Prelude – O Sacred Head, Now Wounded
Greeting and Welcome
Lighting of the Candles
Hymn of Invocation – The Lamb (LSB 547)
The Lamb, the Lamb,
O Father, where’s the sacrifice?
Faith sees, believes
God will provide the Lamb of price! Refrain
Refrain: Worthy is the Lamb whose death makes me His own!
The Lamb is reigning on His throne!
The Lamb, the Lamb,
One perfect final offering.
The Lamb, the Lamb,
Let earth join heav’n His praise to sing. Refrain
The Lamb, the Lamb,
As wayward sheep their shepherd kill
So still, His will
On our behalf the Law to fill. Refrain
He sighs, He dies,
He takes my sin and wretchedness.
He lives, forgives,
He gives me His own righteousness. Refrain
+ Preparation +
Invocation
P: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
Opening Sentences – Psalm 43:4; 124:8
P: I will go to the altar of God,
C: to God my exceeding joy.
P: Our help is in the name of the Lord,
C: who made heaven and earth.
Confession and Absolution
P: During this Lenten season we have heard our Lord’s call to intensify our struggle against sin, death, and the devil, everything that prevents us from trusting in God and loving one another. Especially since it is our intention to receive the Holy Supper of our Lord Jesus Christ on this night on which He instituted this blessed Sacrament, it is proper that we examine ourselves since this Holy Sacrament has been instituted for the special comfort of those who are troubled because of their sin and who humbly confess their sins, fear God’s wrath, and hunger and thirst for righteousness.
Since we confess that we are incapable of delivering ourselves, our Lord Jesus Christ came to fulfill God’s Law for us and deliver us by taking on Himself our sin and the punishment we deserve.
The Sacrament of Holy Communion was instituted by our Lord in order that we may receive and more confidently believe His forgiveness and be strengthened in the faith and in holy living. Therefore whoever eats this bread and drinks this cup, faithfully believing the Word and promise of Christ, dwells in Christ and Christ in him and has eternal life.
When He says, “Do this in remembrance of Me,” He means that we are truly to believe that we receive His body and blood, which was sacrificed for us on the cross and raised again to give us forgiveness and life eternal. We also are enabled to receive His command to love one another as He has loved us. As He washed His disciples’ feet, so we by our words and actions serve one another in love.
May the almighty and merciful God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, by His Holy Spirit, accomplish this in us.
C: Amen.
P: Having heard the Word of God, let us confess our sins, imploring God our Father for the sake of His Son, Jesus Christ, to grant us forgiveness.
Silence for reflection on God’s Word and for self-examination.
P: O almighty God, merciful Father,
C: I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You and justly deserved Your temporal and eternal punishment. But I am heartily sorry for them and sincerely repent of them, and I pray You of Your boundless mercy and for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor, sinful being.
P: God be merciful to you and strengthen your faith.
C: Amen.
P: Do you believe that the forgiveness I speak is not my forgiveness but God’s?
C: Yes.
P: Let it be done for you as you believe. In the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
P: Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it. Go in + peace.
C: Amen.
P: The Lord be with you.
C: And also with you.
P: Let us pray. O Lord, in this wondrous Sacrament You have left us a remembrance of Your passion. Grant that we may so receive the sacred mystery of Your body and blood that the fruits of Your redemption may continually be manifest in us; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C: Amen.
+ Word +
First Reading – Exodus 24:3–11
Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the just decrees And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do.”
And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. He rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. And he sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord. And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he threw against the altar. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”
Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, and they saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank.
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Epistle – 1 Corinthians 10:16–17
The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Holy Gospel – Mark 14:1-26
P: The Holy Gospel according to St. Mark, the fourteenth chapter.
C: Glory to You, O Lord.
And on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, “Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?” And he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him, and wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ And he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; there prepare for us.” And the disciples set out and went to the city and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.
And when it was evening, he came with the twelve. And as they were reclining at table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.” They began to be sorrowful and to say to him one after another, “Is it I?” He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the dish with me. For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.”
And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
P: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C: Praise to You, O Christ.
Hymn of the Day – Eat This Bread (LSB 638)
Refrain: Eat this bread, drink this cup,
Come to Him and never be hungry.
Eat this bread, drink this cup,
Trust in Him and you will not thirst.
This is His body given for you;
this is His blood that was shed for you. Refrain
As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup,
you show His death until He comes again. Refrain
Eat His flesh and drink His blood,
and Christ will raise you up on the Last Day. Refrain
Anyone who eats this bread
will live forever. Refrain
If we believe and eat this bread,
we will have eternal life. Refrain
Sermon
Apostles' Creed
C: I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life + everlasting. Amen.
Prayer of the Church
P: Lord God, our heavenly Father, we offer to You our common supplications for the well-being of Your Holy Church throughout the world and for this congregation gathered in Your name. Guide and govern Your Church by Your Holy Spirit that all who profess themselves Christians may be led into the way of truth and hold the truth in unity of spirit, in the bond of peace, and in righteousness of life. As Your Son, our Lord Jesus, commanded us, enable us to love one another in sincerity and truth.
Be merciful to all who are in authority over us. Supply them with Your blessing that they may be inclined to Your will and walk according to Your commandments. Preserve all who travel, satisfy the wants of Your creatures, and help those who call upon You in any need that they may have patience in the midst of suffering and, according to Your will, be released from their afflictions.
We praise You for the abundant mercy that You so richly have provided us, blessing us not only with daily bread for our bodies but also with heavenly food for our souls. Grant that Your living and powerful Word abide in our hearts. Let Your holy angels be with us that the evil foe may have no power over us. Deliver and preserve us in the saving faith, and grant Your blessing upon us all; through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C: Amen.
Offertory
