FOURTH Sunday in Lent

Sunday, March 14, 2021

Prelude

715 Christ Be Our Light

 

CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS (ELW p. 94)

Blessed be the holy Trinity, one God,
who forgives all our sin,
whose mercy endures forever.
Amen.

God of all mercy and consolation, come to the help of your people, turning us from our sin to live for you alone. Give us the power of your Holy Spirit that we may confess our sin, receive your forgiveness, and grow into the fullness of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
Amen.

Let us confess our sin in the presence of God and of one another.
Silence is kept for reflection.

Most merciful God,
we confess that we are captive to sin and cannot free ourselves. 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 with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy name.
Amen.

God, who is rich in mercy, loved us even when we were dead in sin, and made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved. In the name of Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven. Almighty God strengthen you with power through the Holy Spirit, that Christ may live in your hearts through faith.
Amen.


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.


Kyrie ELW 151

 


PRAYER OF THE DAY (ELW p. 159)

Let us pray.
Holy God, heavenly Father, in the waters of the flood you saved the chosen, and in the wilderness of temptation you protected your Son from sin. Renew us in the gift of baptism. May your holy angels be with us, that the wicked foe may have no power over us, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.

 

Children’s Time

FIRST READING: NUMBERS 21:4-9

4From Mount Hor [the Israelites] set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; but the people became impatient on the way. 5The people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food.” 6Then the Lord sent poisonous serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many Israelites died. 7The people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord to take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a poisonous serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live.” 9So Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole; and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live.

The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

PSALM: Psalm 107:1-3,17-22

1Give thanks to the Lord, for the Lord is good,
  for God’s mercy endures forever.
2Let the redeemed of the Lord proclaim
  that God redeemed them from the hand of the foe,
3gathering them in from the lands;
  from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.
17Some were fools and took rebellious paths;
  through their sins they were afflicted.
18They loathed all manner of food
  and drew near to death’s door.
19Then in their trouble they cried to the Lord
  and you delivered them from their distress. R
20You sent forth your word and healed them
  and rescued them from the grave.
21Let them give thanks to you, Lord, for your steadfast love
  and your wonderful works for all people.
22Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving
  and tell of your deeds with shouts of joy. R

SECOND READING: Ephesians 2:1-10

1You were dead through the trespasses and sins 2in which you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient. 3All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else. 4But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us 5even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—6and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—9not the result of works, so that no one may boast. 10For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

“Let your steadfast love”

GOSPEL: John 3:14-21

Jesus said:] 14“Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
  16“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
  17“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. 20For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. 21But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”

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

SERMON

HYMN OF THE DAY 769 If You But Trust in God to Guide You

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

Response: Your mercy is great

PEACE

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

ANNOUNCEMENTS


OFFERING PRAYER (ELW p.161)

Let us pray.
God of mercy and grace, the eyes of all wait upon you, and you open your hand in blessing. Fill us with your Spirit, that we may share of the good you have given us and come to the help of all in need, through Jesus Christ, our redeemer and Lord.
Amen.

LORD’S PRAYER (Sung) p. 163

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those
who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours,
now and forever. 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.

DISMISSAL 

Go in peace. Serve the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

POSTlude

339 Christ the Life of All the Living

 

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