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Fourth Sunday of Easter

Sunday, April 25, 2021

PRELUDE Good Christian Friends, Rejoice and Sing (ELW 385) arr. C. Callahan

GATHERING
Christ is risen. He is risen indeed, hallelujah.
Christ is risen. He is risen indeed, hallelujah.
Christ is risen. He is risen indeed, hallelujah.

CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS (ELW p. 94)
In the name of the Father,
and of the ☩ Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

God of all mercy and consolation, come to the help of your people, turning us from our sin to live for you alone. Give us the power of your Holy Spirit that we may confess our sin, receive your forgiveness, and grow into the fullness of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
Amen.

Let us confess our sin in the presence of God and of one another.

Most merciful God, we confess that we are captive to sin and cannot free ourselves. 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. 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.

In the mercy of almighty God, Jesus Christ was given to die for us, and for his sake God forgives us all our sins. As a called and ordained minister of the church of Christ, and by his authority, I therefore declare to you the entire forgiveness of all your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the ☩ Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

GREETING (ELW p. 147)
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
And also with you.

HYMN OF PRAISE: 167 Now the Feast and Celebration

PRAYER OF THE DAY
Let us pray.

Holy and righteous God, you are the author of life, and you adopt us to be your children. Fill us with your words of life, that we may live as witnesses to the resurrection of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

CHILDREN’S TIME

SACRAMENT OF HOLY BAPTISM

Presentation
Pastor: God, who is rich in mercy and love, gives us a new birth into a living hope through the sacrament of baptism. By water and the Word God delivers us from sin and death and raises us to new life in Jesus Christ. We are united with all the baptized in the one body of Christ, anointed with the gift of the Holy Spirit, and joined in God’s mission for the life of the world.

Sponsors Response: I present Cameron James Clayton for baptism.

Pastor: Called by the Holy Spirit, trusting in the grace and love of God, do you desire to have Cameron baptized into Christ?

Parents Response: I do.

Pastor: As you bring Cameron to receive the gift of baptism, you are entrusted with responsibilities:
to live with him among God’s faithful people,
bring him to the word of God and the holy supper,
teach him the Lord’s Prayer, the Creed, and the Ten Commandments,
place in his hands the holy scriptures,
and nurture him in faith and prayer,
so that your child may learn to trust God,
proclaim Christ through word and deed,
care for others and the world God made,
and work for justice and peace.

Do you promise to help Cameron grow in the Christian faith and life?
Parents Response: I do.

Sponsors, do you promise to nurture Cameron in the Christian faith as you are empowered by God’s Spirit, and to help them live in the covenant of baptism and in communion with the church?
Sponsors Response: I do.

People of God, do you promise to support Cameron and pray for him in his new life in Christ?
We do. (silently)

I ask you to profess your faith in Christ Jesus, reject sin, and confess the faith of the church.
Do you renounce the devil and all the forces that defy God,
the powers of this world that rebel against God,
and the ways of sin that draw you from God?
Parents & Sponsors Response: I renounce them

Do you believe in God the Father? (Parents, Sponsors, Assisting Minister respond)
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

Do you believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God?
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s 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 to the dead.*
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

Do you believe in God the Holy Spirit?
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.

Baptism
Cameron, I baptize you in the name of the Father,*
and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.

Let us pray.
We give you thanks, O God, that through water and the Holy Spirit you give your daugh-ters and sons new birth, cleanse them from sin, and raise them to eternal life.

Sustain Cameron with the gift of your Holy Spirit: the spirit of wisdom and understand-ing, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, the spirit of joy in your presence, both now and forever.
Amen.

Cameron, child of God, you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever.
Amen.

Welcome
Assisting Minister: Let your light so shine before others
that they may see your good works
and glorify your Father in heaven.
Let us welcome the newly baptized.

We welcome you into the body of Christ and into the mission we share:
join us in giving thanks and praise to God
and bearing God’s creative and redeeming word to all the world.

First Reading: Acts 4:5-12
⁵The next day [the] rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem, ⁶with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. ⁷When they had made the prisoners stand in their midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” ⁸Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, ⁹if we are questioned today because of a good deed done to someone who was sick and are asked how this man has been healed, ¹⁰let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead. ¹¹This Jesus is
‘the stone that was rejected by you, the builders;
it has become the cornerstone.’
¹²There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.”

The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Psalm:23 will be spoken in unison.
¹The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not be in want.
²The Lord makes me lie down in green pastures
and leads me beside still waters.
³You restore my soul, O Lord,
and guide me along right pathways for your name’s sake.
⁴Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil;
for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. R
⁵You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil, and my cup is running over.
⁶Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. R

Second Reading: 1 John 3:16-24
¹⁶We know love by this, that [Jesus Christ] laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. ¹⁷How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?
¹⁸Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. ¹⁹And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him ²⁰whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. ²¹Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God; ²²and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him.
²³And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. ²⁴All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.

Thanks be to God.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION: ELW 169.
Alleluia! Speak, O Lord, your servant is listening. You have the words of eternal life. Alleluia!

Gospel: John 10:11-18
[Jesus said:] ¹¹“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹²The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. ¹³The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. ¹⁴I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, ¹⁵just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. ¹⁷For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. ¹⁸No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.”

The gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.

SERMON

HYMN OF THE DAY: The King of Love My Shepherd Is (ELW 502) arr. S. Eithu

PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
Response: Your mercy is great.

PEACE (ELW p. 152)
The peace of Christ be with you always.
And also with you.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

OFFERING PRAYER (ELW p. 152)

Let us pray.

Blessed are you, O God, ruler of heaven and earth. Day by day you shower us with blessings. As you have raised us to new life in Christ, give us glad and generous hearts, ready to praise you and to respond to those in need, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.

LORD’S PRAYER (ELW p. 154)
Gathered into one by the Holy Spirit, let us pray as Jesus taught us.
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.

BLESSING (ELW p. 155)
Almighty God, Father, ☩ Son, and Holy Spirit, bless you now and forever.
Amen.

DISMISSAL
Alleluia! Christ is risen.
Christ is risen indeed. Alleluia!

Go in peace. Share the good news.
Alleluia!

POSTLUDE: Praise the Lord, Rise Up, Rejoicing (ELW 544)