SERVICE FOR THE LORD’S DAY
2nd Sunday of Easter
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (USA)
April 11, 2021
Pastor Emeritus: The Reverend Robert Malsbary
Liturgist: Linda Lowry
Please silence all phones and beepers.
Bold face indicates congregational participation.
GATHERING
WORDS OF WELCOME
PRELUDE Psalm 19
ADORATION
CALL TO WORSHIP (responsive) John 20:19, 21
Peace be with you. Jesus stands among us.
Peace be with you. The risen Lord is here.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Almighty and eternal God, the strength of those who believe and the hope of those who doubt, may we, who have not seen, have faith and receive the fullness of Christ’s blessing, who is alive and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
HYMN 543 “Abide With Me” Eventide
1 Abide with me: fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide!
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.
2 Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.
CALL TO CONFESSION
SILENT CONFESSION
PRAYER OF CONFESSION (unison)
Almighty God, in raising Jesus from the grave, you shattered the power of sin and death. We confess that we remain captive to doubt and fear, bound by the ways that lead to death. We overlook the poor and the hungry, and pass by those who mourn; we are deaf to the cries of the oppressed, and indifferent to calls for peace; we despise the weak, and abuse the earth you made.
Forgive us, God of mercy. Help us to trust your power to change our lives and make us new, that we may know the joy of life abundant given in Jesus Christ, the risen Lord. Amen.
ASSURANCE OF PARDON
GLORIA PATRI 579
PROCLAMATION
FIRST LESSON John 20:19-31
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.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “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.”
But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So 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.”
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.” Then 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.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”
MESSAGE FOR THE CHILDREN
ANTHEM Hallelujah! Jesus Lives! Mark Shepperd
Hallelujah! Jesus Lives! He is now the Living One;
from the gloomy halls of death Christ, the conqueror has gone,
bright forerunner to the skies of his people, yet to rise.
Hallelujah! Angels sing! Join with us in hymns of praise.
Let your chorus swell the strain which our feebler voices raise:
Glory to our God above and on earth his peace and love!
Hallelujah!
Second Lesson Acts 4:32-35
Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.
SERMON “Living the Easter Faith” Rev. Bob Malsbary
RESPONSE
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH Nicene Creed: BOC 1.1-3
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only 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. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became truly human. 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.
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.
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 debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen.
HYMN 108 “Christ is Alive!” Truro
1 Christ is alive! Let Christians sing.
The cross stands empty to the sky.
Let streets and homes with praises ring.
Love, drowned in death, shall never die.
2 Christ is alive! No longer bound
To distant years in Palestine,
But saving, healing, here and now,
And touching every place and time.
PARTING PRAYER St. Giles Cathedral (1637)
O Lord our God, you are always more ready to bestow your good gifts than we are to seek them. You are more willing to give than we desire or deserve. Help us so to seek that we may truly find, so to ask that we may joyfully receive, so to knock that the door of your mercy may be opened for us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
CHARGE AND BENEDICTION
POSTLUDE