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Sunday, April 18, 3rd Sunday of Easter

FIRST READING: Acts 3:12-19 (Easy-To-Read Version)

After healing a man unable to walk, Peter preaches to the people, describing how God’s promises to Israel have been fulfilled in Jesus. Through the proclamation of Christ’s death and resurrection, God is offering them forgiveness and restoration in Jesus’ name.

A reading from Acts.

¹² When Peter saw this, he said to the people, “My Jewish brothers, why are you surprised at this? You are looking at us as if it was our power that made this man walk. Do you think this was done because we are good? ¹³ No, God did it! He is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. He is the God of all our fathers. He gave glory to Jesus, his special servant. But you handed him over to be killed. Pilate decided to let him go free. But you told Pilate you did not want him. ¹⁴ Jesus was holy and good, but you said you did not want him. You told Pilate to give you a murderer^[a] instead of Jesus. ¹⁵ And so you killed the one who gives life! But God raised him from death. We are witnesses of this—we saw it with our own eyes. ¹⁶ “This crippled man was healed because we trusted in Jesus. It was Jesus’ power that made him well. You can see this man, and you know him. He was made completely well because of faith in Jesus. You all saw it happen! ¹⁷ “My brothers, I know that what you did to Jesus was done because you did not understand what you were doing. And your leaders did not understand any more than you did. ¹⁸ But God said these things would happen. Through the prophets he said that his Messiah would suffer and die. I have told you how God made this happen. ¹⁹ So you must change your hearts and lives. Come back to God, and he will forgive your sins.  Word of God, word of life. Thanks be to God.

 PSALM: Psalm 4

¹Answer me when I call, O God, defender of my cause; you set me free when I was in distress; have mercy on me and hear my prayer.
²“You mortals, how long will you dishonor my glory; how long will you love illusions and seek after lies?”
³Know that the Lord does wonders for the faithful; the Lord will hear me when I call.
⁴Tremble, then, and do not sin; speak to your heart in silence upon your bed. 
⁵Offer the appointed sacrifices, and put your trust in the Lord.
⁶Many are saying, “Who will show us any good?” Let the light of your face shine upon us, O Lord.
⁷You have put gladness in my heart, more than when grain and wine abound.
⁸In peace, I will lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me rest secure. 

 SECOND READING: 1 John 3:1-7

God has loved us in order to make us children of God. Though we do not yet know the full details of our future existence, we trust that God will reveal it just as God revealed Jesus to take away our sins.

A reading from 1 John.

The Father has loved us so much! This shows how much he loved us: We are called children of God. And we really are his children. But the people in the world don’t understand that we are God’s children, because they have not known him. ² Dear friends, now we are children of God. We have not yet been shown what we will be in the future. But we know that when Christ comes again, we will be like him. We will see him just as he is. ³ He is pure, and everyone who has this hope in him keeps themselves pure like Christ. ⁴ Anyone who sins breaks God’s law. Yes, sinning is the same as living against God’s law. ⁵ You know that Christ came to take away people’s sins. There is no sin in Christ. ⁶ So whoever lives in Christ does not continue to sin. If they continue to sin, they have never really understood Christ and have never known him. ⁷ Dear children, don’t let anyone lead you into the wrong way. Christ always did what was right. So to be good like Christ, you must do what is right.  Word of God, word of life. Thanks be to God.

 THE HOLY GOSPEL

Gospel: Luke 24:36b-48

In this account of an appearance after his resurrection, Jesus opens the minds of the disciples to understand him as Messiah. Jesus convinces them that he has been raised and sends them on a mission to proclaim the message of repentance and forgiveness.

The holy gospel according to Luke. Glory to you, O Lord

^36bJesus himself stood among [the disciples] and said to them, “Peace be with you.” ³⁷They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. ³⁸He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? ³⁹Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” ⁴⁰And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. ⁴¹While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” ⁴²They gave him a piece of broiled fish, ⁴³and he took it and ate in their presence. ⁴⁴Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” ⁴⁵Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, ⁴⁶and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, ⁴⁷and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. ⁴⁸You are witnesses of these things.”

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

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