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Third
Sunday of
Easter |
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O God, whose blessed Son did manifest himself to his disciples in the
breaking of bread: Open, we pray thee, the eyes of our faith, that we may
behold him in all his redeeming work; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ
our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy
Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. |
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Lesson |
Acts 2:14a,36-47
The First Converts
But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed
them, "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to
you, and give ear to my words. Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly that God has made
him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified." Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter
and the rest of the apostles, "Brethren, what shall we do?" 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 shall receive
the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are far
off, every one whom the Lord our God calls to him." And he testified with many other words and exhorted them, saying, "Save
yourselves from this crooked generation." So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that
day about three thousand souls. And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to
the breaking of bread and the prayers. And fear came upon every soul; and many wonders and signs were done
through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common; and they sold their possessions and goods and distributed them to all,
as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in
their homes, they partook of food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to
their number day by day those who were being saved.
or
Isaiah 43:1-12
Restoration and Protection Promised
But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed
you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by
name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters I will be with you; and through the
rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall
not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give
Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you. Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give
men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life. Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east,
and from the west I will gather you; I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold;
bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, every one who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I
formed and made." Bring forth the people who are blind, yet have eyes, who are deaf, yet
have ears! Let all the nations gather together, and let the peoples assemble. Who
among them can declare this, and show us the former things? Let them bring
their witnesses to justify them, and let them hear and say, It is true. "You are my witnesses," says the LORD, "and my servant whom I have
chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am He. Before
me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. I, I am the LORD, and besides me there is no savior. I declared and saved and proclaimed, when there was no strange god among
you; and you are my witnesses," says the LORD. |
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Epistle |
1 Peter 1:17-23
A Call to Holy Living
And if you invoke as Father him who judges each one impartially
according to his deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of
your exile. You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your
fathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without
blemish or spot. He was destined before the foundation of the world but was made manifest
at the end of the times for your sake. Through him you have confidence in God, who raised him from the dead and
gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere
love of the brethren, love one another earnestly from the heart. You have been born anew, not of perishable seed but of imperishable,
through the living and abiding word of God;
or
Acts 2:14a,36-47
The First Converts
But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed
them, "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to
you, and give ear to my words. Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly that God has made
him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified." Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter
and the rest of the apostles, "Brethren, what shall we do?" 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 shall receive
the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are far
off, every one whom the Lord our God calls to him." And he testified with many other words and exhorted them, saying, "Save
yourselves from this crooked generation." So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that
day about three thousand souls. And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to
the breaking of bread and the prayers. And fear came upon every soul; and many wonders and signs were done
through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common; and they sold their possessions and goods and distributed them to all,
as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in
their homes, they partook of food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to
their number day by day those who were being saved. |
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Gospel |
Luke 24:13-35
The Walk of Emmaus
That very day two of them were going to a village named Emma'us, about
seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near
and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, "What is this conversation which you are holding
with each other as you walk?" And they stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, named Cle'opas, answered him, "Are you the only
visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there
in these days?" And he said to them, "What things?" And they said to him, "Concerning
Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and
all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to
death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides
all this, it is now the third day since this happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb
early in the morning and did not find his body; and they came back saying that they had even
seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. 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." And he said to them, "O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe all
that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and
enter into his glory?" And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in
all the scriptures the things concerning himself. So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He appeared
to be going further, but they constrained him, saying, "Stay with us, for it is toward
evening and the day is now far spent." So he went in to stay with them. When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed, and broke
it, and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognized him; and he vanished out
of their sight. 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?" And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem; and they found
the eleven gathered together and those who were with them, who said, "The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!" Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to
them in the breaking of the bread. |
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