May 10, 2026

THE SERVICE

SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER—HE LIVES TO CALL ME TO LIVE FOR HIM

Without the resurrection of Jesus, I would be tempted to live only for myself. After all, I have to be in good shape before I can be of help to anyone else, right? I think I know what’s right for me, and I can identify when other people are standing in the way of my self-improvement. If Jesus is dead, I don’t have to worry about what he said or what he thinks.

But he lives, and it makes a difference. He takes care of my basic needs. He promises to do more for me than I can imagine. He puts people into my life so I can help them. Now I live for him.

OPENING HYMN 606 Alleluia! Sing to Jesus

1 Alleluia! Sing to Jesus;
    his the scepter, his the throne;
Alleluia! his the triumph,
    his the victory alone.
Hark! The songs of peaceful Zion
    thunder like a mighty flood:
“Jesus out of ev’ry nation
    has redeemed us by his blood.”

2       Alleluia! Bread of heaven,
    here on earth our food, our stay;
Alleluia! here the sinful
    flee to you from day to day.
Intercessor, friend of sinners,
    earth’s Redeemer, hear our plea
where the songs of all the sinless
    sweep across the crystal sea.

3 Alleluia! Not as orphans
    are we left in sorrow now;
Alleluia! he is near us;
    faith believes, nor questions how.
Though the cloud from sight received him
    when the forty days were o’er,
shall our hearts forget his promise:
    “I am with you evermore”?

Text: William C. Dix, 1837–1898, abr., alt.
Text: Public domain

Please Stand

INVOCATION 154 Setting One

In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

CONFESSION OF SINS

Our Savior Jesus Christ commanded Baptism when he said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

All of us are born into this world with a deep need for Baptism. From our parents we inherit a sinful nature; we are without true fear of God and true faith in God and are condemned to eternal death. But while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. He took away our sin by giving his life on the cross. In Baptism, he clothes us with the robe of his righteousness and gives us a new life. We recall what Baptism means for our daily lives:

Baptism means that the sinful nature in us
should be drowned by daily sorrow and repentance,
and that all its evil deeds and desires be put to death.
It also means that a new person should daily arise
to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.

As baptized children of God, we confess our sins:

Holy God, gracious Father,
I am sinful by nature
and have sinned against you in my thoughts, words, and actions.
I have not loved you with my whole heart;
I have not loved others as I should.
I deserve your punishment both now and forever.
But Jesus, my Savior, paid for my sins
with his innocent suffering and death.
Trusting in him, I pray: God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Silence for meditation and reflection

ABSOLUTION

God saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit and united us to the death and resurrection of Jesus. Every day God forgives your sins, removes your guilt, and strengthens you to defeat Satan’s power. His promise is for you and your children, and he will never forsake you. Your sins are forgiven. You are clothed with Christ. You are at peace with God now and forever.

Amen.

Be seated. The Rite of Baptism continues at the font.

SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM

THE WORD

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.

PRAYER OF THE DAY

Let us pray.

O God, you are the giver of everything good. Inspire us, your humble servants, to long for what is right and, through your gracious guidance, accomplish it to your glory; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Amen.

Be seated

FIRST READING Acts 17:22–31

God has determined exactly where and when we would live so that we can repent and believe the good news of Jesus’ resurrection.

22Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.

24“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 25And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’

29“Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. 30In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

PSALM OF THE DAY Psalm 66

1Shout for joy to God, all the earth!
2Sing the glory of his name;
make his praise glorious.
3Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
So great is your power
that your enemies cringe before you.
4All the earth bows down to you;
they sing praise to you,
they sing the praises of your name.”

5Come and see what God has done,
his awesome deeds for mankind!
6He turned the sea into dry land,
they passed through the waters on foot—
come, let us rejoice in him.
7He rules forever by his power,
his eyes watch the nations—
let not the rebellious rise up against him.

8Praise our God, all peoples,
let the sound of his praise be heard;
9he has preserved our lives
and kept our feet from slipping.
10For you, God, tested us;
you refined us like silver.

11You brought us into prison
     and laid burdens on our backs.
12You let people ride over our heads;
     we went through fire and water,
     but you brought us to a place of abundance.

13I will come to your temple with burnt offerings
and fulfill my vows to you—
14vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke
when I was in trouble.
15I will sacrifice fat animals to you
and an offering of rams;
I will offer bulls and goats.

16Come and hear, all you who fear God;
let me tell you what he has done for me.
17I cried out to him with my mouth;
his praise was on my tongue.
18If I had cherished sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened;
19but God has surely listened
and has heard my prayer.
20Praise be to God,
who has not rejected my prayer
or withheld his love from me!

SECOND READING 1 Peter 3:13–22

St. Peter teaches that baptism saves us through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

13Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.” 15But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 17For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 18For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. 19After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits— 20to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, 21and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Please Stand

GOSPEL (in English and Karen) John 14:15–21

Jesus promises to send the Holy Spirit to lead us in faith.

15“If you love me, keep my commands. 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise be to you, O Christ!

Be seated

CHILDREN'S MESSAGE

HYMN OF THE DAY 745 Hark, the Voice of Jesus Crying

1 Hark, the voice of Jesus crying,
    “Who will go and work today?
Fields are ripe and harvests waiting;
    who will bear the sheaves away?”
Loud and long the Master calleth;
    rich reward he offers thee.
Who will answer, gladly saying,
    “Here am I, send me, send me”?

2 If you cannot speak like angels,
    if you cannot preach like Paul,
you can tell the love of Jesus,
    you can say he died for all.
If you cannot rouse the wicked
    with the judgment’s dread alarms,
you can lead the little children
    to the Savior’s waiting arms.

3       If you cannot be a watchman,
    standing high on Zion’s wall,
pointing out the path to heaven,
    off’ring life and peace to all,
with your prayers and with your off’rings
    you can do what God demands;
you can be like faithful Aaron,
    holding up the prophet’s hands.

4 Let none hear you idly saying,
    “There is nothing I can do,”
while the multitudes are dying,
    and the Master calls for you.
Take the task he gives you gladly,
    let his work your pleasure be;
answer quickly when he calleth,
    “Here am I, send me, send me!”

Text: (st. 3) unknown, alt.; (sts. 1–2, 4): Daniel March, 1816–1909, sts. 1,2,4, abr., alt Text: Public domain

SERMON

Please Stand

CONFESSION OF FAITH Nicene Creed 325 & 381 AD

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation, he came down from heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became truly human. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate. He suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who in unity with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. We believe in one holy Christian and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Be seated

OFFERING PRESENTED BEFORE THE ALTAR

OFFERING HYMN 942 Create in Me a Clean Heart

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with your free Spirit. Amen.

Text: The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941, rev.
Text: Public domain

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH

Lord Jesus Christ, you have gone into heaven and are at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to you.