Worship for the Third Sunday in Lent

March 7, 2021

Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, we continue to worship physically apart and spiritually together through Zoom and livestreaming on Facebook and YouTube. Prepare for worship with a small bowl of water, bread, and wine.

Gathering

Welcome to Worship

We hear the Lenten Acclamation on the chimes as we prepare for worship.

Confession and Forgiveness

Have some water handy and dip your hand in the water as you make the sign of the cross, recalling that you are joined to Christ in baptism, sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever.

Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God,
the keeper of the covenant,
the source of steadfast love,
our rock and our redeemer.

Amen.

God hears us when we cry, and draws us close in Jesus Christ.
Let us return to the one who is full of compassion.

Silence is kept for reflection.

Fountain of living water,
pour out your mercy over us.
Our sin is heavy, and we long to be free.
Rebuild what we have ruined
and mend what we have torn.
Wash us in your cleansing flood.
Make us alive in the Spirit
to follow in the way of Jesus,
as healers and restorers of the world you so love.
Amen.

Beloved, God’s word never fails.
The promise rests on grace:
by the saving love of Jesus Christ,
the wisdom and power of God,
your sins are ☩ forgiven, and God remembers them no more.
Journey in the way of Jesus.
Amen.

Gathering Song – ACS 1075– “O God, We Call”

Greeting

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.

Prayer of the Day

Let us pray,

Silent prayer.

Holy God, through your Son you have called 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

Word

First Reading – Exodus 20:1-17

A reading from Exodus.

¹God spoke all these words: ²I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; ³you shall have no other gods before me.
  ⁴You shall not make for yourself and 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. ⁵You 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, ⁶but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.
⁷You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses the divine name.
⁸Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. ⁹Six days you shall labor and do all your work. ¹⁰But 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. ¹¹For 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.
¹²Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
¹³You shall not murder.
¹⁴You shall not commit adultery.
¹⁵You shall not steal.
¹⁶You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
¹⁷You 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.

Word of God, word of life.
Thanks be to God.

Psalm 19

Refrain – Sing twice at the beginning and once at the ℟

The commandment of the Lord gives light to the eyes.

¹The heavens declare the glo- | ry of God,
 and the sky proclaims its | maker’s handiwork.
²One day tells its tale | to another,
 and one night imparts knowledge | to another.
³Although they have no | words or language,
 and their voices | are not heard,
⁴their 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.
⁵It comes forth like a bridegroom out | of his chamber;
 it rejoices like a champion to | run its course.
⁶It 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. ℟

⁷The teaching of the Lord is perfect and re- | vives the soul;
 the testimony of the Lord is sure and gives wisdom to | the simple.
⁸The statutes of the Lord are just and re- | joice the heart;
 the commandment of the Lord is clear and gives light | to the eyes.
⁹The fear of the Lord is clean and en- | dures forever;
 the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous | altogether.
¹⁰More to be desired are they than gold, more than | much fine gold,
 sweeter far than honey, than honey | in the comb. ℟

¹¹By them also is your ser- | vant enlightened,
 and in keeping them there is | great reward.
¹²Who can detect one’s | own offenses?
 Cleanse me from my | secret faults.
¹³Above 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.
¹⁴Let 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

A reading from Corinthians

¹⁸The message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹For it is written,
 “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
  and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
²⁰Where 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? ²¹For 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. ²²For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, ²³but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, ²⁴but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.

Word of God, word of life.
Thanks be to God.

Lenten Acclamation

We welcome the Gospel with the Lenten Accalmation

Let your steadfast love come to us, O Lord.
Save us as you promised; we will trust your word.

Gospel – John 2:13-22

The holy gospel according to St. Mark.
Glory to you, O Lord.

¹³The Passover of the Jewish people was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁴In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. ¹⁵Making 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. ¹⁶He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” ¹⁷His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” ¹⁸The Judeans then said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” ¹⁹Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” ²⁰The Judeans then said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?” ²¹But Jesus was speaking of the temple of his body. ²²After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

The gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.

Homily

Hymn of the Day –ELW 723 – “The Canticle of the Turning”

Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
          creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s 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.
          On the third day he rose again;
          he ascended into heaven,
          he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
          and he will come 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

All are invited to unmute your Zoom and join in the prayers. Please respond to each petition with “Your mercy is great.”

Peace

The peace of Christ be with you always.
And also with you.

Meal

Announcements

Offertory –ELW 186 – “Create in Me a Clean Heart”

Offering Prayer

Faithful God,
you walk beside us in desert places,
and you meet us in our hunger with bread from heaven.
Accompany us in this meal,
that we may pass over from death to life
with Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.

Great Thanksgiving

All are encouraged to turn off mute on Zoom so that we all hear the responses.

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 our thanks and praise.

It is indeed right, our duty and our joy,
that we should at all times and in all places
give thanks and praise to you, almighty and merciful God,
through our Savior Jesus Christ.
You call your people to cleanse their hearts
and prepare with joy for the paschal feast,
that, renewed in the gift of baptism,
we may come to the fullness of your grace.
And so, with all the choirs of angels,
with the church on earth and the hosts of heaven,
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.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

Holy God,
         our living Water and our merciful Guide,
         together with rivers and seas, wells and springs
         we bless and magnify you.
You led your people Israel through the desert,
         and provided them water from the rock.
We praise you for Christ, our Rock and our Water,
         who joined us in our desert,
         pouring out his life for the world.

In the night in which he was betrayed,
         our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks;
         broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying:
         Take and eat; this is my body, given for you.
         Do this for the remembrance of me.
Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks,
and gave it for all to drink, saying:
         This cup is the new covenant in my blood,
         shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin.
         Do this for the remembrance of me.
Remembering, therefore,
         his life, death, and resurrection,
         we await your salvation for all this thirsty world,
         as we proclaim the mystery of faith:
Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.

Pour out your Spirit on this holy food
and on all the baptized gathered for this feast:
wash away our sin,
that we may be revived for our journey by the love of Christ.
Through him all glory and honor is yours,
Almighty Father, with the Holy Spirit,
in your holy Church,
both now and forever.
Amen

Lord’s Prayer

Gathered into one by the Holy Spirit, let us pray as Jesus taught us.

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 us 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.

Invitation to the Table

These are indeed the gifts of God for you, the very much beloved people of God. Taste and see that God is good.

Communion

All distribute to one another saying:

The body of Christ, given for you.
The blood of Christ, shed for you.

Blessing at the Table

May the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ strengthen you and keep you in eternal life.

Prayer after communion

God of steadfast love,
at this table you gather your people
into one body for the sake of the world.
Send us in the power of your Spirit,
that our lives bear witness to the love that has made us new
in Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen

Sending

Sending of Communion

Gracious God, as we gather as one body this day and feast at your table, our assembly is incomplete for there are many unable to join us today. We long for the day when we are reunited as one body around a common table and we pray that you extend our gathering into homes and campsites, yards and porches, and strengthen all who hear your Word and feast at your table with the abiding presence of your son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Amen

Blessing

The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord’s face shine on you with grace and mercy.
The Lord look upon you with favor and ☩ give you peace.

Amen.

Sending Song – ELW 660
“Lift High The Cross”

Dismissal

Go in peace. Share the good news.
Thanks be to God.

We hear “When it seems the day will end” on the chimes as we depart, recalling God’s presence in our lives.

Join us on Zoom for Coffee Hour and Storytime.

Liturgy from Evangelical Lutheran Worship and Sundays and Seasons © Augsburg Fortress. Used by permission under Augsburg Fortress Annual Liturgies License SBT002156. Music is used by permission under OneLicense.net # A-715196.