Saturday, March 9, 2013

Worship Notes for Lent 3 - 2013



Saturday in the week of Lent 3
March 9, 2013

The Lord be with you

Due to a busy week, not only am I slower than typical in getting these preview notes up, but they will be somewhat different in format.

This coming Sunday will be the 4th Sunday in Lent. Daylight Savings Time Begins. The Lections are: Isaiah 12:1-6; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21; and Luke 15:1-3, 11-32. The Liturgy is Divine Service 3, page 184. Changes to the Liturgy because of Lent are omitting the Gloria in Excelsis (page 187); substitution the seasonal verse for the Alleluia Verse (page 190), which is “The father said to his servants, ‘This my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’” This is taken from Sunday’s Gospel lesson. This is a Communion service. Sunday’s hymns are: Opening – “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty” LSB 790; Sermon – “Renew Me, O Eternal Light” LSB 704; Distribution – “On My Heart Imprint Your Image” LSB 422; “Jesus Comes Today with Healing” LSB 620; “Glory Be to Jesus” LSB 433; Closing – “Oh, That the Lord Would Guide My Ways” LSB 707. The choir will sing. The text for the sermon is 2 Corinthians 5:17. The sermon title is           “A New You.” Our prayers will include Rev. Gijsbertus van Hattem, President, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Belgium (ELFD); Anthony DiLiberto, missionary in Peru; persecuted believers in Eritrea, and sister congregations Grace, Greensboro, NC; St. Paul, Havelock, NC; Mt. Pisgah, Hendersonville, NC; Augustana & Christ, Hickory, NC; Good Shepherd, Charleston, SC.

Lesson Synopsis from the Synod
Jesus Calls You to Repentance
Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish (Luke 13:3, 5). By this warning, the Lord would turn us away from wickedness and bring us to life in Himself. For He is patient with us, that we not be cut down in our sin but live and bear fruit in Him. As He lives, the Lord has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live (Ezek. 33:11). So the Scriptures have been written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come (1 Cor. 10:11), that we should not desire evil but trust in Christ. He alone is faithful, the Rock who feeds us with His spiritual food and pours out His spiritual drink (1 Cor. 10:3–4).

The Lessons

Isaiah 12:1-6 (the whole chapter)
12:1        You will say in that day:
            “I will give thanks to you, O LORD,
                        for though you were angry with me,
            your anger turned away,
                        that you might comfort me.
2           “Behold, God is my salvation;
                        I will trust, and will not be afraid;
            for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song,
                        and he has become my salvation.”
3           With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. 4And you will say in that day:
            “Give thanks to the LORD,
                        call upon his name,
            make known his deeds among the peoples,
                        proclaim that his name is exalted.
5           “Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously;
                        let this be made known in all the earth.
6           Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,
                        for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”

2 Corinthians 5:16-21
5:16        From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
           
Luke 15:1-3, 11-32
15:1        Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him [Jesus]. 2And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
3           So he told them this parable: …
11          And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. 13Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. 14And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. 15So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.
17          “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! 18I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. 19I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ 20And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.
25          “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ 28But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, 29but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. 30But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ 31And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”

Tidbits

  • Daylight Savings Time begins Sunday (Spring forward.) Set your clocks forward one hour before going to bed (we lose an hour of sleep). Really, this week I’m right.

  • As most of our members surly know, our heater is broken, and I mean broken. We will need a new one. We have a number of space heaters, which will make the place okay, but certainly not warm. You might want to dress warmer than usual, but do so in layers so you can take off a layer or two as the place warms up.  

  • Our Stations of the Cross have been posted. They will remain up throughout Lent.

  • Each Wednesday throughout Lent we will have two worship services (12:15 and 7:00 PM). The evening service is preceded by a soup supper (6:15 PM). All are welcome.

  • Choir practice follows the Wednesday evening Lent service.

Well, I pray I’ll see you Sunday.

Blessings in Christ,
Pastor John Rickert

No comments:

Post a Comment