Fifth Sunday in Lent Worship Service
St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church
Fifth Sunday in Lent – Coronavirus
04-03-2022 10:00AM Worship
+ Repentance Through God’s Mercy +
INTRODUCTION TO OUR WORSHIP:
Our God is making all things new, and the Season of Lent is a time to recognize this, rejoice, and receive! Isaiah the prophet promises it – dry grounds in the sea, rivers in the desert, a return from exile. Mary anticipates it, anointing the feet of Jesus with costly perfume in preparation for the day of his burial. And Paul celebrates it as he remembers the changed new life that has been gifted to him through the grace of Jesus Christ. What wonderful new thing is God doing and seeking to accomplish in your life this season? In Christ you are a new creation.
OPENING SONG: “Oh, How I Love Jesus” Brown #250
CONFESSION OF OUR SINS AND FORGIVENESS:
L Come on, Church! Let us worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!
Come on, Church! Let us worship the Lord and give him the honor!
Come on, Church! Let us worship the Lord and give him the glory, let us worship the Lord and give him the praise!
But, before we worship, let us open our hearts in humility, in repentance, in honesty.
C O God of mercy and love, my voice speaks for all of us.
I confess that sometimes I think I give too much to You.
Sometimes I think I should have guarded my time and my money more closely.
Sometimes I think I need to reconsider my priorities and not waste my time, my talents, or my treasures on You and your mission.
Sometimes I want to be a little less Christian and a little more worldly, a little less loving and a little more self-serving, a little less SACRI—ficial and a little more SUPER—ficial.
Sometimes I long for an easier gospel, a lighter cross, a less demanding Savior, and a cheaper ticket to heaven.
Be merciful, Lord, for I have sinned, Be merciful, Lord, for we have all sinned.
L My sisters and brothers, there is a reckless God in heaven who was so crazy in love so as to allow the sacrifice of his precious Son to save you! Our God seeks to pour out and anoint you with his extravagant love this morning. God is generous beyond words! God is merciful beyond reason! And God offers you the very gift of new life through the death of his Son, (+) Jesus Christ. You are forgiven, anointed, and transformed. Live in the newness of life, glad for the opportunity to love!
THE PRAYER OF THE DAY:
Let us pray. O God, awaken us to your promises and fill us with your power, that we might be fresh in our faith… that we might press forward with unwavering hope and continued joy… and that we might eagerly serve you with our living and our loving. Amen.
+ Renewal Through God’s Word +
FIRST READING: ISAIAH 43:16-21 [God’s great NEW THING of unexpected salvation – a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert!]
43:16 Thus says the LORD, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters,
43:17 who brings out chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick:
43:18 Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old.
43:19 I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
43:20 The wild animals will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches; for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people,
43:21 the people whom I formed for myself so that they might declare my praise.
SECOND READING: PHILIPPIANS 3:4b-14 [Paul’s wonderful NEW THING of totally transformed values – knowing Christ has made him a servant of love!]
3:4b If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more:
3:5 circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee;
3:6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.
3:7 Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ.
3:8 More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
3:9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith.
3:10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death,
3:11 if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
3:12 Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.
3:13 Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
3:14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.
GOSPEL VERSE:
“Lord, let my heart be good soil, open to the seed of your word.
Lord, let my heart be good soil, where love can grow and peace is understood.
When my heart is hard, break the stone away.
When my heart is cold, warm it with the day.
When my heart is lost, lead me on your way.
Lord, let my heart, Lord, let my heart, Lord, let my heart be good soil.”
THE GOSPEL: JOHN 12:1-8 [Mary’s humble NEW THING of uninhibited worship to an unlimited Savior!]
12:1 Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.
12:2 There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him.
12:3 Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
12:4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said,
12:5 “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?”
12:6 (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.)
12:7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial.
12:8 You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”
THE SERMON: Pastor Gwen or Pastor Neil
SONG SELECTION
AN AFFIRMATION OF OUR FAITH:
We believe that God is love, and God’s love was perfectly revealed to us when God sent his Son, Jesus Christ.
We believe that Jesus obediently and willingly died for us because he loved us and wanted to save us.
We believe that the Holy Spirit gathers and empowers us to be a community of faithful living and fervent loving.
We believe that the Church should seek to welcome sinners home, just as God in Christ welcomes us. Amen.
OFFERING [Mary was so sacrificial in kneeling before Jesus with her costly perfume, and Paul was so focused in running toward the goal of faithful discipleship. How might we also respond with generosity and commitment as we turn to Jesus for
Life?]
THE OFFERTORY SONG: “I Know It Was the Blood”
- I know it was the blood… I know it was the blood… I know it was the blood for me.
One day when I was lost, he died upon the cross… I know it was the blood for me.
- It was my Savior’s blood…
- They pierced him in the side…
- He’s coming back again…
OFFERING PRAYER (from PSALM 51):
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence, or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain me with your bountiful spirit.
Then I will teach other sinners your ways; and I will eagerly sing of your goodness. Amen.
MUSIC SELECTION: “I Surrender All” Dennis Fortune Brown #23
THE PRAYERS… We pray that THE WAY OF THE CROSS will continue to impact our lives and transform the world!
THE LORD’S PRAYER
+ Righteousness Through God’s Spirit +
THE BENEDICTION by the Pastor… God calls us to “return home” to faith and discipleship!
CLOSING SONG: “I Want Jesus to Walk with Me”
- I want Jesus to walk with me… I want Jesus to walk with me.
All along my pilgrim journey, Lord, I want Jesus to walk with me.
- In my trials, Lord, walk with me… In my trials, Lord, walk with me.
When my heart is almost breaking, Lord, I want Jesus to walk with me.
- When I’m in trouble, Lord, walk with me… When I’m in trouble, Lord, walk with me.
When my head is bowed in sorrow, Lord, I want Jesus to walk with me.
Next Sunday… Palm Procession / SUNDAY OF THE PASSION.
We will again be on Zoom at 10:00AM for worship.
This year, we will have palms to distribute.
They will be available after next Sunday’s worship (April 10)
from 12:00 noon to 3:00PM…
and also throughout Holy Week.
We remember how Jesus suffered and died for our sins…