FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

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HE IS RISEN!!!!

May 15, 2022

God Will Wipe Away All Our Tears

We and all people have been “married” to this fallen world since our first parents ate forbidden fruit at their reception in Eden. But now, everyone baptized into Christ, Jews and Gentiles alike, are invited to the wedding of the Church to Jesus, her Bridegroom. The “little while” (Good Friday to Easter morning) is over, and Christ is with us now, especially as we receive His body and blood in the Lord’s Supper. It is only a foretaste of the feast to come, when He will make all things new, and the tears and sorrow we experience now will be in the past. Jesus has come and brings pleasure eternal!

+ Preparation +

OPENING HYMN: #540 – Christ, the Word of God Incarnate

INVOCATION

Pastor: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

People: Amen.

EASTER ACCLAMATION

Pastor: Alleluia! Christ is risen!

People: He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION John 16:20; Revelation 21:6

Pastor: Our help is in the name of the Lord,

People: who made heaven and earth.

Pastor: If You, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?

People: But with You there is forgiveness; therefore You are feared.

Pastor: God’s grace knows no bounds! Through the sacrifice of His Son, the Bridegroom of the Church, He makes us His holy bride. Anticipating the heavenly wedding feast, let us seek God’s grace now and call on Him for forgiveness and mercy.

People: Almighty God, have mercy on us, for we cannot help ourselves. Forgive us all that we have done in the past, give us grace in this present time, and lead us to serve You and love one another in the future and on into the eternity You have promised.

Pastor: Jesus promised the disciples, “Your sorrow will turn into joy,” and He promises “the spring of the water of life without payment.” As a called and ordained servant of Christ, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

People: Amen.

+ SERVICE OF THE WORD +

PSALM Psalm 148 (spoken responsively by verse)

¹Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord from the heavens;

praise him in the heights!

²Praise him, all his angels;

praise him, all his hosts!

³Praise him, sun and moon,

praise him, all you shining stars!

⁴Praise him, you highest heavens,

and you waters above the heavens!

⁵Let them praise the name of the Lord!

For he commanded and they were created.

⁶And he established them forever and ever;

he gave a decree, and it shall not pass away.

⁷Praise the Lord from the earth,

you great sea creatures and all deeps,

⁸fire and hail, snow and mist,

stormy wind fulfilling his word!

⁹Mountains and all hills,

fruit trees and all cedars!

¹⁰Beasts and all livestock,

creeping things and flying birds!

¹¹Kings of the earth and all peoples,

princes and all rulers of the earth!

¹²Young men and maidens together,

old men and children!

¹³Let them praise the name of the Lord,

for his name alone is exalted;

his majesty is above earth and heaven.

¹⁴He has raised up a horn for his people,

praise for all his saints,

for the people of Israel who are near to him. Praise the Lord!

KYRIE

Pastor: In peace, let us pray to the Lord.

People: Lord, have mercy.

Pastor: For the peace from above, which bestows Christ’s saving work on all people of faith, let us pray to the Lord.

People: Lord, have mercy.

Pastor: For the peace of the whole world, that the saving news of Christ be announced to all, and that many come to faith, let us pray to the Lord.

People: Lord, have mercy.

People: For this holy house and for all who join us to celebrate the foretaste of the feast to come, let us pray to the Lord.

People: Lord, have mercy.

Pastor: Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord.

People: Amen.

SALUTATION and PRAYER OF THE DAY

Pastor: The Lord be with you.

People: And also with you.

Pastor: Let us pray.
Lord Jesus, Bridegroom of the Church, You have done everything needed for us to join You at the heavenly wedding feast that has no end. Guide us so that our thoughts, words, and deeds may testify that we are no longer wed to this world, but are Yours, now and always; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

People: Amen.

FIRST READING Acts 11:1–18

(God convinces Peter that Gentiles may be baptized into the one Church.)

¹Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. ²So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, saying, ³“You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.” ⁴But Peter began and explained it to them in order: ⁵“I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, something like a great sheet descending, being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to me. ⁶Looking at it closely, I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds of the air. ⁷And I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’ ⁸But I said, ‘By no means, Lord; for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ ⁹But the voice answered a second time from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, do not call common.’ ¹⁰This happened three times, and all was drawn up again into heaven. ¹¹And behold, at that very moment three men arrived at the house in which we were, sent to me from Caesarea. ¹²And the Spirit told me to go with them, making no distinction. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. ¹³And he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon who is called Peter; ¹⁴he will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’ ¹⁵As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning. ¹⁶And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ ¹⁷If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?” ¹⁸When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.”

Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God.

GRADUAL adapt. from Matthew 28:7; Hebrews 2:7; Psalm 8:6

Christ has risen from the dead.

God the Father has crowned Him with glory and honor,

He has given Him dominion over the works of His hands;

He has put all things under His feet.

EPISTLE Revelation 21:1–7

(John sees a vision of the new Jerusalem, adorned as a bride for her husband, coming from heaven.)

¹Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. ²And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. ⁴He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

⁵And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” ⁶And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. ⁷The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.”

Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God.

VERSE Romans 6:9; John 14:23

Pastor: Alleluia. We know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over Him. Alleluia.

People: If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. Alleluia.

HOLY GOSPEL John 16:12–22

(Jesus prepares the Twelve for His absence for “a little while.”)

Pastor: The Holy Gospel according to St. John, the sixteenth chapter.

People: Glory to You, O Lord.

¹²[Jesus said:] “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. ¹³When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. ¹⁴He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. ¹⁵All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

¹⁶“A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.” ¹⁷So some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?” ¹⁸So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.” ¹⁹Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? ²⁰Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. ²¹When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. ²²So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.”

Pastor: This is the Gospel of the Lord.

People: Praise to You, O Christ.

HYMN OF THE DAY: #644 – The Church’s One Foundation

SERMON: Because the Lord Is Our Shepherd We Shall Not Want

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 thence 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.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH John 16:20; Acts 11:9, 17; Revelation 21:5

After each petition:

Pastor: … Lord, in Your mercy:

People: hear our prayer.

At conclusion:

Pastor: … for the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

People: Amen.

LORD’S PRAYER Matthew 6:9–13

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.

CLOSING PRAYER

Pastor: Let us pray.
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.

People: Amen.

EASTER ACCLAMATION

Pastor: Alleluia! Christ is risen!

People: He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

BENEDICTION

Pastor: The blessing of God Almighty—the Father, the + Son, and the Holy Spirit—be upon you, now and forever.

People: Amen.

DISMISSAL

Pastor: Go in peace as you serve the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God!

FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER – HE IS RISEN! Online Church Bulletin

HE IS RISEN!!!!