09 Mar BULLETIN – SUNDAY, MARCH 10, 2024
WELCOME to MESSIAH & ST. PETER LUTHERAN CHURCHES
Reverend Nancy Brody, Pastor
Greta Wright, Organist
Sunday, March 10, 2024
Fourth 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
Give to Our God Immortal Praise! #520
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, rich in mercy, by the humiliation of your Son you lifted up this fallen world and rescued us from the hopelessness of death. Lead us into your light, that all our deeds may reflect your love, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
FIRST READING NUMBERS 21:4-9
From Mount Hor [the Israelites] set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; but the people became impatient on the way. The people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food.” Then the Lord sent poisonous serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord to take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a poisonous serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live.” So Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole; and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live.
PSALM 107:1-3, 17-22
Give thanks to the Lord, for the Lord is good, for God’s mercy endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the Lord proclaim that God redeemed them from the hand of the foe,
gathering them in from the lands; from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.
Some were fools and took rebellious paths; through their sins they were afflicted.
They loathed all manner of food and drew near to death’s door.
Then in their trouble they cried to the Lord and you delivered them from their distress.
You sent forth your word and healed them and rescued them from the grave.
Let them give thanks to you, Lord, for your steadfast love and your wonderful works for all people.
Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and tell of your deeds with shouts of joy.
SECOND READING EPHESIANS 2:1-10
You were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient. All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else. But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.
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 3rd chapter.
🎶Glory to you, O Lord.
GOSPEL JOHN 3:14-21
[Jesus said:] “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
🎶Praise to you, O Christ.
SERMON
HYMN of the DAY
What Wondrous Love Is This #385
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.
Gracious God, your love unites. Give vision to the global church and foster cooperation in mission. Increase inter-religious understanding and ecumenical dialog. Make your church a sanctuary for all fleeing persecution, disaster, and war. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
Creating God, your love enlivens. Restore balance to the earth’s fragile habitats. Preserve wilderness lands, rainforests, and wildlife. Cleanse oceans, rivers and other sources of drinking water. Make us good stewards of the earth. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
Righteous God, your love liberates. We give thanks for those who courageously witness to your liberating love especially Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth, renewers of society, whom we commemorate today. Free all people from the evils of racism, religious strife, and hatred. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
Merciful God, your love heals. Care tenderly for all whose loved ones perish in every nation. Strengthen health care workers, first responders, and caregivers. Relieve all who live with chronic illness and pain, especially those on our prayer list. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
Incarnate God, your love enlightens. Open our hearts and minds to fresh understandings of our faith. Deepen our love for you and for one another. Teach us to pray for our enemies. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
Abiding God, your love saves. Those who died in the faith are made alive in Christ. We give thanks for your promise that we also will be raised to newness of life. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
Dear Lord and God of grace, thank you for being so much more to us than company on our journeys; receive the prayers of our hearts, minds and spirits through Jesus Christ, our Savior. May your Holy Spirit respond, inform, guide and strengthen us. 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
Lift High the Cross #377
DISMISSAL Page 74
Go in peace. Serve the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
POSTLUDE
Revised Common Lectionary copyright © 1992 Consultation on Common Texts. Used by permission. Prayers adapted from Sundays and Seasons, copyright © 2019, Augsburg Fortress. Used with permission. Psalm readings from Lutheran Book of Worship, copyright © 1978. Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual Subscription #SB160715 Other quotations from Scripture from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989, National Council of Churches in Christ in the United States of America. Used with permission. All rights reserved.
Altar flowers at St Peter are presented by
Sallianne Bechtel in memory of loved ones.
Altar flowers at Messiah are presented by
Jennie & Bob Farner in memory of loved ones.