FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
Easter Light—Gladsome Light
April 26, 2026
AS WE GATHER
Whether we will admit it or not, many of us are logophiles, which means that we love words. All of us have far more words in our vocabularies than we use in our daily conversation. We know what the words mean but for some reason we do not say them much. Words come into and go out of fashion and usage. One of those words that are not used much anymore is gladsome. It appears in several hymns of the Christmas season and is in the first line of the ancient evening hymn “O Gladsome Light, O Grace” (LSB 888), which dates back to the fourth century AD and was originally in the Greek language. It describes Jesus as being the ultimate gladsome light with these words: “O gladsome Light, O Grace of God the Father’s face, eternal splendor wearing: celestial, holy, blest, our Savior Jesus Christ, joyful in Thine appearing!” (LSB 888:1). Jesus, the risen Lord, is the light that brings gladness to each hour of the day. We are blessed in that we can always rejoice in His brightness!
+ PREPARATION +
HYMN My Hope is Built on Nothing Less TLH 370
My hope is built on nothing less Than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame, But wholly lean on Jesus' name.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand.
When darkness veils His lovely face, I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale My anchor holds within the veil.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand.
His oath, His covenant, and blood Support me in the whelming flood;
When every earthly prop gives way, He then is all my Hope and Stay.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand.
When He shall come with trumpet sound, Oh, may I then in Him be found,
Clothed in His righteousness alone, Faultless to stand before the throne!
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand.
INVOCATION
Pastor: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen.
OPENING SENTENCES Psalm 113:1–4; 56:12–13
Pastor: Praise the Lord! Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord!
People: Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forevermore!
Pastor: From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised!
People: The Lord is high above all nations, and His glory above the heavens!
Pastor: I must perform my vows to You, O God; I will render thank offerings to You.
People: For You have delivered my soul from death, yes, my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION
Pastor: Let us come before God in true repentance, seeking His mercy and forgiveness.
O God our Father, we admit and confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean and that we have sinned against You in thought and in word and in deed.
People: Have mercy on us and forgive us, O Lord.
Pastor: We confess that we have not lived as Your followers but have sought to go our own ways in directions that have not brought glory to You or blessing to others.
People: Have mercy on us and forgive us, O Lord.
Pastor: We confess that Your love has not reached others through us in every situation, admitting with guilt that there have been times in which we have been loveless, thoughtless, and judgmental toward others, unwilling to help our neighbors as we ought.
People: Have mercy on us and forgive us, O Lord.
Pastor: We confess that Your will has not been our priority at all times and that we have not always been defenders of the weak and helpless in our circle of family, neighbors, and friends, and beyond.
People: Have mercy on us and forgive us, O Lord.
Pastor: We confess that we have not used every opportunity given to us to witness to the resurrection faith that is ours and have at times been slow to speak of the hope that is ours in Christ.
People: Have mercy on us and forgive us, O Lord.
Pastor: Upon this your confession and by the command of our Lord, I, a called and ordained servant of Christ, forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen.
Pastor: May the God of peace sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, and He will do it.
People: Amen.
+ WORD +
PRAISE SONG Glorify Thy Name CH 9
Father, we love You, we worship and adore You, Glorify Thy name in all the earth.
Glorify Thy name, glorify Thy name, Glorify Thy name in all the earth.
Jesus we love You, we worship and adore You, Glorify Thy name in all the earth.
Glorify Thy name, glorify Thy name, Glorify Thy name in all the earth.
Spirit we love You, we worship and adore You, Glorify Thy name in all the earth.
Glorify Thy name, glorify Thy name, Glorify Thy name in all the earth.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Pastor: Let us pray. O God, through the humiliation of Your Son You raised up the fallen world. Grant to Your faithful people, rescued from the peril of everlasting death, perpetual gladness and eternal joys; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
People: Amen.
FIRST READING Acts 2:14a, 36–41 (Peter preaches to the people gathered in Jerusalem.)
14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them:
36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” 37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
EPISTLE 1 Peter 1:17–25 (Peter writes that we are redeemed by the blood of Christ.)
17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. 22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, 23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; 24 for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, 25 but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.
HOLY GOSPEL Luke 24:13–35 (Two witnesses learn from the Risen Lord at Emmaus.)
13 That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles[a] from Jerusalem, 14 and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17 And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. 18 Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” 19 And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up 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 happened. 22 Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, 23 and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even 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 him they did not see.” 25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. 28 So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, 29 but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” 33 And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34 saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.
CHILDREN’S MESSAGE
HYMN The Church’s One Foundation TLH 473
The Church’s one foundation, Is Jesus Christ, her Lord;
She is His new creation, by water and the Word:
From heav’n He came and sought her, to be His holy bride;
With His own blood He bought her, and for her life He died.
Elect from every nation, yet one o’er all the earth,
Her charter of salvation: one Lord, one faith, one birth;
One holy name she blesses, partakes one holy food;
And to one hope she presses, with ev’ry grace endued.
The Church shall never perish Her dear Lord, to defend,
To guide, sustain, and cherish, Is with her to the end.
Tho’ there be those that hate her, False sons within her pale,
Against both foe and traitor She ever shall prevail.
Though with a scornful wonder Men see her sore oppressed,
By schisms rent asunder, by heresies distressed,
Yet saints there watch are keeping; Their cry goes up, “How long?”
And soon the night of weeping Shall be the morn of song.
‘Mid toil and tribulation, and tumult of her war,
She waits the consummation, of peace forevermore;
Till with the vision glorious, her longing eyes are blest,
And the great Church victorious, shall be the Church at rest.
SERMON
CATECHISM The Third Article
Pastor: The Third Article of the Apostles’ Creed is focused on the Holy Spirit and the ways in which the work of the Spirit has directed the life and growth of the church from its very beginnings, as is recorded by Luke in Acts. The Third Article presents and emphasizes what matters for our spiritual lives now and forever.
People: I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
Pastor: What does this mean?
People: I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.
In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian Church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers. On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ.
This is most certainly true.
GREETING/ANNOUNCEMENTS
OFFERING
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
Pastor: Let us pray for the whole people of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs:
We pray for the whole church, that the message of salvation joyfully be told throughout all the world and the Easter victory of Jesus Christ be celebrated around the globe. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
Pastor: We pray for the nations of the world, that the governments of all nations be a source of blessing to those who are governed and that oppression in all forms be hindered. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
Pastor: We pray for ourselves in this season of our Lord’s great victory that we truly be Easter people all year long, radiating the light of Christ in our homes, workplaces, and communities. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
Pastor: We pray for all who serve us through their callings, especially for those who deal with special challenges or dangers on a regular basis, including police, fire, and other emergency personnel. We also remember the military forces of our nation, those stationed both at home and abroad, whose efforts serve to defend our nation in challenging times. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
Pastor: We pray for those with special concerns and needs this day: those who are hospitalized [including . . ], those who grieve, the unemployed and underemployed, the chronically ill, and those homebound. Bless them with Your presence, gracious Father, that they have a sense of victory in their lives and find strength and hope for each day. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
Pastor: Merciful God, we bless You for having placed into our lives faithful Christian people to guide us. On this day we remember those no longer among us on earth who have completed their earthly races and have won the final victory in Christ. Lead us to follow in their way, that we rejoice together eternally at Your Table and in Your mansions. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer. Amen.