Welcome! Thank you for joining us for worship today. In our services we gather before our almighty God to receive his gifts and to offer him our worship and praise. Through God’s powerful Word and Sacraments he renews our faith and strengthens us to serve in joy.

Conventional wisdom says that joy is a direct result of circumstance. If things are good, we’re happy. If things are challenging, our joy is less. It would seem then that being more joyful would require a change in situation. But it doesn’t – it requires a change in heart.

But that’s just what Easter does. Easter proves that God can take what normally causes people to weep and turn it into what causes people to rejoice. Sin, death, and shame went into Jesus’ tomb. Forgiveness, life, and glory came out. Our risen Savior gives us a joy that remains constant in the highest of life’s highs and the lowest of life’s lows. Because he lives, we have deep and lasting joy.