02 Mar BULLETIN – SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2024
WELCOME to MESSIAH & ST. PETER LUTHERAN CHURCHES
The Reverend Nancy Brody, Pastor
Greta Wright, Organist
Sunday, March 3, 2024
Third Sunday In Lent
ANNOUNCEMENTS
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
In the Cross of Christ I Glory #104
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
🎶This is the feast of victory for our God. Aleluia, aleluia, aleluia. Worthy is Christ, the Lamb who was slain, whose blood set us free to be people of God.
🎶This is the feast of victory for our God. Aleluia, aleluia, aleluia. Power, riches, wisdom, and strength, and honor, blessings and glory are his.
🎶This is the feast of victory for our God. Aleluia, aleluia, aleluia. Sing with all the people of God, join in the hymn of creation: Blessing, honor, glory, and might be to God and the Lamb forever, Amen.
🎶This is the feast of victory for our God. Aleluia, aleluia, aleluia. For the Lamb who was slain has begun his reign, Aleluia.
🎶This is the feast of victory for our God. Aleluia, aleluia, aleluia.
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray:
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Holy God, through your Son, call us to live faithfully and act courageously. Keep us steadfast in your covenant of grace and teach us the wisdom that comes only 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 EXODUS 20:1-17
God spoke all these words: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name. Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore, the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it. Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
PSALM 19
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky proclaims its maker’s handiwork.
One day tells its tale to another, and one night imparts knowledge to another.
Although they have no words or language, and their voices are not heard,
their sound has gone out into all lands, and their message to the ends of the world, where God has pitched a tent for the sun.
It comes forth like a bridegroom out of his chamber; it rejoices like a champion to run its course.
It goes forth from the uttermost edge of the heavens and runs about to the end of it again; nothing is hidden from its burning heat.
The teaching of the Lord is perfect and revives the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure and gives wisdom to the simple.
The statutes of the Lord are just and rejoice the heart; the commandment of the Lord is clear and gives light to the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is clean and endures forever; the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they then gold, more than much fine gold, sweeter far than honey, than honey in the comb.
By them also is your servant enlightened, and in keeping them there is great reward.
Who can detect one’s own offenses? Cleanse me from my secret faults.
Above all, keep your servant from presumptuous sins; let them not get dominion over me; then shall I be whole and sound, and innocent of a great offense.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.
SECOND READING 1 CORINTHIANS 1:18-25
The message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION Page 62
🎶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 2nd chapter.
🎶Glory to you, O Lord.
GOSPEL JOHN 2:13-22
The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” The Jews then said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking of the temple of his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
The Gospel of the Lord.
🎶Praise to you, O Christ.
SERMON
HYMN of the DAY
When I Survey the Wondrous Cross #482
PROFESSION of FAITH Apostles’ Creed Page 65
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.
You alone are God. We thank you today for the gift of sabbath rest and the means of grace given through your holy word and the Eucharistic meal. Awaken the church to other mysteries surrounding your presence. Give us glad hearts as we receive the good news of deliverance from sin. Let the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable, O Lord, our strength and redeemer.
You renew creation. Drive out those who would make the earth a marketplace. Protect rainforests, mountaintops, oceans, and wilderness areas from commercial exploitation. Unite nations, policymakers, and businesses in efforts to reduce pollution. Let the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable, O Lord, our strength and redeemer.
You judge the nations. We pray for an end to war and strife in every land. Strengthen international efforts to negotiate peace and provide humanitarian aid to people fleeing from conflict. Let the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable, O Lord, our strength and redeemer.
You bring healing and hope. We give thanks for physicians, nurses, researchers, therapists, and public health workers who prevent and treat illness. We pray for any who are sick (especially those on our prayer list). Let the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable, O Lord, our strength and redeemer.
You abide with your people. Sustain any in this community undergoing life transitions: marriage, divorce, childbirth, adoption, moving, graduation, employment change, or a death in the family. Let the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable, O Lord, our strength and redeemer.
You bring life from death. We remember loved ones who have died, confident that they have new life in you. May we trust that nothing can separate us from your love. Let the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable, O Lord, our strength and redeemer.
O LORD, our strength and redeemer, let the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable through your Son, Jesus Christ, who does all things to restore what is right, proper, good and for our good. In your holy name we pray, Amen.
EXCHANGE of PEACE
OFFERING
OFFERTORY Page 66
🎶Let the vineyards be fruitful, Lord and fill to the brim our cup of blessing. Gather a harvest of the seeds that were sown, that we may be fed with the bread of life. Gather the hopes and the dreams of all; unite them with the prayer we offer now. Grace our table with your presence, and give us a foretaste of the feast to come.
PRAYER
Blessed are you, O Lord our God, maker of all things. Through your goodness you have blessed us with these gifts. With them we offer ourselves to your service and dedicate our lives to the care and redemption of all that you have made, for the sake of him who gave himself for us, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
LITURGY OF HOLY COMMUNION Pages 68-72
🎶The Lord be with you.
🎶And also with you.
🎶Lift up your hearts.
🎶We lift them to the Lord.
🎶Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
🎶It is right to give him thanks and praise.
🎶It is indeed right and salutary….we praise your name and join their unending hymn.
🎶Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might; heaven and earth are full of your glory, Hosana, Hosana, Hosana in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosana in the highest.
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.
POST-COMMUNION CANTICLE
🎶Thank the Lord and sing his praise; tell everyone what he has done. Let all who seek the Lord rejoice and proudly bear his name. He recalls his promises and leads his people forth in joy with shouts of thanksgiving. Aleluia, Aleluia.
POST-COMMUNION PRAYER
BENEDICTION Page 74
The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord look upon you with favor and give you peace.
Amen.
CLOSING HYMN
God of Grace and God of Glory #415
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’s have been presented by Bruce & Diane Keister in memory of James Keister.
Altar flowers at Messiah have been presented by Casara Kieffer in memory of loved ones.