Thursday, April 25, 2013

In Boston, Lutherans offer comfort in wake of horror

on April 24, 2013 from Reporter Online
By Paula Schlueter Ross

The Rev. Ingo Dutzmann, pastor of First Lutheran Church in Boston, chokes up when he talks about those who were bloodied and maimed in the April 15 bombings, just four blocks from the church.

“To me, they’re all ‘we’ — we’re in this together,” he says. Exhausted after an emotionally draining week, he’s trying to live up to the “Boston Strong” motto, but points to the injured as the real heroes.
The Rev. Ingo Dutzmann, left, pastor of First Lutheran Church in Boston, and Lutheran Church Charities (LCC) staff member Rich Martin return from a walk to the bombing scene on Boylston Street with LCC Comfort Dogs "Luther" and "Maggie." (Lutheran Church Charities)
The Rev. Ingo Dutzmann, left, pastor of First Lutheran Church in Boston, and Lutheran Church Charities (LCC) staff member Rich Martin return from a walk to the bombing scene on Boylston Street with LCC Comfort Dogs “Luther” and “Maggie.” (Lutheran Church Charities)

There’s the woman “who thought she would lose her leg,” the wounds were so bad, but she didn’t. Dutzmann and two Lutheran Church Charities “Comfort Dogs,” with their handlers, were in her hospital room when she took “her first steps” since the horrific blasts.

The dog handlers — who often are called to scenes of pain and destruction — said seeing the young woman walk “was the best day of their lives,” according to the pastor. All were teary-eyed, he said, thankful to God for the woman’s good prognosis.

There’s the man who lost both legs, “who woke up [in the hospital] and he was so happy that he’d lost his legs because he’d thought that he’d died,” recalled Dutzmann. Even as a double amputee, that injured marathon runner is embracing life, the pastor notes.

Dutzmann also recalled the positive spirits of a young, newly married couple — each lost a leg and are recuperating in separate hospitals.

All in all, he’s ministered to probably a dozen or more bombing victims in four area hospitals.
The back-to-back homemade bombs killed three people and injured more than 170. With one suspect dead and the other in custody, Boston residents are relieved, but the pain is still there, notes the Rev. Dr. Carlos Hernandez, director of Church and Community Engagement with the LCMS Office of National Mission.

Two days after the bombings, Hernandez and LCMS New England District President Rev. Timothy Yeadon were there, talking and praying with people who stopped by First Lutheran Church, a church that “will never be the same again,” according to Hernandez. “It is now known nationally and internationally as a place of comfort in times of crisis.”

Still, “families, singles, students living around First will continue to struggle to understand the meaning of this evil and ask, ‘Are we safe here? Could this happen again? Why [is there] evil alongside a caring God?,’ ” Hernandez muses.

With four local pastors present, the LCMS church opened its doors within three hours of the 2:50 p.m. bombings and stayed open from 7 a.m. to midnight for five days afterward. Five Comfort Dogs arrived the evening after the blasts and stayed “on duty” — for bombing victims and Boston residents as well as emergency and healthcare personnel — at the church, on the street and in area hospitals through Sunday, April 21. During the stressful week, Dutzmann was often out on the sidewalk in front of the church, inviting strangers inside for free coffee and snacks, conversation and prayers.

On Wednesday, April 17, Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, delivered to the church 240 copies of a special edition of Portals of Prayer that addresses the question “Where Is God Now?” The booklets include 60 “hope-inspired devotions” written especially for those affected by disasters, along with a list of resources. Almost all of the copies have been distributed to “very receptive” people, according to Elaine Laaser, parish administrator at First Lutheran.
A memorial on Boston's Boylston Street honors the memory of those who were killed and injured in the April 15 marathon bombings. (Lutheran Church Charities)
A memorial on Boston’s Boylston Street honors the memory of those who were killed and injured in the April 15 marathon bombings. (Lutheran Church Charities)
Also in CPH’s package of grief-support materials were 20 copies of Strength for the Day, a resource for pastors that’s designed to help them deal with life challenges such as stress, illness, fatigue, loss and anxiety.

“Our hearts were broken by the news of the bombings and we immediately wanted to help,” said Amanda Christie, senior manager of Corporate Communications and Publicity for CPH. “We have the good fortune of sharing God’s Word with the world. But sometimes it’s our own member congregations who need His Word most.”

Located downtown, First Lutheran Church was well-placed to reach many people, noted Laaser. “On an average day, especially with the Comfort Dogs there, we saw anywhere from 300 to 400 people,” she told Reporter. The dogs were a real asset, she said, because people “didn’t want to talk about it”: They just wanted to pet the dogs and feel like everything was going to be OK.

Even on Friday, April 19, the day Boston authorities asked everyone to stay inside because the second suspect was still at-large, Laaser took a call from a student at Emerson College who wanted to know if the church was open and the dogs were there. The students — about 150 in all — walked more than a mile from the college to the church in groups of 20 beginning at about 10 a.m. They were away from home and scared, Laaser said, and “they would put their heads on these dogs and just cry.” Many also prayed with Dutzmann.

That ministry of First Lutheran Church — and other ways LCMS Lutherans have responded to the marathon bombings — were simply “a desire to share the love of Jesus,” explained New England District President Yeadon. In an interview with Reporter on Friday, April 19, Yeadon said, “I have personally seen the darkness this week, but I have personally seen the light of Jesus shine! The darkness cannot overcome that!”

Yeadon calls Dutzmann “a true saint” who “shows the love of Jesus to all — church member or not.” Even though the Boston pastor “is tired and worn and it may show … you will be amazed at his love of Christ and his zeal, even now.”
Students from Emerson College in Boston pet "Addie," a Comfort Dog, in the courtyard of First Lutheran Church, Boston. The five dogs that spent a week at the church were a real asset, according to a spokesman, because people "didn't want to talk about" the bombings: They just wanted to pet the dogs and feel like everything was going to be OK. (Lutheran Church Charities)
Students from Emerson College in Boston pet “Addie,” a Comfort Dog, in the courtyard of First Lutheran Church, Boston. The five dogs that spent a week at the church were a real asset, according to a spokesman, because people “didn’t want to talk about” the bombings: They just wanted to pet the dogs and feel like everything was going to be OK. (Lutheran Church Charities)
Although Yeadon was unable to attend a special marathon-memorial worship service April 21 at First Lutheran Church, he sent a letter to the congregation that was read by former New England District President Rev. James Keurulainen. (An earlier service planned for Friday, April 19, was cancelled because of that day’s citywide lockdown.)

“With Jesus on the cross, we can ask of our heavenly Father, in light of last week’s events, ‘My God, My God … why?’ But with Jesus, we end that conversation with our heavenly Father with the words, ‘ Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit,’ ” Yeadon wrote.

“Even without total understanding, we can, with His help, place ourselves into His hands once nailed to the cross for us all. We remember that which connects it all, His words of ‘Father, forgive them,’ and we know that in this broken world with terror and unexplainable tragedies that the love of our God shines in the darkness — and the darkness will not overcome it.”

On Tuesday, April 16 — the day after the bombings — LCMS President Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison released a prayer and a statement asking for “blessings for the injured and strength for the bereaved” as well as for doctors, emergency workers and city, state and federal officials “as they face this evil in dedicated service.”

Said Harrison: “Like the death of our Lord Christ Himself, we pray that, even in this dark hour, the sacrifice and pain of those affected will not be in vain, but redound in good as yet unseen.”
He also shared from 2 Cor. 1:3-5, “For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort, too.”

According to Laaser, some 30 nonmembers — including about 18 college students — were among some 230 people who attended First Lutheran’s two services on April 21. The congregation is planning a second memorial service, she said, and wants people to know “We’re here to pray with you, we’re here to talk to you.”

Dutzmann is considering making one or two Comfort Dogs a permanent part of the congregation’s ministry.

One of Laaser’s lasting memories, she said, is of seeing her pastor out on the church sidewalk, encouraging passersby to “come on in.” Even though there are many Christian churches in the area, Dutzmann was “the only [pastor] I saw out there, actually standing on the sidewalk.”

Laaser said the whole week-long ordeal was wrenching and exhausting, but, at the same time, she added, “I was just so honored and proud to be a Lutheran.”

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Good Shepherd Sunday

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. John 10: 27
The Fourth Sunday of Easter (April 21 this year) is commonly called “Good Shepherd Sunday.” The Gospel for this Sunday is verses from John 10, where Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

Why celebrate our Lord Jesus as the Good Shepherd during the Easter season? Very simply, after He laid down his life for us, defeating our enemies (sin, death, and the devil), He did not stay dead. He rose again, and remains the Shepherd for us, His flock, with many continuing blessings for us as a result.

The Psalm for this Sunday, Psalm 23, summarizes the blessings we receive from the hand of our Good Shepherd.

The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not be in want.
     He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside quiet waters.
     He restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
     I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff—they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
     You anoint my head with oil.
     My cup overflows.
Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life.
     And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

In this world there is trouble. But our Good Shepherd has overcome the world.

Monday, April 15, 2013

The Lord's Supper

There are few things that separate Christians more than the Lord’s Supper. Certainly there are countless doctrines that are debated and argued over, but in our world today, nothing seems to divide Christians like the Lord’s Supper.

The most obvious form of this is the practice of close or closed communion. When someone visits a church, like Faith, that practices closed communion, they can feel singled out and even rejected because they are not welcome to receive the Sacrament alongside the members. This leads to questions like, “Do you think you are better than the rest of us?” or even, “Do you think that I am not a Christian, or will not be saved, because I am not a Lutheran?” (The short answer to these questions is “no,” but there is more to it than we can get into in this short post.)

However, this only scratches the surface of the divisions that Christians have over the Lord’s Supper. We are divided over whether or not Jesus’ body and blood are truly present in the Sacrament. Those who agree they are present are still further divided over how they are present, and those who agree that they are not present are still divided over whether Jesus is spiritually present or not at all. Then Christians are also divided over what it means to receive the Sacrament in a worthy manner, let alone who is worthy to receive it.

On top of this, there are questions regarding how we should practice the Lord’s Supper: How often should it be celebrated? Is there a right form of how to celebrate it, and if so, what form is that? Do we use a single, common cup or do we use individual cups? We could go on and on.

Here at Faith, the Sunday morning education hour is where we have opportunity to work through such questions. We have been looking at what Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions teach us and then what we as Lutheran Christians say about what we believe, teach and confess.

Our goal was not just to answer one or two questions, but to do our best to understand all that God is saying to us and doing for us through His Word, and prepare us to witness to Christians and non-Christians with the whole counsel of God's Word.

I hope to share with you over the coming weeks and months many of the insights that we have learned. If there is one thing I can say to sum up what we have learned: it is that it seems that as soon as we think we have nailed down what God is doing for us in His Means of Grace, we learn that there is even more happening than we think.

Please join us for our study of God's Word on Sundays, beginning at 9:15 a.m. Coffee and goodies provided.

Sunday, April 14, 2013

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PastoralCare provides easy-to-navigate rites and resources for the care of people in times of sickness and distress, joy and celebration. Psalms, Scripture readings, prayers, hymn texts, and commentaries are woven together and applied to more than 60 different situations to uplift and support God’s people. PastoralCare is the ideal app for all pastors, ministers, elders, and caregivers. The prayers, hymns, and readings in PastoralCare make this a perfect devotional app for everyone.

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PrayNow is designed to meet the needs of the Christian who wishes to follow a disciplined order of daily prayer centered in the Scriptures and to use the rich resources of the church’s ancient daily orders of prayers with writings from the Church Fathers.

Thursday, April 11, 2013

What are these trials of life?

There’s an instructive story buried in the Old Testament. Not suspecting anything was about to happen, Jacob was jumped by an assailant. A long wrestling match followed, a wrestling [match] that lasted through the night, and through it Jacob came to realize he was wrestling with God. 

Jacob didn’t initiate the match and we don’t pick the times; God picks the times and places where He tackles us. “Lord, what’s going on here? Why are You letting this happen?” Martin Luther had three words to describe the Christian life, oratio, meditatio, and temptatio. The first two, prayer and devotion, often occur at times and places of our own choosing, but the third, temptatio, trial and trouble, chastening and growing, come where and when our heavenly Father chooses. Smackdown time!

Jacob was blessed through that long night of wrestling and when dawn finally came he had received a new name, Israel. Although it’s never easy, when we see the troubles and trials of life as occasions to grow in the ways of God, we are blessed at dawn by a new understanding of what it means to carry the name of God’s suffering servant, Jesus Christ (Genesis 32:22-30). “In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” (1 Peter 1:6-7)

[The Meyer Minute by Rev. Dr. Dale Meyer, Thu., Apr. 11, 2013]

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Rummage Sale


Saturday, April 13, 2013

7 a.m. 2 p.m.

 

Faith Lutheran Church
1008 Bieker Road
Washington MO 63090

2013 Nominees Announced

The nominations process for the offices of President, First Vice-President, regional vice-presidents, and regional Board of Director lay members of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod has been completed.




The election of the President, it will take place four weeks prior to the July 20–25, 2013 convention via Internet balloting. No opportunity will be provided to add names to the slate of candidates. Congregations’ delegates in attendance at the 2012 district conventions (or substitutes when necessary) will serve as the voters in this election, the results to be announced two weeks prior to the convention.

As the congregations and delegates prepare for the triennial convention this summer, please keep our Synod, her congregations, workers, administrators, and convention delegates in your prayers.

Monday, April 8, 2013

Second Sunday of Easter -- Peace Be With You

John 20:19-31 (ESV)

Jesus Appears to the Disciples
19 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,[a] Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

Jesus and Thomas
24 Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin,[b] was not with them when Jesus came. 25 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 into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

26 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.” 27 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.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

The Purpose of This Book
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 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.

Our Lord was already shown himself to Mary Magdalene, to the women, to St. Peter, and to the two disciples of Emmaus. this day’s Holy Gospel He appears to His Apostles as a group. He came with a message of reconciliation. “Peace be with you!” They had sinned against Him, but He came to them not in anger but with pardon. He had dismissed their sin from His memory, let them do the same. On the evening of that first day of the week, and also “a week later,” He came with a message of peace for them.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ; Put yourself in the place of the disciples for a bit, and you will see how much God loves you and only wants to forgive your sins and bring you the peace which passes all understanding.

The disciples were gathered together in the upper room for fear of the Jews. They had heard the resurrection story. The women had even seen the Risen Lord. But there was still this nagging fear. What would Jesus response be to them? After all, how had they done in their commitment to the Lord and His message?

Frankly, they hadn’t done very well. In fact, they had all rejected him and fled from the scene. In the face of fear and opposition from the Jews, their friends and relatives, they had left Jesus to die the death of a common criminal, without a friend or a loved one to even stay with him to the bitter end.
But Jesus had risen from the dead! And now the question was before them: “what will Jesus do?” Now that’s a question, or one very similar to it, that you hear asked a lot today. There is a whole popular movement that seeks to ask that question. When faced with a moral or ethical dilemma, they want you to ask the question, “What would Jesus do?”

Of course, that is a completely Law question. Consider your place according to the 10 Commandments, and you will both learn what Jesus would do AND that you fail constantly. As a sinner from birth, there is no doubt that you fail in the quest to live good and holy lives. Gossip, slander, covetousness, theft, adultery by thought, word and deed, even hatred or worse fill your thoughts and minds. You may not admit it to others, but it is the truth as sure as you sit in the pew today.

They were afraid. They were afraid that their hopes were lost. But perhaps even more, they were afraid that He was God and that they had abandoned Him to die. What could be worse than abandoning the Son of God to die, only to have Him come back? What would be His response to them?

If you take sin seriously and believe that it is your sin which caused Jesus’ death on the cross, this is a question you simply must ask of yourself. How does God look at me a sinner? Does He judge you according to the Law and condemn,or does He judge you by looking at His Son and forgiving your sins for Jesus sake?

It is very easy to toss this question away as a no-brainer. Of course God loves me. Of course God forgives my sins. But the nagging doubts will come back at the worst times. Death and heartache brings it out. Troubled and Broken relationships bring it out, painful lives and all of the thousand other things which afflict us all can bring doubt and fear to the front.

This is what the disciples faced that evening of the resurrection. This is what you face as a sinner from birth who needs God’s love and forgiveness. And that is what Jesus comes to give this very day. Jesus came and stood in the midst, 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.

God gives peace by His Word. He shows them His hands and His side, but it is finally His Word that creates faith and gives the peace which the world cannot give. For you see, the Word of God which created the world and everything in it creates faith in your heart and gives you the peace which is beyond understanding. That is the joy of Easter. That is the miracle of the Christian faith.

This Sunday after Easter is really about faith. Our Introit begins, “Like newborn babes crave pure spiritual milk.” That is how God comes to you by Word and meal. As newborn babes, you need the Word of His forgiveness and the peace which only He can give. And He gives it. Thomas didn’t understand it at first, but He learned. We all learn from Thomas’ unbelief and doubt.

Jesus loves you with an everlasting love. He tenderly invites you to believe in Him and His forgiveness. He gives you pastors to speak that Word of Absolution to you. He gives you His very body and blood in His Holy Supper to forgive you and draw you into His presence.

I think that is what is so difficult to understand about Jesus’ words when he goes on to say to the disciples: Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained. The Son of God defines both the Christian Church and the Holy Ministry. They are about forgiving and retaining sins. Nothing more, nothing less.

This is why John says at the end of our text: these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. God creates faith and gives you peace by forgiving your sins. And He uses the most earthy and mundane things in the whole world to accomplish this great and wonderful task. He uses pastors. Common sinners, with all the faults and foibles and weaknesses that every sinner has. He uses words. Just words, that in our day and age are there and gone in the blink of an eye. He uses common wine and bread. He uses common water. But with the breath of God’s life in them, these common things are not so common after all. For when attached to God’s Word and promise, these common things bring you life and peace that does not exist anywhere else. These common things are the tools that God uses to give you faith, the faith that moves mountains, the faith that brings you through this life and into eternal life.

We don’t have to ask the question, “what would Jesus do?” While it may be an important question in some ways, the really important ones are, what did Jesus do when He died on the cross, what did Jesus do when he met with the disciples, and what does Jesus do even today? He forgives you. He gives you peace. He makes you His own for all eternity.

The risen Christ is here, today, ready to calm your fears and give you the milk of his word. Believe that Word, and have life in his name.

He is Risen! The Lord is risen Indeed! Alleluia!

Soli Deo Gloria

Easter and the Easter Season

Easter is a victory celebration, a time for all Christians to proclaim boldly their faith in a risen and victorious Savior. For the early Christians, Easter was not merely one day, it was (and is) a whole season that also includes the celebration of Jesus' ascension. The fifty days between Easter and Pentecost, known as the Great Fifty Days, was the first liturgical season observed in the first three centuries of the Church. This fifty-day celebration is a week of weeks, renewed in the last decades by emphasizing the Sundays as being "of Easter." The season's length is fitting because we are dedicating one seventh of the year to the celebration of the Lord's resurrection.

Easter begins with evening prayer on Holy Saturday, and ends with midday prayer on Pentecost.
The first celebration of Easter is the Easter Vigil, the evening of Holy Saturday. The Vigil includes a service of light, in which fire symbolizes Jesus as the light of the world. The service is designed to take the Christian from the solemnity of Good Friday to the predawn joy of Easter.

Easter is the richest and most lavishly celebrated festival of the Church Year. Congregations may hold a sunrise service, commemorating the surprise of the women visiting the empty tomb of Christ, as well as services that celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. While not as lavish, this joyous and celebratory tone echoes down through the Sundays of the Easter season.

Forty days after Easter (Acts 1:3), the Church celebrates the Ascension of Our Lord, who ascended into heaven not only as God but also as man.

The final Sunday of the Easter season, celebrated as Pentecost, was adopted by early Christians to commemorate the first great harvest of believers for Christ (Acts 2:1-41). Thus, Pentecost is the birthday of the Christian Church as the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples and they gave their compelling witness about the resurrected Lord. Pentecost is a day of joy in the gifts of the Spirit as He still reaches into our lives just as He did to the crowds on that first Pentecost: through the apostolic preaching of God's Word and Holy Baptism.

 

The Propers for Easter
and the Easter Season

The Resurrection of Our Lord
Vigil of Easter
O God, You made this most holy night to shine with the glory of the Lord's resurrection. Preserve in us the spirit of adoption which You have given so that, made alive in body and soul, we may serve You purely; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (466)

 

The Resurrection of Our Lord
Easter Sunrise

Almighty God, through Your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, You overcame death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life. We humbly pray that we may live before You in righteousness and purity forever; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (L35)
Isaiah 25:6-9
Psalm 16 (v. 11) or The Song of Moses and Israel
1 Corinthians 15:1-11 or 1 Corinthians 15:12-25
John 20:1-18

 

The Resurrection of Our Lord
Easter Day

Almighty God the Father, through Your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, You have overcome death and opened the gate of everlasting life to us. Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the day of our Lord's resurrection, may be raised from the death of sin by Your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (L36)
    OR
O God, for our redemption You gave Your only-begotten Son to the death of the cross and by His glorious resurrection delivered us from the power of the enemy. Grant that all our sin may be drowned through daily repentance and that day by day we may arise to live before You in righteousness and purity forever; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (L37)
Job 19:23-27
Psalm 118:15-29 (v. 1)
1 Corinthians 5:6-8 or 1 Corinthians 15:51-57
Mark 16:1-8

 

The Resurrection of Our Lord
Easter Evening / Easter Monday

O God, in the paschal feast You restore all creation. Continue to send Your heavenly gifts upon Your people that they may walk in perfect freedom and receive eternal life; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Sprit, one God, now and forever. (L38)
Exodus 15:1-18
Psalm 100 (v. 5)
Acts 10:34-43
Luke 24:13-35 (36-49)

 

The Resurrection of Our Lord
Easter Tuesday

Almighty God, through the resurrection of Your Son You have secured peace for our troubled consciences. Grant us this peace evermore that trusting in the merit of Your Son we may come at last to the perfect peace of heaven; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (L39)
Daniel 3:8-28
Psalm 2 (v. 7)
Acts 13:26-33
Luke 24:36-48 (49)

 

The Resurrection of Our Lord
Easter Wednesday

Almighty God, by the glorious resurrection of Your Son, Jesus Christ, You destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light. Grant that we who have been raised with Him may abide in His presence and rejoice in the hope of eternal glory; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (L40)
Acts 3:13-15, 17-19
Psalm 61 (vv. 6-7)
Colossians 3:1-7 or 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
John 21:1-14

 

Second Sunday of Easter

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 and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (L41)
Ezekiel 37:1-14
Psalm 33 (v. 6)
1 John 5:4-10
John 20:19-31

 

Third Sunday of Easter

O God, through the humiliation of Your Son You raised up the fallen world. Grant to Your faithful people, rescued from the peril of everlasting death, perpetual gladness and eternal joys; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (L42)
Ezekiel 34:11-16
Psalm 23 (v. 6)
1 Peter 2:21-25
John 10:11-16

 

Fourth Sunday of Easter

Almighty God, You show those in error the light of Your truth so that they may return to the way of righteousness. Grant faithfulness to all who are admitted into the fellowship of Christ's Church that they may avoid whatever is contrary to their confession and follow all such things as are pleasing to You; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (L44)
Isaiah 40:25-31 or Lamentations 3:22-33
Psalm 147:1-11 (v. 5)
1 Peter 2:11-20 or 1 John 3:1-3
John 16:16-22

 

Fifth Sunday of Easter

O God, You make the minds of Your faithful to be of one will. Grant that we may love what You have commanded and desire what You promise, that among the many changes of this world our hearts may be fixed where true joys are found; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (L45)
Isaiah 12:1-6
Psalm 66:1-8 (v. 5)
James 1:16-21
John 15:1-8 John 16:5-15

 

Sixth Sunday of Easter

O God, the giver of all that is good, by Your holy inspiration grant that we may think those things that are right and by Your merciful guiding accomplish them; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (L46
Numbers 21:4-9
Psalm 107:1-9 (v. 19)
1 Timothy 2:1-6
James 1:22-27
John 16:23-30 (31-33)

 

The Ascension of Our Lord

Almighty God, as Your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, ascended into the heavens, so may we also ascend in heart and mind and continually dwell there with Him, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (L47)
2 Kings 2:5-15
Psalm 110 (v. 1)
Acts 1:1-11
Mark 16:14-20  or Luke 24:44-53

 

Seventh Sunday of Easter

O King of glory, Lord of hosts, uplifted in triumph far above all heavens, leave us not without consolation but send us the Spirit of truth whom You promised from the Father; for You live and reign with Him and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (L48)
Ezekiel 36:22-28
Psalm 51:1-12 (v. 10)
1 Peter 4:7-11 (12-14)
John 15:26-16:4

 

Pentecost Eve

Almighty and ever-living God, You fulfilled Your promise by sending the gift of the Holy Spirit to unite disciples of all nations in the cross and resurrection of Your Son, Jesus Christ. By the preaching of the Gospel spread this gift to the ends of the earth; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (L49)
Joel 3:1-5
Psalm 85 (v. 11)
Romans 8:12-17
John 14:15-21

 

Pentecost / The Day of Pentecost

O God, on this day You once taught the hearts of Your faithful people by sending them the light of Your Holy Spirit. Grant us in our day by the same Spirit to have a right understanding in all things and evermore to rejoice in His holy consolation; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (L50)
Genesis 11:1-9
Psalm 143 (v. 11)
Acts 2:1-21
John 14:23-31

 

Pentecost Evening / Pentecost Monday

O God, who gave Your Holy Spirit to the apostles, grant us that same Spirit that we may live in faith and abide in peace; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (L51)
Isaiah 57:15-21
Psalm 43 (v. 3)
Acts 10:34a, 42-48
John 3:16-21

 

Pentecost Tuesday

Almighty and ever-living God, You fulfilled Your promise by sending the gift of the Holy Spirit to unite disciples of all nations in the cross and resurrection of Your Son, Jesus Christ. By the preaching of the Gospel spread this gift to the ends of the earth; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (L49)
Isaiah 32:14-20
Psalm 85 (v. 10)
Acts 8:14-17
John 10:1-10