4 Apr 2021 Sunday Morning Service
Bible
Isaiah 61:1-11
John 20:19-31
Isaiah
61:1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,
61:2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’S favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,
61:3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion–to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.
61:4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.
61:5 Aliens will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.
61:6 And you will be called priests of the LORD, you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast.
61:7 Instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs.
61:8 “For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and iniquity. In my faithfulness I will reward them and make an everlasting covenant with them.
61:9 Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the LORD has blessed.”
61:10 I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
61:11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.
John
20:19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”
20:20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
20:21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”
20:22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
20:23 If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
20:24 Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came.
20:25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.”
20:26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”
20:27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
20:28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
20:29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
20:30 Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.
20:31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.