Sunday April 19, 2026 Worship Service
Livestream at 11:10 a.m.   

Gathering in God’s Name

Prelude — Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing — arr. Karen Roth
As the prelude begins, you are invited to begin your personal preparation for worship.

Silent Meditation                                                                                                         
Jesus Is Apt to Come, into the very midst of life at its most real and inescapable.  Not in a blaze of unearthly light, not in the midst of a sermon, not in the throes of some kind of religious daydream, but . . . at supper time, or walking along a road. This is the element that all the stories about Christ’s return to life have in common: Mary waiting at the empty tomb and suddenly turning around to see somebody standing there—someone she thought at first was the gardener; all the disciples except Thomas hiding out in a locked house, and then his coming and standing in the midst; and later, when Thomas was there, his coming again and standing in the midst; Peter taking his boat back after a night at sea, and there on the shore, near a little fire of coals, a familiar figure asking, “Children, have you any fish?”; the two men at Emmaus who knew him in the breaking of the bread. He never approached from on high, but always in the midst, in the midst of people, in the midst of real life and the questions that real life asks.
— Frederick Buechner, In the Midst, originally published in The Magnificent Defeat

Call to Worship                                                                                                                                                                                          
Risen Christ, you revealed yourself to Mary in the garden.
       Reveal yourself to us in the silence.
You revealed yourself to Thomas when he touched the scars in your body.
       Reveal yourself to us in the scars of the world.
You revealed yourself to the disciples as they walked the road to Emmaus.
       Reveal yourself to us as we walk this path of strange and distressing times.
You revealed yourself to many as they met beneath the skies.
       Reveal yourself to us in the wonder of your Creation.
Reveal yourself today, Lord, we pray,
       As we offer ourselves to You in worship.

Praise and Adoration

*Hymn #233 — The Day of Resurrection! — LANCASHIRE   
(*Please stand, if you are able)

Confession and Pardon

Call to Confession

Prayer of Confession
Merciful God, we celebrate that we walk with you in the warmth of Eastertide, but we tend to see only the beauty of spring and the warmth of the sun.  We fail to acknowledge the pain that is all around us and the people crying out for help. Forgive us. Through your grace, help us see them and help us share in the Good News that is in the Risen Christ by giving graciously of what is ours, by reaching out in kindness and by encouraging all who need a word of hope.  

Silent Prayers of Confession and Petition

Kyrie Eleison #551 — Lord, Have Mercy — LAND OF REST
Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy; Lord, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy; Lord, have mercy upon us.

Assurance of Pardon

*Congregational Response (#485) — We Know That Christ Is Raised — ENGELBERG

*Welcome

 *Hymn 655 — What Shall I Render to the Lord? — MARTYRDOM

Announcements

Fellowship of Prayer

Joys and Concerns

Prayers of the People
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.  For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen.

Old Testament Lesson — Psalm 34: 1-10 — page 441 of the pew Bible

Anthem — Shall We Gather at the River — arr. Ron Mallory

Proclamation of God’s Word

Scripture Lesson — Luke 24: 13-35 — page 860 of the pew Bible
Jesus appears on the Road to Emmaus

Sermon — “In Your Midst” — Dr. Zieman    

Our Response to God’s Word

*Affirmation of Faith — (adapted from the Brief Statement of Faith, 1991)
In life and death we belong to God.
       Through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, we trust in the one triune God, the Holy One of Israel, whom alone we worship and serve.
We trust in God, whom Jesus called Abba, Father.
       In sovereign love, God created the world good, acts with justice and mercy to redeem creation, and makes us heirs with Christ of the covenant.
We trust in Jesus Christ, fully human, fully God.
       Jesus proclaimed the reign of God, was crucified, and raised from the dead, delivering us from death to life eternal.
We trust in God the Holy Spirit, everywhere the giver and renewer of life.
       The Spirit justifies us by grace through faith, sets us free to accept ourselves and to love God and neighbor, and binds us together with all believers in the one body of Christ, the church.  In gratitude to God, empowered by the Spirit, we strive to serve Christ in our daily tasks and to live holy and joyful lives, even as we watch for God’s new heaven and new earth, praying, Come, Lord Jesus!

*Sanctus (#572) — Holy, Holy, Holy — SANCTUS (Pavlechko)

Presentation of Tithes and Offerings

Offertory — Sanna, Sannanina — arr. Sandra Eithun
(Please refer to Hymnal #597 Holy, Most Holy Lord)       

*Doxology (#609) — Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow — LASST UNS ERFREUEN
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow. Praise God, all creatures high and low. Alleluia, Alleluia!
Praise God, in Jesus fully known: Creator, Word, and Spirit one. Alleluia, alleluia!
alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

*Prayer of Dedication        
God of surprises, take these gifts and astound us by what they do. Through the work of your church, restore a broken world into the beloved community you dream for us. Show us how to take these offerings and use them to love each other deeply from the heart.  In your grace we trust.  Amen.

*Hymn of Dedication #236 — The Strife Is O’er — VICTORY

*Charge and Benediction

Postlude — Fanfare — William Mathias