Prelude
Greeting and Welcome
Lighting of the Candles
Hymn of Invocation – From All That Dwell Below the Skies (LSB 816)
From all that dwell below the skies
Let the Creator’s praise arise;
Alleluia, alleluia!
Let the Redeemer’s name be sung
Through ev’ry land by ev’ry tongue.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Eternal are Thy mercies, Lord;
Eternal truth attends Thy Word.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Thy praise shall sound from shore to shore
Till suns shall rise and set no more.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
All praise to God the Father be,
All praise, eternal Son, to Thee.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Whom with the Spirit we adore
Forever and forevermore:
Alleluia, alleluia!
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
+ Preparation +
Invocation
P: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
Easter Acclamation
P: Alleluia! Christ is risen!
C: He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Confession and Absolution
P: Our help is in the name of the Lord,
C: who made heaven and earth.
P: If You, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?
C: But with You there is forgiveness; therefore You are feared.
P: God’s grace knows no bounds! Through the sacrifice of His Son, the Bridegroom of the Church, He makes us His holy bride. Anticipating the heavenly wedding feast, let us seek God’s grace now and call on Him for forgiveness and mercy.
C: Almighty God, have mercy on us, for we cannot help ourselves. Forgive us all that we have done in the past, give us grace in this present time, and lead us to serve You and love one another in the future and on into the eternity You have promised.
P: Jesus promised the disciples, “Your sorrow will turn into joy,” and He promises “the spring of the water of life without payment.” As a called and ordained servant of Christ, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
+ Word +
Introit
P: Oh sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.
C: The Lord has made known his salvation; he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations.
P: He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
C: Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises!
P: Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody!
C: With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord!
All: Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen
P: Oh sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.
Salutation and Prayer of the Day
P: The Lord be with you.
C: And also with you.
P: Let us pray. O God, You make the minds of Your faithful to be of one will. Grant that we may love what You have commanded and desire what You promise, that among the many changes of this world our hearts may be fixed where true joys are found; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C: Amen.
First Reading – Acts 11:1–18
Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, saying, “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.” But Peter began and explained it to them in order: “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, something like a great sheet descending, being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to me. Looking at it closely, I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds of the air. And I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’ But I said, ‘By no means, Lord; for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ But the voice answered a second time from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, do not call common.’ This happened three times, and all was drawn up again into heaven. And behold, at that very moment three men arrived at the house in which we were, sent to me from Caesarea. And the Spirit told me to go with them, making no distinction. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. And he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon who is called Peter; he will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’ As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?” When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.”
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Epistle – Revelation 3:14–22
“And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.
“‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Holy Gospel – John 16:12-22
P: The Holy Gospel according to St. John, the sixteenth chapter.
C: Glory to You, O Lord.
“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
“A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.” So some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?” So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.” Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.
P: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C: Praise to You, O Christ.
Apostles' Creed
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 + everlasting. Amen.
Children’s Hymn – Do Lord! (AGPS 89)
Refrain: Do Lord, oh, do Lord, oh, do remember me!
Do Lord, oh, do Lord, oh, do remember me!
Do Lord, oh, do Lord, oh, do remember me!
Look away beyond the blue!
You’re my light and my salvation, I won’t be afraid!
You’re the stronghold of my life, by You all things were made.
Foes attack me, hassle me, but I will never fade,
For I move in the strength of the Lord! Refrain
Children’s Sermon – Janet Leet
Hymn of the Day – Holy, Holy, Holy (LSB 507)
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!
God in three persons, blessèd Trinity!
Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore Thee,
Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee,
Which wert and art and evermore shalt be.
Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide Thee,
Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see,
Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee,
Perfect in pow’r, in love, and purity.
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All Thy works shall praise Thy name in earth and sky and sea.
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!
God in three persons, blessèd Trinity!
Sermon
