16 Mar BULLETIN – SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2024
WELCOME to MESSIAH & ST. PETER LUTHERAN CHURCHES
Reverend Nancy Brody, Pastor
Greta Wright, Organist
Sunday, March 17, 2024
Fifth Sunday in Lent
ANNOUNCEMENTS
PRELUDE
CONFESSION and FORGIVENESS
Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God, who writes the law upon our hearts so that all people will care for one another. Amen.
Held in God’s mercy, let us confess our sin in the presence of God and each other. Silence is kept for reflection.
Holy God, we confess that we are caught in tangled webs of sin and cannot break ourselves free. We hoard things for ourselves while neighbors suffer. We speak in ways that silence others or remain silent when we should speak up. We keep score in our hearts and let hurt grow into hatred. For these things and other offenses we’ve forgotten or choose not to remember, forgive us, Lord. Amen.
In a flood of grace and out of love for the whole world, God comes near to break every snare of sin, to wash away our wrongs, and restore the promise of life through his Son, Jesus Christ. It is by His authority that I make this declaration: In the name of the [+] Father, Son and Holy Spirit, accept release from guilt and be free from threat or punishment for your every sin. Amen.
ENTRANCE HYMN
Christ, the Life of All the Living #97
APOSTOLIC GREETING Page 57
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
And also with you.
KYRIE Pages 57-59
🎶In peace let us pray to the Lord.
🎶Lord have mercy.
🎶For the peace from above, and for our salvation, let us pray to the Lord.
🎶Lord have mercy.
🎶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.
🎶Lord have mercy.
🎶For this holy house, and for all who offer here and online their worship and praise, let us pray to the Lord.
🎶Lord have mercy.
🎶Help, save, comfort, and defend us gracious Lord.
🎶Amen.
HYMN OF PRAISE Pages 58-59
🎶Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth.
🎶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
O God, with steadfast love you draw us to yourself, and in mercy you receive our prayers. Strengthen us to bring forth the fruits of the Spirit, that through life and death we may live in your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
FIRST READING JEREMIAH 31:31-34
The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.
PSALM 119:9-16
How shall the young keep their way clean? By keeping to your word.
With my whole heart I seek you; let me not stray from your commandments.
I treasure your promise in my heart, that I may not sin against you.
Blessed are you, O Lord; instruct me in your statutes.
With my lips I recite all the judgments of your mouth.
I take greater delight in the way of your decrees than in all manner of riches.
I will meditate on your commandments and give attention to your ways.
My delight is in your statutes; I will not forget your word.
SECOND READING HEBREWS 5:5-10
Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you;” as he says also in another place, “You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.” In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION Page 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.
The Holy Gospel according to Saint John, the 12th chapter.
🎶Glory to you, O Lord.
GOSPEL JOHN 12:20-33
Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor. “Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.
The Gospel of the Lord.
🎶Praise to you, O Christ.
SERMON
HYMN of the DAY
Beneath the Cross of Jesus #107
PROFESSION of FAITH Apostles Creed Page 64
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He decended into hell. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
PRAYERS of INTERCESSION
Trusting in God’s promise to reconcile all things, let us pray for the church, the well-being of creation, and a world in need.
A brief silence.
God of the covenant, through the church you draw us into community. We give thanks for the means of grace around which we gather. Inspire in us creative ways to adorn our worship of you. With our whole heart we seek you, and delight in your ways.
God of all that exists, you lavish the earth with extravagant beauty. Preserve the rich and complex diversity of living things. Support local, national, and international efforts to protect the environment for future generations. With our whole heart we seek you, and delight in your ways.
God of the nations, you desire peace and plenty for all people. Defend those who challenge oppression and expose corruption. Support advocates for human rights, social justice, and the welfare of children. With our whole heart we seek you, and delight in your ways.
God of good will, you restore what is broken. We pray for any experiencing estrangement, conflict, or abuse in families and intimate relationships. Protect and comfort all who are vulnerable, especially those on our prayer list and others living in institutions. With our whole heart we seek you, and delight in your ways.
God of every time and place, you are with people wherever they are. Support efforts to provide and be present to those in need. Move us to reach out to any who are homebound, homeless, lonely, grieving, in treatment, or ill. With our whole heart we seek you, and delight in your ways.
God of promise, we give thanks for saints whose faith inspires us (especially St. Patrick, missionary to Ireland, whom we commemorate today). Grant us faith to trust in your everlasting love. With our whole heart we seek you, and delight in your ways.
Dear God of grace and mercy, with our whole hearts we admit that you are always present, everywhere. May we always delight in the ways of your Son, Jesus Christ, who listens and intercedes on everyone’s behalf as the world’s beloved Savior. Amen.
EXCHANGE of PEACE
OFFERING
OFFERATORY
🎶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.
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 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
CLOSING HYMN
Lord, Dismiss Us with Your Blessing #259
DISMISSAL Page 74
Go in peace. Serve the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
POSTLUDE