Signs of Hope

April 12, 2026 Acts 2:14, 22-32 Prelude Greeting Call to Worship Easter people, Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia! Christ is risen indeed! Yet we, like Thomas, may find questions bubbling up: How do we know? What’s the proof? Is Resurrection real? Within our questioning, Christ appears. We may find ourselves like the other disciples, witnesses of Christ’s resurrection who struggle to understand the doubt of others. Within our certainty, Christ appears. Whether you come to worship full of certainty or doubt, you are welcome here, for we are all participants in the story of God’s salvific work in the world, a story still unfolding all around us. We gather to worship, believing that in certainty and doubt, the resurrected Christ dwells among us! Amen. Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, September 2025. Invocation Gracious and Eternal God, you are the one who calls us together and the one who sends us out in the world. Remind us, as we gather, how good it is to dwell with you and one another. Stir our hearts to love boldly, freely, and joyfully. Let us praise you with our whole lives and magnify your name by our works. We bless and honor you, O Faithful One, from generation to generation and from community to community. Speak to our spirits and receive our worship. Amen. (United Church of Christ Worship Ways, Cheryl A. Lindsey) Song A Sermon for all Ages Children’s Sermon: “Stand Up and Tell the Good News!” Acts 2:14, 22–32 Good morning, friends! I want to ask you a question—have you ever been afraid to stand up in front of people? Maybe at school… maybe to answer a question… or maybe to tell someone something important? (Wait for answers) Yeah, that can feel scary, right? Today I brought something simple with me. (Hold up a small toy or even just your hand.) I want to teach you a little sign. Take one hand like this (hold it flat), and then take two fingers on your other hand and stand them up on top. This means “stand.” Can you all try it with me? Good job! ________________________________________ In our Bible story today, there was a man named Peter the Apostle. Now Peter wasn’t always brave. In fact, when Jesus was in trouble, Peter got really scared. He didn’t stand up. He hid. He even said he didn’t know Jesus. But something amazing happened. Jesus came back to life—Easter! And God sent the Holy Spirit to be with Peter. And guess what Peter did? He stood up. Right in front of a big crowd, he told everyone: “Jesus is alive! God loves you!” That took courage! ________________________________________ So I want you to try something. Everyone sit down for a second. (Pause) Now… when I say “Jesus is alive!” I want you to stand up as fast as you can! Ready? “JESUS IS ALIVE!” (Watch them stand and smile) That’s what Peter did! He stood up to share good news. ________________________________________ Here’s the important part: You don’t have to be big or grown up to stand up for Jesus. You can stand up when: • You are kind to someone who feels left out • You tell the truth • You help a friend • You remind someone that God loves them Every time you do those things—you are standing up, just like Peter. ________________________________________ So remember: Even when you feel scared… Even when it’s hard… God helps you be brave. And you can stand up and share the good news: Jesus is alive! Let’s say it together one more time—and stand! “JESUS IS ALIVE!” ________________________________________ Let’s pray: Dear God, Thank you for loving us. Help us be brave like Peter. Help us stand up and share your love. Amen. (ChatGPT version 5.2) Prayer Scripture Acts 2:14, 22-32 Sermon Signs of the Future Sermon: “Standing in Hope” Acts 2:14, 22–32 Ben Franklin once said that the only things we can be sure of are death and taxes. And during the month of April—especially this year—it feels like he wasn’t wrong. This April, we have faced both. At the beginning of the month, during Holy Week, we came face to face with our sin, our humanity, and our part in the death of Jesus Christ. And now that Easter has passed—it is full-on tax season. But the truth is, death and taxes are two very different conversations. Taxes come every year. Death comes once in a lifetime. Yet both can feel heavy… even overwhelming. But there is a third conversation happening in April. A better one. A conversation filled with joy, hope, and life. Easter is not just a day— it is a transformation. Easter is not just a day - it is a season. Fifty days of resurrection life. And if we are paying attention, it is a season that can transform not only our personal lives, but the mission of the church itself. During Eastertide, we don’t just hear stories about Jesus rising from the dead—we hear stories about what happens after. We hear how the resurrection changes people. We hear how the Holy Spirit opens doors that were once shut. And we see how the church is born—a church where everyone is invited into the miracle of new life. And in a world that constantly reminds us of scarcity, division, and fear—it is refreshing to hear that hope still has the power to change everything. ________________________________________ Last week, I showed you the sign for Jesus—does anyone remember? Today, I want to show you another sign. The sign is stand. Take one hand, hold it steady. Then take two fingers like a peace sign, turn them upside down, and place them firmly on the other hand. Our scripture begins this way: “Peter stood with the eleven…” Peter stood. That may not sound like much—but it is everything. Because this is the same Peter who, just weeks earlier, was afraid. The same Peter who denied Jesus. The same Peter who ran away and hid. He did not stand at the cross. He did not stand in courage. He did not stand in faith. But now—he stands. What changed? The resurrection happened. The Holy Spirit came. And Peter was transformed. The opposite of standing firm is having your world turned upside down. So the sign is the exact opposite. And if we are honest, we know what Peter fear feels like. Fear, uncertainty, doubt—we have all been there. There is a little bit of Peter in each of us. Which is exactly why this story matters. ________________________________________ Now let me say something bold: It’s a miracle that you are here today. And I don’t just mean the “first Sunday after Easter” miracle—though that counts! I don’t mean the miracle of getting kids dressed and out the door. I don’t mean the miracle of choosing church over everything else you could be doing. Those are real miracles—but I mean something deeper. I mean the miracle that, somewhere along the way, your heart was opened. Opened to hear that God loves you. Opened to believe that Christ is alive. Opened to receive grace. That is the miracle of faith. And that miracle didn’t start with you. It started long ago—on another morning, in another crowded city, when Peter stood up and told the world: “We are not drunk… we are filled with the Spirit of God. Jesus was crucified—but he is alive!” And that message changed everything. ________________________________________ Acts chapter 2 is one of the most powerful moments in all of Scripture. It is Peter’s first sermon. Jesus had commanded the disciples to go and make disciples of all nations—and here they are, gathered in Jerusalem during Pentecost, surrounded by people from all over the world. This was their moment. Peter speaks—and 3,000 people respond. 3,000 lives changed. Why? Because they saw themselves in the story. They recognized God at work in their own lives. They encountered hope. And that same invitation is extended to us today. ________________________________________ So let me ask you: Where have you seen new life in your own story? Where have you experienced healing? Where have you found forgiveness? Where has something broken been made whole? That is resurrection. When a relationship is restored—that is resurrection. When grace replaces guilt—that is resurrection. When hope rises where despair once lived—that is resurrection. The empty tomb is not just something we remember. It is something we live. ________________________________________ Peter says in verse 26: “My heart is glad, and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest in hope.” That phrase “rest in hope” can also be translated as “to dwell in hope”—to build your life there, like a bird building its nest. In other words: because of Jesus, we don’t just visit hope—we live in it. ________________________________________ There was a man named Terry Waite, an envoy of the Church of England. In 1987, while negotiating for hostages, he himself was captured and held in solitary confinement for nearly five years. Five years. Alone. Beaten. Barely fed. And yet, he said he survived by praying, by remembering Scripture, and by celebrating communion each day with a tiny piece of bread and water. After his release, he said something remarkable: “If you have faith, you will not be destroyed… you will find that you can live in hope.” Live in hope. That is what Peter discovered. That is what the disciples lived. And that is what we are invited into. ________________________________________ Because here is the truth: We still live in a world that talks about death and taxes. A world that knows fear and uncertainty. But we are people of a different conversation. Because he lives, we can face tomorrow. Because he lives, we can face hardship. Because he lives, we can even face death—not with fear, but with hope. ________________________________________ So now the question is not just: Do you believe in the resurrection? The question is: Will you stand in it? Will you stand like Peter? Will you stand in hope? Will you stand and be a witness? Because the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead… the same Spirit that transformed Peter… is alive in you. ________________________________________ Let us stand. Let us live in hope. Let us be witnesses to the resurrection. Amen. Song Pastoral Prayer How magnificent this place is today. The flowers that grace our worship area shout the good news of new life. Their colors and shapes dance with joy at the news of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. And we also rise in hope and celebration at this good news. The journey has been long, and it does not end here, but rather we are given new “marching orders” to go forth in confidence for God, to witness to the good news of the resurrection and the power of God’s love in Jesus Christ. We are called to be bearers of the light and hope to areas in which darkness still stands. Keep us open to the needs and hearts of other people. Help us not to be so quick to condemn as we are to love. Help us to reach out in kindness and compassion whenever and wherever we can for healing and hope. Remind us again of the many ways in which you have and continue to bless our lives. For we ask these things in the name of the Resurrected Christ. AMEN. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Nancy Townley) Lord’s Prayer Stewardship Moment Moment for Stewardship Margaret Renkl, a contemporary writer, wrote about being in worship following Easter. She affirmed, “I will … remember the ones I loved who sat beside me in the pew and whose participation in the eternal has found another form. I will lift my voice in song and give thanks for my life. I will pray for my church and my country, especially the people my church and my country are failing. And then I will walk into the world and do my best to practice resurrection.” (From “Easter Is Calling Me Back to the Church,” New York Times, March 25, 2018) I will walk into the world and do my best to practice resurrection. That’s our calling as Easter people! New life gives us new opportunities to practice resurrection. Like the first disciples, having received the resurrected Jesus’ gift (“receive the Holy Spirit!”), our best actions include using our time, our talents, and our treasure to offer LIFE to a world of need. Join me in sharing from our finances and in committing to sharing our time and our talents to plant this as a place where many are enabled to practice resurrection. With generous hearts, let’s act out our identity as resurrection people! Prayer of Thanksgiving God of abundant life, thank you for the Good News of resurrection! Thank you for the ways we’re inspired to live out that message through our daily lives. Accept these gifts and accept our intention not to hoard our time talents, and treasure, but to share them as “Alleluia!” signals of the life you desire for all your beloved children. AMEN Announcements Closing Prayer for YouTube Beloved, as you go know that you have been sent By a Creator who endowed you with every gift you need By a Loving God who stays with you on the journey By a Sovereign God who protects and provides By a Purposeful God who has a role for you in the kindom By a Merciful and Gracious God who understands and anticipates your mistakes By a Mighty God who offers refuge and hope in the raging storms By a Kind God who blesses us with community By a Challenging God who holds us accountable By a Risen God who laid the path that you might follow In love and hope, empowered and equipped, for honor and glory. Amen. (United Church of Christ Worship Ways, Cheryl Lindsay) Community Time – Joys and Concerns Benediction Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you. Amen. (Presbyterian Outlook, Philip Gladden) Additional resources The word for "stand" in the language of signing is to place your index and third fingers upright on your palm, held flat, as if standing. When I first learned some signing years ago, the father of a deaf boy in my parish was amused to point out that even signing has its slang. There's a proper sign for "understanding," which derives its origin from the learning process it describes. But he noted that there is also a slang equivalent. You take the sign for stand, and turn it upside down. How very appropriate that sign is for the Spirit's gift of understanding! This spiritual understanding defies gravity and reason; the conventional way of thinking is turned upside down. So Peter's words to the crowd, which he knows includes many who called for Jesus' crucifixion, are not words of revenge or anger or bitterness. He proclaims to them that God still holds out to them the promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit -- "to you and to your children and to all that are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him." The scripture tells that many were cut to the heart and wanted to know what they could do. "Repent," Peter replies, "turn your lives around." And thousands were baptized, and shared with the apostles in prayer and study and fellowship and communal meals. Our pews are full of such Peters, and Peters in progress. I’m glad to know the desire to not pass on bad news is universal. And that’s why I think Peter’s speech in Acts 2 took so much courage. A little over 40 days prior, Peter had denied he even knew Jesus. There is no evidence he was present at Jesus’ crucifixion. It appears he was more concerned with protecting his own life than following Jesus to the cross. Who can blame him? Yet on this day, the day of Pentecost, when Jerusalem was filled with Jewish believers from every nation, Peter stands up and makes this speech. And what a speech it was! There were no public relations agencies back then, but if there had been, the disciples’ PR rep never would have let Peter make this speech. “So you’re telling these guys that they killed the Messiah? Yeah, I’d scratch that entirely. No way they’re going to listen to you after that.” In 1852, six years before the Civil War, when slavery was entrenched in American society, abolitionist Frederick Douglass spoke at a public meeting in Ohio. He wanted to provide words of hope, but he just couldn’t see any way to obtain freedom and justice for those who were forced into slavery. But there was a woman attending the meeting that day named Sojourner Truth. Sojourner had escaped slavery and become a powerful speaker and social activist. And as she listened to her friend Douglass struggling for hope, she stood up and asked one question, “Frederick, is God dead?” And that one question instantly changed the mood of the meeting and filled Frederick Douglass and his listeners with hope. In fact, this question was so powerful that it is inscribed on Sojourner Truth’s gravestone. Is God dead? We aren’t facing the enormous and painful struggles of slavery and systemic injustice that Douglass and Sojourner Truth and so many African Americans faced back then. But we face our own challenges and fears and an uncertain future. How do we live with unshakable hope? By remembering that we serve a living God, and that God has always had a plan to save us and ensure our eternal life with Him. This life is not the end. Rev. Kenneth Kovacs shares a story he heard about a woman from Indiana who was volunteering at a refugee camp in El Salvador. As this woman witnessed the suffering of the refugees, sadness covered her like a black cloud. She couldn’t see any hope for their future. Until a refugee woman asked her why she looked so troubled. She pointed to the challenges the refugees were facing. The woman said that every time the refugees had to move to a new camp, they created three committees: “a construction committee, an education committee, and a committee of joy.” This third committee had the job of celebrating what is good in the present moment and pointing the refugees toward a hopeful future. The refugees made a choice to trust God and to live in hope. (4) And the final insight we get from this passage is that the truth of the resurrection motivates us to live in hope. Think for a moment. Where in your day-to-day living has new life taken root? Where have you found healing? How have new beginnings come upon you? Are these not the resurrection? Have you experienced forgiveness? Have you tasted the joy of grace in a relationship? All of this is of God. All of it echoes the beauty of that empty tomb, and if we can embrace it, we are witnesses to it all. Each of us has FOUR choices in life. These are basically the only choices we have in life. And we're told to pick one. We can choose to DO MORE of certain things. We can choose to DO LESS of certain things. WE can choose to STOP doing old things. We can choose to start doing new things. (I adapt this from Brian Tracy's Focal Point (New York: AMACOM, 2002), 4-5.) We can do more: more good; more exercise; more for our family; more for our community; more for our schools, more for the environment. We can do less; less consuming; less complaining; less needing; less demanding. We can stop; stop hating; stop being afraid; stop focusing on ourselves; stop rejecting all who differ from ourselves; stop hiding. We can start; start to care; start to feel; start to empathize; start to open up; start to see our unity; start to love again. He Rose Again! A man stood in front of the window of an art store in which a picture of the crucifixion of our Lord was on display. He was gazing intently at the display; the bleeding, dying, suffering form of the man on the middle cross had captured all his thoughts, and he was barely conscious of another person who stood beside him. Finally, turning around, he noticed a little boy with his eyes, too, fixed upon the scene. He was just a ragged little mite of humanity, standing there in torn clothes. The man thought he would see if the boy knew what the picture was about, so he said, "Son, do you know who that is?" The child was quick to reply, "Yes, sir," pointing to the man on the middle cross, "That’s our Savior." He was so surprised that that the man seemed not to know about him, and with a bit of pity in his voice, the boy eagerly told him the story of Jesus. "So," he continued, "them’s the soldiers," pointing to the Romans who had nailed Christ to the cross. Then, pointing to a woman near the edge of the crowd, he said, "That’s his mother, see. The woman who is crying." He pushed his hands deep into his pockets, as if waiting to see if the man wanted another answer about the scene. After a long silence, the boy said, "Yes, sir, that’s Jesus, and they killed him." "Where did you learn all this?" the man asked. "At Sunday school, sir," the boy replied. The man, with mingled feelings, turned once again to the crucifixion scene in the window and after a moment slowly walked away. The little street urchin was left looking at the picture alone. The man had not walked more than two blocks when he heard the sound of small feet beating exultantly on the sidewalk and a childish voice crying, "Mister! say, Mister!" Turning around, the man saw the same little lad running toward him. He was nearly out of breath, but when he reached him, he cried out triumphantly and joyously, "I forgot to tell you, HE ROSE AGAIN! Yes, Mister, HE ROSE AGAIN! That’s the most important part!" It is the most important part. We have no need for "After-Easter-Letdown." We are now made not just spectators, but participants, joyful witnesses to a sick, doubting, sinful, dying world, that because he lives, we live - and they can live also! CSS Publishing Co,. Inc., Bitter-sweet Recollections, by Barbara Brokhoff Automobile genius Henry Ford once came up with a revolutionary plan for a new kind of engine which we know today as the V8. Ford was eager to get his great new idea into production. He had some men draw up the plans, and presented them to the engineers. As the engineers studied the drawings, one by one they came to the same conclusion. Their visionary boss just didn't know much about the fundamental principles of engineering. He'd have to be told gently his dream was impossible. Ford said, "Produce it anyway." They replied, "But it's impossible." "Go ahead," Ford commanded, "and stay on the job until you succeed, no matter how much time is required." For six months they struggled with drawing after drawing, design after design. Nothing. Another six months. Nothing. At the end of the year Ford checked with his engineers and they once again told him that what he wanted was impossible. Ford told them to keep going. They did. And they discovered how to build a V8 engine. (4) Motivation that lasts comes from having someone greater than ourselves instructing us, encouraging us, prodding us, exhorting us. The disciples were changed because now they had the inner witness of the living Christ. They had more than excitement. They were changed persons. The Spirit had come and now dwelt within them. They were excited. They were also forever changed. One thing more needs to be noted. Look what kind of change took place. It is the kind of change that takes place every time a person truly comes under the Lordship of Christ. THEY LOOKED UPWARD AND THEY LOOKED OUTWARD. They devoted themselves to Bible study, prayer and praise. They also devoted themselves to increased fellowship with one another. Even more important, they opened their fellowship to the world outside. They were so eager to share what they had received that new persons were added to the church daily. When Fanny Brice, the renowned comedienne, was first offered a job from the much-acclaimed Florenz Ziegfeld, she accepted the job very quietly without much show of emotion. She thanked his secretary and his doorman very politely. As soon as she was out of the building, though, she raced down to the theater where she would be performing. All afternoon, she stood in front of the Broadway theater and grabbed people off the sidewalk to tell them that she would soon be working there. Wouldn't it be great to leave church this morning with that kind of excitement, that kind of enthusiasm--so that no matter how calm and sophisticated we look while we are inside these walls, we couldn't wait to get outside to share Christ's love with somebody else? That happened to the church on the day of Pentecost. Let's pray that it happens again--to us--our church--here and now. Benjamin Franklin once said, "Nothing in this world is certain but death and taxes." This week we would not question the validity of what he said. The difference, however, is that April 15 and the time for paying our income taxes comes around once a year. Death comes only once in a lifetime to each of us as human beings. So we look at them and we deal with them differently. WE NEED TO BE REMINDED OF THE EXCITEMENT. We all need excitement in our lives. We need it in our work. We need it in our marriages. We also need it in the church. I say that knowing that some people are scared to death of getting excited in church. It reminds me of a story David McCullough tells in his book MORNINGS ON HORSEBACK about young Teddy Roosevelt: Roosevelt's mother discovered one day that her son was so afraid of the Madison Square Church where their family attended that he refused to set foot inside if alone. He was terrified, she discovered, of something called the `zeal.' This zeal was crouched in the dark corners of the church ready to jump at him, he said. When she asked what a zeal might be, he said he was not sure, but thought it was probably a large animal like an alligator or a dragon. He had heard the minister read about it from the Bible. Using a concordance, she read him those passages containing the word zeal until suddenly, very excited, he told her to stop. The line was from John, 2:17, "And his disciples remembered that it was written, `The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.'" Young Teddy wanted nothing to do with this zeal that could eat people up. There are people today who are scared to death of the zeal of the Lord. They associate excitement or enthusiasm or zeal with emotionalism. They associate it with dancing in the aisles and jumping pews. Most of us would not be comfortable in such an atmosphere. Nevertheless, we do hunger for a little more excitement--a little more enthusiasm. The word `enthusiasm' comes from the Greek word ENTHOUSIASMOS which means `the God within you.' Is there anyone in this room who does not hunger for a greater sense of God's presence within? Maurice Boyd tells about a book called THE ENTHUSIASMS OF ROBERTSON DAVIES. Davies' enthusiasms described in the book range all the way from Mozart to figgy-pudding. "Do you have any enthusiasms?" Boyd asks. He tells about Eugene Ormandy who dislocated his shoulder while conducting the Philadelphia orchestra. Boyd speculates that Ormandy may have been conducting Brahms. In the margin of one of his symphonies Brahms wrote, "As loud as possible!" Only a few bars later, however, he wrote in, "Louder still!" Boyd concludes, "I know some people who have reached middle-age and have never had an enthusiasm great enough to dislodge a necktie let alone their shoulder." (1) That first Pentecost, there was a great enthusiasm. There was excitement. A.W. Tozer, that great preacher of a previous generation, was right. Perhaps we Christians can be seen as a bit odd: We love someone we have never seen; we daily speak aloud to someone we do not hear. We are strongest when we are weakest and richest when we are poorest. We die so that we might live and give away so that we can keep. We see the invisible, hear the inaudible, and know that which is beyond knowledge. Christian strange? Are we delusional? No. We just know the end of the story and that makes all of the difference.