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2^nd Sunday of Easter Worship 

April 19^th, 2020 

Greeting and Welcome 

Call to Worship     John Neville 

Though darkness seems to envelope us, Jesus breaks through with a word of peace. 

Our fears are banished! Our Hope is restored! 

Rejoice! The Lord is with us! Come and dwell in the peace of Christ this day. 

Glory to God Hymnal #248 “Christ is Risen! Shout Hosanna! 
 Christ is risen! Shout Hosanna! 
Celebrate this day of days! 
Christ is risen! Hush in wonder: 
all creation is amazed. 
In the desert all-surrounding, 
see, a spreading tree has grown. 
Healing leaves of grace abounding 
bring a taste of love unknown. 

Christ is risen! Raise your spirits 
from the caverns of despair. 
Walk with gladness in the morning. 
See what love can do and dare. 
Drink the wine of resurrection, 
not a servant, but a friend. 
Jesus is our strong companion. 
Joy and peace shall never end. 

Christ is risen! Earth and heaven 
nevermore shall be the same. 
Break the bread of new creation 
where the world is still in pain. 
Tell its grim, demonic chorus: 
“Christ is risen! Get you gone!” 
God the First and Last is with us. 
Sing Hosanna everyone! 

TEXT: Brian Wren, 1984; © 1986 Hope Publishing Company, Carol Stream, IL 60188. All rights reserved. Used by Permission. 

MUSIC (HYMN TO JOY 8.7.8.7.D): Ludwig van Beethoven, 1824; adapt. Edward Hodges, 1842, alt. 

All rights reserved. First Presbyterian Church, FDL OneLIcense.net License #A-730666 

Prayer of Adoration 

Prayer of Confession 

Jesus, Our Risen Lord, we listen to the news, read the newspapers, and wonder if peace will ever reign in your world, Lord. Today we have been invited to be with the disciples in that hidden place where they also wondered about peace and hope. You broke through. You shattered the darkness and they were astonished again. Help us to understand that you will bring peace to each one of us. Forgive all those times when we treat this moment of revelation as though it was impossible. Give us the courage to reach out to you and touch our hearts once again. For we ask this in Jesus’ Name. Amen. 

Please take a moment for your own silent confession. 

Assurance of Hope and Forgiveness 

Open our hearts and ears.  We are loved, forgiven, and chosen to be called disciples. We will claim the peace of Christ as God’s beloved children. Amen. 

The Presbyterian Hymnal #579 “Gloria Patri”   

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;  
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,  
world without end. Amen.  

Public Domain  
Glory Be to the Father  
TEXT: Trad. liturgical text. Composer: Henry W. Greatorex (1851)  

Scripture Readings: 1 Peter 1:3-9 

³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, ⁵who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, ⁷so that the genuineness of your faith—being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. ⁸Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, ⁹for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 

Piano Solo:  “Ode to Joy” J.S. Bach Peyton T. 

John 20:19-31 

¹⁹ When 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.’ 

²⁴ But 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.’ 

²⁶ A 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.’ 

³⁰ Now 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. 

Message: “Our Resurrection Story” 

Prayer: 

The Lord’s Prayer 

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.  

Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who have sinned 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. Amen. 

Music Duet:  “On Eagles Wings”  Carol Wetzel and Glen Navis 
You who dwell in the shelter of the Lord, 
who abide in his shadow for life, 
say to the Lord, “My refuge, 
my rock in whom I trust!” 

(chorus) 

And he will raise you up on eagles’ wings, 
bear you on the breath of dawn, 
make you to shine like the sun, 
and hold you in the palm  
of his hand. 

The snare of the fowler will never capture you, 
and famine will bring you no fear: 
under his wings, your refuge, 
his faithfulness your shield. (chorus) 

You need not fear the terror of the night, 
nor the arrow that flies by day; 
though thousands fall about you, 
near you it shall not come. (chorus) 

For to his angels he’s given a command 
to guard you in all of your ways; 

Upon their hands they will bear you up, 
lest you dash your foot against a stone. (chorus) 

TEXT: Michael Joncas, 1978, alt.; © 1979 Jan Michael Joncas (Published by OCP) Type: Words and Music; First Line: You who dwell in the shelter of the Lord 

Text: Based on Psalm 91. Text and music © 1979, OCP. All rights reserved.  

Contributors: Michael Joncas. 

All rights reserved. First Presbyterian Church, FDL OneLicense #A-730666 

Glory to God Hymnal #233 “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 listening to his accents, 
may hear, so calm and plain, 
his own “All hail!” and hearing, 
may raise the victor strain. 

Now let the heavens 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 of gladness blend, 
for Christ the Lord has risen, 
our joy that has no end. 
 
TEXT: John of Damascus, 8th cent.; trans. John Mason Neale, 1862, alt. 
USIC (LANCASHIRE 7.6.7.6.D): Henry Thomas Smart, c. 1835 

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