Worship Guide
April 12, 2026
Second Sunday of Easter
Creating Disciples of Jesus
who Transform the World
ENTRANCE WITH PRAISE
Greeting:
Minister: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you!
People: And also with you!
Special Music: “All I Did Was Worship” - Stefanie
Centering Words:
In you I take refuge. In you I find life. May I keep you always before me.
*Call to Worship:
Jim: You who have touched the wounds of the world,
Stefanie: You who have been wounded by the world,
People: Jesus Christ, our Lord and our God,
Jim: we have not seen you, Risen One.
Stefanie: We have not touched you,
People: but we believe you are our Lord and our God.
Jim: You are our refuge in hurt and pain.
Stefanie: You are the path of life.
People: Jesus Christ, our Lord and our God! Alleluia!
ALL: Jesus of the Cross, Jesus of the Resurrection, we rejoice in you. For long before the experience of the cross, you defeated the powers of sin, pain, and death in the hurting people around you. And then you were struck down. But you defeated the cross and stood before your beloved disciples, as you are present today—alive again. We rejoice in you, Risen Savior, for you open before us your life-giving peace and power. You are our Lord and our God. Alleluia! Amen.
Hymn: “Surely the Presence of the Lord”
Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place;
I can feel his mighty power and his grace.
I can hear the brush of angels' wings,
I see glory on each face;
surely the presence of the Lord is in this place.
Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place;
I can feel his mighty power and his grace.
I can hear the brush of angels' wings,
I see glory on each face;
surely the presence of the Lord is in this place
Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place;
I can feel his mighty power and his grace.
I can hear the brush of angels' wings,
I see glory on each face;
surely the presence of the Lord is in this place
PROCLAMATION OF THE WORD
Words of Assurance
“Peace be with you!” Jesus said to his disciples, both those who saw and believed and the one who questioned.
Today Jesus Christ also bestows his peace and presence upon us: “Peace be with you!”
Amen.
Old Testament Reading: Exodus 15: 1-18
1 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord:
“I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.
2 The Lord is my strength and my might,
and he has become my salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
3 The Lord is a warrior;
the Lord is his name.
4 “Pharaoh’s chariots and his army he cast into the sea;
his picked officers were sunk in the Red Sea.
5 The floods covered them;
they went down into the depths like a stone.
6 Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power—
your right hand, O Lord, shattered the enemy.
7 In the greatness of your majesty you overthrew your adversaries;
you sent out your fury, it consumed them like stubble.
8 At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up,
the floods stood up in a heap;
the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.
9 The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake,
I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them.
I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.’
10 You blew with your wind, the sea covered them;
they sank like lead in the mighty waters.
11 “Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?
Who is like you, majestic in holiness,
awesome in splendor, doing wonders?
12 You stretched out your right hand,
the earth swallowed them.
13 “In your steadfast love you led the people whom you redeemed;
you guided them by your strength to your holy abode.
14 The peoples heard, they trembled;
pangs seized the inhabitants of Philistia.
15 Then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed;
trembling seized the leaders of Moab;
all the inhabitants of Canaan melted away.
16 Terror and dread fell upon them;
by the might of your arm, they became still as a stone
until your people, O Lord, passed by,
until the people whom you acquired passed by.
17 You brought them in and planted them on the mountain of your own possession,
the place, O Lord, that you made your abode,
the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hands have established.
18 The Lord will reign forever and ever.”
Leader: This is the Word of God for the people of God
People: Thanks be to God.
WORD AND RESPONSE
Time with Young Friends: “Jesus Loves Me”
Children’s Message: “No-Show and Tell”
Hymn: “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling”
Love divine, all loves excelling,
joy of heaven to earth come down;
fix in us thy humble dwelling;
all thy faithful mercies crown!
Jesus, thou art all compassion,
pure unbounded love Thou art;
visit us with thy salvation;
enter every trembling heart.
Breathe, O breathe thy loving Spirit,
into every troubled breast!
let us all in thee inherit;
let us find that second rest.
Take away our bent to sinning;
Alpha and Omega be;
end of faith, as its beginning,
set our hearts at liberty.
Come, Almighty to deliver,
let us all thy life receive;
suddenly return and never,
never more thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
serve thee as thy hosts above,
pray and praise thee without ceasing,
glory in thy perfect love.
Finish, then, thy new creation;
pure and spotless let us be.
Let us see thy great salvation
perfectly restored in thee;
changed from glory into glory,
till in heaven we take our place,
till we cast our crowns before thee,
lost in wonder, love, and praise.
Sermon: “Unless I See” - John 20:19-31
19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors were locked where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”
26 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.
RESPONSE TO THE WORD
Hymn: “More Precious than Silver”
Lord, you are more precious than silver,
Lord, you are more costly than gold.
Lord, you are more beautiful than diamonds,
and nothing I desire compares with you.
Lord, you are more precious than silver,
Lord, you are more costly than gold.
Lord, you are more beautiful than diamonds,
and nothing I desire compares with you.
Lord, you are more precious than silver,
Lord, you are more costly than gold.
Lord, you are more beautiful than diamonds,
and nothing I desire compares with you.
and nothing I desire compares with you.
*Psalm Reading: Psalm 111
1 Praise the Lord.
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
2 Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who have pleasure in them
3 Full of honor and majesty are the works of the Lord whose righteousness endures for ever,
4 who has caused his wonderful works to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and merciful
5 The Lord provides food for the faithful and is ever mindful of his covenant.
6 The Lord has shown his people the
power of his works by giving them the heritage of the nations.
7 The works of the Lord's hands are faithful and just; the precepts of the Lord are trustworthy;
8 they are established for ever and ever, to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
9 The Lord sent redemption to his people and has commanded his covenant for ever. Holy and wondrous is God's name!
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. The praise of the Lord endures for ever.
Gloria Patri
Glory be to the Father and to the son and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen. Amen.
Prayers of the People: Joys and Concerns
Silent Prayer, Pastoral Prayer
SENDING FORTH
Hymn: “Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus”
'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
and to take him at his word;
just to rest upon his promise,
and to know, “Thus says the Lord!"
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him!
How I’ve proved him o’er and o’er
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust him more!
O how sweet to trust in Jesus,
just to trust his cleansing blood;
and in simple faith to plunge me
’neath the healing, cleansing flood!
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him!
How I’ve proved him o’er and o’er
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust him more!
Yes, ’tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
just from sin and self to cease;
just from Jesus simply taking
life and rest, and joy and peace.
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him!
How I’ve proved him o’er and o’er
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust him more!
I’m so glad I learned to trust thee,
precious Jesus, Savior, friend;
and I know that thou art with me,
wilt be with me to the end.
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him!
How I’ve proved him o’er and o’er
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust him more!
Benediction
Hymn: “As We Go”
As we go, may your Spirit go before us.
As we go, may we follow where you lead.
May we live what we have learned,
share the message we have heard,
and be a light unto the world as we go.
