The Third Sunday in Lent
Prelude
Gathering
Brief Order for Confession and Forgiveness
Please stand as you are able. The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their Baptism.
P: In the name of the Father, and of the ☩ Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
P: Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
C: Amen.
P: If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Please kneel or sit as you are able.
Silence for reflection and self-examination.
P: Most merciful God,
C: we confess that we are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves. We have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy name. Amen.
P: Almighty God, in his mercy, has given his Son to die for us and, for his sake, forgives us all our sins. As a called and ordained minister of the Church of Christ, and by his authority, I therefore declare to you the entire forgiveness of all your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the ☩ Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
Please stand as you are able.
Entrance Hymn #104 (green hymnal)
“In the Cross of Christ I Glory”
1 In the cross of Christ I glory,
tow’ring o’er the wrecks of time.
All the light of sacred story
gathers round its head sublime.
2 When the woes of life o’ertake me,
hopes deceive, and fears annoy,
never shall the cross forsake me;
lo, it glows with peace and joy.
3 When the sun of bliss is beaming
light and love upon my way,
from the cross the radiance streaming
adds more luster to the day.
4 Bane and blessing, pain and pleasure,
by the cross are sanctified;
peace is there that knows no measure,
joys that through all time abide.
Greeting
P: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
C: And also with you.
Kyrie
♫ LBW Setting 1
(green hymnal, p. 57)
L: In peace, let us pray to the Lord.
C: Lord, have mercy.
L: For the peace from above, and for our salvation, let us pray to the Lord.
C: Lord, have mercy.
L: For the peace of the whole world, for the well-being of the Church of God, and for the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord.
C: Lord, have mercy.
L: For this holy house, and for all who offer here their worship and praise, let us pray to the Lord.
C: Lord, have mercy.
L: Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord.
C: Amen.
Hymn of Praise
♫ LBW Setting 1
(green hymnal, p. 58)
L: Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth.
C: Lord God, heavenly king, almighty God and Father:
We worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory.
Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God:
You take away the sin of the world; have mercy on us.
You are seated at the right hand of the Father; receive our prayer.
For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
Prayer of the Day
♫ LBW Setting 1
(green hymnal, p. 62)
P: The Lord be with you.
C: And also with you.
P: Let us pray.
Holy God, through your Son you have called us to live faithfully and act courageously. Keep us steadfast in your covenant of grace, and teach us the wisdom that comes only through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C: Amen.
The Word
Blessing of the Lector
P: Even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart. Return to the Lord, your God, who is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.
Let us pray.
Bless Kathy, O God of mercy, and bless us as we listen to the words of the scriptures. May they touch our hearts and lead us to return to you, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
C: Amen.
Please be seated.
First Reading: Exodus 20:1-17
1 God spoke all these words:
2 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; 3 you shall have no other gods before me.
4 You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, 6 but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7 You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.
8 Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work. 10 But the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.
12 Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
13 You shall not murder.
14 You shall not commit adultery.
15 You shall not steal.
16 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
17 You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
The word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Psalmody
“Heaven Declares” (Psalm 19)
1 Heaven declares the glory of our God!
The skies proclaim the works of Your hand.
There is no speech devoid of their voices.
They spread Your glory over the land.
Like a champion in heaven,
triumphantly sweeps Your sun:
shedding warmth upon us all,
touching ev’ryone.
2 Your law, O Lord, is perfect, life giving.
Your precepts, Lord, bring joy to the heart.
Your law, O Lord, is pure and enduring.
Radiant, indeed, the Light it imparts!
Your laws are more precious,
more precious than pure gold, O Lord!
Sweeter they than honey, Lord—
their guidance, my reward!
3 Who can discern the error of their way?
Forgive me, Lord, of my hidden flaws.
Keep me, O Lord, from willful transgressions.
Keep me tucked safely within Your Law.
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25
18 The message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, 23 but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.
The word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Please stand as you are able.
Verse
♫ LBW Setting 1
(green hymnal, p. 63)
Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love,
and abounding in steadfast love.
Gospel: John 2:13-22
♫ LBW Setting 1
(green hymnal, p. 63)
P: The Holy Gospel according to St. John, the 2nd chapter.
C: Glory to you, O Lord.
13 The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. 15 Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” 18 The Jews then said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking of the temple of his body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
P: The Gospel of the Lord.
C: Praise to you, O Christ.
Please be seated.
Children’s Sermon
Sermon
Silence for reflection and meditation.
Hymn of the Day #747 (blue hymnal)
“Christ Is Made the Sure Foundation”
1 Christ is made the sure foundation,
Christ, our head and cornerstone,
chosen of the Lord and precious,
binding all the church in one;
holy Zion’s help forever
and our confidence alone.
2 To this temple, where we call you,
come, O Lord of hosts, and stay;
come with all your lovingkindness,
hear your people as they pray;
and your fullest benediction
shed within these walls today.
3 Grant, we pray, to all your faithful
all the gifts they ask to gain;
what they gain from you, forever
with the blessed to retain;
and hereafter in your glory
evermore with you to reign.
4 Praise and honor to the Father,
praise and honor to the Son,
praise and honor to the Spirit,
ever three and ever one:
one in might and one in glory
while unending ages run!
Please stand as you are able.
The Nicene Creed
A: Let us confess our common faith with all Christians throughout time and place, using the words of the Nicene Creed.
We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven;
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
Prayers of Intercession
A: Let us pray for the whole people of God in Christ Jesus, and for all people according to their needs.
After each petition:
A: Lord, in your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
After the last petition:
A: Into your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in your mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
C: Amen.
Peace
P: The peace of Christ be with you always.
C: And also with you.
The ministers and congregation may greet one another in the name of the Lord.
Invitation to Offering
A: “The lover of money will not be satisfied with money; nor the lover of wealth, with gain. This also is vanity” (Ecc 5:10). Let us, then, let go of the love of money by giving our offering to God.
Offering
♫ LBW Setting 1
(green hymnal, p. 75)
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with your free Spirit.
Offertory Prayer
A: Let us pray.
C: Merciful Father, we offer with joy and thanksgiving what you have first given us—our selves, our time, and our possessions, signs of your gracious love. Receive them for the sake of him who offered himself for us, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Meal
Dialogue
♫ LBW Setting 1
(green hymnal, p. 68)
P: The Lord be with you.
C: And also with you.
P: Lift up your hearts.
C: We lift them to the Lord.
P: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
C: It is right to give him thanks and praise.
P: It is indeed right and salutary that we should at all times and in all places offer thanks and praise to you, O Lord, holy Father, through Christ our Lord. You bid your people cleanse their hearts and prepare with joy for the paschal feast. Renew our zeal in faith and life, and bring us to the fullness of grace that belongs to the children of God. And so, with the Church on earth and the hosts of heaven, we praise your name and join their unending hymn:
Sanctus
♫ LBW Setting 1
(green hymnal, p. 69)
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of pow’r and might:
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
Thanksgiving
P: Holy God, mighty Lord, gracious Father: Endless is your mercy and eternal your reign. You have filled all creation with light and life; heaven and earth are full of your glory. Through Abraham you promised to bless all nations. You rescued Israel, your chosen people. Through the prophets you renewed your promise; and, at this end of all the ages, you sent your Son, who in words and deeds proclaimed your kingdom and was obedient to your will, even to giving his life.
In the night in which he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks; broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take and eat; this is my body, given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.
Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it for all to drink, saying: This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin. Do this for the remembrance of me.
For as often as we eat of this bread and drink from this cup we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
C: Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ will come again.
P: Therefore, gracious Father, with this bread and cup we remember the life our Lord offered for us. And, believing the witness of his resurrection, we await his coming in power to share with us the great and promised feast.
C: Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
P: Send now, we pray, your Holy Spirit, the spirit of our Lord and of his resurrection, that we who receive the Lord’s body and blood may live to the praise of your glory and receive our inheritance with all your saints in light.
C: Amen. Come, Holy Spirit.
P: Join our prayers with those of your servants of every time and every place, and unite them with the ceaseless petitions of our great high priest until he comes as victorious Lord of all.
♫ LBW Setting 1
(green hymnal, p. 71)
C: Through him, with him, in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all honor and glory is yours, almighty Father, now and forever. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
P: Lord, remember us in your kingdom, and teach us to pray:
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
forever and ever. Amen.
Invitation to Communion
P: Bread for the journey. A feast for hungry hearts. Come!
Please be seated.
Agnus Dei
♫ LBW Setting 1
(green hymnal, p. 72)
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world;
have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world;
have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world;
grant us peace.
Communion
P: The Body of Christ, broken for you.
The Blood of Christ, shed for you.
Those who wish to commune at the altar rail may either bring forward their individual Communion kit, or receive the wafer and wine/grape juice by intinction (dipping) from the Communion Ministers, when they are directed forward by the usher. Those who wish to commune in their seat with their individual Communion kit may remain seated.
Communion Hymn #482 (green hymnal)
“When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”
1 When I survey the wondrous cross
on which the prince of glory died,
my richest gain I count but loss
and pour contempt on all my pride.
2 Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast
save in the death of Christ, my God;
all the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to his blood.
3 See, from his head, his hands, his feet,
sorrow and love flow mingled down.
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
or thorns compose so rich a crown?
4 Were the whole realm of nature mine,
that were a tribute far too small;
love so amazing, so divine,
demands my soul, my life, my all!
Table Blessing
P: The body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ strengthen you and keep you in his grace.
C: Amen.
Post-Communion Canticle
♫ LBW Setting 1
(green hymnal, p. 72)
Lord, now you let your servant go in peace;
your word has been fulfilled.
My own eyes have seen the salvation
which you have prepared in the sight of ev’ry people:
A light to reveal you to the nations
and the glory of your people Israel.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Post-Communion Prayer
A: Let us pray.
Almighty God, you gave your Son both as a sacrifice for sin and a model of the godly life. Enable us to receive him always with thanksgiving, and to conform our lives to his; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.
C: Amen.
Silence for reflection.
Sending
Announcements For God’s Mission in the World
Please stand as you are able.
Blessing
♫ LBW Setting 1
(green hymnal, p. 74)
P: Almighty God, Father, ☩ Son, and Holy Spirit, bless you now and forever.
C: Amen.
Closing Hymn #415 (green hymnal)
“God of Grace and God of Glory”
1 God of grace and God of glory,
on your people pour your pow’r;
crown your ancient church’s story;
bring its bud to glorious flow’r.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage
for the facing of this hour,
for the facing of this hour.
2 Lo! The hosts of evil round us
scorn the Christ, assail his ways!
From the fears that long have bound us
free our hearts to faith and praise.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage
for the living of these days,
for the living of these days,
3 Cure your children’s warring madness;
bend our pride to your control;
shame our wanton, selfish gladness,
rich in things and poor in soul.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
lest we miss your kingdom’s goal,
let we miss your kingdom’s goal.
4 Save us from weak resignation
to the evils we deplore;
let the gift of your salvation
be our glory evermore.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
serving you whom we adore,
serving you whom we adore.
Dismissal
A: Go in peace. Serve the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Postlude
Worship Leaders
The Rev. Emily Beckering, Pastor
Kris Keith, Music Director
Kate Wollenburg, Organist
Nancy Erbeck, Assisting Minister
Kathy Hirt, Reader
Upcoming Events
Sunday, March 3: Third Sunday in Lent
9 am Sunday School / Adult Bible Study & discussion
10:30 am Worship Service
After worship: Evangelism Committee
Wednesday, March 6
2:30 pm Bible study
7 pm Lenten Worship Service: Witnesses at the Cross
(“The Bystanders and Scoffers,” Pastor Christie Beckmann)
Sunday, March 10: Fourth Sunday in Lent
9 am Intergenerational Sunday School
10:30 am Worship Service
Wednesday, March 13
2:30 pm Bible study
7 pm Lenten Worship Service: Witnesses at the Cross
(“The Beloved Disciple,” Pastor Tyler Moquin-Lee)
Thursday, March 14
6 pm Confirmation Class
Saturday, March 16
4 pm Community Easter Egg Hunt
Copyright Notices
Heaven Declares: Text and music by Stephen J. Pearson © 1996 Psalmistry Music.
God of Grace and God of Glory: Arr. © 1969 Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission.
Hymns/anthems: Music reprinted and streamed by permission under ONE LICENSE #A‐726103 and CCLI Licenses #21045423 and #21045416. All rights reserved.
Liturgical texts and service music: From SundaysandSeasons.com. Copyright © 2023 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #SAS010308.