Peace Lutheran Church
Sixth Sunday of Easter
May 10, 2026
Text: Acts 17:16-31
Theme: An Old New Teaching
Outline
1. Paul in Athens
2. Old teaching: In God we live move and have our being.
3. New Teaching: Jesus and Resurrection, will judge world by One whom He has appointed.
Sermon
Alleluia! Christ is Risen!
He is Risen indeed! Alleluia!
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
My dear beloved flock, the text for our meditation is the Acts of the Apostles, the seventeenth chapter verses sixteen through thirty-one.
Beloved Lambs, I pray that you are doing well today. Have you ever been surrounded? I know many of you are surrounded every night by al of the blankets, stuffies, and toys in your beds. We are often surrounded by friends and family at school and home. Here at church we are surrounded by all of the fellow believers in Jesus Christ around God’s Word and Sacraments. In our text for today, Saint Paul is surrounded. What is he surrounded by? How does he use his surroundings to tell about Jesus? Ponder those questions as you hear the rest of the sermon. You may go back to your seats and those who love you.
1. Paul in Athens
Our text begins, “Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens ” Saint Paul is in the city of Athens, waiting for Silas and Timothy to join him from Berea. As Paul is in Athens for what is probably the first time, he plays tourist. He walks around Athens, conversing with the shop owners, talking with the passersby who will listen. He debates with the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers as they gather daily in the market places.
Athens is unlike any other city that Paul has been to. In the past, Athens taught the world the concept of democracy, the rule of the people. It had been the great center of philosophy, the love of wisdom. For its past contributions in politics, art, literature, and the world of ideas, the city was honored by the Roman Empire. But its glories had dimmed, and it was no longer the chief city of Greece. Those who live there still hold onto their intellectual past, even though Aristotle, Plato, Socrates, Sophocles, Euripides, Pericles, Demosthenes and Zeno had been dead for hundreds of years. The people loved nothing more than to constantly hear the worlds news, listen to new ideas, ponder, and debate everything.
As Paul is being a tourist, he is utterly appalled by what he sees. His spirit was παροξύνω parozuno, angered/provoked within him. Why was Paul’s spirit angry? On every single corner, he sees idols dedicated to a false god. The ancient writer Petronius said that in Athens it is easier to find a god than a man. The physician Pausanias said that Athens had more images than all of Greece put together. The historian philosopher Xenophon called Athens one great altar to the gods. Every god of Olympus had an altar or temple in the city. Many had entire buildings dedicated to their honor. Every public structure surrounding the Agora was in the name of one or more of the deities. There were the gods of fame, modesty, energy, persuasion, to name a few. Even a few to unknown gods. Six hundred years before Paul, a terrible plague came on the city and a man name Epimenides had an idea. He let loose a flock of sheep through the town, and wherever they lay down, they sacrificed that sheep to the god that had the nearest shrine or temple. If a sheep lay down near no shrine or temple, they sacrificed the sheep TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.
2. Old teaching
Paul uses this Altar to the unknown God to proclaim the glory of the true God. He is brought to Mars hill, where the supreme court of Athens used to meet. They want to know what in the world Paul is talking about with Jesus and the Resurrection. Some think he’s just a babbler, a seed picker picking up bits of wisdom from others and putting his own spin on things. Paul begins with the old teaching that is plain to everyone still today, even to those who do not believe. There is a God.
“Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. Paul praises the city for being religious and points out that they have a god for everything, even the gods that are unknown to them but known to others.
This is what we call natural knowledge of God as Creator. God has placed His fingerprints into the very fabric of creation. Just look at the natural world around us. The complexity of nature tells us that there is a god. The fact that trees produce oxygen and we exhale the carbon dioxide that they need is nothing short of a miracle. The complexity of our brains, ears, and eyes is so amazing that we cannot comprehend it. There is no way that everything can arise from random chance.
There must be a god, but whose god is the true god? The people of Athens are very religious, to their own destruction. They followed idols of their own creations, silver, wood, stone, and gold. They created and followed after gods of their own making, made of silver, gold, wood, and stone. These gods needed things from their worshipers. The people had to make a temple, a dwelling place. They had to provide food and drink for the god to eat. They had to do something to appease the god if they were angry at them for whatever sin they did. The Athenians constantly listened to and debated ideas so that they could best follow the gods that they had made.
Not much has changed, even after all these years. We still break the first commandment, creating and following gods of our own making. Our sinful nature wants a god that we can comprehend. We want a god that we can understand fully, one who acts like us, thinks like us, behaves like us. One that we can appease if things do not go rightly.
One of the ways that we try to understand and control god is through our intellect. We hunger and discuss every scrap of news that we can get ahold of, whether good or bad. We constantly have the 24/7 news station of our choosing constantly going. We get notification after notification on our phones for this or that breaking news story. We hear one news story, discuss it and dissect it from multiple angles, then the next day it is old news, another has replaced it and the cycle continues again. We use this knowledge and discuss to shape our worldview of both ourselves and of God.
Rather than pondering over the Word of God, reading, marking, learning, and inwardly digesting the very Words that He has graciously given to us, we digest the news and things of this world. We make our own gods of ourselves, our wants, needs, and desires. We follow after gods who cannot speak, hear, or act, because we want our own pleasures fulfilled rather than following the true God. Truly, we are just as religious as the Athenians were, a god on every corner, to our own eternal destruction.
3. New Teaching
Paul give them a new teaching. That which they had known as an unknown god, Paul proclaim as known. He states 24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. ” we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man
The true God of creation is not one that needs humanity to serve Him. He is not one formed by our own hands of silver and gold. He is not a god of our own creation, of our own minds. He does not always act how we think he should act. God controls everything. He does not need our food and drink to so that he can eat. He is not one that can be appeased by our works, for indeed our best works are as dirty filthy rags. Rather, the true God is outside of our comprehension, outside of time and space itself as the ultimate Creator of heaven and Earth.
Yet, God is not distant. God is not an aloof Creator, merely starting creation then letting happen whatever happens. In grace and mercy, God has made Himself known. How has He done this? Not only through Creation but also in and through His Son, Jesus Christ. He is the glory of God made flesh. As Jesus says in John, “He who has seen me has seen the Father.” God has entered into His creation to serve and save us. Jesus took on flesh in the womb of the blessed virgin Mary to save us from our sins, death, and the devil. To give to us everlasting life through His death and resurrection from the dead.
Because Jesus died, we know that our sins are forgiven. He has borne the sins of everyone across all of time and space. He died our death in our place. He shed His blood so that we do not have to shed ours. We know that His sacrifice upon the cross was acceptable in the eyes of God the Father because Jesus did not stay dead. He rose from the dead on the third day. That is the Father’s Amen to our Lord’s cry of Telestestai “It is finished.”
The God who created everything seen and unseen, loves you so much that He dies and rises again from the dead to forgive you. God dies, God bleeds, for you. His love is constantly shown for you in His Word and Sacrament. In the waters of Holy Baptism, you are united to Him and made a beloved child of God Himself. He calls you His offspring, His Sons because of His eternally Beloved Son.
A beloved Son whom We will see face to face. Jesus died and rose, and He will come again. As Paul says, “he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” Jesus has won the right, as the One who has redeemed humanity, to judge the living and the dead at the end of time itself. Jesus will come again. He will raise the dead, judge the world in righreiousness, and we will live with Him in a world without end.
Alleluia! Christ is Risen!
He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!
The Peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard, and keep, your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Fifth Sunday of Easter
May 03, 2026
Text: Acts 6:1-9,7:2a,51-60
Theme: Faithful Confession
Outline
1. A faithful Confession of Law
2. A faithful Confession of Gospel
Sermon
Alleluia! Christ is Risen!
He is Risen, Indeed! Alleluia!
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
My dear beloved flock, the text for our meditation is the First Reading from the Acts of the Apostles, the sixth chapter verses one through nine, and chapter seven, the first part of verse two and verses fifty-one through sixty.
Beloved Lambs, I pray that you are doing well today. Do you enjoy helping others? I know that you enjoy helping around the house. You enjoy helping to cook, play with your sisters and brothers. You enjoy helping out at church with ushering, handing out bulletins, and making sure that others are okay when they are sad. In our text, we hear about people helping out the Apostles. There is too much for the Apostles to do alone, so the disciples gather together. They pick seven men to help the Apostles out. One of these men is Stephen. He helps the Apostles, and us, to make a faithful confession in both word and deed. What is Stephen’s confession? How do we make a faithful confession in our words and deeds today? Ponder those questions as you hear the rest of the sermon. You may go back to your seats and those who love you.
1. A Faithful Confession of Law
The Apostles need a lot of help. Daily their number has increased. The Apostles have been taking from what has been given by others, not by compulsion but given out of a loving and cheerful heart, for the needs of the poor. As their numbers have increased, so has the need. A complaint has arisen within the church. “by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. ” The Jews who were Greeks and followed more of the Greek ways of doing things were being neglected daily in food or funds. These people probably were not as well known to the Apostles in person as those who were Jewish. “Immediately the devil, the spirit of dissension and strife, inspired the thought that this was an intentional slight. Similar complaints and charges are sometimes made in our days also, and with as little ground. As long as fallible human beings are trying to serve other human beings that are just as fallible, mistakes are liable to happen, which should be adjusted without uncharitable grumbling.”
The Apostles act quickly to rectify the situation. They gather the rest of the disciples and propose a solution. The Apostles are to continue the ministry that they have been given by our Lord, prayer and preaching of the Word of God. While they do that, others can minister to the needs of others. This seems good and they appoint seven men, Stephen is one of them, to this duty.
Stephen continues to do this duty, full of grace and power, until a day comes when Stephen is dragged before the Sanhedrin on false charges. He is accused of speaking against the Temple as well as the Law of Moses. Stephen gives a lengthy and faithful confession before the same Sanhedrin who had been the betrayers and murderers of the just and holy Christ. He starts with Abraham and Moses, on down to the prophets. He elaborates upon their whole history as a Jewish people, showing that he is not against the Law. Rather, he holds it dear as a fellow Jew, especially as it points to Jesus Christ.
He ends his argument with these words “51 “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. ” Does that sound nice and loving? It sounds harsh and cruel. Yet, it is loving. It is, to use the words of Saint Paul, it is “speaking the truth in love.”(Ephesians 4:15) This would hardly seem to be the words of a “grace-filled” servant of the word. Stephen is faithfully confessing the Law. He is making the comparison that the Sanhedrin is acting in the same way as their fathers. Just as the Jewish people before them rejected the Prophets, hurt, and killed them, so too the Sanhedrin is doing now because they have rejected Jesus as well as the Apostles whom He has sent. Stephen is attempting to wake them. That they might see the darkness of their sin that they are living in, and be led to repentance.
We need to continue to be faithful confessors of God’s Law in our own day. We need to speak the truth in love, no matter how hard it may be to hear. Stephen’s bold confession, as well as where it leads him, but more on that in a moment, makes me humble. I think often about all the times when I should have spoken harsher words of God’s Law to wake up hardened sinners and break their hearts of stone. I think of the times when I should have been silent, when my witness was not needed, yet I spoke up anyway. The world, the devil, does not want us to be this faithful. The world and the devil tempt us to think that we have to always speak nice sounding words. We want to make sure that our words do not offend anyone. It is better for us to avoid the fight, avoid the confrontation, avoid being mean, even when people need to hear the faithful witness to the very Word of God.
2. Faithful Confession of the Gospel
Yet, we as Christians, especially me as your Pastor, are not called to be meek or scared. As Paul writes to young Timothy, “for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” (2 Timothy 1:7) We are called to be bold in love and self control. We do not let our passions or emotions control us. We are simply called to be faithful to the word of God, faithful to His Word of both Law, as well as Gospel, even if the world, and our sinful nature, does not want to hear it. We need to hear it just the same, no matter what may happen to us. Just look at what happens to Stephen for his faithfulness.
Stephen is granted a gracious vision of Heaven, where he sees the Lord Jesus, standing at the right hand of God, a fulfillment of the words that Jesus spoke to this very body when He was before them that they would see the Son of Man on the cloud of heaven. Jesus is standing, making ready to receive with open arms all those that rely upon the salvation earned by Him. Where He is, there shall also His servants be. 57 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. 58 Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
There is only one word that can describe this. Murder. Murder by an infuriated mob, in violation of all law. Yet, they know what they are doing. They observe some forms of the law, taking Stephen outside the city and having the witnesses cast the first stone. As the stones are flying all around him. As the stones make contact with his skin, breaking flesh, cracking bone, look at his faithful confession to the Gospel. Stephen does not cry out against them for vengeance. Rather he commits his soul into the keeping of the Lord Jesus, the same as our Lord did upon His own cross. With his last dying breath, Stephen releases the Sanhedrin of their guilt with a final word of intercession, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”
A faithful confession of Law, as well as of Gospel, that spread the seeds of God’s word even as the people spilled his blood. Beholding this act is a young man named Saul, a persecutor of the Christian faith. You would know him better as Paul the apostle. The last words Saul heard from Stephen’s lips is a cry of forgiveness, a cry which I am sure rang in his ears for years afterward.
A cry of forgiveness, grace, and mercy, that still rings down throughout the ages to our very day. We continue to be faithful confessors of Law and Gospel. We see well our own sins. As the Psalmist says, they are ever before us. We mourn over them, turning in repentance to the mercy and grace that God has shown to us in Jesus Christ. Because of Jesus, sins are forgiven, souls are saved. Souls need to hear the words of the Law that they might know their need for a Savior as well as the words of the Gospel, that there is forgiveness and salvation because of Jesus Christ.
Thus why, we also are faithful to the Gospel. We do not leave people in despair, mourning in hopelessness, over their sins. Rather, like Stephen, we proclaim forgiveness. That God would not hold their sins against them but cleanse them because of what He has already done for the world, and us, in Jesus Christ. God laid upon Jesus our sins. Jesus bore the full wrath of God, He took our punishment. He died our death. Dying, Jesus destroys the power of death over us. We can indeed, fall asleep in Jesus, that we might rest in His peace. We rest in Jesus’ peace until that day when we shall awaken to everlasting life. We shall arise because Jesus has risen. Jesus is no longer dead but lives forever more.
As we live out our lives upon this earth. Let us follow the example of Stephen, being faithful confessors of both Law and Gospel, as we help those around us, meeting and ministering to their needs in both body and soul, until we see our Lord face to face.
Alleluia! Christ is Risen!
He has risen, indeed! Alleuia!
The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard, and keep, your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Fourth Sunday of Easter
April 24, 2026
Text: John 10:1-10
Theme: Listening to the Shepherd's Voice
Outline
Beware the wolves: False teachers
Listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd, Word proclaimed= life abundantly περισσός
Jesus is the shepherd who knows, cares, leads, and protects and gives an abundance of enduring life to his sheep.
Sermon
Alleluia! Christ is Risen!
He is Risen indeed! Alleluia!
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
My dear beloved flock, the text for our meditation is the Holy Gospel according to Saint John the tenth chapter verses one through ten.
Beloved Lambs, I pray that you are well this beautiful morning. Do you know what this is? This is a shepherd’s staff. The shepherd has the job of caring for the sheep. He uses this part to poke the sheep. Maybe they are going the wrong way down the path, about the fall of a cliff, the shepherd pokes the sheep to get them to safety. The shepherd uses this part, called the crook, to rescue the sheep. Maybe they have fallen into a hole. They cannot get out themselves; the shepherd hooks the sheep and lifts them up to safety again. Did you know that Jesus shepherds us? That means that we are His sheep. Baa! Jesus is our good shepherd. How does Jesus continue to poke us, and bring us to safety, still today? Ponder that question as you hear the rest of the sermon. You may go back to your seats and those who love you.
Beware the Wolves
This is one of our Lord’s most familiar and well-loved parables. It is told to a mixed crowd of believers and unbelievers, including our Lord’s disciples and the Pharisees, within the Temple courts. Immediately before our text, a man born blind was healed, investigated by the Pharisees, and has fallen in worship at our Lord’s feet. To this crowd, our Lord gives this beautiful parable. Here, our Lord uses the common picture of a sheep pen at night. Winter was approaching at the time of this feast. During the cool winter months, sheep were kept inside a pen at night; the pen usually had a stone wall, which might have briers on top of it.1 They were guarded by a doorkeeper who would open the door to the shepherd when he arrived in the morning. Our Lord describes Himself as both the door as well as the good shepherd of the sheep for two reasons.
The first reason is to warn the people against following the thieves and robbers. The robber has climbed in another way. He has not entered by the right and proper way but has come a different way. These robbers and thieves do not have the sheep’s interest in mind but have come in only to thyo, to kill and slaughter the sheep. In our Lord’s time, these where the Pharisees. They said nice sounding things, not for the good of the people but solely for their own gain. They did everything to increase their own power, wealth, or authority. A thief leads people astray through false doctrine and theology with their end being everlasting death.
This is a warning that applies to us still today. We must be on guard from the false doctrine that surrounds us. It may sound good. It may even sound Christian and Christ-like, but it leads to destruction. The false doctrine of the Prosperity Gospel, which teaches that God wants all believers to be wealthy and healthy. God desires that you have everything that you want upon the earth, the best of the best physical things. If you do not have the best car, Television, or health, then your faith is too weak. You need to strengthen your faith. Maybe we fall into the false doctrine of universalism. This doctrine teaches that everyone will be saved eventually regardless of what exactly they believe. Others might deny the mercy and grace of God, choosing instead to depend upon their works to save them. Still other people might confess Jesus as Lord but deny His incarnation, divinity, or deny the Holy Trinity entirely. We could be here for hours discussing the false doctrines that can so easily creep into the church and harm our faith. It is well that we be on guard against all false doctrine and error, clinging solely to the true faith.
Listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd
How do we avoid false teachers and the false doctrine that they teach? We follow the true voice of our shepherd. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.2
We hear the voice of our Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ. We are His sheep. Our Shepherd cares deeply for His sheep. He loves us and calls us each by name. We are all known to Him. Our Shepherd who loves us so much that He lays down His life upon the cross. Jesus gives His life that you and I, plus all the other sheep in the fold, may have life and have it abundantly. We, who were facing utter destruction by the thieves, Jesus has rescued. Jesus destroyed the power of sin by shedding His own blood. Jesus is no longer death, by dying He has destroyed the power of death. Jesus leads us away from the tempting voice of the Devil, all the false teachers and doctrines that surround us. How? by listening to His voice. We hear His voice, not in a voice from heaven, a dream, or a vision, but in the Word that He has given to us though the Prophets and Apostles, men who wrote while carried along by the Holy Spirit, as Saint Peter declares. When we read the words of Holy Scripture we hear the voice of our shepherd.
You are hearing the voice of your Great Shepherd now. As I remind you of every Sunday, you are my dear beloved flock, not my flock but members of Jesus’ dear beloved flock. The voice of the Good Shepherd is heard through Christ’s preaching office—that is through Christ’s office of pastor. The word pastor means shepherd, and a pastor is a shepherd under the Chief Shepherd. It is through faithful pastors that the voice of the Good Shepherd is heard. It is my job as your pastor, not only to proclaim what Jesus has done for you. That because of Jesus’ death and resurrection from the dead, your sins are forgiven, your souls saved, eternal life guaranteed with Jesus forever. It is also my job to warn you of thieves. To help you avoid false teachers and false doctrines, because I do not want any of you to fall into their trap, to be slaughtered by them. I want you to have what Jesus promises that you have, life abundantly through His death and resurrection from the dead.
My dear beloved flock, continue to listen to the voice of your Shepherd, given you in and through His word, as well as the preaching of the Pastoral Office in your mist, that when Jesus comes in glory, we may be with our Shepherd in His fold, forever and ever.
Alleluia! Christ is Risen!
He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!
The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard, and keep, your hearts and minds, in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Third Sunday of Easter
April 19, 2026
Text: Luke 24:13–35
Theme: Peekaboo!
Outline
1. Peekaboo! Jesus has sense of humor, Hides self from Disciples
2. Reveals in Scripture and Fellowship with Disciples
a. Same today, Reveals Himself in Word and Deed, through what we speak and say to those around us as we proclaim Him in our lives.
Sermon
Alleluia! Christ is Risen! He is Risen, Indeed, Alleuia!
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father, and our Risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
My dear beloved flock, the text for our meditation is the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke the twenty-fourth chapter verses thirteen through thirty-five.
Beloved lambs, I pray that you are doing well today. Have you ever played the game of Peekaboo? I am sure your moms and dads, and grandparents, enjoyed playing that with you. Someone’s eyes are covered by their hands. They are hidden and then they opening them saying “Peekaboo!” Usually to the squeals of joy from little ones. When they see a mom, dad, or grandparent again, they are overjoyed. In a way, Jesus plays peekaboo with the disciples today. He hides Himself as He explains to them the Scriptures. Jesus reveals Himself in the breaking of the bread to their overwhelming joy. Sometimes it feels like Jesus does the same to us today. Jesus is Hidden. Yet. Jesus is revealed to us. How does Jesus reveal Himself to us today? How does Jesus give us overwhelming joy today? Ponder that question as you hear the rest of the sermon. You may go back to your seats and those who love you.
1. Jesus Hidden
On the road to Emmaus as they head back to their home, two disciples are dejected, run down, hopeless as they walk. They feel hopeless because of everything that has happened to Jesus. As they explain to their Lord, though at the time they do not realize that it is Him, they had hoped that Jesus would be the Messiah, the One to redeem Israel. And now? Now He’s been crucified, dead, and buried in the tomb. Where is their hope now? Cold and dead, lying in a tomb. So too all their hopes lie cold and dead. The disciples do not understand why these things have happened. So, our Lord lovingly explains why. He begins with Moses and the Prophets, explaining everything that was necessary for the Son of Man to undergo. Talk about an in-depth Bible Study as they walk along the road together!
Much like these disciples, we do not always understand why things happen in our lives, especially when it comes to suffering. We have our own hopes and dreams that we desire to come true. Many people in the world dream for a larger home, better health, better government and leaders, better behavior from their spouse or children. When their hopes do not come to fruition, we become despondent and dejected. When our good health gives way to sickness and death. When our home is destroyed in an earthquake, fire, or flood, or simply needs to become smaller because of changes in life. When our kids rebel and talk back, when our spouse has a different hope than our own, when our leaders do not act in the way that we think they should act ruling over us, what happens to our hope? We become hopeless as our hopes and dreams fade away into nothingness, to the point that we wonder, “Lord, why are things going so horribly? Where are you as all of this is happening to me?”
It appears our Lord is playing a cruel joke of Peekaboo with us. God is hiding Himself from us. If you look around at the world, you cannot always see a wonderous display of God working in His creation for His power and glory, for our good. It appears hell, death, and the devil win constantly. It appears like God is not really in control at all nor looking out for our interests and wellbeing.
3. Jesus Revealed
Yet, how things seem is not always the reality they are. The hope of the disciples is not cold and dead, lying in the tomb. Jesus is right there walking alongside them, even if they are unaware of it. Jesus hides Himself from them until the right time. That time is when they arrive at Emmaus. Our Lord shows a sense of humor as He acts like He is going on further. Yet, at their urging, Jesus stays with His disciples. The disciples’ surprise and joy increases when He reveals Himself in the breaking of the bread. Peekaboo! Jesus is alive! Much like the joy of a newborn seeing the face of a parent, the disciples are overjoyed. Their hope is not dead, but alive forever more! The disciples run back to Jerusalem to inform the other disciples as their hearts burn within them, hope restored.
So too, our Hope is alive. Hell, death, and the devil are not in control. They have not won. Sin, death, and the Devil have already been defeated forever by our Lord through His perfect life, suffering, and death upon the Cross. God is still working in, and through, His creation for your good. As we confess in the First article of the Creed, our Heavenly Father cares daily for creation and for you. He is sustaining you with every breath and heartbeat that you take. He is lovingly providing you with every good thing for this body and life, unto life everlasting.
Not only does God reveal Himself in creation, but also in and through His holy Word. Whenever we hear His word, whether in public worship or private devotion, there our Lord reveals Himself alongside us as we go throughout our lives. In the midst of our pain, suffering, and hopelessness, when it seems as though all our hope is destroyed and we have absolutely nothing to live for, our Lord comes alongside us, strengthens us, and reveals that His is right there with us as He has promised to be until the very end of the age. Jesus reveals Himself in the means of grace, the water of Holy Baptism and in the breaking of bread in Holy Communion. Here we receive His very body and blood for the restoration of our souls, the strengthening of our faith, and the forgiveness of our sins. Jesus refreshes our souls and makes our hearts burn again through His holy Word and Sacraments.
Peekaboo! Your Lord has not hidden Himself from you. Jesus reveals Himself to you to your everlasting joy. He comes to you in His Word, calms your troubled hearts, and makes them burn again even when it seems there is nowhere else to turn. Your Hope is alive forever more because
Alleluia Christ is Risen!
He is Risen indeed! Alleluia!
The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard and keep your hearts and mind in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Second Sunday of Easter
April 12, 2026
Text: John 20:19-31
Outline “A Sure Peace”
1. Christ appears to His disciples, gives them peace in midst of fears
2. Breaths on them (Adam!) sends forth for forgiveness of sins
a. They go and proclaim Resurrection to Thomas
3. Thomas doubts until he sees 1 week later, “My Lord and my God!”
4. We believe without sight that sins are forgiven, Jesus is Lord and God, why?
a. Faith given in Word, hold onto Promises, Pastor forgives in Christ’s stead, Sacraments create and sustain faith.
Sermon
Alleluia! Christ is Risen! He is Risen, Indeed! Alleuia!
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father, and our Risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
My dear beloved flock, the text for our meditation today is the Holy Gospel according to Saint John the twentieth chapter, verses nineteen through thirty-one.
Beloved lambs, I pray that you are doing well today. Can you help me out with spelling a word? SHALOM You speak it like this. This is the Jewish word for Peace. Peace is when everything is good. When you are quiet, either reading or playing quietly, that’s an example of peace. When you are having fun playing together nicely, asking for things rather than taking them, sharing without yelling or arguing, that’s another example of peace. In our text for today, we hear Jesus giving peace to His disciples, as well as to us today. How does Jesus give Shalom, peace to us today? Ponder that question as you hear the rest of the sermon. You may go back to your seats and those who love you.
1. Peace in midst of fear
Fear grips the disciples. Doors are locked. No one is coming in or out. Windows are shuttered. Fear and darkness as they wait…wait…wait. A knock on the door! Who is it? Another disciple…still safe…for now...but for how much longer? How long until we suffer the same fate as our Lord? They killed Jesus, we will surely suffer the same fate.
But there was one whom the locked doors did not keep out, the resurrected Jesus In the midst of that fear and dread, their Lord appears. Their fear turns to overwhelming joy, as they see the marks on the hands, feet, and side. Jesus is no longer dead. He is risen from the grave!
His first words to them are not, “You fools! Why did you all abandon me? You all ran away like scared sheep! Peter, you said you would be with me until the end. Come on man! What is going on? I’m on the Cross and you’re running around, pretending like you don’t even know Me. What’s the big idea?”
No, His first words to them are, “Peace be with you.” This is a standard Jewish greeting, that there would be peace between the two of them, as well as between them and God. With these words, Jesus stills all of their fears, doubts, and worries. They no longer have to worry about anything, their Lord has conquered even the very power of death itself. He has already shown that He can provide for all their needs of body. Remember, with two loaves of bread and a few fish, Jesus fed over five thousand people. Not only can Jesus meet their physical needs but now also every need for their souls as well unto everlasting life.
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. This is a peace that is guaranteed because of what Jesus has done by His death and resurrection from the dead. It is a peace of forgiveness, apisemi is the Greek word. It means to cancel or remove. God has removed the stain of your sin from you and me. He laid our sins, and all of the punishment therein, upon Jesus on the cross. Jesus died our death. The disciples see Jesus’ pierced hands, feet, and side. He really died. Jesus also really rose. The disciples know it is truly their, and our, Lord. Jesus is no longer dead. He lives forever more. Yet, He still bears the marks which give everlasting peace between humanity and God.
2. Peace through Forgiveness of sins
Jesus repeats the peace that He gives to them as He sends them to give this peace to the world. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And 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 withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”
Jesus does not give His peace only to a select few people. It is not only for the Jews or the Gentiles, rather it is for the entirety of the world, especially those who are in sorrow and contrition over their sins. Peace is given today through the Office of the Holy Ministry, through the called and ordained men that God has placed into your midst. Why? To proclaim the words of absolution and forgiveness to you through what we call the Office of the Keys. As we confess in the Smalcald Articles, “The Keys are an office and power given by Christ to the Church for binding and loosing sin [Matthew 16:19]. This applies not only to gross and well-known sins, but also the subtle, hidden sins that are known only to God. As it is written, “Who can discern his errors?” (Psalm 19:12). And St. Paul himself complains that “with my flesh I serve the law of sin” (Romans 7:25). [2] It is not in our power to judge which, how great, and how many the sins are. This belongs to God alone. As it is written, “Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you” (Psalm 143:2). [3] Paul says, “I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted” (1 Corinthians 4:4).”
We call it the Office of the Keys because that is what forgiveness does. It opens the gates of heaven to those who are repentant and locks the gates of heaven to those who remain in their sins. Jesus gives you the assurance His peace through the proclamation of sins forgiven. I as your pastor, am not forgiving sins of my own authority, rather it is in the stead and command of Christ. It is through His authority that your sins are forgiven. God is using my voice box, and hands, forgiving or retaining sins, that you indeed have Peace with Him.
3. Peace in Faith
The peace we have with God is not one that depends upon sight. Thomas was not with ther rest when Jesus appeared. We do not know why. Thomas often gets the name of Doubting throughout history, but we have to remember the kind of man that Thomas was. When Jesus announced He was going to Jerusalem, Thomas said, “Let’s go and die with Him” (see John 11:16). Thomas was a guy who went for it. And so now, while the other disciples huddled together behind closed doors, where was Thomas? I suggest he was out on the street saying, “I’m not hiding. I’m out here in public. Anybody want to take me on?” The disciples go to Thomas and tell him that they have seen the Lord. The Greek is Lego. It is an imperfect verb. It means that they continued to tell him over and over. Yet, Thomas did not believe their words. He wanted physical proof.
The Lord in grace and mercy meets Thomas’ doubts. He does not appear in Thomas’ house, but a week later in the assembly of believers. Jesus goes where the saints were meeting together. “Don’t forsake assembling together,” Paul would say (see Hebrews 10:25)—because Jesus shows up in the midst of the congregation. Jesus appears and, for a third time, says “Peace be with you.” Jesus tells Thomas to do as he wanted, to thrust his finger into the nail holes, thrust his hand into Jesus’ side. We do not know if Thomas ever did, but we do have his bold confession. “My Lord and my God!” Jesus is Kyrios, the Greek translation of the Hebrew name of God, Yahweh, He is Theous, God in the flesh. He is My, Thomas’ Lord and God. My Lord and God. Your Lord and God. Thomas confesses this all the way to India where he means a martyrs death while praying at the end of a spear.
Thomas’ confession is our confession still today. We live, not by physical sight as the disciples did, but we live with eyes of faith. We, as well as most of the readers of John’s Gospel can sympathize with Thomas. They have heard about Jesus, but not seen him alive for themselves. They must depend on what the witnesses say, and then take a step of faith. We depend upon the words of Holy Scripture, as the Holy Spirit has given us faith to do so, that we believe in Jesus Christ, crucified, risen, and ascended for us. Through Jesus’ work, and word, we have peace with one another here upon this earth. We are united together as His Church throughout the world as we repent of our sins and receive the forgiveness of them through the Pastors He has sent into our midst. They proclaim not themselves, but Jesus. Through His work, we have faith. We have peace with God that no worry, doubt, or fear can ever take away. We have a sure Peace that leads to life everlasting.
Alleluia! Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed! Aleluia!
The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard, and keep, your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.