Saturday morning March 18

Sunday morning
Friday morning

Preparation

Opening response

Lord, open our lips
and our mouth will proclaim your praise.

Hear our voice, Lord, according to your faithful love,
according to your judgment give us life.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, God of compassion and mercy,
to you be praise and glory forever.
In the darkness of our sin,
your light breaks forth like the dawn
and your healing springs up for deliverance.
As we rejoice in the gift of your saving help,
sustain us with your bountiful Spirit
and open our lips to sing your praise.
Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God forever.

The night has passed, and the day lies open before us;
let us pray with one heart and mind.

Silence is kept.

As we rejoice in the gift of this new day,
so may the light of your presence, O God,
set our hearts on fire with love for you;
now and forever.
Amen.

Hymn

Jesus, Thou Sovereign Lord of All

Charles Wesley

Jesus, thou sovereign Lord of all,
The same through one eternal day,
Attend thy feeblest follower’s call,
And O, instruct us how to pray!
Pour out the supplicating grace,
And stir us up to seek thy face.

We cannot think a gracious thought,
We cannot feel a good desire,
Till thou, who callest worlds from nought,
The power into our hearts inspire;
And then we in the Spirit groan,
And then we give thee back thine own.

Jesus, regard the joint complaint
Of all thy tempted followers here,
And now supply the common want,
And send us down the Comforter,
The spirit of ceaseless prayer impart,
And fix thy Agent in our heart.

Come in thy pleading Spirit down
To us who for thy coming stay;
Of all thy gifts we ask but one,
We ask the constant power to pray;
Indulge us, Lord, in this request,
Thou canst not then deny the rest.

Confession of sin

O King enthroned on high,
filling the earth with your glory:
holy is your name,
Lord God almighty.

A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.

In our sinfulness we cry to you
to take our guilt away,
and to cleanse our lips to speak your word,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

May the God of all healing and forgiveness
draw us to himself,
and cleanse us from all our sins
that we may behold the glory of his Son,
the Word made flesh,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

The Word of God

Psalm 3

Refrain:
You, Lord, are my shield!

Lord, I have so many enemies!
    So many are standing against me.
So many are talking about me:
    “Even God won’t help him.”
But you, Lord, are my shield!
    You are my glory!
    You are the one who restores me.
I cry out loud to the Lord,
    and he answers me from his holy mountain. 
I lie down, sleep, and wake up
    because the Lord helps me.
I won’t be afraid of thousands of people
    surrounding me on all sides.

Stand up, Lord!
    Save me, my God!
In fact, hit all my enemies on the jaw;
    shatter the teeth of the wicked!
Rescue comes from the Lord!
    May your blessing be on your people!

Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:
You, Lord, are my shield!

Psalm prayer

Shield us, Lord, from all evil,
and lift us from apathy and despair, 
that even when we are terrified,
we may trust your power to save;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 25

Refrain:
Make your ways known to me, Lord; teach me your paths.

I offer my life to you, Lord.
    My God, I trust you.
Please don’t let me be put to shame!
    Don’t let my enemies rejoice over me!
For that matter,
    don’t let anyone who hopes in you
        be put to shame;
    instead, let those who are treacherous without excuse be put to shame.
Make your ways known to me, Lord;
    teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth—teach it to me—
    because you are the God who saves me.
        I put my hope in you all day long.
Lord, remember your compassion and faithful love—
    they are forever!
But don’t remember the sins of my youth or my wrongdoing.
    Remember me only according to your faithful love
        for the sake of your goodness, Lord.
The Lord is good and does the right thing;
    he teaches sinners which way they should go.
God guides the weak to justice,
    teaching them his way.
All the Lord’s paths are loving and faithful
    for those who keep his covenant and laws.
Please, for the sake of your good name, Lord, forgive my sins, which are many! Where are the ones who honor the Lord?
    God will teach them which path to take.
They will live a good life,
    and their descendants will possess the land.
The Lord counsels those who honor him;
    he makes his covenant known to them.
My eyes are always looking to the Lord
    because he will free my feet from the net.
Turn to me, God, and have mercy on me
    because I’m alone and suffering.
My heart’s troubles keep getting bigger—
    set me free from my distress!
Look at my suffering and trouble—
    forgive all my sins!
Look at how many enemies I have
    and how violently they hate me!
Please protect my life! Deliver me!
    Don’t let me be put to shame
    because I take refuge in you.
Let integrity and virtue guard me
    because I hope in you.
Please, God, save Israel from all its troubles!

Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:
Make your ways known to me, Lord; teach me your paths.

Psalm prayer

Free us, God of mercy,
from all that keeps us from you;
relieve the misery of the anxious and the ashamed
and fill us with the hope of peace;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading
Jeremiah 10:17-24

Pack your bags and get ready to leave,
    you who live under siege.
The Lord proclaims:
I’m going to eject those who live in the land at this time;
    I will badger them until they leave.

How terrible for me, due to my injury;
    my wound is terrible.
Yet I said to myself:
    This is my sickness,
        and I must bear it.
But now my tent is destroyed;
    all its ropes are cut,
        and my children are gone for good.
    There’s no one left to set up my tent frame
        and to attach the fabric.
The shepherd kings have lost their senses
    and don’t seek answers from the Lord.
That is why they have failed
    and their flock is scattered.
Listen! The sound is getting louder,
    a mighty uproar from the land of the north;
    it will reduce the towns of Judah to ruins,
        a den for wild dogs.
I know, Lord, that our lives are not our own,
    that we’re not able to direct our paths.
So correct me, Lord, but with justice,
    not in your anger,
        or else you will reduce me to nothing.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading
John 7:25-36

Some people from Jerusalem said, “Isn’t he the one they want to kill? Here he is, speaking in public, yet they aren’t saying anything to him. Could it be that our leaders actually think he is the Christ? We know where he is from, but when the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from.”

While Jesus was teaching in the temple, he exclaimed, “You know me and where I am from. I haven’t come on my own. The one who sent me is true, and you don’t know him. I know him because I am from him and he sent me.” So they wanted to seize Jesus, but they couldn’t because his time hadn’t yet come.

Many from that crowd believed in Jesus. They said, “When the Christ comes, will he do more miraculous signs than this man does?” The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about Jesus, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent guards to arrest him.

Therefore, Jesus said, “I’m still with you for a little while before I go to the one who sent me. You will look for me, but you won’t find me, and where I am you can’t come.”

The Jewish opposition asked each other, “Where does he intend to go that we can’t find him? Surely he doesn’t intend to go where our people have been scattered and are living among the Greeks! He isn’t going to teach the Greeks, is he? What does he mean when he says, ‘You will look for me, but you won’t find me, and where I am you can’t come’?”

Silence may be kept.

Gospel canticle
The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Refrain:
You have raised up a mighty savior for us in your servant David’s house.

Bless the Lord God of Israel
because he has come to help and has delivered his people.
He has raised up a mighty savior for us in his servant David’s house,
just as he said through the mouths of his holy prophets long ago.
He has brought salvation from our enemies
and from the power of all those who hate us.
He has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,
and remembered his holy covenant,
the solemn pledge he made to our ancestor Abraham.
He has granted that we would be rescued
from the power of our enemies
so that we could serve him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness in God’s eyes,
for as long as we live.
You, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way.
You will tell his people how to be saved
through the forgiveness of their sins.
Because of our God’s deep compassion,
the dawn from heaven will break upon us,
to give light to those who are sitting in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide us on the path of peace.”

Luke 1:68-79

Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:
You have raised up a mighty savior for us in your servant David’s house.

Brief silence.

The Apostle’s Creed

Let us unite in this historic confession of the Christian faith: 

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his 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,
is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and will come again 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

Intercession and thanksgiving

Prayers may be offered for:

the day and its tasks
the world and its needs
the church and her life

Prayers may include the following concerns:

Those preparing for baptism and confirmation
Those serving through leadership
Those looking for forgiveness
Those misled by the false gods of this present age
All who are hungry

Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.

Response

Father, by your Spirit
Bring in your kingdom.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Almighty God,
you show to those who are in error the light of your truth,
that they may return to the way of righteousness:
grant to all those who are admitted
   into the fellowship of Christ’s religion,
that they may reject those things
   that are contrary to their profession,
and follow all such things as are agreeable to the same;
through our Lord Jesus Christ,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Trusting in the compassion of God, as our Savior taught us, so we pray

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.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and forever.
Amen.

Conclusion

May God our Redeemer show us compassion and love.
Amen.