfect love of God cast out fear, fill you with joy, and inspire you to live for others. Amen.

PRAYER OF THE DAY

Let us pray.  Holy and righteous God, you are the author of life, and you adopt us to be your children. Fill us with your words of life, that we may live as witnesses to the resurrection of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen

FIRST LESSON: Acts 3:12-19

When Peter saw it, he addressed the people, "You Israelites, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we had made him walk? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected in the presence of Pilate, though he had decided to release him. But you rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked to have a murderer given to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. And by faith in his name, his name itself has made this man strong, whom you see and know; and the faith that is through Jesus has given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you. "And now, friends, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. In this way God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, that his Messiah would suffer. Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out.

Word of God, word of life. Thanks be to God.

SECOND LESSON: 1 John 3:1–7

See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Everyone who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. Word of God, word of life. Thanks be to God.

THE GOSPEL FOR THE DAY: Luke 24:36b–48

The holy gospel according to Saint Luke. Glory to you, O Lord.

Jesus himself stood among [the disciples] and said to them, "Peace be with you." They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, "Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have."  And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?" They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence. Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you — that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled." Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. The gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.

SERMON              “Still Wondering”         Pastor Phil Wold

HYMN OF THE DAY             “Christ Has Arisen, Alleluia”                #367 

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 SIGN OF PEACE IS SHARED

The peace of Christ be with you always. And also with you.

THE OFFERING AND OFFERING PRAYER 

Let us pray. Everlasting God, the whole universe sings a new song of praise: the rivers clap their hands, the hills ring out for joy. As you have raised us to new life in Christ, give us voices ready to cry out for justice and proclaim resurrection joy wherever your Spirit leads us. In Jesus' name we boldly pray. Amen.

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                 “Halleluia Jesus Lives”                           # 380

SENDING

Go in peace. Share the good news. Alleluia, alleluia!
Thanks be to God. Alleluia, alleluia!

Altar Flowers are given by the Lloyd Brendefur in loving memory of his wife Leona.

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