Easter Season | Second Sunday – 16 Apr 2023
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Opening:
Almighty and everlasting God,
who in the Paschal mystery established
the new covenant of reconciliation:
Grant that all who have been reborn
into the fellowship of Christ’s Body may
show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Then Jesus told [Thomas],
“You believe because you have seen me.
Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”
(John 20:29)
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Christ the Lord is Risen Today – The Salvation Army in The Western United States.
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From Acts of the Apostles: Acts 2: 22-32 (NLT)
Peter Preaches to the Crowd
2:22 “People of Israel, listen! God publicly endorsed Jesus the Nazarene by doing powerful miracles, wonders, and signs through him, as you well know. But God knew what would happen, and his prearranged plan was carried out when Jesus was betrayed. With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed him to a cross and killed him. But God released him from the horrors of death and raised him back to life, for death could not keep him in its grip. King David said this about him:
‘I see that the Lord is always with me.
I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.
No wonder my heart is glad,
and my tongue shouts his praises!
My body rests in hope.
For you will not leave my soul among the dead
or allow your Holy One to rot in the grave.
You have shown me the way of life,
and you will fill me with the joy of your presence.’
“Dear brothers, think about this! You can be sure that the patriarch David wasn’t referring to himself, for he died and was buried, and his tomb is still here among us. But he was a prophet, and he knew God had promised with an oath that one of David’s own descendants would sit on his throne. David was looking into the future and speaking of the Messiah’s resurrection. He was saying that God would not leave him among the dead or allow his body to rot in the grave.
“God raised Jesus from the dead, and we are all witnesses of this.
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From Psalms: Psalm 16 – The Path of Life | Diocese of St. Benedict
Old Catholic Missionaries
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From the Epistles: 1 Peter 1:3-9 (NLT)
The Hope of Eternal Life
1:3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.
So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.
You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.
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Joy Unspeakable | Vinesong
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Gospel Reading: John 20:19-31 (NLT)
Jesus Appears to His Disciples
20:19 That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
Jesus Appears to Thomas
20:24 One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin),was not with the others when Jesus came. They told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”
Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”
“My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.
Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”
Purpose of the Book
20:30 The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.
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“Without Seeing You” by David Haas, GIA Publications, Inc.
Refrain:
Without seeing you we love you.
Without touching you we embrace.
Without knowing you we follow.
Without seeing you we believe.
We return to you deep within,
leave the past to the dust.
Turn to you with tears and fasting,
You are ready to forgive. (Refrain)
The sparrow will find a home
near to you oh God.
How happy we who dwell with you,
for ever in your house. (Refrain)
For ever we sing to you
of your goodness, O God;
proclaiming to all the world
of your faithfulness and love. (Refrain)
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The Nicene Creed
+ We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, visible and invisible.
+ We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only-begotten 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.
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- For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven, was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and was made man.
- 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 with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.
+ We believe in one holy catholic 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.
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Closing: FaithandWorship.com | John Birch
May the light of Jesus shine continually
to drive away all darkness.
May Christ, the Morning Star who knows no setting,
find his light ever burning in our hearts—
he who gives his light to all creation,
and who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Peanut Gallery 