Order of Service for Sunday, March 07, 2021

                         Welcome to worship at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church!

 

PRELUDE       These Are The Ten Holy Commands      J.S Bach     

     

CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS

Blessed be the holy Trinity, + one God, who brings us safely through the sea, who gives us water from the rock, who leads us into the land of milk and honey.

Amen.

 

Silence is kept for reflection.

Holy God, holy and mighty, holy and immortal,

have mercy on us.

 

For self-centered living, and for failing to walk with humility and gentleness:

Holy God, holy and mighty, holy and immortal, have mercy on us.

 

For longing to have what is not ours, and for hearts that are not at rest with ourselves:

Holy God, holy and mighty, holy and immortal, have mercy on us.

 

For misuse of human relationships, and for unwillingness to see the image of God in others:

Holy God, holy and mighty, holy and immortal, have mercy on us.

 

For jealousies that divide families and nations, and for rivalries that create strife and warfare:

Holy God, holy and mighty, holy and immortal, have mercy on us.

 

For reluctance in sharing the gifts of God, and for carelessness with the fruits of creation:

Holy God, holy and mighty, holy and immortal, have mercy on us.

 

For hurtful words that condemn, and for angry deeds that harm:

Holy God, holy and mighty, holy and immortal, have mercy on us.

 

For idleness in witnessing to Jesus Christ, and for squandering the gifts of love and grace:

Holy God, holy and mighty, holy and immortal, have mercy on us.

 

Accomplish in us, O God, the work of your salvation,

that we may show forth your glory in the world.

 

By the cross and passion of your Son, our Savior,

bring us with all your saints to the joy of his resurrection.

 

In the mercy of almighty God, our Lord Jesus Christ was given to die for us, and for his sake, God forgives us all our sin.  As a call and ordained minister of the church of Christ and by his authority, I therefore declare to you the entire forgiveness of all your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

 

HYMN     O God, My Faithful God          #806 v. 1,4

GREETING

The grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the love of God, and communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

And also with you.

 

PRAYER OF THE DAY

Children's message

 FIRST READING: Exodus 20:1-17

¹Then God 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 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. 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 his 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.

 

PSALM: Psalm 19

 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

¹⁸For 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. 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.

 

GOSPEL: John 2:13-22

 ¹³The Passover of the Jews 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 Jews 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 Jews then said, "This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?" ²¹But he 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.

 

SERMON

HYMN    In the Cross of Christ I Glory          #324 v. 1,2,4

APOSTLES 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 to the dead. 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 THE PEOPLE

PEACE

OFFERING

COMMUNION PRAYER

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 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

DISTRIBUTION OF COMMUNION

 BLESSING

HYMN     Lift High the Cross       #660 v. 1,3

 DISMISSAL

POSTLUDE             The Heavens Declare        Marcello

 

Liturgy and hymns printed and streamed with permission through OneLicense. A-710659