As We Gather Imagine that a friend or family member who is unfamiliar with your hristian faith asks you to summarize the gospel. She isn t looking for a laundry list of doctrines. She has no interest in hearing you recite the Apostles reed. She wants to get to the heart of the matter. In seven words or less, she says, tell me what you believe as a hristian. What would you say? How would you put it? Are you be prepared to confess your faith in Jesus? To be a hristian is to believe with your heart and confess with your mouth the good news of God s love for us in hrist (Romans 10:9 10). eter calls us to be prepared always to give a reason for the hope we have as hristians (1 eter 3:15). hristians have the best news in the world to share! But are we prepared to share it? During this season of Lent, we re going to prepare to celebrate Holy Week by sharing why Holy Week is so important. Our midweek worship services will serve as opportunities to consider the many ways in which the Scriptures proclaim Jesus. During the week, each of you will be working on your own summary, with the hopes that all of us are more prepared to share the good news of Jesus. ome and join us this Lent, and join us by crafting your own confession of the gospel! T Service of Evening rayer T T Service of Light T lease stand Versicles John 8:12; John 1:5; Luke 24:29; 1 orinthians 4:5; 2 orinthians 4:6
hos Hilaron (Hymn of Light) Thanksgiving for Light We praise and thank You, O God, through Your Son, Jesus hrist, our Lord, that You have enlightened us by revealing the Light that never fades. Night is falling, and day's allotted span draws to a close. The daylight which You created for our pleasure has fully satisfied us, and yet, of Your free gift, now the evening lights do not fail us. We praise You and glorify You through Your Son, Jesus hrist, our Lord; through Him be glory, honor, and power to You and the Holy Spirit now and always. Amen. Sit T salmody T salm 141:1 4, 8
rayer Hymn Let us pray. Let the incense of our repentant prayer ascend before You, O Lord, and let Your loving-kindness descend on us that, with purified minds, we may sing Your praises with the hurch on earth and the whole heavenly host and may glorify You forever. Amen. In hrist There Is No East or West LSB 653, sung to the tune of LSB 528 1. In hrist there is no east or west, In Him no south or north, But one great fellowship of love Throughout the whole wide earth. 2. With God there is no tribe or race; In Him we all are one. He loves us as His children through Our faith in His dear Son. 3. So, brothers, sisters, praise His name Who died to set us free From sin, division, hate, and shame, From spite and enmity! 4. Join hands, disciples of the faith, Whate er your race may be; Who serves my Father as His child Is surely kin to me. 5. In hrist now meet both east and west; In Him meet south and north. All hristian souls are one in Him Throughout the whole wide earth. admin. Hope ublishing o. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License.NET, no. 100010187.; 1993 Mark A. Jeske; 1982 The Jubilate Group ublic domain T Readings T First Reading salm 68:4-6 Sing to God, sing in praise of His name, extol Him who rides on the clouds; rejoice before Him - His name is the LORD. A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows is God in His holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, He leads out the prisoners with singing. O Lord, have mercy on us. Thanks be to God.
Second Reading 1 orinthians 12:12-27 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with hrist. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body - Jews or Greeks, slaves or free - and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body, that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body, that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you, nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of hrist and individually members of it. O Lord, have mercy on us. Thanks be to God. Final Reading Response In many and various ways, God spoke to His people of old by the prophets. But now in these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son. Hebrews 1:1 2a Hymn On My Heart Imprint Your Image LSB 422 Sermon Hymn of Response ublic domain Isolation & ommunity 1 orinthians 12:12-27 ome to alvary s Holy Mountain LSB 435
Offering As a part of our Acts1:8 Missions rogram, our midweek offerings are divided equally between our two LMS Seminaries, LMS World Relief and the Danville Women s are linic T anticle T Stand Magnificat My Soul Rejoices LSB 933 1991 Stephen. Starke. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License.NET, no. 100010187. ublic domain T rayer T ollects at the lose of the Day Be present, merciful God, and protect us through the hours of this night, so that we who are wearied by the changes and chances of life, may find our rest in You. Lord in Your mercy,
hear our prayer. Be our light in the darkness, O Lord, and in Your great mercy, defend us from all perils and dangers of this night. Lord in Your mercy, hear our prayer. Eternal God, the hours of both day and night are Yours, and to You the darkness is no threat. Be present, we pray, with those who labor in these hours of night, especially those who watch and work on behalf of others. Grant them diligence in their watching, faithfulness in their service, courage in their danger, and competence in emergencies. Help them to meet the needs of others with confidence and compassion. Lord in Your mercy, hear our prayer. O God, from whom come all holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works, give to us, Your servants, that peace which the world cannot give, that our hearts may be set to obey Your commandments and also that we, being defended from the fear of our enemies, may live in peace and quietness; through Jesus hrist, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Lord's rayer Matthew 6:9-13 Taught by our Lord and trusting in His promises, we are bold to pray: 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. Benedicamus salm 103:1 Benediction Let us bless the Lord. Thanks be to God. The almighty and merciful Lord, the Father, the T Son, and the Holy Spirit, bless and preserve you. Amen. losing Hymn The Day Thou Gavest LSB 886 Acknowledgments Evening rayer from Lutheran Service Book Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by rossway Bibles, a division of Good News ublishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. reated by Lutheran Service Builder 2006 oncordia ublishing House.