St. Paul’s Lutheran Church
Alliance, Ohio
Sunday, February 22, 2026
9:30 AM
PRELUDE “Hymns of the Cross” arr.
Phillip Keveren
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 Oh,
for a Thousand Tongues to Sing #886
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 Sermon
First Reading: Ezekiel 37:1-14
1 The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of
the Lord and set me down
in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me all around
them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. 3 He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you
shall live. 6 I will lay sinews on you and will cause flesh to come upon you and
cover you with skin and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall
know that I am the Lord.”
7 So I prophesied as I had been commanded, and as I prophesied,
suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to
its bone. 8 I looked, and there were sinews on them, and
flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them, but there was no breath in
them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and
say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these
slain, that they may live.” 10 I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath
came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.
11 Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we
are cut off completely.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: Thus says
the Lord God: I am going to open your graves and bring you
up from your graves, O my people, and I will bring you back to the land of
Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the Lord when I open your graves and bring you up from your graves,
O my people. 14 I will put my spirit within you, and you shall
live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act, says the Lord.”
Psalm: Psalm 130
1 Out | of the depths
I cry to | you, O Lord;
2 O Lord, | hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my | supplication.
3 If you were to keep watch | over sins,
O Lord, | who could stand?
4 Yet with you | is
forgiveness,
in order that you | may
be feared. R
5 I wait for you, O Lord; | my soul waits;
in your word | is my hope.
6 My soul waits for the Lord more than those who keep watch | for the morning,
more than those who keep watch | for the morning.
7 O Israel, wait for the Lord, for with the Lord there
is | steadfast love;
with the Lord there is
plen- | teous redemption.
8 For the Lord shall | redeem Israel
from | all
their sins. R
Second Reading: Romans
8:6-11
6 To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to
set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For this reason the mind
that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed, it cannot, 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please
God.
9 But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the
Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does
not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, then the body is dead
because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who
raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the
dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells
in you.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
Gospel: John 11:1-45
1 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany,
the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 Mary was the one who
anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother
Lazarus was ill. 3 So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” 4 But when Jesus heard it,
he said, “This illness does not
lead to death; rather, it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” 5 Accordingly, though
Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, 6 after having heard that
Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.
7 Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” 8 The disciples said to
him, “Rabbi, the Jews were
just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?” 9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those
who walk during the day do not stumble because they see the light of this
world. 10 But those who walk at night stumble because the
light is not in them.” 11 After saying this, he told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am
going there to awaken him.” 12 The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all
right.” 13 Jesus, however, had been speaking about his
death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. 14 Then Jesus told them
plainly, “Lazarus is dead. 15 For your sake I am glad
I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16 Thomas, who was called
the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
17 When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the
tomb four days. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles
away, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary
to console them about their brother. 20 When Martha heard that
Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not
have died. 22 But even now I know that God will give you
whatever you ask of him.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the
resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who
believe in me, even though they die, will live, 26 and everyone who lives
and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah,
the Son of God, the one coming into the world.”
28 When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary
and told her privately, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” 29 And when she heard it,
she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet
come to the village but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 The Jews who were with
her in the house consoling her saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They
followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 32 When Mary came where
Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not
have died.” 33 When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who came
with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. 34 He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus began to weep. 36 So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind
man have kept this man from dying?”
38 Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a
cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to
him, “Lord, already there is a
stench because he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you
would see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked
upward and said, “Father, I thank you for
having heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I have said
this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you
sent me.” 43 When he had said this, he cried with a loud
voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out,
his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth and his face wrapped in a cloth.
Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him
go.”
45 Many of the Jews, therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen
what Jesus did believed in him.
SERMON
HYMN What Wondrous Love Is This #666
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 Intercession, PEACE,
OFFERING, special music
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
HYMN Abise with Me #629
PRAYER, BLESSING
HYMN Through
the Night of Doubt and Sorrow
#327
DISMISSAL
POSTLUDE
Liturgy and hymns printed and streamed with permission through OneLicense. A-710659
No comments:
Post a Comment