April 7 online worship

Preparations for Worship:

• Do your best to eliminate distractions like the phone, TV, etc.
• Worship actively! Whether you are by yourself or with others, try reading the parts of the service aloud (responses, lessons, and prayers).
• This service is for children too. Help them participate. Ask those who have that ability to read a prayer or lesson aloud. Take a moment to describe what’s happening. Ask questions. Encourage little ones to draw what they are hearing while you all listen. Unlike our more typical Sunday worship at church, you can pause at any time for questions and discussion.
• Before you begin, load each of the videos below. (You might first have to get past a distracting ad.)
• Pause for a moment of quiet meditation. Then pray:
  “Heavenly Father, I have come to worship you. Draw near to me in your gracious Word, and assure me of your loving kindness. Curb my wandering thoughts, that with undivided attention I may hear your voice and speak your praise. Through Jesus Christ. Amen.”

CONFESSION OF SINS

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Dear friends, 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.

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.

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 through his called servant: I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

In peace, let us pray to the Lord. For the well-being of all people everywhere, that they may receive from you all they need to sustain body and life, hear our prayer, O Lord. Lord, have mercy.

For the spread of your life-giving gospel throughout the world, that all who are lost in sin may be brought to faith in you, hear our prayer, O Christ. Christ, have mercy.

For patience and perseverance in this life, that we may not lose the hope of heaven as we await your return, hear our prayer, O Lord. Lord, have mercy.

Lord of life, live in us that we may live for you. Amen.

PRAYER OF THE DAY

O risen Lord, you came to your disciples and took away their fears with your word of peace. Come to us also by 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.  Amen.

LESSON – 1 JOHN 1:1-4

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have observed and our hands have touched regarding the Word of Life—²the life appeared, and we have seen it. We testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. ³We are proclaiming what we have seen and heard also to you, so that you may have fellowship with us. Our fellowship is with the Father and his Son Jesus Christ. ⁴We write these things to you so that our joy may be complete.

GOSPEL – JOHN 20:19-31

¹⁹On 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!” ²⁰After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. So the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.  ²¹Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you! Just as the Father has sent me, I am also sending you.” ²²After saying this, he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³Whenever you forgive people’s sins, they are forgiven. Whenever you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”  ²⁴But Thomas, one of the Twelve, the one called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵So 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.”  ²⁶After 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. ²⁷Then 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.”  ²⁸Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”  ²⁹Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”  ³⁰Jesus, in the presence of his disciples, did many other miraculous signs that are not written in this book. ³¹But 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.

DEVOTION – ACTS 18:1-11

CONFESSION OF FAITH – NICENE CREED

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 fully 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 in unity with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. We believe in one holy Christian 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.

OFFERING

Offerings may be given on-line at tithe.ly/risensavior, mailed to the church, or dropped off at the church.

Our members have joined together in faith and love to do the Lord’s work in this community and around the world.  Guests need not feel obligated to participate in this offering which supports our ministry.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH

Heavenly Father, in Holy Baptism the children of Your Church are born again to a living hope.

Feed and nourish our faith, bring us through every trial, and lend strength and joy to our praises of the risen Christ.

O Lord, God of Israel, You sent Your Spirit upon Your people of old and brought them back from exile.

Breathe on Your Church again to renew our faith and fellowship, that we may stand as Your holy army.

Merciful Father, remember those who have wandered from the household of faith.

Faithful to Your promises, work all things in their lives to remind them of their need for Your unending grace and steadfast love, that they might return to the faith and delight in Your Son, crucified and raised for them.

Blessed Lord, as Your Son’s wounds brought gladness and peace to the troubled disciples, give Your presence and comfort to the troubled in our midst.

Comfort also those who weep with the blessed joy of Easter morning.

Lord of the Church, you have entrusted us with the responsibility of making disciples of all nations. Open our eyes to see the need for workers. Inspire young people to consider a career as a pastor, teacher, or staff minister. Provide parents with words that encourage their children to consider full-time gospel ministry. Also, move adults to consider a second-career path to ministry according to your will. Help our national church body and congregations best utilize the workers with which we are blessed and move us to value them and their ministries.

Use us, Lord, to share the good news of salvation in Christ Jesus with our communities.

Lord, give us all things good and beneficial to us and to our salvation, and keep us from all things harmful; through Jesus Christ, our crucified and risen Savior, who taught us to pray…

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.

THE LORD’S BLESSING

The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord look on you with favor and give you peace. Amen.

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