The Fourth Sunday of Easter, Good Shepherd Sunday, At-Home Service for April 25th

This sermon continues with the story begun last week. We heard last week that, sometime after the resurrection of Jesus and the Day of Pentecost, Peter and John were entering the temple in Jerusalem at the time appointed for prayer. At the gate of the temple, they saw a man who had been unable to walk since birth. The man was begging for money to support himself. Peter looked at the man and said, “I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.”

That healing created a commotion. Most of the passage read from Acts last week was a speech by Peter, explaining how the healing had happened. The man was not healed by Peter but by the power that comes in the name of Jesus. In other words, the man was healed by the Holy Spirit working through Peter in the name of Jesus. That same Spirit continues to work through the story of Jesus today.

Click here to view the at-home version of the service.

Pastor Rike’s Sermon

The passage read today from the Book of Acts continued that storyline. In the passage read today Peter repeated many of the things heard last week. There was, however, one notable difference between the passage heard last week and the one heard today. In the passage read last week Peter and John were free men. In the passage read today, they were prisoners. We also heard in the passage read today that Peter and John were forced to stand before Caiaphas and the other authorities of the temple Council. What did not hear was that Peter and John had been arrested because healing the man outside the temple had attracted a lot of attention. The authorities were afraid of losing control. So, Peter and John were interrogated similarly to the way Jesus had been interrogated.

Click here to read Pastor Rike’s sermon.

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Video Options

Follow along with the service on video led by Pastor Rike, with music performed by Randy Broker.

Click on the image below to view the video.

The Fourth Sunday of Easter Service for April 25th includes:
Intro
Hymn - The Lord's My Shepherd, performed by Randy Broker
First Reading- Acts 4:5-12
Gospel- John 10:11-18
Sermon by Pastor Rike
Hymn - Praise the Lord, Rise Up Rejoicing, performed by Randy Broker
Prayers
Blessing