SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2026 5th SUNDAY OF EASTER
CHRIST THE KING LUTHERAN CHURCH
PASTOR: Rev. Harry M. Krolus
CHURCH: 410-356-3400 CELL: 410-707-7663
Church email: ctklclcms@yahoo.com
Church Web Site: ctklchurch.org
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WELCOME to everyone who is worshiping with us today. We are glad that you are here! We pray that your worship experience here at Christ The King is spiritually uplifting and rewarding. If you are visiting, please sign our guest book and introduce yourself to Pastor Harry.
(Please turn off all electronic devices before worship begins; or, if you are using a Bible app to enhance your worship experience or to use PayPal, please enable the do not disturb function on your phone.)
GATHERING
PASTOR’S WELCOME
TIME FOR PRAISE
THE SHARING OF GOD’S PEACE
GATHERING HYMN: 480 “He’s Risen, He’s Risen”
WE GATHER TOGETHER
P. We come before God to listen to and be filled with the living Word of Christ,
C. beginning in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
THE CALL TO WORSHIP
P. Remember, O Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old.
C. You who fear him, trust in the Lord - He is our help and shield.
P. The Lord remembers us and will bless us: He will bless the house of Israel, he will bless the house of Aaron; he will bless those who fear the Lord - small and great alike.
C. It is we who extol the Lord, both now and forevermore. Praise the Lord!
A CONFESSION OF SINS
P. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love.
C. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
P. Most merciful God,
C. we confess that we are sinners, sinful from birth, separated from you. We have sinned against you by our unkind thoughts, harmful words, and evil deeds. We have not trusted your promises to us. Forgive us for the sake of Jesus, and give us living water, that we may never thirst again. In his holy name, Amen.
ANNOUNCEMENT OF GRACE
P. Our God is the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not, as though they were. Our God is the God who sent Jesus to die for us, that we might be forgiven. Therefore I, as servant of God’s Word, and for the sake of Jesus Christ, announce the Good News: Your sins are fully forgiven, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
C. Amen. Thanks be to God!
THE PSALM FOR THE DAY: Psalm 146
P. Praise the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul.
C. I will praise the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
P. Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save.
C. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing.
P. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God,
C. the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them — the LORD, who remains faithful forever.
P. He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free,
C. the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous.
P. The LORD watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.
C. The LORD reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the LORD.
THE WORD
THE OLD TESTAMENT LESSON: Acts 6:1-9; 7:2, 51-66
In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”
This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.
Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called) — Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. These men began to argue with Stephen,
To this he replied: “You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him — you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it.”
When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.
While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.
VOLUNTEER TIME
THE NEW TESTAMENT LESSON: 1 Peter 2:2-10
Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
As you come to him, the living Stone — rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him — you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone,” and, “A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the message — which is also what they were destined for.
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (578)
Thy Strong Word did cleave the darkness;
At thy speaking it was done.
For created light we thank thee,
While thine ordered seasons run.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Praise to thee who light dost send!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia without end!
THE GOSPEL LESSON: John 14:1-14
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”
Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”
Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
A CONFESSION OF FAITH: The Nicene Creed
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of His father before all worlds. God of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God, Begotten, not made, Being of one substance with the Father, By whom all things were made; Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven And was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary And was made man; And was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried; And the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures; And ascended into heaven, And sits at the right hand of the Father; And He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead; Whose kingdom will have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Spirit, The Lord and Giver of Life, Who proceeds from the Father and the Son, Who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, Who spoke by the Prophets. And I believe one holy Christian and Apostolic Church. I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins, And I look for the resurrection of the dead, And the life of the world to come. Amen.
SERMON HYMN: 748 “I’m But A Stranger Here”
THE SERMON: “Who Are We”
text: 1 Peter 2:9-10
RESPONSE
THE OFFERING
AN OFFERING SONG (783)
Take my life, that I may be consecrated, Lord, to thee;
Take my moments and my days; let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my silver and my gold, not a mite would I withhold;
Take my intellect, and use every pow’r as thou shalt choose.
PRAYERS OF GOD’S 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 trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation; But deliver us from evil; For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
SACRAMENT
We invite to the Lord’s Table all who have been baptized, accept the Bible as God’s authoritative Word, and believe that the body and blood of the risen Christ are really present in the bread and wine; given for the forgiveness of our sins. If you prefer the individual cup, please extend one index finger as your hands are folded on the altar railing. This will alert the communion assistants of your preference. Also, if for some medical reason you are not able to consume alcohol, grape juice is available in the individual cups. The grape juice is “red” while the wine is “white”.
THE WORDS OF INSTITUTION
GREETING OF PEACE
P. The peace of the Lord be with you always.
C. And also with you.
THE DISTRIBUTION
HYMNS: 617 “O Lord, We Praise Thee”
609 “Jesus Sinners Doth Receive”
537 “Beautiful Savior”
SENDING
PRAYER OF THANKS
P. Gracious Lord, the hunger and thirst of the body and soul are quenched in the power and grace of this meal.
C. We praise you that we worship you here in spirit and in truth.
P. Help us now by your Spirit to love the loveless, to support the weary, to seek the lost,
C. and to speak your Word of hope to those we meet, and all to the glory of Christ, our Lord, the living water.
THE BLESSING
P. May the Lord bless you in all that you do and may he guide you in all of his ways.
C. Amen.
SENDING HYMN: 924 “Lord, Dismiss Us With Your Blessing”
ANNOUNCEMENTS
THE SENDING
P. Go in peace. Serve the Lord!
C. Thanks be to God!
