21 April 2024
The Fourth Sunday of Easter
Ringing of the Bell
– The bell rings as the call to worship, reminding us to discontinue conversation and reverently prepare for worship.
Prelude
Welcome and Announcements
Lutheran Service Book Divine Service Setting One
Stand
711 Savior, like a Shepherd Lead Us LSB 711
1
Savior,
like a shepherd lead us;
Much we
need Your tender
care.
In
Your pleasant pastures feed us,
For our use
Your fold
prepare.
Blessèd
Jesus, blessèd
Jesus,
You
have bought us; we are Yours.
Blessèd
Jesus, blessèd
Jesus,
You
have bought us; we are Yours.
2
We
are Yours; in love befriend us,
Be the
guardian of
our way;
Keep
Your flock, from sin defend us,
Seek us
when we go
astray.
Blessèd
Jesus, blessèd
Jesus,
Hear
us children when we pray.
Blessèd
Jesus, blessèd
Jesus,
Hear
us children when we pray.
3
You
have promised to receive us,
Poor and
sinful though
we be;
You
have mercy to relieve us,
Grace to
cleanse, and
pow’r
to free.
Blessèd
Jesus, blessèd
Jesus,
Early
let us turn to You.
Blessèd
Jesus, blessèd
Jesus,
Early
let us turn to You.
4
Early
let us seek Your favor,
Early let
us do Your
will;
Blessèd
Lord and only Savior,
With
Your love our spirits fill.
Blessèd
Jesus, blessèd
Jesus,
You
have loved us, love us still.
Blessèd
Jesus, blessèd
Jesus,
You
have loved us, love us still.
Text:
Hymns for the Young, 1836, 4th ed., London, alt.
Text:
Public domain
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION
The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their Baptism.
Invocation
P In the name of the Father and of the TSon and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
Exhortation
P If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
C But if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Silence for reflection on God's Word and for self-examination.
Confession of Sins
P Let us then confess our sins to God our Father.
C Most merciful God, we confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean. We have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We justly deserve Your present and eternal 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.
Absolution
P Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins. As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the TSon and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
SERVICE OF THE WORD
This Is the Feast
C This is the feast of victory for our God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Worthy is Christ, the Lamb who was slain, whose blood set us free to be people of God.
This is the feast of victory for our God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Power, riches, wisdom, and strength, and honor, blessing, and glory are His.
This is the feast of victory for our God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Sing with all the people of God, and join in the hymn of all creation:
Blessing, honor, glory, and might be to God and the Lamb forever. Amen.
This is the feast of victory for our God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
For the Lamb who was slain has begun His reign. Alleluia.
This is the feast of victory for our God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Salutation and Collect of the Day
P The Lord be with you.
C And also with you.
P 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.
C Amen.
Sit
Psalm Psalm 23
The
Lord
is my shepherd;
I
shall not want.
He
makes me lie down in green pastures.
He
leads me beside still waters.
He
restores 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
forever.
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.”
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
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.
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Stand
Common Alleluia and Verse
C Alleluia.
Lord, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life.
Alleluia, alleluia.
Holy Gospel John 10:11–18
P The Holy Gospel according to St. John, the tenth chapter.
C 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.”
P This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C Praise to You, O Christ.
Sit
709 The King of Love My Shepherd Is LSB 709
1
The
King of love my shepherd is,
Whose
goodness faileth
never;
I
nothing lack if I am His
And He is
mine forever.
2
Where
streams of living water flow,
My ransomed
soul He
leadeth
And,
where the verdant pastures grow,
With food
celestial
feedeth.
3
Perverse
and foolish oft I strayed,
But yet in
love He
sought me
And
on His shoulder gently laid
And home
rejoicing
brought me.
4
In
death’s
dark vale I fear no ill
With Thee,
dear Lord,
beside me,
Thy
rod and staff my comfort still,
Thy cross
before to
guide me.
5
Thou
spreadst a table in my sight;
Thine
unction grace
bestoweth;
And,
oh, what transport of delight
From Thy
pure chalice
floweth!
6
And
so through all the length of days
Thy
goodness faileth
never;
Good
Shepherd, may I sing Thy praise
Within Thy
house
forever!
Text:
Henry W. Baker, 1821–77
Text:
Public domain
Sermon Pastor Eric Ash
Easter 4 C April 21, 2024 Psalm 23
The Shepherd’s Blessings
“The Lord is my shepherd.” Do you consider that the Lord is your shepherd to be a good thing or a bad thing? We Christians know that the Lord being our shepherd is a good thing, a great thing. We know how much He loves us and how He takes care of us. But not everyone sees it that way. Many people think of God as a “hanging judge.”
They think being a Christian means following a bunch of arcane rules and regulations. They think of Christians as being legalistic and intolerant. Polls have shown this time and again. Yet, nothing could be farther from the truth. The Christian faith is about love and forgiveness – and freedom. Without Christ we are slaves to sin. Without him we cannot help but sin. Jesus frees us from our bondage to sin. He takes away our guilt and makes us free to follow him and live the way he wants us to. Christ gives us the freedom to do the good we want to do, not the bad we are compelled to do. We’ll say more about that later.
What does “I shall not want mean”? In the biblical sense, want here means being in state where we lack something essential. A person without food, or money, or health could be said to be in a condition of want. We trust the Lord, the Good Shepherd, to provide for our needs. That does not mean that God is a like a genie in a bottle who fulfill our every wish and desire. There is often a big disparity between the things we desire and wish for, and what we absolutely must have to survive.
St. Paul said that he had learned, through times of hardship and poverty, to be content whether he had a little or a lot. He also said, kind of sarcastically, that Christianity is very profitable if you’re happy with what you already have. For Melanie and me, our worst time financially was our first year of seminary. We had an infant son, Melanie was unemployed, and I wasn’t allowed to work. There were times we weren’t sure where the next month’s rent was coming from. I remember buying a gallon of milk for our son one day. I dropped it as we got out of the car and the jug burst. To me it felt like I had lost a million dollars.
By the grace of God, we got through. But even if we would have had no food on the table and no roof over our heads, we still would not be in want because the only thing really necessary for any of us is the presence of God in our lives. Yes, some people are hungry and homeless, that’s awful, and we have a Christian duty to help them as we can. But the fact is that one day we are all going to leave this world and the only possession we take with us is our faith, which God gave us in the first place. There will be no want in the life to come for the Christian. It will be marvelous.
We see that connection between God’s provision in this world and the world beyond this one in the verse, “He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside the still waters.” Sheep will eat vegetation down to the ground, making their food source unsustainable. They also can’t tell the difference between water suitable for drinking and water that’s not. The shepherd has to lead them to what’s good for them, and that includes a safe place to sleep. These things are necessary for life.
This Easter season is all about life, but we cannot really know life without also knowing death. Sometimes people call death “the Big Sleep.” Death is not sleep, but when we exit this life there will a paradise, like a green pasture awaiting us, that The Good Shepherd will provide. How can we be sure of that? Whenever you hear water mentioned in the Bible, think Baptism. Just as the shepherd waters his sheep to preserve their lives, so does The Lord give us the water of Holy Baptism, quenching our sin, claiming us a his own, and giving us the Holy Spirit and eternal life.
The sequence our Christian life follows is seen in the next verse, “He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” Scripture tells us we are born, and even conceived, as sinners. In being baptized as an infant, or coming to faith in Christ and being baptized, makes us born again and restores us to the innocence of our first parents in the garden of Eden, before The Fall, before they sinned. Once we are justified, once we are reconciled with God that way, then we can follow the Holy Spirit’s prompting to walk in the Lord’s ways, in his paths.
When we are walking in the Spirit, when the mind of Christ is formed within us, knowing and doing the right thing will come naturally to us. We will be inspired to go to others and help without consciously thinking about it. Helping others and caring for them becomes part of who we are. We don’t think “I am going to do something good here to please God, we just do it.” I see it all the time with our members and community. There are people who do so much for the church because they are committed to Christ and church. There have been several times when I needed some help with something, and people jumped up and helped more quickly than I could imagine anyone would.
Our path through life inevitably leads us through the valley of the shadow of death. There used to be saying in the 1960s, it originated in the Vietnam War, that goes, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for I am the meanest so and so in the valley.” No doubt one must be tough in wartime. But ultimately our own strength cannot save our life every time on earth, and our meanness means less than zero in the next world. Only Christ our Good Shepherd can protect us from the enemies of temporal and eternal life. He can do that. His resurrection proves he can.
I recall the pastor at my mother’s funeral, Bill Wallace, preaching on the 23rd Psalm. He asked, “Would you rather be hit by a truck or by the shadow of a truck? The shadow of a truck, of course, because the shadow can do no damage.” He went on to say that for the Christian, death is only shadow. It might scare us, but it does us no real harm. Death for the Christian believer is just that momentary transfer from life here to life with God.
Why can we “fear no evil.” How do we know that our shepherd is with us? How does the shepherd protect his sheep – that’s us – from death and other evils? “His rod and his staff they comfort me.” The rod is the long, straight, pointed part of the shepherd’s staff. A shepherd uses that to fend off predators. Luther said that if we could see all the demons around us, we would pray constantly. Every good thing that happens to us comes from God. There is an infinite number of bads things that could happen to us that God prevents. He’s fighting to protect us.
The curved part of the shepherd’s staff the shepherd uses to pull straying sheep back into the fold. Left on our own we could easily wander off God’s path, fall into condemnable sin, and even lose our salvation. Sometimes the Lord gently uses the staff to bring us back into line. Sometimes we need to get hit hard for him to get our attention. In my own life, I find that when things are going well, it’s very easy for me to get full of myself, and think I know it all and can do anything, and it’s all because of my own talents. Invariably then, I fumble something and mess up badly. I’m not saying God causes me to fail. But when I fail, I am reminded that if I can do anything good at all it is only because of God working through me, and all the glory should go to him. I’m sure things like that happen to you too. Remember how St. Paul had an unknown “thorn in his side” to keep him from getting too elated by his success.
The Psalm continues, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; you anoint my head with oil.” When you hear about a meal in the Bible, think Holy Communion. David the Psalmist is predicting the Lord’s Supper about a thousand years before it happened. Our world is full of enemies: people who oppose Christianity and threaten us, disease and death that strike us down, the devil’s minions who want to drag us down with them. And in the midst of all this troubled life, Christ shares with us the power of his body and blood. He gives us a foretaste of the never-ending feast in his everlasting Kingdom. In the Holy Communion Christ gives us his true presence.
Anointing? Shepherds would use a topical medicine on sheep that was kind of like anointing. In the Old Testament, priests and kings were anointed when they took over their office. An unnamed women anointed Jesus before his Passion. I/we say prayers and anoint the sick and dying. Anointing reminds us of our baptism. I anoint children and adults when I baptize them. Anointing is a symbol to us of God’s grace and favor. We ask him to make it for us a means of blessing and healing.
“My cup overflows.” There’s another Communion image for us. The overflowing cup symbolizes a superabundance of God’s love and blessings that we receive as Christians. Blessings that begin in this life and continue even after we “shake off this mortal coil.”
That final verse goes back to the idea of God providing for us in this life and beyond, providing us with salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the present: Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life…” And in the future: “and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” God blesses us, protects us, and give us life. Rejoice, because: “The Lord is risen. He is risen indeed.”
Stand
Nicene Creed
C 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 T everlasting. Amen.
Prayers
Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
Shepherd of Israel, in Your Son, Jesus Christ, You have sought out Your sheep and gathered us into Your flock. Keep us always in Your fold, and guard us from every wolf and snare. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly Father, You alone gather us as Your sheep and send faithful shepherds to us. Call all who have wandered from Your flock, and bless the faithful shepherds who gather them through the voice of Your Word. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Eternal Lord, through the Paschal Lamb You have wrought peace between man and God. By Your gift of good government, grant peace and good days also to our citizens and between the nations of the world, that we and all our neighbors may lead quiet lives in godly contentment. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly Father, by the firstfruits of Christ’s life from the dead, You secured forgiveness for our troubled consciences. Bless also with temporal health and well-being those who suffer among us [especially _____________]. Grant them aid in this moment and, even more so, true, immortal health in the world to come. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord, our Shepherd, You calm all fears in this valley of the shadow of death, and You prepare the holy table of Your Son’s testament for us in the presence of our enemies. Grant us repentant and faithful hearts. In every tribulation or besetting sin, lead us to find comfort and strength in Your overflowing mercy given to us here in this Sacrament. 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.
Sit
Offertory Invitation
Remembering the words of our Lord Jesus, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." Let us give now with joy and thanksgiving our gifts, tithes and offerings to the Lord.
The Choir sings the Offertory as the offerings are collected.
Stand
Offertory LSB 192
C Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from Thy presence, and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation, and uphold me with Thy free spirit. Amen.
Offertory Prayer
God our Father, on this holy day [in this holy season] you give us the joy of recalling the rising of Christ to new life. Accept the offerings of your people and by these Easter mysteries, bring us to the glory of the Resurrection. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
SERVICE OF THE SACRAMENT
Preface
P The Lord be with you.
C And also with you.
P Lift up your hearts.
C We lift them to the Lord.
P Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
C It is right to give Him thanks and praise.
Proper Preface
P It is truly good, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God. And most especially are we bound to praise You on this day for the glorious resurrection of Your Son, Jesus Christ, the very Paschal Lamb, who was sacrificed for us and bore the sins of the world. By His dying He has destroyed death, and by His rising again He has restored to us everlasting life. Therefore with Mary Magdalene, Peter and John, and with all the witnesses of the resurrection, with angels and archangels, and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and saying:
Sanctus
C Holy, holy, holy Lord God of pow’r and might:
Heaven and earth are full of Your glory.
Hosanna. Hosanna.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
The Words of Our Lord
P On the night, in which he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to his disciples saying, take, eat; this is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same also, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them saying, this cup is the New Testament in my blood, shed for you and for many, for the forgiveness of sins. Do this as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.
Lord's Prayer Invitation
By our Lord's command we are bold to pray. . .
Lord's Prayer
C
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.
Fraction
P: When we eat this bread, we share the body of Christ. When we drink from this cup, we share the blood of Christ.
C: Reveal yourself to us, O Lord, in the breaking of bread as once you revealed yourself to your Apostles. Amen.
Agnus Dei
C Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world; have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world; have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world; grant us peace.
Sit
The pastor and those who assist him receive the body and blood of Christ first and then distribute them to those who come to receive, saying:
Distribution 164
The body of Christ, given for you.
Amen.
The blood of Christ, shed for you.
Amen.
Stand
In dismissing the communicants, the following is said:
The Dismissal
P The body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ strengthen and preserve you in body and soul to life everlasting. Depart Tin peace.
C Amen.
Thank the Lord
C Thank the Lord and sing His praise; tell ev’ryone what He has done.
Let all who seek the Lord rejoice and proudly bear His name.
He recalls His promises and leads His people forth in joy
with shouts of thanksgiving. Alleluia, alleluia.
Post-Communion Collect
P Gracious God, our heavenly Father, You have given us a foretaste of the feast to come in the Holy Supper of Your Son’s body and blood. Keep us firm in the true faith throughout our days of pilgrimage that, on the day of His coming, we may, together with all Your saints, celebrate the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom which has no end; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
Benediction
P The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you.
The Lord look upon you with favor and Tgive you peace.
C Amen.
525 Crown Him with Many Crowns LSB 525
1
Crown
Him with many crowns,
The
Lamb upon His throne;
Hark
how the heav’nly
anthem drowns
All
music but its own.
Awake,
my soul, and sing
Of
Him who died for thee,
And
hail Him as thy matchless king
Through all
eternity.
2
Crown
Him the virgin’s
Son,
The
God incarnate born,
Whose
arm those crimson trophies won
Which now
His brow
adorn:
Fruit
of the mystic rose,
Yet
of that rose the stem,
The
root whence mercy ever flows,
The babe of
Bethlehem.
3
Crown
Him the Lord of love.
Behold His
hands and
side,
Rich
wounds, yet visible above,
In beauty
glorified.
No
angels in the sky
Can
fully bear that sight,
But
downward bend their wond’ring
eyes
At
mysteries so bright.
4
Crown
Him the Lord of life,
Who
triumphed o’er
the grave
And
rose victorious in the strife
For those
He came to
save.
His
glories now we sing,
Who
died and rose on high,
Who
died eternal life to bring
And lives
that death may
die.
5
Crown
Him the Lord of heav’n,
Enthroned
in worlds
above,
Crown
Him the king to whom is giv’n
The
wondrous name of
Love.
Crown
Him with many crowns
As
thrones before Him fall;
Crown
Him, ye kings, with many crowns,
For He is
king of
all.
Text
(sts. 1–3,
5): Matthew Bridges, 1800–94,
alt.;
(st. 4): Godfrey Thring, 1823–1903
Text:
Public domain
CLOSING RESPONSE
P Go in Peace! Serve the Lord!
C Praise be to God!
Acknowledgments
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Created by Lutheran Service Builder © 2024 Concordia Publishing House.