Sermon for The Fourth Sunday of Easter
Rev. Greg Mech | April 22, 2018 | Sunday Service | 8:00 am | Immanuel Lutheran Church – Joplin, MO
Divine Service, Setting One
♫ Entrance Hymn Christ Has Arisen, Alleluia! Hymn 466
Invocation, Confession and Absolution page 151
Introit
I am the good | shepherd.*
I know my own and my own know me, and I lay down my life | for the sheep.
The Lord is my | shepherd;*
I | shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green | pastures.*
He leads me beside still | waters.
He re- | stores my soul.*
He leads 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 mercy shall follow me all the days | of my life,*
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for- | ever.
Glory be to the Father and | to the Son*
and to the Holy | Spirit;
as it was in the be- | ginning,*
is now, and will be forever. | Amen.
I am the good | shepherd.*
I know my own and my own know me, and I lay down my life | for the sheep.
♫ Kyrie page 152
♫ Hymn of Praise: “This Is the Feast of Victory for Our God” page 154
♫ Salutation and Collect of the Day
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray. Almighty God, merciful Father, since You have wakened from death the Shepherd of Your sheep, grant us Your Holy Spirit that when we hear the voice of our Shepherd we may know Him who calls us each by name and follow where He leads; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
Children’s Talk
First Reading: Acts 4:1–12
As they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.
On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
♫ Hymn All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name Hymn 549 verses 1, 4,
Epistle: 1 John 3:16–24
By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in him, and he in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
♫Alleluia and Verse page 156
Holy Gospel – John 10:11–18
The Holy Gospel according to St. John, the tenth chapter.
Glory to You, O Lord.
[Jesus said:] “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to You, O Christ.
♫ Hymn of the Day Oh, That the Lord Would Guide My Ways Hymn 707
Sermon
Apostles’ Creed
Prayer of the Church
Offering and Offertory page 159
Lord’s Prayer
Benediction
♫ Closing Hymn All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name, verses 6-7 Hymn 549
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