You are invited to worship with us at 11:00 am on Sunday, April 23, 2023.
Below, you will find the Order of Service so you can follow along and participate in the worship service. If you would prefer, you can also download a bulletin here:
Before we start, please share the live stream on your favorite social media site and invite your friends.
Worship Service for Easter on April 23, 2023, at 11 AM
Opening Song: Thy Strong Word
Thy strong word did cleave the darkness;
At Thy speaking it was done.
For created light we thank Thee,
While Thine ordered seasons run.
Refrain:
Alleluia, alleluia! Praise to Thee who light dost send!
Alleluia, alleluia! Alleluia without end!
Lo, on those who dwelt in darkness,
Dark as night and deep as death,
Broke the light of thy salvation,
Breathed thine own life-giving breath. (Refrain)
Thy strong Word be- speaks us righteous;
Bright with thine own holiness,
Glorious now, we press toward glory,
And our lives our hope confess. (Refrain)
Give us lips to sing thy glory, Tongues thy mercy to proclaim,
Throats to shout the hope that fills us,
Mouths to speak thy holy name. (Refrain)
© 1969 Concordia Publishing House
Invocation
Confession and Forgiveness:
P: Come into the presence of the Lord our God.
C: Have mercy, O Lord. If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand; but if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
(A time of silence to reflect and personally confess our sins)
P: I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin. Let us confess our sin before the Lord. Let us confess together.
C: Heavenly Father, we confess that we are sinners. We have sinned against you and our neighbors. We have not loved you with our whole heart and we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We justly deserve Your punishment. For the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in Your will and walk in Your ways to the glory of Your holy name. Amen.
P: The Lord is gracious and merciful. He promises to forgive our sins. Therefore, upon this, your confession, as a called and ordained servant of the Lord, 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.
C: Amen.
Song of Praise and Thanksgiving – Everlasting God
Verse:
Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord.
We will wait upon the Lord.
We will wait upon the Lord.
(repeat)
Pre-Chorus:
Our God You reign forever! Our hope Our strong deliverer!
Chorus:
You are the everlasting God, the everlasting God.
You do not faint You won’t grow weary.
You’re the defender of the weak. You comfort those in need.
You lift us up on wings like eagles.
(Verse)
(Pre-Chorus)
(Chorus) © 2005 Thankyou Music
First Reading – Acts 2:14a, 36–41
But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you,…
…Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
Reader: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Gospel Reading – Luke 24:13–35
That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.
P: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C: Praise be to You, o Christ.
Children’s Message
Brief Announcements (scroll down for more details)
Sermon Hymn – Who You Say I Am
Who am I that the highest King would welcome me?
I was lost but He brought me in. Oh, His love for me.
Oh, His love for me.
Chorus 1:
Who the Son sets free, Oh is free indeed.
I’m a child of God, Yes I am.
Free at last He has ransomed me. His grace runs deep.
While I was a slave to sin Jesus died for me. Yes, He died for me.
Chorus 2:
Who the Son sets free, oh is free indeed.
I’m a child of God, Yes I am.
In my Father’s house there’s a place for me.
I’m a child of God, Yes I am.
I am chosen, not forsaken. I am who You say I am
You are for me, not against me. I am who You say I am
I am chosen, not forsaken. I am who You say I am
You are for me, not against me. I am who You say I am
I am who You say I am
(Chorus 2)
(Chorus 2 second half, “In my Father’s house…”)
© 2017 Hillsong Music Publishing (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)
Sermon – “Perishable and Imperishable”
1 Peter 1:17–25
And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for
“All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.”
And this word is the good news that was preached to you.
Reader: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Prayers: Text in prayer requests to (813) 326-5255
Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth,
And in Jesus Christ, his 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 into hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God
the Father almighty.
From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church,
the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
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; 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
Greeting and Benediction for the Online Service (scroll down for a video of the closing song)
Words of Institution
Peace
P: The peace of the Lord be with you all.
C: And also, with you.
P: We greet each other in the peace of Christ.
Distribution
Prayer
Benediction
Closing Song – Oh, When the Saints
Oh, when the saints go marching in,
Oh, when the saints go marching in,
Oh Lord, I want to be in that number,
When the saints go marching in.
And when the sun refuse to shine,
And when the sun refuse to shine,
Oh Lord, I want to be in that number,
When the sun refuse to shine.
Oh, when the trumpet sounds its call,
Oh, when the trumpet sounds its call,
Oh Lord, I want to be in that number,
When the trumpet sounds its call. © Public Domain
UPCOMING EVENTS
Apr 25, 7 PM,
Growth Group 1 – Renee’s Home (Maybe)
Growth Group 2 – Rich and Judy’s Home and Online
Apr 29, 10 AM, Growth Group 3
The McConnell’s Home
Apr 30, After the Service, Voter Meeting
Faith Lutheran Church
Apr 30, After the Voter Meeting, Confirmation
Faith Lutheran Church
Apr 30, 5 PM, Main Event (All are welcome)
Main Event, Wesley Chapel. Cost – $20
Florida-Georgia District Regional Conference
“Deliver Us: God’s Rescue Story in Exodus”
Rev. Dr. Reed Lessing from Concordia University in St. Paul
This conference will highlight how God’s kingdom comes to us and then through us to the world. The conference will draw us into a deeper understanding that what Jesus did for Israel in the past he will do for us today—deliver us from bondage and bring us into a kingdom where he reigns forever and ever.
Register through Pastor Kurt
1 Peter Reading Plan
Below is the video of the closing song:
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