The Sovereign Love of God

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T he S eason from E aster to P entecost

Second Sunday of Easter April 11 - 17, 2021

WEEK 20

On Easter Sunday we celebrate the bodily resurrection of Jesus. The same lowly Nazarene – he who was betrayed by his own disciple, who suffered under Pilate’s cruel gaze, who was crucified on a Roman cross, and who was buried in a borrowed tomb – the same Lord rose triumphantly on the third day. Jesus has risen from death to life through the power of God. “Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed!”

THIS WEEK’S THEME My Lord and My God, John 20.19-31

Jesus appeared to his disciples with Thomas being absent. While the disciples affirmed Jesus’s resurrection to him, he rejected their testimony, saying he would need bodily proof of Jesus before he would believe. A week later, Jesus again appeared among the disciples behind locked doors, this time with Thomas in attendance. Jesus asked Thomas to inspect his hands and side, to believe and not doubt. Thomas answered our Lord with an exclamation: “My Lord and my God!” Jesus replied to him: “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Daily Devotional Guide

Preparing Our Hearts

Invocation: Our Prayer of Acclamation Thank you, eternal God and Father, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for raising your Son from the dead. He is alive, and we know it because we cling to the apostolic witness recorded in your holy Scriptures. Though we have never seen him, we believe in him and love him, and thank you for him. Fill our hearts with his presence as we believe in him. For his sake we pray, amen.