Worship Service for March 20, 2022 at 11 AM

Welcome

Opening Song: God So Loved

Come all you weary, Come all you thirsty
Come to the well that Never runs dry
Drink of the Water, Come and thirst no more

Come all you sinners, Come find His mercy
Come to the table, He Will satisfy
Taste of His goodness, Find what you’re looking for

Chorus 1:
For God so loved the World that He gave us His
One and only Son to save us
Whoever believes in Him will live forever
Bring all your failures, Bring your addictions
Come lay them down at the Foot of the cross
Jesus is waiting There with open arms

(Chorus 1)

Chorus 2:
The power of Hell forever defeated
Now it is well, I’m Walking in freedom
For God so loved, God so loved the world 

Bridge:
Praise God, praise God, From whom all blessings flow
Praise Him, praise Him for the Wonders of His love
(Repeat)

His amazing love

For God so loved the World that He gave us His
One and only Son to save us
Whoever believes in Him will live forever
The power of Hell forever defeated
Now it is well, I’m Walking in freedom
For God so loved, God so loved the world

Invocation

Confession and Forgiveness:

P: Our Heavenly Father asks us to come into His presence.

C: But we are sinful and unworthy.

P: Yes, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, but Jesus Christ died on the cross that we may be forgiven and washed clean of all our sins by His blood spilled on the cross.

C: Lord, if You wash us, we will certainly be clean and pure.

P: We take a moment to bow before the His cross and silently reflect on our lives and confess our sins.

(Time of silence for reflection and confession)

P: Let us confess, together, our sins to God our Father.

C: Heavenly Father, we confess that we are sinners. We have sinned against you and our neighbors. We have not loved you with our whole heart and we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not lived out our faith out in our community. We justly deserve Your punishment. 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.

P: Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins. As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I, therefore, forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C: Amen

Song of Praise and Thanksgiving – Just As I Am

Just as I am, without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bidd’st me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come! I come!

Just as I am, and waiting not,
To rid my soul of one dark blot,
To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come! I come!

Just as I am, though tossed about,
With many a conflict, many a doubt,
Fightings and fears within, without,
Lamb of God, I come! I come!

Just as I am, Thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve,
Because Thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come! I come!

Old Testament Reading – Isaiah 35:1-7

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus; it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God.

Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.”

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down, the grass shall become reeds and rushes.

Reader: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.

Epistle Reading – Philippians 2:1-11

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Reader: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.

Children’s Message

Sermon Song: By Grace I’m Saved

By grace I’m saved, grace free and boundless;
My soul, believe and doubt it not.
Why stagger at this word of promise?
Has Scripture ever falsehood taught?
No! Then this word must true remain;
By grace you too will life obtain.

By grace God’s Son, our only Savior,
Came down to earth to bear our sin.
Was it because of your own merit,
That Jesus died your soul to win?
No, it was grace, and grace alone,
That brought Him from His heav’nly throne.

By grace! On this I’ll rest when dying;
In Jesus’ promise I rejoice;
For though I know my heart’s condition,
I also know my Savior’s voice.
My heart is glad, all grief has flown,
Since I am saved by grace alone.

Sermon – “You Meant It For Evil but God Meant It For Good”

                    Message 4: “When You See Such Blind Ignorance, What Do You Think?”

Luke 22:63-23:1

Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking him as they beat him. They also blindfolded him and kept asking him, “Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?” And they said many other things against him, blaspheming him.

When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people gathered together, both chief priests and scribes. And they led him away to their council, and they said, “If you are the Christ, tell us.” But he said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe, and if I ask you, you will not answer. But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” So they all said, “Are you the Son of God, then?” And he said to them, “You say that I am.” Then they said, “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips.”
Then the whole company of them arose and brought him before Pilate.

P: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C: Praise be to You, o Christ.

Prayers: Text in prayer requests to (813) 602-1104

Nicene Creed

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of His Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made; who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried. And the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures and ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father. And He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead, whose kingdom will have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets. And I believe in one holy Christian and apostolic Church, I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins, and I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.

The 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

Words of Institution

Peace

P: The peace of the Lord be with you all.
C: And also, with you.
P: We greet each other in the peace of Christ.

Distribution

Prayer

Benediction

Closing Song – Happy Day

The greatest day in history, Death is beaten,
You have rescued me Sing it out, Jesus is alive
The empty cross, the empty grave
Life eternal, You have won the day
Shout it out, Jesus is alive, He’s alive

Chorus:
oh, happy day, happy day! You washed my sin away
oh, happy day, happy day! I’ll never be the same
Forever I am changed

When I stand in that place, Free at last, meeting face to face
I am Yours, Jesus, You are mine
Endless joy, perfect peace. Earthly pain finally will cease
Celebrate, Jesus is alive, He’s alive

Chorus

Oh, what a glorious day! What a glorious way!
That You have saved me.
And oh, what a glorious day! What a glorious name! Yeah!

Final Chorus:
oh, happy day, happy day! You washed my sin away
oh, happy day, happy day! I’ll never be the same
oh, happy day, happy day! You washed my sin away
oh, happy day, happy day! I’ll never be the same

Forever I am changed

Offering

Upcoming Events

March 20, 4 PM Confirmation
Pastor Kurt’s House

March 20, 5 – 9 PM Church Social
Bowling – Arcade – Laser Tag – Pizza
Main Event – $21/person

March 21, 7 PM Council Meeting
Zoom

March 27, Noon “Build Our Faith” Launch Dinner
Song and Dance

March 31, 5:30 – 7 PM Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser
Song and Dance

National Youth Gathering Update
We currently have four youth and two adult chaperones registered for the LCMS National Youth Gathering (NYG). The total remaining cost for all six people is estimated to be $9,210. We are doing several fundraisers, including spaghetti dinners, a bake sale, and a raffle/auction to raise money to offset the costs. We have also set up a fund which anyone can give to at any time. If you would like to give to the NYG fund, you can do so by giving a check which indicates it is for the NYG or by donating online and selecting the “National Youth Gathering” fund. If you know anyone outside our congregation who might like to help provide for the youth to have this amazing experience, please let them know about the fund and/or the fundraisers. Thank you!!