April 12, 2026

Our Lectionary readings for next Sunday, the Second Sunday of Easter, are Acts 2:14, 22-32; Psalm 16; 1 Peter 1:3-9; John 20:19-31.

1 Peter recognizes that early Christians faced "various trials" as a result of their Christian commitment, a commitment that re-directed their lives away from widely held beliefs and practices. All of 1 Peter offers a word of encouragement. Peter describes the source of that encouragement as a "lively hope." This hope rests on the basic truth of Easter. It is a hope God made possible "by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Peter 1:3). In the past God triumphed over death so that we might have a future--"an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and will never fade." In light of both past and future, Peter says the present can be one marked by "unspeakable joy" (1:8) even when those who seek to follow Christ face various trials.

We will have a congregational meeting in the next three to six weeks.

Our next Old Testament study is scheduled for April 12 after the morning service. Bring a sack-lunch!