Lessons, Hymns, and Prayers, April 12, 2026, 2^nd Sunday of Easter, A

Sola/LSB: Acts 5:29-42 (Gamaliel counsels caution dealing with apostolic teaching, miracles)

            RCL/ELW: Acts 2:14a, 22-32 (Peter exhorts crowd to repent, be baptized)

Sola/LSB: Psalm 148 (Praise God for his universal glory)

            RCL/ELW: Psalm 16 (I keep the Lord always before me; I shall not be moved)

All: 1 Peter 1:3-9 (Christ’s resurrection promises new hope, imperishable inheritance)

All: John 20:19-31 (Jesus appears to disciples – including Thomas)

*****************************

Opening Hymn: O Sons and Daughters of the King/Let Us Sing:

LBW #139, v.1-4, ELW #386, v.1-4, LSB #470/471 (Note: the latter LSB tune is the same as LBW, but the former is a well-known Easter tune also)

Hymn of Praise: Good Christian Friends, Rejoice and Sing: LBW #144, ELW #385, LSB #475

OR Hymn paraphrase of “This is the Feast;” See Easter Sunday

Hymn of the Day: We Walk By Faith and Not by Sight: WOV #675, ELW #635, LSB #720

OR Come, You Faithful, Raise the Strain: (I don’t know who has the Arthur Sullivan tune from SBH):

LBW #132, ELW #363, LSB #487

OR The Risen Christ: ELW #390

OR These Things Did Thomas Count as Real: LSB #472

Communion Hymn 1: O Savior, Precious Savior: LBW #514, ELW #820, LSB #527

Communion Hymn 2: Jesus, the Very Thought of You: LBW #316, (ELW #754

Closing Hymn: O Sons and Daughters: LBW #139, v. 5-9, (ELW #386, v. 5-8, LSB #470/471)

********

Let us pray to our risen Savior on behalf of the Church, the world, and all people according to their need.

A brief silence

Lord Jesus, when news seems too good to be true, we hesitate to lose our hearts to it. We’re afraid we might be losing our minds, too! Like Thomas, we want proof before we commit. Forgive our fears and strengthen our faith. Remind us that your Good News is too good not to be true.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Breathe your Holy Spirit upon the Church, and fill it with your peace. Test and purify it, so that you are constantly praised and glorified in all it says and does. Use it to bring many to a sure faith in you, the Author of salvation.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Breathe your Holy Spirit upon Christians who are persecuted for naming you as Lord. Let their faithful endurance glorify you. Soften the hearts of their enemies. Give them the faith of the apostles, who rejoiced that they were considered worthy to suffer on account of your Name.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Bless this congregation with the imperishable inheritance that you have won for all who trust in you. Increase our love for you and for one another. Let our words be gracious and our deeds be generous. In all things, may our lives be filled with your holy love.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Show yourself in mercy and power to those who reject the Gospel of truth. Give us the spirit of encouragement, so we can lead them closer to you. Give us faithful words and holy lives. Give us grace so that we do not become stumbling-blocks in their journey from disbelief to saving faith in you, their Lord and their God.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Your glory is proclaimed in the heavens and throughout the universe. Cause this world, so wounded by sin, suffering and sorrow, to also praise you. Turn every heart, especially the rulers of the nations, to seek your will. Bestow the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, counsel and might, so that we might accomplish it.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Give wings to the words of missionaries, evangelists, and spiritual guides. Bless and direct the teachings of all within our seminaries, colleges, and schools. Help them to speak and to live the Good News of Jesus’ resurrection with confidence and charity.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We lift before you everyone who has been grieved by trials to body, mind, heart or spirit, including: {List}. Lead them safely through their suffering. Restore them to life, hope and love. Though they do not see you, give them grace to rejoice in your saving love for them.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

O risen Savior, we entrust into your care our beloved dead. Comfort all whose grief runs deep. Fill our hearts with hope, joy, and confidence in the precious inheritance you have stored up for all who trust in you. Breathe your Holy Spirit on us, so that we may forgive one another and live together in your peace. Bring us into your presence, where we may gaze upon your glory and goodness, and may forever adore you, our Lord and our God.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We praise and magnify you, dear Jesus. Accept our prayers and lay them at the feet of your Father, who with you and the Holy Spirit reigns gloriously as our Lord and our God, now and forever. Amen.

“They said to Him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you shall drink; and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized.  But to sit on My right or on My left, this is not Mine to give; but it is for those for whom it has been prepared” (Mark 10:39-40)

We will drink the cup of suffering and taste death.  Salvation is not being saved from the circumstances of this world but being made into the image of Christ and being prepared for eternity with the Lord.  Do not worry about position.  That is a worldly concern.  Be thankful that you have heard the voice of our Lord and have been invited into His eternal presence.  Live for the Lord who is saving you.

Lord, You know what goes on in my mind.  You know the things that I seek, both that which is right and that which is wrong.  Lead me to abandon all that is wrong in my thinking so that I may learn to humbly accept from You what is best.  You know.  Guide me into all truth and create in me a right heart which seeks for Your will and not my own.  Guide me in order that I may willingly accept the cup and baptism that You give knowing that You are completing me in faith.

Come, Lord Jesus, and minister to my heart so that I seek what is right at all times.  Guide me in the Father’s will that I may live in the circumstances You give and seek to do the Father’s will.  I am confident at times when I should not be.  Lead me to be confident in Your grace always, seeking the Father’s will at all times.  Stop me when I am wrong and be the One who is leading me in and through all circumstances.  Amen.

“They said to Him, “Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory.”  But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” (Mark 10:37-38)

Do you know what you are asking the Lord?  Is it driven by pride or one of the vices like greed or envy?  I suspect we often do not know what we are asking.  We think that if the Lord loves us, He will give us what the world calls good things.  The Lord does love us, and He will give what is good; but do we even know what is good for us?  Ask, but trust the Lord in and through all things.

Lord, You drank from the cup of suffering and were immersed in death.  This world is filled with suffering, and everyone dies the mortal death.  I sometimes ask for what can never be.  I sometimes want what never should be.  Help me even in my asking so that I seek Your will, and not my own.  I do not even know what is truly good, right, or even fitting.  Help me, Lord, through all that this life brings.

Dear Lord Jesus, I often do not know what I am asking.  I ask from a selfish motive, and You have told me that I do not receive because I ask with the wrong motive.  Lead me so that I ask with the right motive.  Help me to understand that what will come will come in my life, but that You are with me always no matter what comes.  Lead me to live humbly with what You give me.  Amen.

“James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, came up to Jesus, saying, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.”  And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” (Mark 10:35-36)

How often do we go to the Lord expectantly and ask for something?  Listen to Jesus as He receives the request.  He asks what they want.  Our Lord knows what we will ask even before we ask it.  Why ask then?  For our sake He teaches us through everything we say and do.  Yes, approach the Lord with all requests, but learn to come humbly seeking the Lord’s will in all things.

Lord, I often do not even know what to ask.  There are also times when I ask for the wrong things.  How much do I come to You in the wrong way because of my attitude and level of expectation?  Help me, Lord, to ask for right things.  Guide me to know that in You alone can I have confidence.  Lead me even in the things I ask so that I may humbly walk in Your will, doing what is pleasing in Your sight.

Lord Jesus, I often ponder the depth of the salvation that is needed for my own soul.  Help me understand with the things I ask and see whether it is right and fitting for me in accordance with the Father’s will.  Teach me the questions to ask.  Teach me to discern more clearly those things I need to know.  Lord, teach me to seek the Father’s will and what that means.  Amen.

“They will mock Him and spit on Him, and scourge Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise again” (Mark (10:34).

The world is still trying to do this.  Jesus is mocked and scourged in public forums.  Everywhere the attempt is made to kill Jesus again, but He keeps rising.  It is not the idea of Jesus, but the reality of God showing up and walking with us that introduces us to reality.  God created all of what you see, hear, smell, feel, and comprehend.  He even invented your ability to do this.  Will you see the God who loves you?

Lord God, Creator of all things, You made me.  You made me to be who I am and placed me in the circumstances in which I find myself.  I can live trying to deny You, or else fall at Your feet and worship You.  Lead me in the way of real life.  Help me to see the reality of this age which does not just try to kill You, but it seeks to kill me as well.  You come giving life.  Help me to live the life You give.

Lord Jesus, You did all of this for the sake of everyone who would walk in the life you give.  I may not know all that this means, but I have come to the place where I understand that Your word is the word of life.  Help me to walk through all that may come my way knowing that in You alone is there hope and life.  Lead me while I die to sin, death, and the devil in order to be raised into the life which You give.  Amen.

Easter 2026

Dear Friends in the Lord Jesus –

For me one of the great joys of Bible study is seeing something that has always been there but I had never noticed before. Such was the case with a couple statements about Peter, which I discovered as I was preparing for the Bible study on Peter that I have been leading on the Wednesday evenings during Lent.

For many years I have been aware of the statement made by the young man dressed in a white robe to the women who had come to Jesus’ tomb early Easter Sunday morning and found that it was empty. “Go, tell His disciples and Peter” (Mark 16: 7). Other translations say, “Go, tell His disciples – especially Peter.” There was special concern for the man who had denied his Lord. “Make sure Peter knows that Jesus is alive.”

The new discovery for me this year was in Luke 24: 34, where the two followers of Jesus from Emmaus, after they recognize the Risen Lord, run back to Jerusalem, find the eleven and their companions, and say to them, “The Lord has risen indeed, and He has appeared to Simon!” Paul also mentions this special appearance of the Risen Jesus to Peter in his First Letter to the Corinthians. “He was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and . . . he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve” (1 Corinthians 15: 4-5). According to John’s Gospel at the empty tomb on Easter Sunday morning Mary Magdalene saw the Risen Jesus, but Peter did not. He only saw an empty tomb. Sometime later on Easter Sunday Jesus made a special point of appearing to Peter.

Think of what that must have meant to Peter – to know that Jesus made a special point of appearing to him. Think of what it would have meant to the lamb in Jesus’ parable, if the lamb had been aware of what actually was going on – to know that the shepherd left behind the ninety-nine to go searching just for him.

What can it mean to all of us – with all the ways that we have failed our Lord – to know that Jesus wants to make sure that His message of mercy, grace, forgiveness, hope, and love also comes to each one of us?

Peter spent the rest of his life boldly proclaiming Christ. Why, then, did all four Gospel writers – when they were recording this part of Jesus’ story – include the account of Peter’s greatest failure as a disciple? The Gospels contain different parts of the story, but they all tell about the collapse of Peter’s courage and his denial of his Lord. Why? I believe that they all told this story because Peter himself told this story over and over again. Peter and the Gospel writers wanted us to see that we all are like Peter and have denied Jesus. We all have lived in ways that our inconsistent

with our pledge to follow Jesus. We all have had moments when our witness or example was needed, but we remained silent and did nothing.

Peter’s story shows us that we do not need to be defined by our failures. God does not look at us in terms of the worst thing we have ever done. Jesus uses flawed disciples. And sometimes He uses us even more profoundly and powerfully, not merely in spite of our flaws and failures but because of them.

As I ponder all this, I become very sad as I think about the way that in some churches the main and sometimes the only message the people hear is about social, gender, and climate justice. People are continually told to grovel, repent, confess, and resist all forms of racism, sexism, male dominance, white supremacy, xenophobia (fear of foreigners), homophobia, transphobia, and Islamophobia. In other churches it is not quite so bad. The main and sometimes the only message that people hear is that they need to do good. Every Sunday they are told they need to do more good. The problem is that none of us is able to do enough good.

I was very saddened while watching a summary video from the ELCA of the ELCA’s 2024 Youth Gathering. The only time that Jesus was mentioned in the video is when the host bishop of the host synod described our Risen Lord as “the Jesus who calls us to challenge systems of oppression and power.” It was distressing to think that this was the main message about Jesus that was being given to fifteen thousand young people.

As I realize that I too have been like Peter and have disappointed and denied my Lord, I need to know that Jesus still loves me, forgives me, has a place for me within His Kingdom, and will make sure that I get word that He is alive. I do not need – I am not helped, healed, and encouraged by – a Jesus through the lens of Marxism, critical race theory, and DEIA.

Because of your faithful prayer and generous financial support we are able to continue our work of being a Voice for Biblical Truth and a Network for Confessing Lutherans. We are able to continue giving witness to the truth of the Gospel, alerting people to ways in which the Gospel is being undermined and even rejected in some parts of the church, and providing support and resources for individuals, pastors, lay leaders, and congregations.

Please find below links you can use to give a gift towards our regular operating expenses. Please also let us know how we can be praying for you. Thank you for your partnership in the Gospel, as we serve the Risen Lord Jesus, Who forgives and restores people today just as He did for Peter.

Dennis D. Nelson
Executive Director of Lutheran CORE
P.O. Box 1741
Wausau WI 54402-1741

“They were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were fearful. And again He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him, saying, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles” (Mark 10:32-33).

Jesus knows what is coming.  He and the Father are One.  Although He limited Himself to time, He knew that He was going to the cross for our sake.  It is a fearful thing in this world.  It is an even more fearful thing to know you are in the Lord’s hands.  We will make the choices we make, but the Lord knows the outcome of all things.  This world betrays and our Lord has come to save us from all betrayals.

I see the world around me which I can touch, see, hear, and smell.  I become afraid with the thoughts of this world which I see is being shaken.  Maybe that is why so many do not like history.  The world is constantly shaken.  Then I hear of Jesus being crucified and I wonder, “How can salvation come by defeat?”  But what was defeated?  Death was defeated because Jesus rose from the dead.  Death does not win, life does.

Lord Jesus, You have spoken the words that lead to eternal life.  You have told us of things that would happen and they did.  You have come to save us.  I may have fear and not understand, but You have come bringing life to light.  Help me to stand in Your light trusting that You have come to reveal all things according to the Father’s purpose.  Help me to humbly walk with You wherever You lead.  Amen.

“But many who are first will be last, and the last, first” (Mark 10:31).

In this world we are told to do whatever it takes to get ahead.  There is so much selfishness, which shows up in shoddy work and indifference.  The is much hostility on the streets of our towns and cities.  Jesus tells us to place ourselves behind and under others, seeing them as more important than ourselves.  When we get out of ourselves we begin to see that we are a part of and not the center of the world.  We begin to see the Lord for who He is.

Lord, only one can be first and only one the last.  Being with You in eternity, does it really matter who is last?  From my perspective of time, the first joined You long ago.  Help me to understand the nonsense of position that creates all kinds of devilishness.  You are the Lord and You have created me.  Help me to look to You and to be content with whom You are making me to be.

Lord Jesus, these are such simple words that have so much weight.  Guide me so that I may humbly fall into place wherever You place me.  Guide me in Your goodness and mercy to know more fully the truth of what You are teaching me.  Then, help me to truly live into the truth that You have revealed.  I am Yours because You have redeemed me.  Lead me on the path You have chosen and with the place which You have determined for me.  Amen.   

“Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life” (Mark 10:29-30).

To what can we compare the gift of the life we have been given in Christ?  What has more value than being whom we were created to be?  The world scrambles to gain and in the end gives it all away.  Those who come into salvation are given life with true meaning.  How can these things be compared.  They cannot, for this is the road of salvation and those who listen to Jesus are taken down the eternal road.

Lord, help me to comprehend what has true and lasting value.  Guide me in Your goodness and mercy to understand that in You alone is there hope and a future.  The things of this world shall pass away, but what You give is forever.  Lead me in the way of true living so that I may grow into the likeness of a child of the Heavenly Father.  You know what that means.  Help me to not stop nor be hindered by anything in this world to become what You are making of me.

My Lord and Savior, You must lead me.  You will add what needs to be added and You will take away what must be taken away.  Guide me in Your goodness to humbly submit and follow where You lead.  You alone are the One who knows all that is needed.  Help me to trust You above all things.  Guide me today dear Lord and help me to live with the right choices You set before me.  Amen.

“Peter began to say to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You” (Mark 10:28).

What was the everything they were talking about?  Often it is not the outward things, but the inward things that need to be left behind.  As the story of the disciples unfolded, they would, in fact, shed even more and last of all their lives for the sake of the Gospel.  Jesus is the author of our faith and it comes one day at a time.  Walk in the way of Jesus and He will do all that is needed for your sake.

Lord, I often think I know all that is going on.  I do not.  There is a reason we call it being saved.  The one being saved does not know anything other than that the impossible situation is resolved by another.  You are the One who must save.  You know all that I need to be saved from.  Save me Lord and help me when I think that I have gone the distance I need to go.  Lead me all the way in salvation.

Lord Jesus, there are days when I wonder if anyone can be saved.  There are other days when I think many if not most will make it.  Lord, take me out of my own thinking.  You alone know who are Yours.  Lead me in the way of the new life You have given me so that I may humbly walk according to Your leading.  You alone know all that is needed for my life.  Guide me in Your grace and mercy to humbly follow where You lead.  Amen.