Preparing for Worship - April 7, 2024

This Sunday is the Second Sunday of our Easter celebration. Note that we do not have reading from the Old Testament during the Easter season, but rather from the Book of Acts and the history of the early Christian church.

The First lesson is from Acts 4:32-35. The most important part of this passage is that the apostles were giving powerful testimony to the resurrection of Jesus, and that great grace of God was upon them all. They were united and willing to sacrifice what they had to help others in need. They “had everything in common” at first, but that did not last, as the events of Acts 5 and 6 tell, and there was lying and deceiving and complaining, too. In a sinful world, there is no utopia, even among Christians. The Word of the Lord continued to be spread and increased, though, and the Lord grew His church (Acts 6:7).

Psalm 148 calls everyone and everything to praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the highest heavens and the starry skies. Praise the Lord from the earth and all that is in it, including kings and all the peoples. Praise the Lord for His Name that is above all names. Praise the Lord for the “Horn” that He has raised for the people near to Him. That Horn of salvation was and is Jesus, our Redeemer. (See Luke 1:68-69.)

The Gospel is John 20:19-31. Thomas missed Jesus's Easter Sunday appearances and seemed to be unable to believe that Jesus was really alive again. Jesus appeared again about a week later, and Thomas saw Jesus and believed and called Jesus “My Lord and My God.” Jesus said, “Blessed are those, also, who have not seen Me but have believed.” He is talking about us, who have come to faith through the written Word of God, and the many who testify about Jesus to us through that Word, also. In Christ, we have “life,” now and forever.

The Apostle John was one of those witnesses to Christ Himself, as one of His 12 original disciples. John writes in 1 John 1:1-2:2 of his certainty in Christ, Who was with God the Father and came to be the Light of our world and to cleanse us from all sin. We are all sinners who need to be brought to confess those sins and trust in Jesus, Who is the Righteous One for us and our Advocate before the Father. John is absolutely sure of all this because he has seen and heard and touched and proclaimed Jesus as “the Word of Life” for us and our “Eternal life,” risen from the dead for us.