Good morning and welcome to the broadcast of the Divine Service at Zion Lutheran Church in Chippewa Falls.
To help you follow along, the Order of Worship for today's service is available under the radio tab on our website, ZionLCMSCF.org.
The Lord bless you today through the hearing of His word.
Good morning and welcome to this second Sunday of Easter with that odd Latin name, Quasimodo Geniti.
This is the Sunday after the Lord has risen and we'll hear an account from our gospel and talk about that.
For now, let's go to our opening hymn.
The first four stanzas of 470, O sons and daughters of the king.
Please stand.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
I love it in the Lord.
Let us draw near with a true heart and confess our sins unto God, our Father, beseeching him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to grant us forgiveness.
Our help is in the name of the Lord.
I said I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord.
Oh, Almighty God, merciful Father, I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto you all my sins and iniquities, with which I have ever offended you, and justly deserved your temporal and eternal punishment.
But I am heartily sorry for them, and sincerely repent of them.
And I pray you of your boundless mercy.
And for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of your beloved son, Jesus Christ.
To be gracious and merciful to me, a poor sinful being.
Upon this, your confession, I by virtue of my office as a called and ordained servant of the word, announce the grace of God unto all of you.
And in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ.
I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
more time to the panna.
The Lord be with you.
Let us pray.
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 in the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Between the Old Testament and the Epistle, normally we have the gradual.
Today we'll be chanting Psalm 33, which is in the front of your hymnal.
The Old Testament reading for today is from Ezekiel chapter 37.
The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the spirit of the Lord.
And he set me down in the middle of the valley.
It was full of bones.
And he led me around among them.
And behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley.
And behold, they were very dry.
And he said to me, son of man, can these bones live?
And answered, oh, Lord God, you know.
And he said to me, prophesy over these bones and say to them, oh, dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.
Thus says the Lord God to these bones behold I will cause breath to enter you and you shall live and I will lay sin use upon you and I 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 I am the Lord So 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
And 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 Then 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 forewinds O breath and breathe on these slain that they may live So I prophesied as he commanded me and the breath came into them and they lived and stood on their feet
an exceedingly great army.
Then 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.
Therefore prophesy and say to them, thus says the Lord God.
Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, all my people.
And I will bring you into the land of Israel.
And you shall know that I am the Lord.
When I open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people, and I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live.
And I will place you in your own land, and you shall know that I am the Lord.
I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Together we.
Thank you
The epistle is from 1 John chapter 5.
For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world.
And this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith.
Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
This 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.
For there are three that testify, the Spirit and the water and the blood.
And these three agree.
If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater.
For this is the testimony of God that he has born concerning his son.
Whoever 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 born concerning his son.
This is the word of the Lord.
We stand in honor of the gospel.
Holy Gospel according to St.
John the 20th chapter.
On 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.
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, even so, I am sending you.
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit.
If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven.
If you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.
Now, Thomas, one of the twelve, called the twin, was not with them when Jesus came.
So 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 to the mark of the nails and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.
Eight 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.
Then 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.
Thomas answered him, my Lord and my God.
Jesus said to him, have you believed because you have seen me?
Last are those who have not seen and yet have believed.
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book, 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.
This is the gospel of the Lord.
Together we confess our faith is written in the words of the Nicene Creed.
the only begotten Son of God, begotten of his Father before all worlds, God of God, light of light, very God of very God, begotten not made, being of one substance with the Father by whom all things were made, who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit.
of the Virgin Mary, and was made man, and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate.
He suffered and was buried.
And the third day he rose again, according to the scriptures, and descended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father.
And he will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead, whose kingdom will have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets.
And I believe in one holy Christian and apostolic church.
I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins, and I look for the resurrection of the dead.
in the light of the world to come.
Amen.
You may be seated for our hand.
We pick up at verse stanza five, hymn 470.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father to the Lord Jesus Christ Amen So our gospel starts with that very Easter night that first night After the Lord had risen the disciples We are told are behind locked doors for fear of the Jews Fear is understandable.
They had observed this brutal treatment of Jesus their teacher friend their Lord
So what would prevent the Jews from doing the same to them as followers?
They were part of this movement that threatened these Jewish leaders.
And so they were aggressively acting to eliminate them.
They had been willing to publicly identify with and to follow Jesus, but they
were
not Jesus.
They were all too aware of this, their shortcomings, their limitations.
They had observed how fearless Jesus had been.
Jesus allowed himself to be arrested.
He didn't make a defense against all the false accusations.
He didn't attempt to get out of the punishment that was threatened and inflicted on him.
He didn't complain.
He was oppressed and was afflicted and yet he opened out his mouth like a lamb that is led to the slaughter and like a sheep that before it shears is silent.
So he opened out his mouth as a prophesied.
And so it was.
But as much as they wanted to emulate the courage of Jesus, they knew they couldn't.
Peter just denied Jesus three times, just like Jesus said.
He said, even if I must die with you, I will not deny you and yet.
And so did the others.
It wasn't just Peter.
They all said this.
And they all fell away.
Just as Jesus said they would.
As brave and courageous as they wanted to be, after observing the suffering, the death of their Lord, they were all afraid.
They couldn't trust themselves.
Now Jesus, what hope could they have?
They were like sheep who shepherd had been struck down Who would protect them would lead them like sheep they they knew they were vulnerable Unable to defend themselves against the predators Then it happened As they gather behind locked doors in fear he came standing in their midst Jesus the resurrected Lord in the flesh
in their fear, in their doubt.
He came to them.
The crucified one now risen, standing in their midst, changed everything.
He was there in the flesh.
He showed them his wounds.
Yes, he was crucified.
And now he is risen, just as he said.
Just as been written, it's all true.
the wounds, evidence of his crucifixion.
He really did suffer for the sins of the world.
Resurrection, evidence that his sacrificial death was accepted.
Atonement for sins were made.
Jesus' resurrection presence is assurance that everything that he told the disciples was true.
It's assurance of God's perfect love for mankind.
Perfect love.
cast out all fear.
That's what Jesus does.
He spoke peace.
Their fear left.
They were filled with joy.
If God is for them, who could be against them?
In his presence, they not only had no fear of the Jews, they had no fear of anything or anyone, including their own failures.
Included in Jesus words of peace was forgiveness or their failures sin Before his arrest Jesus told the disciples behold the hour is coming indeed It has come when you will be scattered each to his own home and will leave me alone And I'm not alone for the father is with me.
I've said these things to you that in me You may have peace
In the world you will have tribulation, but take heart, I have overcome the world.
The one who has overcome the world is present here in the midst, in our midst to speak peace to you.
What causes you to fear?
It may be hard to think about sitting here safely in a nice church setting.
You may not be thinking about the fears you have when you're not here, but when you're not here What causes you to fear?
Is it uncertainty about the future?
Do you fear losing your your livelihood their ability to pay the bills?
You fear losing your health the health of family members You fear the past living
with the consequences of what you have done, what you failed to do.
You fear the unknown.
You have this vast amount of information readily available to us, but it seems like the more you know, the more you realize you don't know.
With all the conflicting opinions, reports we read and hear about, it reveals a lot about the uncertainty in the world.
Whether it's matters of economics or health or politics We recognize that there are forces at work that are much greater than you and me But the Lord your God Does not want you to fear anything or anyone more than him So the one true and only God comes to you personally and frequently to assure you that he is your God you need not fear
As the psalmist says, the Lord is my light and my salvation.
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life.
Of whom shall I be afraid?
From our point of view, it's easier said than done.
We're not God.
But can we do to eliminate our fears?
So a better question is what can God do to eliminate your fears?
That's why we gather regularly around his word and his sacraments.
This is where Jesus has promised to be in the flesh.
He invites us here where he promises to be.
He speaks his word to you.
He's been speaking through the office that he's established so that you know his words are true.
Forgiveness spoken is forgiveness.
Peace spoken gives peace.
He speaks his word 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.
He comes to you in your fears, in your doubts.
He knows you're vulnerable to these forces that are greater than you.
And he speaks peace to you through the words of your pastor.
He assures you that he is God.
He has overcome the world.
Your baptism is assurance that you are born of God and as we heard in the epistle reading for everyone who has been born of God Overcomes the world and this is the victory that has overcome the world our faith Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the son of God Our assurance is in Christ who has overcome the world and I am sure that neither death nor life nor angels nor rulers nor things present
or things to come.
For powers nor height nor depth nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God and Christ Jesus our Lord.
And if God is for us, who can be against us?
Jesus came to the disciples for them to forgive their sins, to give them peace, to strengthen their faith in Him.
Jesus also came to the disciples for the sake of others That others might also receive forgiveness and peace and faith in Christ his Lord and God That includes you Jesus empowered them sent them out He changed their fear to joy.
He gave them the Holy Spirit.
He gave them the authority to forgive and retain sins It was not by their strength or courage
that these once fearful disciples went out and sent.
Christ sent them with his word, his sacraments, his spirit.
He sent them with the testimony of God, as we heard in the epistle, the spirit and the water and the blood that God has borne concerning his son.
And this is what we receive when we gather here for the divine service.
Jesus stands in our midst.
Here he speaks peace and delivers forgiveness.
Here he assures you that
He has overcome the world and strengthens your faith in Him so that by faith in Him you overcome the world.
In the world we have no peace.
Earthly life and activity permit our soul no rest.
The cross we carry, the tribulation we experience makes us anxious and fearful.
The good fortune and the good days we have do not fulfill the longing.
of the heart and cannot satisfy the conscience.
But in the midst of it all, we come here and hear his voice, peace, your sins are forgiven.
And it comes from outside of us.
It's not from the world.
It's not from our imagination.
It's from God himself in the flesh here with you for you.
He knows your failures.
He knows your weaknesses.
He delivers forgiveness to you through the words of
the pastor.
He presents his wounds in the sacrament of the altar, the sacrament of the water and the blood.
He bids us to touch his side at his table to receive his risen body and blood in true faith that believing we may have life in his name.
But this life is not lived in hiding and in fear.
This life in his name is to be lived as it is written, you shall love the Lord God with all your heart, all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself.
He sends us out of the world free of fear and full of peace, not alone and not just once you're part of the body.
His body, the church.
So we gather regularly as he commands us because we need each other and we need him.
We don't intend to fail, but we will.
We don't want to fear, but we know we will.
We don't plan to doubt, but it happens.
This life we live in his name is a life of obedience.
Yes.
It's also a life of...
Penitent faith We live by faith in the forgiveness Christ is one for us and delivers to us here in the divine service The Lord in our midst turns our fear to joy and gives us his peace So we gather regularly to hear his word and receive his gifts that we may continue believing and have life in his name Amen May the peace that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus Amen
We stand for the awkward glory.
Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
Lord God, like Thomas, we wrestle with faith amid doubts and fears.
Grant us your Holy Spirit that believing we may see and seeing we may rejoice in your Son and the power of His resurrection.
Lord, in your mercy, Gracious Lord, give courage to all pastors as they preach and teach the word that all who hear may believe.
and that believing they may live in righteousness and godliness until the day Christ returns as judge and Lord of all.
Lord, in your mercy.
Give peace, Lord, to our homes and enliven them by Christ's resurrected life.
Let the forgiveness of sins reign among husbands and wives, parents and children.
Assure those who live alone that they too are your children, upheld by your right hand.
Lord, in your mercy.
Almighty God, you appoint rulers and officials for the sake of order and peace.
Bless those who have placed, you have placed in authority in federal, state, and local governments.
Give to them the desire to serve with integrity and honor and to work for their benefit of all.
Lord, in your mercy.
Gracious Father, as your sons' wounds brought gladness and peace to the troubled disciples,
Give your presence and comfort to the troubled in our midst, especially Vicki, Lynn, Anita, Lois, Larry, Lewis, Chuck, Marlis, Tim, Greg, Doris, Matthew, Megan, Mark, Ethel, Bob, Peter, Fred, Harold, Joan, Greg, Linda, Jaden, Rick, Thorfinn, Lacey, Marilyn, Marlene, George, Ann, Dawn, Lawrence, and Zoe.
Comfort also those who weep with the blessed joy of Easter morning.
Lord, in your mercy.
Amen.
O Lord, preserve your holy communion and your son's blessed supper among us.
Give contrition and faith to those who gather at this altar.
Unite them in their confession of your truth.
And so bring them worthily to eat and to drink Christ's body and blood for their forgiveness and life.
Lord, in your mercy.
Merciful God, 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.
Lord, in your mercy.
Hear our prayer.
O Lord Heavenly Father, 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 lives and reigns with you in the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
We continue on page 194 with the service of the sacrament.
the Lord be with you
lift up your hearts let us give thanks unto the Lord our God
It is truly good right and salutary that we should at all times and at all places give thanks to you Holy Lord Almighty Father Everlasting God and most especially are we bound to praise you on this day for the glorious Resurrection of your son Jesus Christ the very Pascal lamb who was sacrificed for us and bore the sins of the world By his dying he has destroyed death and by his rising again
He has restored us to everlasting life.
Therefore, with Mary Magdalene, Peter, and John, and with all the witnesses of the resurrection, with angels and archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we laud and magnify your glorious name.
Evermore praising you and saying.
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.
Our Lord Jesus Christ on the night when he was betrayed took bread and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to the disciples and said take eat this is my body which is given for you this do in remembrance of me.
The same way also he took the cup after supper and when he had given thanks he gave it to them saying drink of it all of you This cup is the New Testament in my blood which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins This do as often as you drink it in remembrance of me
The peace of the Lord be with you always.
Thank you for tuning in to the Divine Service at Zion Lutheran Church in Chippewa Falls.
May the word of Christ dwell in you richly.
If you have any prayer requests, please let us know.
You may call us at 715-723-6380 or stop by and visit 110 East Grand Avenue in Chippewa Falls.
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Zion is a member of the Lutheran Church, Missouri Center.