Wyndham Hobsons Bay Lutheran Church Service 12/04/2026

Devotional

Day 1: The Risen Christ Breathes New Life Into Us

The resurrected Jesus appeared to his disciples, showing them his wounds and speaking peace. In a powerful act of re-creation, he then breathed on them, imparting the Holy Spirit. This breath is the very source of new, spiritual life, a life that conquers death. This same life-giving breath continues to be given to us today through the means of grace. [28:19]

And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20:22 ESV)

Reflection: In what ways have you experienced the life-giving breath of the Holy Spirit, perhaps through a word of forgiveness, a moment of peace, or a sense of God's presence?

Day 2: Our Living Hope is Rooted in Christ's Resurrection

This new life is not without a future; it is filled with a living hope. This hope is not a mere wish but a confident assurance based on the historical reality of Christ's resurrection. Because Jesus conquered death, we have the certain promise that we, too, shall conquer death. This hope transforms how we view every circumstance we face. [30:04]

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. (1 Peter 1:3 ESV)

Reflection: How might embracing the "living hope" of your resurrection change your perspective on a current challenge or fear you are facing?

Day 3: We Have an Eternal Inheritance That is Secure

This rebirth brings about a glorious inheritance. Unlike earthly inheritances that can perish, be stolen, or fade, our heavenly inheritance is kept secure by God's power. It is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, reserved for us in heaven. This truth frees us from clinging too tightly to the temporary treasures of this world. [32:27]

…to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. (1 Peter 1:4 ESV)

Reflection: Where do you find yourself investing most of your energy and security—in things that are temporary or in the eternal inheritance God has for you?

Day 4: Rejoicing in the Midst of Various Trials

The living hope of a secure inheritance enables a profound joy, even in suffering. When viewed through the lens of eternity, our present trials are revealed to be temporary and momentary. God can use these difficulties, much like a loving parent uses discipline, to shape and grow us in faith and maturity. [33:12]

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials. (1 Peter 1:6 ESV)

Reflection: Can you identify a past difficulty that, in hindsight, you see God used to strengthen your faith or character?

Day 5: Believing Without Seeing and Receiving Life

The ultimate goal of God's work is that we would trust in His Son. Jesus pronounced a blessing on those who believe without having seen him physically. This faith, sparked by the testimony of Scripture and the work of the Spirit, is the channel through which we receive the life that is found in His name. [16:03]

Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29 ESV)

Reflection: What is one step you can take this week to actively nurture your belief and trust in the unseen Jesus?

Sermon Summary

On the second Sunday of Easter the resurrection frames a sustained meditation on new life, the Spirit, and the ordinary means by which God gives and preserves faith. The narrative of John 20 anchors the reflection: Jesus appears in the locked room, shows his wounds, pronounces peace, and breathes the Holy Spirit into his followers—linking the Genesis breath of life to the risen life now given. That breathed Spirit becomes the living, shaping presence in the community, conveyed through word, sacrament, confession, and absolution so that the body of Christ continues to deliver forgiveness and spiritual life.

The teaching draws directly from Peter’s account of new birth into a living hope rooted in Christ’s resurrection. That hope is not a mere wish but a fixed confidence based on a historical, God-ordained act that guarantees an inheritance imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. Believers stand in a relationship with God that transforms suffering: trials and losses do not erase hope because the future inheritance transcends temporal damage. The life granted by the resurrection reorders priorities so that temporal pain becomes formative rather than final.

The reflection also addresses the mystery of suffering within loving formation. Human parents sometimes cause temporary hardship for the sake of a child’s growth; God’s loving discipline can operate similarly, producing growth, repentance, and faith rather than immediate comfort. This perspective holds space for honest grief and struggle while insisting that the resurrection gives meaning and direction to those trials.

Finally, the liturgical life—baptism, absolution, and the Lord’s Supper—receives particular attention as the tangible continuation of the risen breath. The sacraments and the church’s ministry enact the forgiveness and new life that Jesus secured by his blood and body. Worship therefore becomes the place where the living hope is both proclaimed and received, strengthening believers to live toward the inheritance that death cannot touch. The service closes with blessing and sending, urging hearts to remain steady in the peace and power of the risen Lord.

Key Takeaways

1. Resurrection breath gives new life The risen Christ’s breathing on the disciples links resurrection to a renewed ontological reality: the Spirit becomes the community’s animating life. That breath does not merely inspire emotion but institutes a living, operative presence that forgives, forms, and commissions. The church receives and passes on that life through word and sacrament, making resurrection tangible in ordinary places. [28:19]
2. Living hope secured by resurrection Biblical hope functions as a sure confidence grounded in a past redemptive act that guarantees future inheritance. Because Christ rose, believers possess an inheritance imperishable and beyond temporal decay; this certainty reorients fear and longing. Such hope sustains ethical and spiritual perseverance amid uncertainty. [29:50]
3. Suffering refines, not negates, hope Suffering and divine discipline can produce growth rather than defeat when interpreted within the horizon of resurrection. Like parental training that causes temporary pain for lasting maturity, trials test allegiance and call for faithful endurance. This framing neither trivializes pain nor bypasses pastoral care; it locates suffering within a providential story that ends in life. [33:53]
4. Sacraments convey forgiveness and life The sacraments and the church’s ministry function as the tangible channels of the resurrection’s effects: absolution pronounces restored status, and the Eucharist feeds the new life. These rites do not merely symbolize but enact and confirm the grace already won by Christ’s body and blood. Participation strengthens faith and sustains the community’s mission in the world. [37:29]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[02:35] - Easter season and Paschal candle
[05:58] - Confession and absolution
[07:42] - Psalm and opening prayer
[14:25] - Gospel: John 20 appearance
[28:19] - Breath of the Holy Spirit
[29:50] - Living hope and inheritance
[33:53] - Suffering, discipline, and hope
[51:16] - Sacrament: Body and Blood
[64:50] - Blessing and sending

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading: John 20:19-23 (ESV)
On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

Observation questions

What three specific actions did Jesus perform when he appeared to the disciples in the locked room?
What is the connection between Jesus showing his wounds and the disciples' belief?
How does Jesus link his own mission from the Father to the mission he is giving his disciples?
What is the significance of Jesus breathing on his disciples and what does he tell them to receive?

Interpretation questions

Why was it important for Jesus to show his wounds to his disciples before commissioning them? [28:09]
Jesus breathes on his disciples and says, "Receive the Holy Spirit." How does this act connect to the creation of the first man in Genesis and the new life offered through the resurrection? [28:19]
The hope described is not a wish but a "fixed and certain hope." What past event gives believers this confidence about their future? [30:54]
How can suffering and divine discipline be understood as a form of loving formation, similar to how a parent disciplines a child? [33:53]

Application questions

The peace Jesus gives is not the absence of trouble but his presence with us. What is a current situation in your life where you need to be reminded of Christ’s peace and presence more than a change in circumstances?
The breath of the Holy Spirit is conveyed through the church in confession, absolution, and the sacraments. How have you personally experienced God’s forgiveness and new life through these ordinary means? [28:59]
Biblical hope is a "fixed confidence" based on Christ's resurrection. When you face uncertainty or fear, what practical step can you take to redirect your focus from your circumstances to this guaranteed inheritance? [31:39]
Suffering is framed as something that "refines, not negates, hope." [33:53] What is one trial you are facing right now that you could ask God to use for your growth and formation rather than just praying for Him to remove it?
Our eternal inheritance is described as "imperishable, undefiled, and unfading." [31:39] How does remembering this truth change the way you view your earthly possessions, legacy, and daily priorities?
The illustration of a parent's loving discipline was used to understand God's work in our lives. [33:53] Where have you seen God’s loving hand in your life, not just in giving you comfort, but in pushing you to grow, even when it was difficult?

Sermon Clips

And then we are astonished again at the grace of God. We are amazed at the breath of God breathing over us and in us and saying, I forgive you. Take and eat. Take and drink. My body given for you. My blood shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins. And then we get taken up into a larger vision than we ourselves can see, the revelation of our God, which though we cannot see, we believe, and believing, we start again, down the road of faith to that heavenly goal, to the inheritance reserved in heaven for each of us. [00:37:07] (58 seconds) #AstonishedByGrace

But what do we really mean when we say that Jesus is alive, that he rose from the dead? Part of our problem, I think, is that even today, with all the advances in medicine and science, we really don't know what life actually is. In the Old Testament, it was believed that life was in the blood, and that's why God forbade the Israelites from eating blood or meat with blood in it. And it's also why blood was so important to the ritual sacrifices in the temple, and why Jesus' blood needed to be shed for the sake of our salvation. [00:26:22] (52 seconds) #LifeInTheBlood

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Wyndham Hobsons Bay Lutheran Church Service 12/04/2026 - 2nd Sunday of Easter