April 19 | Eastertide 2

Above: “Resurrection” by Sister Joanne Emmer, 1965.
Courtesy of St. Catherine University Fine Art Collection.

 

 

 

 

“Easter”

A poem by George Herbert from The Temple (1633)

Rise heart; thy Lord is risen.  Sing his praise
Without delayes,
Who takes thee by the hand, that thou likewise
With him mayst rise:
That, as his death calcined [reduced] thee to dust,
His life may make thee gold, and much more, just.

Awake, my lute, and struggle for thy part
With all thy art.
The crosse taught all wood to resound his name,
Who bore the same.
His stretched sinews taught all strings, what key
Is best to celebrate this most high day.

Consort both heart and lute, and twist a song
Pleasant and long:
Or, since all musick is but three parts2 vied
And multiplied,
O let thy blessed Spirit bear a part,
And make up our defects with his sweet art.

I got me flowers to straw thy way;
I got me boughs off many a tree:
But thou wast up by break of day,
And brought’st thy sweets along with thee.

The Sunne arising in the East,
Though he give light, & th’ East perfume;
If they should offer to contest
With thy arising, they presume.

Can there be any day but this,
Though many sunnes to shine endeavour?
We count three hundred, but we misse:
There is but one, and that one ever.

 

 

 

 

 

Gathering

 

Prelude

 

 

 

Greeting

 

 

 

Call to Worship

1 Peter 1:3-9

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
⁴ and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.

This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who through faith are shielded by God’s power
until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
⁶ In all this you greatly rejoice,
though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.
⁷ These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith
—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—
may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
⁸ Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now,
you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,
⁹ for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

 

 

 

 

Sing: Praise to the Lord, the Almighty

*This week we recorded Jean and Paul playing Praise to the Lord, and you’re the choir! Please sing along as best you can.

 

1. Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise him, for he is your health and salvation!
Come, all who hear; brothers and sisters, draw near,
join me in glad adoration!

2. Praise to the Lord, who o’er all things is wondrously reigning,
sheltering you under his wings, oh, so gently sustaining.
Have you not seen all that is needful has been
sent by his gracious ordaining?

3. Praise to the Lord, who will prosper your work and defend you;
surely his goodness and mercy shall daily attend you.
Ponder anew what the Almighty can do
as with his love he befriends you.

4. Praise to the Lord! Oh, let all that is in me adore him!
All that has life and breath, come now with praises before him!
Let the amen sound from his people again.
Gladly forever adore him!

 

 

 

Sing: Living Hope

 

1. How great the chasm that lay between us
How high the mountain I could not climb
In desperation, I turned to heaven
And spoke Your name into the night
Then through the darkness, Your loving-kindness
Tore through the shadows of my soul
The work is finished, the end is written
Jesus Christ, my living hope

2. Who could imagine so great a mercy?
What heart could fathom such boundless grace?
The God of ages stepped down from glory
To wear my sin and bear my shame
The cross has spoken, I am forgiven
The King of kings calls me His own
Beautiful Savior, I’m Yours forever
Jesus Christ, my living hope

refrain:
Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free
Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me
You have broken every chain
There’s salvation in Your name
Jesus Christ, my living hope

3. Then came the morning that sealed the promise
Your buried body began to breathe
Out of the silence, the Roaring Lion
Declared the grave has no claim on me
Then came the morning that sealed the promise
Your buried body began to breathe
Out of the silence, the Roaring Lion
Declared the grave has no claim on me
Jesus, Yours is the victory!

refrain

 

 

 

 

 

 

Call to Confession

Ponder anew what the Almighty can do
 as with his love he befriends you.

Jesus went to the grave to settle for our sins, and he rose up victorious.  His life paid for ours.
Jesus has promised that, one day, he will bring us all into the Kingdom of God,
where there will be no more crying, no more sickness, no more pain.
Why, then, should we lose hope?

Rather, let us lean all the stronger on God’s promises by confessing our own frailty to him.

 

Prayer of Confession

¹ Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge.
² I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
    apart from you I have no good thing.” (Psalm 16:1-2)

Today, O Lord, we confess that you are our only hope.
You are Light that shines in the darkness.
You are the well that does not run dry.

In your presence, we remember that we are frail of body and spirit.
We are sinners, subject to following every idol and whim.  You are holy and full of steadfast love.
We become faint without water or food.  You are strong and all-sustaining.
We fear illness, joblessness, and death.  We fear for the wellness of our families and communities.
In days such as these, O Lord, we tremble.

⁴ Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more.
    I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods
    or take up their names on my lips.

⁵ Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;
    you make my lot secure. (Psalm 16:4-5)

Merciful God, we give our sins, as well as our fears, to you,
for you alone are strong enough to remove these burdens.

 

 

Words of Assurance

⁶ The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
    surely I have a delightful inheritance.
⁷ I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;
    even at night my heart instructs me.
⁸ I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
    With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

⁹ Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
    my body also will rest secure,
¹⁰ because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
    nor will you let your faithful one see decay.
¹¹ You make known to me the path of life;
    you will fill me with joy in your presence,
    with eternal pleasures at your right hand. (Psalm 16:6-11)

 

 

Sing: Wonderful, Merciful Savior

 

1. Wonderful, merciful Savior
Precious Redeemer and Friend
Who would have thought that a Lamb
Could rescue the souls of men
Oh, You rescue the souls of men

2. Counselor, Comforter, Keeper
Spirit we long to embrace
You offer hope when our hearts have
Hopelessly lost our way
Oh, we’ve hopelessly lost the way

refrain:
You are the One that we praise
You are the One we adore
You give the healing and grace
Our hearts always hunger for
Oh, our hearts always hunger for

3. Almighty, infinite Father
Faithfully loving Your own
Here in our weakness You find us
Falling before Your throne
Oh, we’re falling before Your throne

refrain

 

 

 

 

 

 

Word

First Reading: John 20:19-31

 

Jesus Appears to His Disciples

¹⁹ On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” ²⁰ After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

²¹ Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” ²² And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Jesus Appears to Thomas

²⁴ Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

²⁶ A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

²⁸ Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

²⁹ Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

The Purpose of John’s Gospel

³⁰ Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. ³¹ But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

 

 

 

Second Reading: Acts 2:14a, 22-32

 

Peter Addresses the Crowd

¹⁴ Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say.

²² “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. ²³ This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. ²⁴ But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. ²⁵ David said about him:

²⁹ “Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. ³⁰ But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. ³¹ Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. ³² God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it.

 

 

 

Message: Pitching Our Tents In Hope

 

 

 

 

 

Sing: In Christ Alone

 

1. In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid Ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

2. In Christ alone! – who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe.
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live.

3. There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

4. No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me
From life’s first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand
Till He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prayer

Take time to pray for the needs of those gathered and the needs of the world. ​
Consider structuring your prayer in the following way: ​

Offer a request or praise aloud, concluding with the words, “Lord in your mercy,”​

And let the others respond, “Hear our prayer.”​

Or simply designate a family member to pray on your behalf.

As you close in prayer, remember the assurance of Psalm 16:
“With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.”

 

 

Sing: Crown Him With Many Crowns

 

1. Crown Him with many crowns,
The Lamb upon His throne;
Hark! how the heavenly 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.

2. Crown Him the Son of God
Before the worlds began,
And ye, who tread where He hath trod,
Crown Him the Son of man;
Who every grief hath known
That wrings the human breast,
And takes and bears them for His own,
That all in Him may rest.

3. Crown Him the Lord of love!
Behold His hands and side,
Those wounds, yet visible above,
In beauty glorified:
No angel in the sky
Can fully bear that sight,
But downward bends his wondering eye
At mysteries so bright!

4. 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.

5. Crown Him the Lord of lords,
Who over all doth reign
Who once on earth, the incarnate Word,
For ransomed sinners slain,
Now lives in realms of light,
Where saints with angels sing
Their songs before Him day and night,
Their God, Redeemer, King.

 

 

Blessing

 

May God go before you to guide you.
May God go behind you to protect you.
May God go beneath you to support you, and beside you to befriend you.
Do not be afraid.
May the blessing of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
settle in among you and remain with you always.
Do not be afraid, But go in peace to love and serve the Lord.

Amen.

 

 

 

 

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Other Resources

Songs

• Glory, Glory, Hallelujah

• “Doubting Thomas” – Nickel Creek (re: John 20)

• “Keep Me Safe” – Brad Kilman (a setting of Psalm 16)