| Prelude Greeting and Welcome Lighting of the Candles Processional Hymn of Invocation – Lord, Whose Love through Humble Service (LSB 848)
Lord, whose love through humble service Bore the weight of human need, Who upon the cross, forsaken, Offered mercy’s perfect deed, We, Your servants, bring the worship Not of voice alone, but heart, Consecrating to Your purpose Ev’ry gift that You impart. Still Your children wander homeless; Still the hungry cry for bread; Still the captives long for freedom; Still in grief we mourn our dead. As, O Lord, Your deep compassion Healed the sick and freed the soul, Use the love Your Spirit kindles Still to save and make us whole. As we worship, grant us vision, Till Your love’s revealing light In its height and depth and greatness, Dawns upon our quickened sight, Making known the needs and burdens Your compassion bids us bear, Stirring us to tireless striving, Your abundant life to share.
Called by worship to Your service, Forth in Your dear name we go, To the child, the youth, the aged, Love in living deeds to show; Hope and health, goodwill and comfort, Counsel, aid, and peace we give, That Your servants, Lord, in freedom May Your mercy know and live. + Preparation + Invocation P: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. C: Amen. Opening Sentences 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: I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord, C: for with the Lord is plenteous redemption and the forgiveness of all our sins. P: Let us then confess our sins unto our gracious Lord. C: Almighty God, Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ, maker of all things, judge of all people, we admit and confess our sinfulness. We have turned away from one another in our thinking, speaking, and doing. We have done the evil You forbid and have not done the good You demand. We do repent and are truly sorry for these our sins. Have mercy on us, kind Father, because of the obedience of our brother, Jesus Christ, Your Son. Forgive us all that is past and with the power of the Holy Spirit, move us to serve You faithfully. Set our feet upon the new path of life, and build Your kingdom here through Jesus Christ, our Lord. P: God has promised forgiveness of sins to those who repent and turn to Him. In His stead and by His command, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. C: Amen. P: God keep you in His grace by the Holy Spirit, lead you to greater faith and obedience, and bring you to live with Him forever, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. C: Amen.
+ Word + Prayer of the Day P: 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. 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. Psalm – Psalm 116:12-19 P: What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits to me? C: I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord, P: I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all His people. C: Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. P: O Lord, I am Your servant; I am Your servant, the son of Your maidservant. You have loosed my bonds. C: I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord. P: I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all His people, C: in the courts of the house of the Lord, in your midst, O Jerusalem. Praise the Lord! Epistle – Hebrews 9:11–22 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive. Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood. For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, “This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you.” And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship. Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. P: This is the Word of the Lord. C: Thanks be to God. Holy Gospel – Matthew 26:17-30 P: The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the twenty-sixth chapter. C: Glory to You, O Lord.
Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?” He said, “Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, My time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.’” And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover. When it was evening, he reclined at table with the twelve. And as they were eating, he said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him one after another, “Is it I, Lord?” He answered, “He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me. 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.” Judas, who would betray him, answered, “Is it I, Rabbi?” He said to him, “You have said so.” Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” 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 – Lord Jesus, Think on Me (LSB 610) Lord Jesus, think on me And purge away my sin; From worldly passions set me free And make me pure within. Lord Jesus, think on me, By anxious thoughts oppressed; Let me Your loving servant be And taste Your promised rest. Lord Jesus, think on me Amid the battle’s strife; In all my pain and misery, O be my health and life!
Lord Jesus, think on me Nor let me go astray; Through darkness and perplexity Point out Your chosen way. Lord Jesus, think on me That, when this life is past, I may the eternal brightness see And share Your joy at last. Sermon 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. Prayer of the Church P: Let us pray for the whole people of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs. For the faithful proclamation of Christ’s saving name, that God’s people may be strengthened in the true faith and His kingdom extended, let us pray to the Lord: C: Lord, have mercy. P: For the Holy Christian Church throughout the world and for all who confess the name of Christ, that God would guard and defend us from the temptations of the devil, the world, and our sinful nature, let us pray to the Lord: C: Lord, have mercy. P: For this congregation, its mission and its people; for the ability to meet the needs that arise as we do the work God has given us to do; and for the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, let us pray to the Lord: C: Lord, have mercy. P: For all who partake this day of Christ’s holy body and blood, that in their eating and drinking they may receive the benefits of forgiveness of sins and the renewal of life and have a foretaste of the feast to come, let us pray to the Lord: C: Lord, have mercy. P: For all of us gathered here in worship, that the blessings of this service be shown forth in our lives as we live in peaceable service to one another and in the world, let us pray to the Lord: C: Lord, have mercy and grant us Your peace. Amen. Offertory | 
