Lessons for April 16, 2006 – Easter Sunday The first lesson Acts 10:34-43 Then Peter replied, "I see very clearly that God doesn't show partiality. 35In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right. 36I'm sure you have heard about the Good News for the people of Israel—that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 37You know what happened all through Judea, beginning in Galilee after John the Baptist began preaching. 38And no doubt you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the Devil, for God was with him. 39"And we apostles are witnesses of all he did throughout Israel and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by crucifying him, 40but God raised him to life three days later. Then God allowed him to appear, 41not to the general public, but to us whom God had chosen beforehand to be his witnesses. We were those who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42And he ordered us to preach everywhere and to testify that Jesus is ordained of God to be the judge of all—the living and the dead. 43He is the one all the prophets testified about, saying that everyone who believes in him will have their sins forgiven through his name." (NLT) Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 L. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. C. Let the congregation of Israel repeat: "His faithful love endures forever." L. The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my victory. C. Songs of joy and victory are sung in the camp of the godly. L. The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things! C. The strong right arm of the Lord is raised in triumph. L. The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things! C. I will not die, but I will live to tell what the Lord has done. L. The Lord has punished me severely, but he has not handed me over to death. C. Open for me the gates where the righteous enter, and I will go in and thank the Lord. L. Those gates lead to the presence of the Lord, and the godly enter there. C. I thank you for answering my prayer and saving me! L. The stone rejected by the builders has now become the cornerstone. C. This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous to see. L. This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. (NLT) The second lesson 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 Now let me remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then and still do now, for your faith is built on this wonderful message. 2And it is this Good News that saves you if you firmly believe it—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place. 3I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me—that Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. 4He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, as the Scriptures said. 5He was seen by Peter and then by the twelve apostles. 6After that, he was seen by more than five hundred of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died by now. 7Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. 8Last of all, I saw him, too, long after the others, as though I had been born at the wrong time. 9For I am the least of all the apostles, and I am not worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted the church of God. 10But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me—and not without results. For I have worked harder than all the other apostles, yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace. 11So it makes no difference whether I preach or they preach. The important thing is that you believed what we preached to you. (NLT) The Gospel Lesson John 20:1-18 Early Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. 2She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, "They have taken the Lord's body out of the tomb, and I don't know where they have put him!" 3Peter and the other disciple ran to the tomb to see. 4The other disciple outran Peter and got there first. 5He stooped and looked in and saw the linen cloth lying there, but he didn't go in. 6Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, 7while the cloth that had covered Jesus' head was folded up and lying to the side. 8Then the other disciple also went in, and he saw and believed— 9for until then they hadn't realized that the Scriptures said he would rise from the dead. 10Then they went home. 11Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. 12She saw two white-robed angels sitting at the head and foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. 13"Why are you crying?" the angels asked her. "Because they have taken away my Lord," she replied, "and I don't know where they have put him." 14She glanced over her shoulder and saw someone standing behind her. It was Jesus, but she didn't recognize him. 15"Why are you crying?" Jesus asked her. "Who are you looking for?" She thought he was the gardener. "Sir," she said, "if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him." 16"Mary!" Jesus said. She turned toward him and exclaimed, "Teacher!" 17"Don't cling to me," Jesus said, "for I haven't yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them that I am ascending to my Father and your Father, my God and your God." 18Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, "I have seen the Lord!" Then she gave them his message. (NLT)