ORDER OF WORSHIP
Third Sunday in Lent
March 12, 2023
+ GATHERING +
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
PRELUDE
CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS
In the name of the Father,
and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.
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.
In the mercy of almighty God, Jesus Christ was given to die for us, and for his sake God forgives us all our sins. As a called and ordained minister of the church of Christ, and by his authority, I therefore declare to you the entire forgiveness of all your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
GATHERING HYMN
Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross
ELW 335
Jesus, keep me near the cross,
there's a precious fountain;
free to all, a healing stream
flows from Calv'ry's mountain.
Refrain
In the cross, in the cross
be my glory ever;
till my ransomed soul shall find
rest beyond the river.
Near the cross, a trembling soul,
love and mercy found me;
there the bright and morning star
sheds its beams around me. Refrain
Near the cross! O Lamb of God,
bring its scenes before me;
help me walk from day to day
with its shadow o'er me. Refrain
Near the cross I'll watch and wait,
hoping, trusting ever,
till I reach the golden strand
just beyond the river. Refrain
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
In peace, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For the peace from above,
and for our salvation,
let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For the peace of the whole world,
for the well-being of the Church of God,
and for the unity of all,
let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For this holy house,
and for all who offer here their worship and praise,
let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord.
Amen.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Let us pray.
Merciful God, the fountain of living water, you quench our thirst and wash away our sin. Give us this water always. Bring us to drink from the well that flows with the beauty of your truth through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
+ WORD +
FIRST READING: Exodus 17:1-7
Because the thirsty Israelites quarreled with Moses and put God to the test, Moses cried out in desperation to God. God commanded Moses to strike the rock to provide water for the people. The doubt-filled question—“Is the Lord among us or not?”—received a very positive answer.
1From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2The people quarreled with Moses, and said, "Give us water to drink." Moses said to them, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?" 3But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, "Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?" 4So Moses cried out to the LORD, "What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me." 5The LORD said to Moses, "Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink." Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and tested the LORD, saying, "Is the LORD among us or not?"
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Psalm 95 (read responsively by full verse)
1O come, let us sing to the LORD;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
2Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
3For the LORD is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
4In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
5The sea is his, for he made it,
and the dry land, which his hands have formed.
6O come, let us worship and bow down,
let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!
7For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.
O that today you would listen to his voice!
8Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
9when your ancestors tested me,
and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.
10For forty years I loathed that generation
and said, "They are a people whose hearts go astray,
and they do not regard my ways."
11Therefore in my anger I swore,
"They shall not enter my rest."
SECOND READING: Romans 5:1-11
Though we often hear that God helps those who help themselves, here Paul tells us that through Jesus’ death God helps utterly helpless sinners. Since we who had been enemies are reconciled to God in the cross, we now live in hope for our final salvation.
1Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 3And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
6For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person — though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. 8But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. 9Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God. 10For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. 11But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
Word of God, Come Down on Earth
ELW 510 (vs 1)
Word of God, come down on earth,
living rain from heav'n descending;
touch our hearts and bring to birth
faith and hope and love unending.
Word almighty, we revere you;
Word made flesh, we long to hear you.
GOSPEL: John 4:5-42
Jesus defies convention to engage a Samaritan woman in conversation. Her testimony, in turn, leads many others to faith.
The holy gospel according to John.
Glory to you, O Lord.
5[Jesus] came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.
7A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." 8(His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) 9The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?" (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) 10Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." 11The woman said to him, "Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?" 13Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life." 15The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water."
16Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come back." 17The woman answered him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband'; 18for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!" 19The woman said to him, "Sir, I see that you are a prophet. 20Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem." 21Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. 24God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." 25The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). "When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us." 26Jesus said to her, "I am he, the one who is speaking to you."
27Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, "What do you want?" or, "Why are you speaking with her?" 28Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, 29Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he? 30They left the city and were on their way to him.
31Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, "Rabbi, eat something." 32But he said to them, "I have food to eat that you do not know about." 33So the disciples said to one another, "Surely no one has brought him something to eat?" 34Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. 35Do you not say, 'Four months more, then comes the harvest'? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. 36The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. 37For here the saying holds true, 'One sows and another reaps.' 38I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor."
39Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me everything I have ever done." 40So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. 41And many more believed because of his word. 42They said to the woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world."
The gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.
SERMON
HYMN OF THE DAY
Come to Me, All Pilgrims Thirsty
ELW 777
"Come to me, all pilgrims thirsty;
drink the water I will give.
If you knew what gift I offer,
you would come to me and live."
Refrain
Jesus, ever flowing fountain,
give us water from your well.
In the gracious gift you offer
there is joy no tongue can tell.
"Come to me, all trav'lers weary;
come that I may give you rest.
Drink the cup of life I offer;
at this table be my guest." Refrain
"Come to me, believers burdened;
find refreshment in this place.
Come, receive the gift I offer,
turn to me and seek my face." Refrain
"Come to me, repentant sinners;
leave behind your guilt and shame.
Come and know divine compassion,
turn to me, I call your name." Refrain
"Come to me, distressed and needy;
I would be your trusted friend.
Come and seek the gift I offer,
come, your open hands extend." Refrain
"Come to me, abandoned, orphaned;
lonely ways no longer roam.
Come and take the gift I offer,
let me make in you my home." Refrain
NICENE CREED
We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary
and became truly human.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
Hear Our Prayer
ELW 178
Hear our prayer, hear our prayer,
Lord, make us whole:
peace to all people, hope for each soul.
God of grace, in this place,
hear now our prayer.
Sustained by God’s abundant mercy, let us pray for the church, the world, and all of creation.
A brief silence.
We pray for your church. Bless partnerships with other Christians and inter-religious dialogue. Guide the daily work of denominational and congregational leaders. Strengthen our combined witness for the sake of the gospel, that all experience your life-giving love. Merciful God,
receive our prayer.
We pray for the universe. All creation teems with life, from the depths of the earth and seas to the skies above. Fill us with awe and reverence for the diversity and preservation of life. Merciful God,
receive our prayer.
We pray for the nations of the world. Topple the dividing walls that separate us from our neighbors. Form us into your beloved community where diversity of gender, race, language, ability, and ethnic origin is celebrated and affirmed. Merciful God,
receive our prayer.
We pray for those who suffer in mind, body, or spirit. Be present with all who are lonely, and give courage to all who are afraid. Comfort those who live with chronic illness, addictions, and other sickness particularly Arlene, Tim, Mabel, Mike, Anna Mae, Julie, Carol G., Carol, Anne, Lydia, Paul, Wil, Betty, Scott, Ron, Flo, Doris, Dottie, Theresa, Marian P., Ian, Tim, Julie, Ed, Henry, Mary, Greg, and Max. Give them your living water always. Merciful God,
receive our prayer.
We pray for this congregation, especially those preparing for baptism. Nurture their faith and pour your love into their hearts. Inspire our community by their testimony to God’s grace in their lives. Merciful God,
receive our prayer.
Other petitions may be offered.
We give thanks for the lives of all your saints. Their hope in you sustained lives of faith and service. Encourage us with the hope they shared in you. Merciful God,
receive our prayer.
We lift our prayers to you, O God, trusting in your steadfast love and your promise to renew your whole creation; through Jesus Christ our Savior.
Amen.
EXCHANGE OF PEACE
Peace of Christ be with you all.
And also with you.
We prepare now to receive our offerings as we return to God a portion of what God has entrusted to us.
+ MEAL +
OFFERING
You may place your offerings in the offering plate as it is passed during the service. Alternatively, some are using Tithe.ly for online giving or are using their bank’s online banking option. Whichever way you choose to give, we are grateful for your stewardship and generosity.
MUSICAL OFFERING
OFFERING SONG
Create in Me a Clean Heart
ELW 188
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with your free Spirit.
OFFERING PRAYER
Let us pray.
Blessed are you, O God, maker of all things. Through your goodness you have blessed us with these gifts: our selves, our time, and our possessions. Use us, and what we have gathered, in feeding the world with your love, through the one who gave himself for us, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
Amen.
HOLY COMMUNION
THE GREAT THANKSGIVING
DIALOGUE
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
PREFACE
Living God, you created all things out of nothing; you called a people out of the desert; you sent your Son to us when we were hard-hearted and far from your grace; and you send your Holy Spirit to us today despite our foolishness and forgetfulness. Through your servant Moses you drew water out of the rock, and in your Son Jesus you brought living water that we might never be thirsty again. Out of your Son’s pierced side on the cross flowed water and blood and in the glory of his resurrection we are baptized into wondrous forgiveness and everlasting life with you. And so we gladly thank you, with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven, singing the hymn of your unending praise.
SANCTUS
Holy, Holy, Holy
ELW 192
Holy, holy, holy Lord,
Lord God of pow'r and might,
Heav'n and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord
Hosanna in the highest, hosanna in the highest.
THANKSGIVING AT THE TABLE
Overflowing God, in you we discover that all our striving and thirsting are truly a striving and thirsting for you, and in all our desert wanderings we find that only you can satisfy.
Come among us in the power of your Holy Spirit, that your people may taste your living water, and that these gifts of bread and wine may become for us the body and blood of your Son Jesus Christ; who, at supper with his disciples, took bread, gave you thanks, broke the bread, and gave it to them saying: “Take, eat: this is my body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
After supper he took the cup. Again he gave you thanks, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Drink this, all of you: this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, as often as you drink, it in remembrance of me.”
Great is the mystery of faith.
Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.
Cleansing God, bring the healing power of your living water to visit all who labor with disease today. Pour the refreshment of your living water to invigorate all who are weary. Send the momentum of your living water to roll down justice like a never-failing stream. Make us, your church, a fountain of your living water, until the day when hunger and thirst are no more, and we live your life abundant with the communion of saints, and you are all in all, in the presence and companionship of your Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, ever one God. Amen.
LORD'S PRAYER
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.
DISTRIBUTION
This holy meal is for all the baptized children of God. We commune at the altar rail. The ushers will direct you down the center aisle. Please go to an open spot at the altar rail. After you have received the host, the first chalice is for intinction and the second chalice is for drinking. A third chalice of grape juice is also offered. Please let the Pastor know if you wish to receive gluten-free wafers. You may wish to remain at the rail for a time of personal prayer following which you may return to your pew down the side aisle.
LAMB OF GOD
O Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world;
have mercy on us.
O Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world;
have mercy on us.
O Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world;
grant us peace, grant us peace.
HYMNS DURING COMMUNION
Eat This Bread
ELW 472
"Eat this bread, drink this cup,
come to me and never be hungry.
Eat this bread, drink this cup,
trust in me and you will not thirst."
BLESSING AFTER COMMUNION
And now may the Body and Blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ preserve us on to life everlasting.
Amen.
Now, Lord
ELW page 113
Now, Lord, you let your servant go in peace:
your word has been fulfilled.
My own eyes have seen the salvation
which you have prepared in the sight of all people:
a light to reveal you to the nations
and the glory of your people Israel.
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.
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
God of abundance, with this bread of life and cup of salvation you have united us with Christ, making us one with all your people. Now send us forth in the power of your Spirit, that we may proclaim your redeeming love to the world and continue forever in the risen life of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen.
+ SENDING +
SENDING HYMN
Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing
ELW 807
Come, thou Fount of ev'ry blessing,
tune my heart to sing thy grace;
streams of mercy, never ceasing,
call for songs of loudest praise.
While the hope of endless glory
fills my heart with joy and love,
teach me ever to adore thee;
may I still thy goodness prove.
Here I raise my Ebenezer:
"Hither by thy help I've come";
and I hope, by thy good pleasure,
safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
wand'ring from the fold of God;
he, to rescue me from danger,
interposed his precious blood.
Oh, to grace how great a debtor
daily I'm constrained to be;
let that grace now like a fetter
bind my wand'ring heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it;
prone to leave the God I love.
Here's my heart, oh, take and seal it;
seal it for thy courts above.
BENEDICTION
DISMISSAL
Go in peace. Follow the way of Jesus.
Thanks be to God.
POSTLUDE
Liturgical Text and Music from Evangelical Lutheran Worship, © 2006, 2020, 2022 Augsburg Fortress. Reprinted and/or streamed with permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies License #SAS016761. All rights reserved.
Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross, Text: Fanny J. Crosby, 1820-1915. Music: William H. Doane, 1832-1915. Public domain.
Word of God, Come Down on Earth, Text: James Quinn, SJ, b. 1919. Text © James Quinn, SJ, admin. Selah Publishing Co., Inc., Text reprinted and/or streamed with permission under OneLicense #A-722274. Music: Johann R. Ahle, 1625-1673. Public domain.
Come to Me, All Pilgrims Thirsty (Jesus, Ever Flowing Fountain), Text: Delores Dufner, OSB, b. 1939, Text © 1992, 1996 Sisters of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, MN. admin: GIA Publications, Inc.. Music: The Sacred Harp, Philadelphia, 1844.; arr: Sacred Hymns, 1985, Arr.© Augsburg Fortresss. Reprinted and/or streamed with permission under OneLicense #A-722274. All rights reserved.
Hear Our Prayer, Text and music: Paul Andress, b. 1956. Text and music © 2006 Augsburg Fortress. Reprinted and/or streamed with permission under OneLicense #A-722274. All rights reserved.
Create in Me a Clean Heart, Music: J. A. Freylinghausen, 1670-1739. Public domain.
Holy, Holy, Holy, Music: A Community Mass, Richard Proulx, b. 1937. Music © 1971, 1977 GIA Publications, Inc. Reprinted and/or streamed with permission under OneLicense #A-722274. All rights reserved.
Eat This Bread , Text: Taizé Community, Music: Jacques Berthier, 1923-1994. Text and music © 1984 Les Presses de Taizé, GIA Publications Inc., agent. Reprinted and/or streamed with permission under OneLicense #A-722274. All rights reserved.
Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, Text: Robert Robinson, 1735-1790, alt. Music: J. Wyeth, Repository of Sacred Music, Part II, 1813. Public domain.
