+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!
Opening Sentences
Almighty God, you alone can bring into order the unruly wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to love what you command and desire what you promise; that, among the swift and varied changes of this world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
__________
Reading: Psalm 23:5 (NLT)
You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings.
__________
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank you for your goodness and mercy –
+ in my life and in the life of my family – my wife, my children and their families
+ in the life of my church, its leadership, and every member
+ in answered prayer during this Lenten season
Lord Jesus, increase in me the desire to pray and seek your face –
+ show me how to be still in your presence – quiet my heart and mind
+ give me a hunger and passion, an emptiness, that can only be filled by you
+ give me a burden to pray for the things on your heart, and for revival in this land
Holy Spirit, increase in me an awareness of your presence –
+ in the unfolding of springtime and the natural emergence of new life
+ in my home and neighborhood and all the comings and goings around me
+ in the hearts and lives of people I encounter throughout the day
Gracious God, sustain me with your presence in every circumstance, through my Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
__________
“Christ Be All Around Me” – All Sons & Daughters
__________
Blessing
The Lord bless us, and keep us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life.
+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!
+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!
Opening Sentences
Almighty God, you alone can bring into order the unruly wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to love what you command and desire what you promise; that, among the swift and varied changes of this world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
__________
Reading: Numbers 12:2-3 (NLT)
They said, “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses? Hasn’t he spoken through us, too?” But the Lord heard them. (Now Moses was very humble—more humble than any other person on earth.)
__________
Reading: Luke 23:34a (NLT)
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”
__________
Litany of Humility: – Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val (1865-1930),
Secretary of State for Pope Saint Pius X
O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed,
Deliver me, Jesus.
+ From the desire of being loved…
+ From the desire of being extolled …
+ From the desire of being honored …
+ From the desire of being praised …
+ From the desire of being preferred to others…
+ From the desire of being consulted …
+ From the desire of being approved …
From the fear of being humiliated,
Deliver me, Jesus.
+ From the fear of being despised…
+ From the fear of suffering rebukes …
+ From the fear of being calumniated …
+ From the fear of being forgotten …
+ From the fear of being ridiculed …
+ From the fear of being wronged …
+ From the fear of being suspected …
That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
+ That others may be esteemed more than I …
+ That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease …
+ That others may be chosen and I set aside …
+ That others may be praised and I unnoticed …
+ That others may be preferred to me in everything…
+ That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should…
O Jesus! empty me of me, and fill me with you…
to the glory of your name. Amen.
__________
“Humble King” – Mission Grace Worship
__________
Blessing
The Lord bless us, and keep us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life.
+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!
+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!
Opening Sentences
Almighty God, you alone can bring into order the unruly wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to love what you command and desire what you promise; that, among the swift and varied changes of this world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
__________
Reading: John 10:27-28 (NLT)
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me….
__________
Reading: Luke 15:1-7 (NLT)
Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them!
So Jesus told them this story: “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!
__________
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, you sent your Son to seek and save the lost – sheep without a shepherd.
Hear the cries of our hearts for our lost loved ones – our sons and daughters, our brothers and sisters, our mothers and fathers, our friends and neighbors, the known and the nameless, those both near us and far from our shores.
Call them by name and bring them home to yourself – convict them of sin, and unrighteousness, and grant them a spirit of repentance and saving faith.
And Lord, give us confidence, clarity and courage to share the Good News of what you have done for us with those you have prepared to listen.
We ask this in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
__________
“Shepherd of Love” – Evie Karlsson
__________
Blessing
The Lord bless us, and keep us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life.
+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Opening:
Enlighten, O God of compassion, the hearts of your children, and in your kindness grant those you stir to faith and devotion a gracious hearing when they cry out to you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
__________
Reading: John 11:3-7, 17, 20-27, 33b-45 (NLT)
The Raising of Lazarus
So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, “Lord, your dear friend is very sick.”
But when Jesus heard about it he said, “Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.” So although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, he stayed where he was for the next two days. Finally, he said to his disciples, “Let’s go back to Judea.”
_____
When Jesus arrived at Bethany, he was told that Lazarus had already been in his grave for four days.
_____
When Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. But Mary stayed in the house. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask.”
Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.”
“Yes,” Martha said, “he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day.”
Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?”
“Yes, Lord,” she told him. “I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God.”
_____
When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled. “Where have you put him?” he asked them.
They told him, “Lord, come and see.” Then Jesus wept. The people who were standing nearby said, “See how much he loved him!” But some said, “This man healed a blind man. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?”
Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance. “Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them.
But Martha, the dead man’s sister, protested, “Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible.”
Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.” Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!”
Many of the people who were with Mary believed in Jesus when they saw this happen.
__________
Prayer:
Heavenly Father: In your Son, Jesus, you gave life abundant and eternal to all who believe in his name.
+ Remind us again that nothing is impossible for you, even raising the dead to life.
+ Remind us again of your compassion and love for us, especially in times of sorrow and grief.
+ Fill us with confident faith in your Son, Jesus, our resurrection and our life.
+ Draw us close to you during this season of repentance and reflection.
Heavenly Father, hear our prayers, and fill our hearts with your mercy, so that safeguarding the gifts received through your goodness, we may walk in newness of life. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
__________
“I Am the Resurrection” – Diocese of St. Benedict – Old Catholic Missionaries
__________
Closing:
See, my servant will prosper; he will be highly exalted.
But many were amazed when they saw him. His face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human, and from his appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man.
And he will startle many nations. Kings will stand speechless in his presence.
For they will see what they had not been told; they will understand what they had not heard about.
– Isaiah 52:13-15 (NLT)
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
_________
+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!
Opening Sentences
Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world: Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
__________
Reading: Psalm 138:8 (NLT)
The Lord will work out his plans for my life—for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever. Don’t abandon me, for you made me.
__________
Reading: John 10:1-21 (NLT)
“I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber! But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.”
Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn’t understand what he meant, so he explained it to them: “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep.
“I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.
“The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again. No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.”
When he said these things, the people were again divided in their opinions about him. Some said, “He’s demon possessed and out of his mind. Why listen to a man like that?” Others said, “This doesn’t sound like a man possessed by a demon! Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
__________
Prayer:
Lord God: You knew me, made me, called me, and had a plan for my life even before I was born.
+ Thank you for your unfailing love and faithfulness to me over the years.
+ Thank you for sending your Son, Jesus, to sacrifice his life in order to save mine.
+ Thank you for enabling me to recognize his voice and to follow him along the path of Life.
+ Thank you for your protection from the schemes of the evil one to steal my joy and destroy my life.
Lord God: Continue working out your good purpose in me and give me the ability to hear your voice ever leading me to a rich and satisfying life. Through my Lord, Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
__________
“King Of My Heart” – Kutless
__________
Blessing
The Lord bless us, and keep us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life.
+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!
The Peanut Gallery 