April 11, 2021 - Connected to Peace
“Tested by families, for families (and others too). Church at Home is an interactive, weekly worship service to be held from the safety of your own home. Each service will be centered around one theme and will have 3 songs, readings, and prayers, a short (4-5 min) message for children, and a longer (10 min) message for the whole family.”
Thank you for joining us for our Church at Home service!
Directly below in English and here in Spanish is an at-home worship service to be held with the family or as an individual or small group. Included are links to songs and pastoral messages (English, Spanish, Bilingual, and children's message) which will be made available every Saturday on Youtube. The head of the household can lead (L) and others can respond (C) or everyone can take turns. Use the links for the songs and messages at the appropriate time. Please do not feel pressured to go through the whole thing in one sitting. Rather, use each element of this service so that it serves as a blessing to you and your family.
If you have any prayer requests, or if you worship in this way this weekend, please use or fill out our online connect card, or linked below in the service. Comment to let us know how it went and any suggestions you may have!
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Finally, for this week’s news update or more information about our church, click here.
May God bless your Church at Home worship service this week.
Pastor William Dunn
Connected
to Peace
You are connected because of Jesus. You are connected to his resurrection, to him as the Good Shepherd, to his word, to his love, to each other, and to more! If you haven’t been connected to church much over the last year, perhaps now is a great time to reconnect, as God connects us to so many blessings.
For a couple days, it looked like everything had fallen apart. Their Savior had died. They might be next. But Easter morning changed everything. Christ appeared to his disciples, resurrected, fully alive! This Easter season, we will look back on the words of Jesus from the Easter Gospel lessons. There we will find a connection that cannot be broken. Through the resurrection of Christ we are connected to true peace that drives out doubt. Through the Holy Spirit, we can study the scriptures together and see the heart of God and his plans for us. We are safe in Christ’s flock. He is the Good Shepherd, and we love to gather to listen to his voice. Jesus urges us to stay connected to vine where we will produce fruits of faith. Jesus is more than just our God or our Savior, he is our friend. He connects us to himself and each other with his love. Even though we don’t see him anymore, we are still connected with Christ. Connected and protected by his power and his word.
Opening Song - Draw Us to Thee
Invocation
L. In the name of the Father and of the ☩ Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C. Amen.
Confession and Absolution
We begin the service by recognizing how we have fallen short of God’s will and desire for our lives, and we receive the good news that we are forgiven in Jesus Christ.
L. Let us approach God with a true heart and confess our sins, asking him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to forgive us.
C. Lord of life, I confess that I am by nature dead in sin. For faithless worrying and selfish pride, for sins of habit and sins of choice, for the evil I have done and the good I have failed to do, you should cast me away from your presence forever. O Lord, I am sorry for my sins. Forgive me, for Jesus’ sake.
L. Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. In his great mercy, God made us alive in Christ even when we were dead in our sins. Hear the word of Christ just as he proclaimed to the paralytic: "Take heart, your sins are forgiven.” Let us take this forgiveness to heart and proclaim it to each other in the name of the Father, and of the ☩ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Prayer of the Day
L. O risen Lord, you came to your disciples and took away their fears with your word of peace. Come to us also by your Word and sacrament, and banish our fears with the comforting assurance of your abiding presence; for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C. Amen.
First Lesson - Acts 3:12-20
After healing the lame man, Peter points to the source of healing: Jesus Christ our risen Lord, and exhorts the people to repent and believe in him.
12 When Peter saw this, he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this? Why are you staring at us, as if by our own power or godliness we have made this man walk? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and disowned in the presence of Pilate, though he had decided to release him. 14 You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked to have a murderer given to you. 15 You killed the Author of Life, whom God raised from the dead. We are witnesses of this. 16 And on the basis of faith in his name, it is the name of Jesus that has strengthened this man, whom you see and know. This faith that comes through Jesus has given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you.
17 “Now brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, just like your leaders. 18 But in this way God fulfilled what he had foretold through the mouth of all the prophets: that his Christ would suffer. 19 Therefore repent and return to have your sins wiped out, 20 so that refreshing times may come from the presence of the Lord and that he may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you.
Psalm of the Day - Psalm 16
A miktam by David.
1 Guard me, O God, for I take refuge in you.
2 I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord.
I have no good apart from you.”
3 The holy ones who are in the land are glorious.
All my delight is in them.
4 Those who chase after another god will increase their sorrows.
I will not pour out their drink offerings of blood.
I will not take up their names on my lips.
5 LORD, you are the cup that has been given to me.
You have secured an allotment for me.
6 The property lines chosen for me fall in pleasant places.
Yes, a delightful inheritance is mine.
7 I will bless the LORD, who guides me.
Even at night my heart instructs me.
8 I have set the LORD always before me.
Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad,
and my whole being rejoices.
Even my flesh will dwell securely
10 because you will not abandon my life to the grave.
You will not let your favored one see decay.
11 You have made known to me the path of life,
fullness of joy in your presence,
pleasures at your right hand forever.
Second Lesson - 1 John 5:1-6
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Son of God shares in his victory and with a grateful heart wants to obey his commandments.
1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the God who has given birth also loves one who has been born of him. 2This is how we know that we love the children of God: when we love God and keep his commands. 3In fact, this is love for God: that we keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, 4because everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith. 5Who is the one who overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
6This is the one who came by water and blood: Jesus Christ. He did not come by the water alone but by the water and by the blood. The Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.
Gospel - John 20:19-31
In this reading, John tells us how Christ appeared to the disciples proving that he had risen from the dead. But one of them, Thomas, who was not present was not going to believe it until he saw "proof" that Christ had risen. In his mercy, Christ appeared to them again and gave Thomas the proofs he had asked for. However, blessed are those who do not see, and still believe! These things that the apostle John wrote, he wrote so that we might believe in Christ for our salvation.
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, the disciples were together behind locked doors because of their fear of the Jews. Jesus came, stood among them, and said to them, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. So the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you! Just as the Father has sent me, I am also sending you.” 22 After saying this, he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 Whenever you forgive people’s sins, they are forgiven. Whenever you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
24 But Thomas, one of the Twelve, the one called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples kept telling him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands, and put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe.”
26 After eight days, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and look at my hands. Take your hand and put it into my side. Do not continue to doubt, but believe.”
28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
30 Jesus, in the presence of his disciples, did many other miraculous signs that are not written in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Children's Message
Song - This Joyful Eastertide
English Sermon -or- Bilingual Sermon
Confession of Faith - The Apostles' Creed
We speak the truths of the faith that have united the church for thousands of years.
I believe in God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
I believe 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 is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there 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.
Offering
Out of thanksgiving for God’s message of grace and forgiveness, if you would like to support our ministry with a financial gift you may do so with zero fees through our Facebook page or with a small fee included through Paypal. We thank you for your gracious support.
Online Connection Card
Please use the link to connect with us online! Let us know that you worshiped with us or submit a prayer request.
General Prayer
Use this time to pray to God about anything that is on your heart and mind. Remember who God is and how he describes himself in the Bible. Focus on his eternal perspective. Consider not only your own life, but also the lives of others. Finally, pray with confidence knowing that God hears you, and pray in the name of your savior, Jesus Christ.
The Lord's Prayer
Pray the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples.
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread; forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us; lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen.
The Blessing
Just as God told Aaron to bless his people in this way, we ask God’s blessing on us as we go forth in our lives.
L. The Lord bless us and keep us.
The Lord make his face shine on us and be gracious to us.
The Lord look on us with favor and ☩ give us peace.
C. Amen