This is the service outline that was planned for Lent III, March 15, which we had to cancel due to the quarantine for COVID-19.  We apologize that the format is not as clean as it usually appears in your worship bulletin.

 

The Lord’s Day, March 15, in the Lord’s Year 2020 – Third Sunday in Lent

Please speak bold words and sing italicized words; * we invite you to stand as able.

Meeting God

Prelude & Quiet Prayer – five minutes before service (9:55-10:00 am)

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Bless the Lord who forgives all our sins. His mercy endures forever.

* Hymn 23   God of Gods, We Sound His Praises                                        GOD OF GODS

* Invocation

Being Reconciled to God and One Another

* Confession of Sin:  Gracious God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, you have promised to receive us when we come to you. We confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you or our neighbors as we should. Forgive us, O God, and grant that in the Holy Spirit we may live and serve you in newness of life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 * Declaration of Forgiveness in Christ: If you have repented of your sin and turned in faith to Jesus Christ, I can declare through Christ’s atoning death and life-giving resurrection that you are forgiven in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

* New Life in Christ:  If you love God, keep his commandments. After God had delivered the Israelites, he gave them The Ten Commandments:

I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.

Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Honour thy father and thy mother.

Thou shalt not kill.  Thou shalt not commit adultery.  Thou shalt not steal.

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.  Thou shalt not covet.

* Response (Hymn 611, verse 1)                                                                 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.

O Lord, open our lips, and our mouths shall show forth your praise.

* Gloria Patri (Hymn 735)                                               GLORIA PATRI (GREATOREX)

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.

* The Peace of Christ    The peace of Christ be with you. And also with you.

Announcements, Scripture Memory, & Catechism – see Bell Ringer

Preparing to Hear God

Song – Morning has broken, like the first morning, blackbird has spoken, like the first bird. Praise for the singing, praise for the morning, praise for the springing fresh from the world.

Mine is the sunlight, mine is the morning, born of the one light Eden saw play.

Praise with elation, praise every morning, God’s re-creation of the new day.

Hymn 642   Be Thou My Vision                                                                                    SLANE

Collect for Lent III: Almighty God, you know that we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Hearing God in the Holy Scriptures

Exodus 17:1-7                         Psalm 95 – hymnal page 819

Romans 5:1-11                        John 4:5-42                 The Word of the Lord.Thanks be to God.

Sermon – “Called by the Spirit to the Truth” Sermon Series: Jesus Calls Us

Answering God in Faith, Prayer, and Giving

The Nicene Creed – hymnal page 846

Prayers of Thanksgiving, Petition, and Intercession

Offering Gifts

Offertory (Hymn 729)                                                                           HERR JESU CHRIST

All things are thine; no gift have we, Lord of all gifts, to offer thee; And hence with grateful hearts today, thine own before thy feet we lay.

* Doxology (Hymn 731)                                                                                OLD HUNDREDTH

Praise God from whom all blessings flow; Praise him, all creatures here below; praise him above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

* Offertory Prayer

Communing with God in the Lord’s Supper

This is the table of the Lord, not of Ward Hill Church. Therefore, we invite to the Lord’s table all baptized persons who have confessed their sins and put their faith in Jesus Christ. Normally, you should also be in regular fellowship with, if not this church, a congregation in another location. If you do not wish to participate in the Lord’s Supper today, we understand and sincerely ask for God’s blessing on your life. Either way, we are thankful that you have been present with us this day in the house of the Lord.

Eucharistic Prayer and the Sanctus

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.

Praise be to you, Lord of heaven and earth. You have revealed your mercy towards your people in giving your only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. We give thanks for the redemption you have prepared for us through Jesus Christ. Let your Holy Spirit come into our hearts to enlighten us with a living faith. With your whole Church on earth and with all the saints and angels in heaven, we worship and adore your glorious name in this unending praise:

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of power and might, Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.

Consecration of the Elements & Ourselves: Discerning the Body of Christ

O God, sanctify by your Spirit this bread and wine, which you have given and human hands have made. Here we offer them to you, that through them we may partake of the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. On the same night in which he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take, eat. This is my body, which is given for you.” In the same way, he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to his disciples saying, “Drink this, all of you. This is my blood of the new covenant which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

Therefore, heavenly Father, we celebrate this supper in remembrance of your Son’s passion and death, his resurrection and ascension. We will eat of the Bread of Life and drink the Cup of Blessing until the day when he comes again in glory.

We ask you, O God, to remember the perfect and eternal sacrifice through which, in Christ, you have reconciled us with yourself. Grant that we may be united into one body, and be made a perfect living sacrifice in Christ. Through him, and with him, and in him, by the power of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, almighty Father, forever and ever. And now we pray as our Savior 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 debts, as we forgive our debtors; 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.

 Hymn 256   There Is a Green Hill Far Away                                                 MEDITATION

 Holy Communion: Receiving the Body and Blood of Christ

The bread which we break is a sharing in the body of Christ. The cup for which we give thanks is a participation in the blood of Christ.

Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast.

The gifts of God for the people of God. Amen.

 Please remain seated for the giving and the receiving of the Lord’s Supper.

The ushers will serve you in your pew.

Thanksgiving and Commission: Being the Body of Christ in the World

Let us give thanks.

Almighty and eternal God, you have fed us with the Holy Communion of the body and blood of your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ; we thank you for this gift, by which you assure us that we are members of the mystical body of your Son and heirs through hope of your everlasting kingdom. So assist us by your Holy Spirit that we may grow daily in knowledge of your truth, and in faithfulness to your will, abiding in that fellowship in which all your saints have part; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with you and the Holy Spirit be all honor and glory, world without end. Amen.

Go forth in peace to love and serve the Lord. Amen.

Being Sent with God’s Blessing into the World

* Hymn 460   Amazing Grace                                                                       AMAZING GRACE

* Benediction

Postlude