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Good Morning and Welcome to Worship! Worship is often the first place that new people come into contact with this growing community of faith. And so, if you are joining us for the first time, I say to you what is said every Sunday: You are welcome here. Here is a place where all are welcome. For such is the love of God for God’s Very Good Creation.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow; praise God, all creatures here below; praise God above, ye Heav'nly host: praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

God of signs and wonders, you have revealed to us through Jesus that we are your children and that together in the Spirit, we are the resurrected body of Christ. May your Holy Spirit empower us to go beyond our comfort zone, beyond our ego and self-doubt to bring about your new creation, the kindom of God today. Amen.

Resurrecting God, in a broken world, where death, loss, and fear seem to reign supreme, give us the courage to look beyond the immediate and see the signs of your desire for your kindom.

We pray for God’s creation universal. Breathe on us your Holy Spirit.

We pray for Mother Earth, that we may dress her wounds with healing care and love.

We pray for God’s creation universal. Breathe on us your Holy Spirit.

We pray for the ethnosphere, world leaders, and people divided by arbitrary boundaries, may your wisdom and peace prevail.

We pray for God’s creation universal. Breathe on us your Holy Spirit.

We pray for all those in need, the suffering, the oppressed, the ill, the dying, especially those who we can assist as answered prayer.

We pray for God’s creation universal. Breathe on us your Holy Spirit.

We pray for ourselves, our families, and those we love.

We pray for God’s creation universal. Breathe on us your Holy Spirit.

Blessed are you O God, who through Jesus revealed our inheritance that is imperishable and unfailing, now and forever. Amen.

Guiding God, send your Holy Spirit upon the reading and receiving of your Word that it may serve to show us the path of life and lead us into your kindom where there is fullness of joy. Amen.

Jesus Appears to the Disciples ¹⁹ When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors were locked where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” ²⁰ After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. ²¹ Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” ²² When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” Jesus and Thomas ²⁴ But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.” ²⁶ A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” ²⁸ Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” ²⁹ Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” The Purpose of This Book ³⁰ Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. ³¹ But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

According to the Gospel of John, the wounds Jesus incurred during the crucifixion were not erased by the resurrection. In fact, he invited Thomas and the other disciples to touch the place of his wounds. How might you use your wounds to help others come to understand the ever-present God and the way of God’s kindom even in such a wounded and broken time as this?

Siblings in Christ, we have no good apart from God. Therefore, let us keep God at the forefront of our minds and give generously from all that we have been given, that others may also receive from the fullness of God.

Generous God, you are our portion and our cup. In you, our hearts are glad, our souls rejoice, and our bodies rest. Bless and multiply our offerings and pledges that they may bring the joy of your presence more deeply into the world. Amen.

My siblings, may God, who loves and resurrects us give you a goodly portion of the Holy Spirit. Trust and love the presence of God in the Holy Spirit that offers us only a glimpse of what life fully attuned to God can be. Amen.