Welcome & Announcements:
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Prelude: O Sons and Daughters, Let Us Sing

Thanksgiving for Baptism:
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

In the waters of baptism, we have passed over from death to life with Jesus Christ, and we are a new creation! For this saving mystery, and for this water, let us bless God, who was, who is, and who is to come.

We thank you, God, for your river of life, flowing freely from your throne: through the earth, through the city, through every living thing.

You rescued Noah and his family from the flood; you opened wide the sea for the Israelites. Now in these waters you flood us with mercy, and our sin is drowned forever. You open the gate of righteousness and we pass safely through.

In Jesus Christ, you calm and trouble the waters. You nourish us and enclose us in safety. You call us forth and send us out. In lush and barren places, you are with us. You have become our salvation.

Now breathe upon this water and awaken your church once more. Claim us again as your beloved and holy people. Quench our thirst; cleanse our hearts; wipe away every tear.

To you, our Beginning and our End, our Shepherd and Lamb, be honor, glory, praise, and thanksgiving, now and forever.
Amen.

Opening Hymn:  ELW 382 “Christ is Risen! Alleluia!”
Christ is risen! Alleluia! Risen our victorious head!
Sing his praises! Alleluia! Christ is risen from the dead!
Gratefully our hearts adore him as his light once more appears,
bowing down in joy before him, rising up from griefs and tears.

Christ is risen! Alleluia! Risen our victorious head!
Sing his praises! Alleluia! Christ is risen from the dead!

Christ is risen! All the sadness of our Lenten fast is o’er;
through the open gates of gladness he returns to life once more;
death and hell before him bending see him rise, the victor now,
angels on his steps attending, glory round his wounded brow.

Christ is risen! Alleluia! Risen our victorious head!
Sing his praises! Alleluia! Christ is risen from the dead!

Christ is risen! All the sorrow that last evening round him lay
now hath found a glorious morrow in the rising of today.
See the grave its first-fruits giving, springing up from holy ground;
Christ was dead, but now is living; he was lost, but he is found.

Christ is risen! Alleluia! Risen our victorious head!
Sing his praises! Alleluia! Christ is risen from the dead!

Christ is risen! Henceforth never death or hell shall us enthrall.
We are Christ’s, in him forever we have triumphed over all.
All the doubting and dejection of our trembling hearts have ceased;
hail the day of resurrection! Let us rise and keep the feast.

Christ is risen! Alleluia! Risen our victorious head!
Sing his praises! Alleluia! Christ is risen from the dead!

Apostolic Greeting:
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
And also with you.

Prayer of the Day:
Let us pray.
O God of life, you reach out to us amid our fears with the wounded hands of your risen Son. By your Spirit’s breath revive our faith in your mercy, and strengthen us to be the body of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.

First Reading: Revelation 1:4-8
⁴John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, ⁵and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, ⁶and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. ⁷Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail. So it is to be. Amen.

⁸“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Gospel: John 20:19-31
This is the Holy Gospel according to John, the 20^th chapter.
Glory to you, O Lord.

¹⁹When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” ²⁰After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. ²¹Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” ²²When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

²⁴But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

²⁶A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” ²⁷Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” ²⁸Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” ²⁹Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

³⁰Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. ³¹But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.

Children’s Message

Sermon

Hymn of the Day: ELW 376 “Thine is the Glory”
Thine is the glory, risen, conqu’ring Son;
endless is the vict’ry thou o’er death hast won!
Angels in bright raiment rolled the stone away,
kept the folded grave-clothes where thy body lay.

Thine is the glory, risen, conqu’ring Son;
endless is the vict’ry thou o’er death hast won!

Lo, Jesus meets thee, risen from the tomb!
Lovingly he greets thee, scatters fear and gloom;
let his church with gladness hymns of triumph sing,
for the Lord now liveth; death hath lost its sting!

Thine is the glory, risen, conqu’ring Son;
endless is the vict’ry thou o’er death hast won!

No more we doubt thee, glorious Prince of life;
life is naught without thee; aid us in our strife;
make us more than conqu’rors, through thy deathless love;
bring us safe through Jordan to thy home above.

Thine is the glory, risen, conqu’ring Son;
endless is the vict’ry thou o’er death hast won!

Apostle’s Creed:
Let us confess our faith using the Apostle’s Creed:
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s 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 to the dead.*
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

Prayers of Intercession:
Set free from captivity to sin and death, we pray to the God of resurrection for the church, people in need, and all of creation.

Prayers continue with each petition ending:

God, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.

In your mercy, O God, respond to these prayers, and renew us by your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ, our Savior.
Amen.

Sharing of the Peace:
May the peace of the Lord be with you always.
And also with you.

Offering:
https://tithe.ly/give_new/www/#/tithely/give-one-time/468062

Offertory Hymn:
Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Praise God all creatures here below.
Praise God above, ye heavenly host.
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Offering Prayer:
Let us pray.
Living God, you gather the wolf and lamb to feed together in your peaceable reign, and you welcome us all at your table. Reach out to us through this meal, and show us your wounded and risen body, that we may be nourished and believe in Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
Amen.

The Great Thanksgiving:
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.

Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.

It is indeed right, our duty and our joy, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks and praise to you, almighty and merciful God, for the glorious resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ, the true Paschal Lamb who gave himself to take away our sin; who in dying has destroyed death, and in rising has brought us to eternal life. And so, with Mary Magdalene and Peter and all the witnesses of the resurrection, with earth and sea and all their creatures, and with angels and archangels, cherubim and seraphim, we praise your name and join their unending hymn:

Blessed are you, O God of the universe. Your mercy is everlasting and your faithfulness endures from age to age.

Praise to you for creating the heavens and the earth. Praise to you for saving the earth from the waters of the flood. Praise to you for bringing the Israelites safely through the sea. Praise to you for leading your people through the wilderness to the land of milk and honey. Praise to you for the words and deeds of Jesus, your anointed one. Praise to you for the death and resurrection of Christ. Praise to you for your Spirit poured out on all nations.

In the night in which he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks; broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take and eat; this is my body, given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.

Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it for all to drink, saying: This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin. Do this for the remembrance of me.

With this bread and cup we remember our Lord’s passover from death to life as we proclaim the mystery of faith:
Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.

O God of resurrection and new life: Pour out your Holy Spirit on us and on these gifts of bread and wine. Bless this feast. Grace our table with your presence.
Come, Holy Spirit.

Reveal yourself to us in the breaking of the bread. Raise us up as the body of Christ for the world. Breathe new life into us. Send us forth, burning with justice, peace, and love.
Come, Holy Spirit.

With your holy ones of all times and places, with the earth and all its creatures, with sun and moon and stars, we praise you, O God, blessed and holy Trinity, now and forever.
Amen.

Lord’s Prayer:
Gathered into one by the Holy Spirit, let us pray as Jesus taught us saying:
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.

Communion

Table Blessing:
The body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ strengthen you and keep you in his grace.
Amen.

Post-Communion Prayer:
Let us pray.
We give you thanks, generous God, for in this bread and cup we have tasted the new heaven and earth where hunger and thirst are no more. Send us from this table as witnesses to the resurrection, that through our lives, all may know life in Jesus’ name.
Amen.

Benediction:
God, the Author of life, Christ, the living Cornerstone, and the life-giving Spirit of adoption, + bless you now and forever.
Amen.

Sending Hymn: ELW 361 “The Day of Resurrection”
The day of resurrection! Earth, tell it out abroad,
the passover of gladness, the passover of God.
From death to life eternal, from sin’s dominion free,
our Christ has brought us over with hymns of victory.

Let hearts be purged of evil that we may see aright
the Lord in rays eternal of resurrection light,
and list’ning to his accents, may hear, so calm and plain,
his own “All hail!” and hearing, may raise the glad refrain.

Now let the heav’ns be joyful, let earth its song begin,
the round world keep high triumph and all that is therein.
Let all things, seen and unseen, their notes in gladness blend;
for Christ the Lord has risen, our joy that has no end!

All praise to God the Father, all praise to Christ the Son,
all praise to God the Spirit, eternal Three in One!
Let all the ransomed number fall down before the throne,
and honor, pow’r, and glory ascribe to God alone!

Dismissal:
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Go in peace. Tell what God has done.
Thanks be to God!

Postlude

Prayer Requests:
Ken Baker, Bonnie Katherman and her family, Zack Born, Shirley Russell, Kim Payne, Rosemary Fernsler, Family and friends of Karen Shaffer, Kay Martin, Jeff Charles, Ryan Hunter, Dr. Elwood Reiner, Ron Guffey, Dave Wall, Roger Neilson, Russ Wynn, Viv Marsh, Gladys Fawcett, Peyton Weiser, Alice Snyder, Marie Tanner, Grace Yost, Peg Swinehart, Martha Ketchem, Bob Keifer.

 

Portions reprinted from Evangelical Lutheran Worship, copyright 2006.  Used by permission of Augsburg Fortress, license #SBL09796L.  Music reprinted from the ELW, by permission of OneLicense, license #A712349.  Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.   Used by permission.