ST. JOHN LUTHERAN CHURCH
1020 Private Rd. 8012 Giddings, Texas 78942
LENTEN MID-WEEK LENTEN SERVICE
March 25, 2020
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HYMN OF INVOCATION: "Alas and Did My Savior Bleed" TLH #154
L: O Lord, open my lips,
C: and my mouth will declare Your praise.
L:Make haste, O God, to deliver me;
C: make haste to help me, O Lord.
ALL: Glory be 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.
Praise to You, O Christ, Lamb of our salvation.
PSALMODY: Psalm 10:1–12; antiphon: v. 12
L Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up Your hand; forget not the afflicted.
C Why, O Lord, do You stand afar off? Why do You hide yourself in times of trouble?
L In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor; let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.
C For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul, and the one greedy for gain curses
and renounces the Lord. In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek Him; all his
thoughts are, “There is no God.”
L His ways prosper at all times; Your judgments are on high, out of his sight; as for all his foes, he puffs at them.
C He says in his heart, “I shall not be moved; throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity.”
L His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under his tongue are mischief
and iniquity.
C He sits in ambush in the villages; in hiding places he murders the innocent.
His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;
L he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket; he lurks that he may seize the poor; he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.
C The helpless are crushed, sink down, and fall by his might.
L He says in his heart, “God has forgotten, He has hidden His face, He will never see it.”
C Glory be 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.
L Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up Your hand; forget not the afflicted.
OFFICE HYMN: "Upon the Cross Extended" TLH #171
OLD TESTAMENT READING: Job 24:13–17
13“There are those who rebel against the light, who are not acquainted with its ways, and do not stay in its paths. 14 The murderer rises before it is light, that he may kill the poor and needy, and in the night he is like a thief. 15 The eye of the adulterer also waits for the twilight, saying, ‘No eye will see me’; and he veils his face. 16 In the dark they dig through houses; by day they shut themselves up; they do not know the light. 17 For deep darkness is morning to all of them; for they are friends with the terrors of deep darkness.
L O Lord, have mercy on us.
C Thanks be to God.
EPISTLE LESSON: 1 John 3:11–15
11 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 12 We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
L O Lord, have mercy on us.
C Thanks be to God.
HOLY GOSPEL: Matthew 23:29–36
29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, 30 saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. 33 You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? 34 Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, 35 so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of innocent Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.
L O Lord, have mercy on us.
C Thanks be to God.
RESPONSORY
L: Deliver me, O Lord, my God, for You are the God of my salvation.
C: Rescue me from my enemies, protect me from those who rise
against me.
L: In You, O Lord, do I put my trust, leave me not, O Lord, my God.
C: Rescue me from my enemies, protect me from those who rise
against me.
L: Deliver me, O Lord, my God, for You are the God of my salvation.
C: Rescue me from my enemies, protect me from those who rise
against me.
HYMN: "Our Eyes Behold the Savior’s Face" Tune of TLH #154
Our eyes behold the Savior’s face And yet cannot perceive
That His perspective held our grace. Before we could believe.
Our focus flits and fails to see. The One whose steadfast gaze
Propelled Him to the darkened tree. Enveloped in death’s haze.
Our sights train on the dreadful cross. Beneath His knowing eyes,
Our sins are bare and set for loss;. He sees us as His prize.
Our vision blurs with anxious tears. As Jesus’ eyelids fall
To conquer sin and all our fears And tear in two our pall.
Our view scans for the coming Day That evermore grows near,
When Jesus wipes our tears away And all is crystal clear.
SERMON: “Murderous” (Mark 14:1-2, 53-65)
ANTIPHON
L: Let my prayer rise before You as incense,
C: and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
MAGNIFICAT: Hymn #275 TLH
PRAYERS: The Litany Page 110 in TLH
COLLECT FOR LENT
L: Almighty and everlasting God, You despise nothing You have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent. Create in us new and contrite hearts that lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness we may receive from You full pardon and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
COLLECT FOR PEACE
L: O God, from whom come all holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works, give to us, Your servants, that peace which the world cannot give, that our hearts may be set to obey Your commandments and also that we, being defended from the fear of our enemies, may live in peace and quietness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C: Amen.
BENEDICAMUS
L: Let us bless the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
BENEDICTION
P: The grace of our Lord T Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
C: Amen.
HYMN TO DEPART: "God Who Made the Earth and Heaven" #549 TLH