P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
THIS IS THE FEAST LSB 155
C This is the feast of victory for our God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Worthy is Christ, the Lamb who was slain, whose blood set us free to be people of God.
This is the feast of victory for our God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Power, riches, wisdom, and strength, and honor, blessing, and glory are His.
This is the feast of victory for our God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Sing with all the people of God, and join in the hymn of all creation:
Blessing, honor, glory, and might be to God and the Lamb forever. Amen.
This is the feast of victory for our God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
For the Lamb who was slain has begun His reign. Alleluia.
This is the feast of victory for our God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
COLLECT OF THE DAY
P Almighty God, grant that we who have celebrated the Lord’s resurrection may by Your grace confess in our life and conversation that Jesus is Lord and God; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
OLD TESTAMENT READING Ezekiel 37:1–14
1The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. 2And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”
7So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. 9Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.
11Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off.’ 12Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”
A This is the Word of the Lord.
EPISTLE 1 John 5:4–10
4For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
6This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7For there are three that testify: 8the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree. 9If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son. 10Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son.
A This is the Word of the Lord.
HOLY GOSPEL
P The Holy Gospel according to St. John, the twentieth chapter.
19On 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, “Peace be with you.” 20When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.”
24Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” 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.”
26Eight 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, “Peace be with you.” 27Then 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.” 28Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
30Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31but 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.
P This is the Gospel of the Lord.
APOSTLES’ CREED
C I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come 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 T everlasting. Amen.
471 O SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF THE KING
ref Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
1 O sons and daughters of the King,
Whom heav’nly hosts in glory sing,
Today the grave has lost its sting!
Alleluia!
2 That Easter morn, at break of day,
The faithful women went their way
To seek the tomb where Jesus lay.
Alleluia!
3 An angel clad in white they see,
Who sits and speaks unto the three,
“Your Lord will go to Galilee.”
Alleluia!
4 That night the_apostles met in fear;
Among them came their master dear
And said, “My peace be with you here.”
Alleluia!
5 When Thomas first the tidings heard
That they had seen the risen Lord,
He doubted the disciples’ word.
Alleluia!
6 “My piercèd side, O Thomas, see,
And look upon My hands, My feet;
Not faithless but believing be.”
Alleluia!
7 No longer Thomas then denied;
He saw the feet, the hands, the side;
“You are my Lord and God!” he cried.
Alleluia!
8 How blest are they who have not seen
And yet whose faith has constant been,
For they eternal life shall win.
Alleluia!
9 On this most holy day of days
Be laud and jubilee and praise:
To God your hearts and voices raise.
Alleluia! Refrain
Text: Public domain
SERMON -- Believe and Live
(John 20) 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 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.
Note the order of the words here: "Believe" and "life". Believing in Jesus allows you to have life. Believing produces life -- eternal life and life in the present. Jesus had said it before and He will say it again, whoever believes will have eternal life. That’s something for us believers to look forward to. What is more, we have this eternal life now. Believing in Jesus will open eternal life to us. Believing in Jesus gives us life now, shapes and directs our life daily, especially in times of crisis. We have celebrated our Lord’s resurrection from the dead. Now we believe and live.
The disciples of Jesus, now only eleven, were in crisis mode. Behind locked doors for fear, they hid. You know how it’s said that there are two reactions to trouble: fight or flight. There had been a quick, thoughtless gesture of fight among the disciples when Jesus was first arrested. Peter drew his sword, fortunately he could only manage to get off a glancing blow and cut off and the ear of one of the men in the posse that had come for Jesus. But fighting wasn’t going to help anything and Jesus told them to put the sword away. It’s not the way. So they had the other response, flight. They all fled, ran away and hid. That’s where Jesus finds them and calls them to something else, something much better. Fight or flight are reactions to fear. Jesus tells them “Fear not. Believe.”
Rather than hide in fear, Jesus tells them to believe and live. Their lives, from that moment forward, had new purpose. As his servants and his representatives they were to do his work and his will. Specifically they were to go out and find sinners, talk to them about their sin and forgive them in Jesus’ name. It is absolutely necessary that the Christian church today remembers what she is called to do, believe in Jesus, and proclaim his forgiveness of sins.
The Christian Church on earth is in a time of crisis. There are loud voices, some of them even from within the church itself, saying we need to do things differently. We need to change the morality that we preach. We need to accept immoral behavior. We need to abandon old fashioned ideas. “God doesn’t judge sinners”, they want us to say. We are under pressure to stop believing and stop preaching what God says is true. And that pressure will continue and grow.
The Christian church could take one of two reactions to the threats of the world: fight or flight. Should we urge rebellion, try to get our way by force? Should we hide and try not to be noticed? Those are the fear responses. Jesus says, “Fear not. Believe. Live the life of faith, which includes forgiving sins of those who are sorry and withholding forgiveness from the impenitent until they repent.”
When you find yourself in a crisis, you have another option rather than fight or flight. You can believe and live.
This takes patience. Jesus told his disciples, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Patience is one of the gifts the Spirit gives His people. Patience means not being quick to draw the weapon and fight back. But running away from trouble and hiding is not patience either. Patience is defined so well in the Psalms that tell you: “Wait for the Lord.” Believing in Jesus, you have a life of faith to live, even if you must wait.
Ezekiel had this kinda weird experience that the Lord God put him through. He was told to prophesy to these dead, dry bones. He preached to them, and they rose up and came alive. The Lord then explains that there was a purpose, a moral to this. The people at that time were like dead bones. They weren’t believing. They weren’t living. They had given up. They said, “Our hope is lost. We are clean cut off.” Giving up is an impatient reaction to crises. It’s impatient to just sit there in hopelessness, immobilized by fear. It’s certainly not living. It’s just like dry bones.
If you have a crisis of health, or of money, or of family, or of work, you know better than to fight, right? That response doesn’t ever help matters. But flight? Maybe it seems like it’d be better to just run away and hide from problems. But that’s not what you are called to do. You are called to believe and live.
Believe in your Lord who has victory of death and sin. Believe that you can overcome. 1 John 5:5: “Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” Believe that the death and resurrection of Jesus is for you.
Believe and live. Live as God calls you to live. For the disciples, and the church they founded, God’s call was that they would forgive sinners. Your call in life is, first of all to hear that, believe that forgiveness. Each of you then as forgiven believers of Jesus Christ put thought into what your particular calling is, are you a father, mother, brother, sister, worker, employer, neighbor? Work at these things faithfully -- even through crises -- while you wait for the Lord. Amen.
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
Let us pray for the whole people of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs. God of life and peace, since you have given your church the gift of absolution, show us the depth of our sin, so that we confess sincerely and fill us with faith so that we receive your life giving forgiveness with joy. Give to every pastor faithfulness to use your keys for the good of your people. Lord in your mercy.
God of life and peace have mercy on those who have been absent from worship. Restore those who are doubting your promises and call back those who have wandered away from you. Do not allow any of us to deceive ourselves by saying that we have no sin but lead us to admit our iniquity knowing that your son cleanses us from all unrighteousness. Lord in your mercy.
God of life and peace because you care about the lives of all people be with those who lead our nation and our community including our local officials our mayor and all who lead our local government. Teach them to be diligent in the tasks that you've entrusted to them to act according to your will and to work for the good of all people. Lord in your mercy.
O Lord Heavenly. Father, we here remember the suffering and death of your beloved Son Jesus Christ for our salvation. Praising his victorious resurrection from the dead we draw strength from his ascension before you where he ever stands for us as our own High Priest. Gather us together, we pray from the ends of the earth to celebrate with all the faithful the marriage feast of the Lamb in his kingdom, which has no end. Graciously, receive our prayers deliver and preserve us to you alone, O Father be all glory honor and worship with the Son and the Holy Spirit one God, now and forever, Amen.
LORD’S PRAYER
C 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
P The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you.
The Lord look upon you with favor and T give you peace.
C Amen.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Divine Service, Setting One from Lutheran Service Book
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Created by Lutheran Service Builder © 2021 Concordia Publishing House.
No comments:
Post a Comment