18 April 202618 April 2026

Easter 3

Sunday, 19/04/2026

SENTENCE FROM SCRIPTURE:

I will call upon the name of the Lord. (Psalm 116)

HYMN-

GREETING

Grace and peace to you from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen

COLLECT FOR PURITY

Almighty God,
to whom all hearts are open,
all desires known,
and from whom no secrets are hidden:
cleanse the thoughts of our hearts
by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love you,
and worthily magnify your holy name;
through Christ our Lord. Amen.

SUMMARY OF THE LAW

Our Lord Jesus Christ said: The first commandment is this:

Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is the only Lord. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.”

The second is this: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these. Amen. Lord, have mercy.

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CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION

God is love and we are God’s children. There is no room for fear in love. We love because God loved us first.

Let us confess our sins in penitence and faith.

SILENCE

God our Father,
we confess to you
and to our fellow members in the Body of Christ
that we have sinned in thought, word and deed,
and in what we have failed to do.
We are truly sorry.
Forgive us our sins,
and deliver us from the power of evil,
for the sake of your Son who died for us, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

ABSOLUTION

God, who is both power and love,
forgive you and free you from your sins,
heal and strengthen you by the Holy Spirit,
and raise you to new life in Christ our Lord. Amen.

GLORIA
sung by Sue Turner

COLLECT

O God,
who, in the death and resurrection of your Son,
have raised up this fallen world:
may we and all your people,
whom you have saved from the gates of everlasting death,
rejoice in your eternal presence;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, world without end. Amen

PROCLAIMING & RECEIVING GOD’S WORD

First two readings read by Zara Ross

FIRST READING
Acts 2.14a, 36-41

On the day of Pentecost, 14 Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd, 36 ‘Let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.’ 37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what should we do?’

38 Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.’ 40 And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, ‘Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.’

41 So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added to their number.

SECOND READING
1 Peter 1.17–23

17 If you invoke as Father the one who judges all people impartially according to their deeds, live in reverent fear during the time of your exile. 18 You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish. 20 He was destined before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at the end of the ages for your sake. 21 Through him you have come to trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God. 22 Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart.

23 You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God.

GRADUAL HYMN

GOSPEL
Luke 24.13–35
Read by Kay Solaja

Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke Chapter 24, beginning at verse 13

Glory to Christ our Saviour

13 On that same day, two of the disciples were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14 and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them,

16 but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17 And he said to them, ‘What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?’ They stood still, looking sad. 18 Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, ‘Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?’ 19 Jesus asked them, ‘What things?’ They replied, ‘The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. 22 Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, 23 and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. 24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see Jesus.’ 25 Then he said to them, ‘Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared!

26 Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?’ 27 Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures. 28 As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. 29 But they urged him strongly, saying, ‘Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.’ So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized Jesus; and he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?’

33 That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. 34 They were saying, ‘The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!’ 35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread. Give thanks to the Lord for his glorious Gospel
Praise to Christ our Lord

Give thanks to the Lord for his glorious Gospel
Praise to Christ our Lord.

SERMON NOTES

Rev Steven Ballard

Acts 2.14a, 36-41.

Last Sunday, we heard the story of Thomas, the apostle who was not with the rest of the eleven disciples when Jesus appeared to them. He was one of nature’s sceptics who demanded proof before he would admit that God had indeed raised Jesus from the dead. When Jesus appeared to the apostles when Thomas was with them that was enough to satisfy Thomas’s doubts and he declared to Jesus, “My Lord, and my God!”

One of the strongest pieces of evidence that the Resurrection of Jesus took place is here in Peter’s speech to the crowds on the Day of Pentecost, because of which three thousand people became Christians and were baptised. This was the same Peter who had fled in terror when Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane and hid in the shadows as Jesus was put on trial for his life. It is beyond dispute that something astounding had happened which changed Peter and gave him the courage to stand up and preach the good news of Jesus, even though the consequences were fraught with danger. Peter’s speech prompts us to conclude, similarly, that “the Lord is risen indeed!”

1 Peter 1. 17-23.

In this part of his epistle St Peter exhorts his readers, “to live in reverent fear during the time of your exile.” The word, “exile”, he uses here is an interesting one and it raises the question of what Peter meant.

If we place this question in the context of the letter as a whole, it seems that Peter is telling his fellow Christians that they are exiles because if they are in Christ they do not belong to the prevailing culture. Their values, morals and loyalty to Jesus Christ makes them outsiders, which is not an easy situation to be in. Peter urges them to be steadfast and live holy lives.

St Paul, too, uses the word, “exile”, but in a different sense to Peter. Exile, here, is not about a contrast between Christian living and a wider culture but has to do with our sojourn on earth in a physical body, which St Paul sees as a time of exile from our true heavenly home. For St Paul, the end of our exile at death is something to which we can look forward, because although we will be absent from our earthly body, we will be at home with the Lord.

Luke 24.13-35.

This is one of the best known and best loved stories of the Resurrection. From the Gospel accounts it seems that the identity of Jesus in his resurrection body was, at times, recognisable, but at others elusive. This was the case with Mary Magdalene in the Easter Garden. She took Jesus to be the gardener, and it was only when Jesus spoke to her by name that she saw it was the Risen Lord.

In this incident, too, Jesus appears as a stranger walking along the road to Emmaus. There was something which prevented the disciples from making the connection with the earthly Jesus they had known.

It was only in the breaking of the bread that who Jesus was became clear to them, and Jesus vanished from their sight as suddenly as he had possibly appeared to the two disciples on the road.

The Gospel reading invites us to think about how and where we encounter Jesus in our lives. In the breaking of the bread at the eucharist, certainly, but where else? Where do we meet Jesus outside St John’s on the journey of life? To deepen our awareness of his presence with us, many Christians use short “arrow prayers” as they are called, at different times of the day.

A prayer like, “Be with me/stay with me, Lord” can mark the beginning of our deepening friendship with the same Jesus who appeared on the road to Emmaus on the first Easter Day.

THE CREED

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,
God from God,
Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one substance with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven;
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
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.
With the Father and the Son,
he is worshipped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic 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.

Prayer Requests – Baildon Methodist Church

PRAYERS

We give thanks to God for his love, generosity and faithfulness to all people. Bishop Nick, at the Institution this week of the new Rector for Castle Douglas and Dalbeattie encouraged us all to bring to mind at least one thing each day for which to be grateful. That way, he promised, we will see Jesus. For many of us, there are many more than just one thing. So let’s take a moment to bring some of them to mind, and to thank God for them. […] In the words of the song, ‘And I just want to thank you for giving me the best day of my life.’