Easter 3 Morning Worship at St John’s

Morning Service for the Third Sunday of Easter from St. John’s – 19^th April 2026

Hymn – I Watched the Sunrise (Close to Me)

1, I watch the sunrise
Lighting the sky
Casting its shadows near
And on this morning
Bright though it be
I feel those shadows
Near me

But you are always close to me
Following all my ways
May I be always close to you
Following all your ways, Lord

I watch the sunlight
Shine through the clouds
Warming the earth below
And at the mid-day
Life seems to say
I feel your brightness
Near me

For you are always close to me
Following all my ways
May I be always close to you
Following all your ways, Lord

I watch the sunset fading away
Lighting the clouds with sleep
And as the evening closes its eyes
I feel your brightness near me

For you are always close to me
Following all my ways
May I be always close to you
Following all your ways, Lord

I watch the moonlight
Guarding the night
Waiting ’til morning comes
The air is silent
Earth is at rest
Only your peace is near me

Yes, you are always close to me
Following all my ways
May I be always close to you
Following all your ways, Lord

Yes, you are always close to me
Following all my ways
May I be always close to you
Following all your ways, Lord (by Kathryn Crosweller

Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father

and the Lord Jesus Christ be with you

All: And also with you

Loving Lord,

Fill us with your life-giving,

joy-giving peace-giving presence,

That we may praise you now with our lips,

and all the day long with our lives

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Cast your burden upon the Lord

All: And he will sustain you

Create in us clean hearts, O God

All: And renew a right spirit within us

Cast us not away from your Presence

All: And take not your Holy Spirit from us

Give us the joy of your saving help

All: And sustain us with your life-giving Spirit

Blessed be the Lord day by day

All: The God of our salvation, who bears our burdens.

We have a moment of quiet, to call to mind the things we

Have thought, said and done which we know grieve the God

who loves us

Come, let us return to the Lord and say:

All: Almighty God

Long-suffering and of great goodness

I confess to you.

I confess with my whole heart

My neglect and forgetfulness of your commandments

My wrong doing, thinking and speaking:

The hurts I have done to others,

And the good I have left undone.

O God, forgive me, for I have sinned against you;

And raise me to newness of life;

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

May the God of love and power

Forgive us and free us from our sins,

Heal and strengthen us by his Spirit,

And raise us to new life in Christ our Lord.

All: Amen.

We praise God for his love and forgiveness with:-

Hymn – Dear Lord and Father of Mankind

Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
forgive our foolish ways;
reclothe us in our rightful mind,
in purer lives thy service find,
in deeper reverence, praise.
In simple trust like theirs who heard
beside the Syrian sea
the gracious calling of the Lord,
let us, like them, without a word
rise up and follow thee.
O Sabbath rest by Galilee,
O calm of hills above,
where Jesus knelt to share with thee
the silence of eternity,
interpreted by love!
Drop thy still dews of quietness,
till all our strivings cease;
take from our souls the strain and stress,
and let our ordered lives confess
the beauty of thy peace.
Breathe through the heats of our desire
thy coolness and thy balm;
let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire,
O still, small voice of calm! ( by John Greeleaf Whittier – 1807 to 1892)

Our First Reading is from – Acts Chap: 2

14 Then Peter stood up with the other eleven apostles and in a loud voice began to speak to the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, listen to me and let me tell you what this means.

36 “All the people of Israel, then, are to know for sure that this Jesus, whom you crucified, is the one that God has made Lord and Messiah!”

37 When the people heard this, they were deeply troubled and said to Peter and the other apostles, “What shall we do, brothers?”

38 Peter said to them, “Each one of you must turn away from your sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven; and you will receive God’s gift, the Holy Spirit.

39 For God’s promise was made to you and your children, and to all who are far away – all whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

40 Peter made his appeal to them and with many other words he urged them, saying, “Save yourselves from the punishment coming on this wicked people!”

41 Many of them believed his message and were baptized, and about three thousand people were added to the group that day.

This is the word of the Christ

All: Praise to you oh Christ

Our Second Reading is From – Luke Chap: 24

13 On that same day two of Jesus’ followers were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem,

14 and they were talking to each other about all the things that had happened.

15 As they talked and discussed, Jesus himself drew near and walked along with them;

16 they saw him, but somehow did not recognize him.

17 Jesus said to them, “What are you talking about to each other, as you walk along?” They stood still, with sad faces.

18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only visitor in Jerusalem who doesn’t know the things that have been happening there these last few days?”

19 “What things?” he asked. “The things that happened to Jesus of Nazareth,” they answered. “This man was a prophet and was considered by God and by all the people to be powerful in everything he said and did.

20 Our chief priests and rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and he was crucified.

21 And we had hoped that he would be the one who was going to set Israel free! Besides all that, this is now the third day since it happened.

22 Some of the women of our group surprised us; they went at dawn to the tomb,

23 but could not find his body. They came back saying they had seen a vision of angels who told them that he is alive.

24 Some of our group went to the tomb and found it exactly as the women had said, but they did not see him.”

25 Then Jesus said to them, “How foolish you are, how slow you are to believe everything the prophets said!

26 Was it not necessary for the Messiah to suffer these things and then to enter his glory?”

27 And Jesus explained to them what was said about himself in all the Scriptures, beginning with the books of Moses and the writings of all the prophets.

28 As they came near the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther;

29 but they held him back, saying, “Stay with us; the day is almost over and it is getting dark.” So he went in to stay with them.

30 He sat down to eat with them, took the bread, and said the blessing; then he broke the bread and gave it to them.

31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he disappeared from their sight.

32 They said to each other, “Wasn’t it like a fire burning in us when he talked to us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?”

33 They got up at once and went back to Jerusalem, where they found the eleven disciples gathered together with the others

34 and saying, “The Lord is risen indeed! He has appeared to Simon!”

35 The two then explained to them what had happened on the road, and how they had recognized the Lord when he broke the bread.

This is the word of the Christ

All: Praise to you oh Christ

Sermon Notes – For the Third Sunday in Easter – 19^th April 2026

The Acts reading ends with the information that 3,000 were added to the number of believers.

A vicar put a message on TikTok, that he would end free Bibles to anyone who wanted one.

He had so many responses he had to put out an appeal for funds to help £10,500 was raised.

The requests kept on coming and those over-seas were passed on to churches in that area.

We all have to tell the Good News of Jesus so that more can be added to our number.

We don’t know who will pick up on our message, but pass on the Good News we must.

As the two disciples on the Emmaus Road listened to Jesus but did not recognise Him until He broke the bread. Jesus will walk along beside even today.

Amen.

Hymn – O Happy Day! That Fixed My Choice

O happy day that fixed my choice
On Thee, my Savior and my God!
Well may this glowing heart rejoice,
And tell its raptures all abroad.

Happy day, happy day,
When Jesus washed my sins away!
He taught me how to watch and pray,
And live rejoicing every day;
Happy day, happy day,
When Jesus washed my sins away!

’Tis done—the great transaction’s done;
I am my Lord’s, and He is mine;
He drew me and I followed on,
Rejoiced to own the call divine.

3 .Now rest, my long-divided heart,
Fixed on this blissful center, rest;
Here have I found a nobler part,
Here heav’nly pleasures fill my breast.

High heav’n that hears the solemn vow,
That vow renewed shall daily hear!
Till in life’s latest hour I bow,
And bless, in death, a bond so dear. (by Philip Doddridge – 1702 to 1751)

Let us declare our faith in God.

All: We believe in God the Father,

From whom every family

In heaven and on earth is named.

We believe in God the Son

Who lives in our hearts through faith,

And fills us with his love.

We believe in God the Holy Spirit

Who strengthens us

With power from on high.

We believe in one God,

Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Prayers and Intercessions

During the intercession this response is used:

Lord, m your mercy

All: Hear our prayer.

Prayers for King Charles

Through this tritium of prayer we ask God’s continuing blessing on our new King Charles

Prayer

O God, to whom every human power is subject,
grant to your servant our sovereign Charles
success in the exercise of his high office,
so that, always revering you and striving to please you,
he may constantly secure and preserve
for the people entrusted to his care
the freedom that comes from civil peace.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

All: Amen

Prayer for the Royal

Almighty God, the fountain of all goodness,

we humbly beseech thee to bless

Queen Camilla, William Prince of Wales, the Princess of Wales, and all the

Royal Family:

Endue them with thy Holy Spirit; enrich them with thy heavenly

grace; prosper them with all happiness;

and bring them to thine everlasting

kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

All: Amen.

We pray for God to fill us with his Spirit.

Generous God,

we thank you for the power of your Holy Spirit.

We ask that we may be strengthened to serve you better.

Lord, come to bless us