Prelude
Greeting and Welcome
Lighting of the Candles
Hymn of Invocation – What Wondrous Love Is This (LSB 543)
What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul!
When I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down beneath God’s righteous frown,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul, for my soul,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul.
To God and to the Lamb I will sing, I will sing;
To God and to the Lamb I will sing;
To God and to the Lamb, who is the great I AM,
While millions join the theme, I will sing, I will sing,
While millions join the theme, I will sing.
And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on;
And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on.
And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing His love for me,
And through eternity I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on,
And through eternity I’ll sing on.
Invocation
P: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
Opening Sentences
P: The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
C: The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
P: When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall.
C: Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.
P: One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple.
C: For He will hide me in His shelter in the day of trouble; He will conceal me under the cover of His tent; He will lift me high upon a rock.
P: Teach me Your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.
C: Give me not up to the will of my adversaries; for false witnesses have risen against me, and they breathe out violence.
P: I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord;
C: be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!
Confession and Absolution
P: Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord! O Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy!
C: If You, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with You there is forgiveness, that You may be feared.
P: As we cry to the Lord, and as He hears our voices, we come in confession of our sins and iniquities. We confess that we have not always waited in faith.
C: We have been impatient with others, leading us to not love our neighbors as ourselves. We have been impatient with You, leading us to doubt Your love for us, Your power, and Your presence.
P: We have sinned against others and against You in thought, word, and deed.
C: We deserve nothing but Your present and eternal punishment. For the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, that we may delight in Your will and walk in Your ways to the glory of Your holy name.
P: I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I hope;
C: my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning.
P: For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with Him is plentiful redemption. Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to take upon Himself the sins of the world, to die for you, and for His sake forgives you all your sins. As a called and ordained servant of Christ and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit
C: Amen.
First Reading – Lamentations 3:19–26
Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Second Reading – 1 John 4:7-21
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Hymn – My Song Is Love Unknown (LSB 430)
My song is love unknown,
My Savior’s love to me,
Love to the loveless shown
That they might lovely be.
Oh, who am I that for my sake
My Lord should take frail flesh and die?
He came from His blest throne
Salvation to bestow;
But men made strange, and none
The longed-for Christ would know.
But, oh, my friend, my friend indeed,
Who at my need His life did spend!
Sometimes they strew His way
And His sweet praises sing;
Resounding all the day
Hosannas to their King.
Then “Crucify!” is all their breath,
And for His death they thirst and cry.
Why, what hath my Lord done?
What makes this rage and spite?
He made the lame to run,
He gave the blind their sight.
Sweet injuries! Yet they at these
Themselves displease and ’gainst Him rise.
They rise and needs will have
My dear Lord made away;
A murderer they save,
The Prince of Life they slay.
Yet cheerful He to suff’ring goes
That He His foes from thence might free.
In life no house, no home
My Lord on earth might have;
In death no friendly tomb
But what a stranger gave.
What may I say? Heav’n was His home
But mine the tomb wherein He lay.
Here might I stay and sing,
No story so divine!
Never was love, dear King,
Never was grief like Thine.
This is my friend, in whose sweet praise
I all my days could gladly spend!
Sermon
Offering
Offertory
Apostles' Creed
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.
Prayers
P: Let us pray for the whole people of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs. Heavenly Father, broken by this world of sin, we are an impatient people. In our times of seeking justice, facing distress, and struggling with situations, help us to patiently hope in You and Your promises made, promises fulfilled, and promises yet to come. Lord, in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer as we wait for Your salvation.
P: We lift up those who cry out to You in distress and despair. As they wait for healing, peace, and comfort, be the rock of their salvation and hope in times of need. Lord, in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer as we wait for Your salvation.
P: Halfway through this Lenten journey, we wait to walk with Jesus in the culmination of His passion—His suffering, crucifixion, and death for the sins of the world. Grant us repentant hearts to know our need for a Savior, what You have given in Your one and only Son, and the forgiveness of sins and eternal good worked for the sake of the world through the one sacrifice needed. Lord, in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer as we wait for Your salvation.
P: Into Your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in Your mercy, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
C: Amen.
Lord’s Prayer
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.
Benediction
P: The almighty and merciful Lord, the Father, the + Son, and the Holy Spirit, bless and preserve you.
C: Amen.
Hymn – They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love (AGPS 237)
We are one in the Spirit,
We are one in the Lord,
We are one in the Spirit,
We are one in the Lord,
And we pray that all unity
May one day be restored. Refrain
Refrain: And they’ll know we are Christians
By our love, by our love,
Yes they’ll know we are Christians by our love.
We will walk with each other,
We will walk hand in hand,
We will walk with each other,
We will walk hand in hand,
And together we’ll spread the news
That God is in our land. Refrain
We will work with each other,
We will work side by side,
We will work with each other,
We will work side by side,
And we’ll guard each man’s dignity
And save each man’s pride. Refrain
All praise to the Father,
From whom all things come,
And all praise to Christ Jesus,
His only Son,
And all praise to the Spirit,
Who makes us one. Refrain
Postlude
+ WORSHIP LEADERS +
Preacher/Liturgist – Pastor Scott Jonas
Organist – Jim Thielker
Sound/Video – Paul Barbercheck
