Weekly Worship

Middleton United Methodist Church Liturgy

Updated for Sunday, March 8th, 2026 [Third Sunday in Lent]

Prelude - Debbie

Welcome/Announcements - MB

Passing the Peace - MB

One: May the peace of the Lord be with you!

Many: And also with you!

Gathering Hymn - Great is Thy Faithfulness - Debbie

Call to Worship - John Mathiasen

One: The season of Lent calls us to pause; to turn away from the noise of the world and toward the quiet of the heart. We come to seek the Lord,

Many: whose mercy is great and whose love is steadfast.

One: Even in the wilderness, God provides a path. Even in the shadows, Christ is our light. So let us lay down our burdens and open our spirits to the renewing work of the Holy Spirit.

Many: We lay down our burdens at the feet of our Lord.

One: Come, let us worship God as we journey together toward the cross.

Many: We offer our hearts in worship; we offer our lives in service! Amen!

Opening Prayer (in unison) - John Mathiasen

Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon. 

Where there is doubt, let us sow faith; where there is despair, hope. Where there is darkness, let us bring light; and where there is sadness, joy. 

O Divine Master, grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned. And it is in dying to ourselves that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

Sing together - Glory be to the Father (UMH #70) - Debbie

Scripture Reading - John Mathiasen

God, open our hearts and minds, that as the scriptures are read and your Word proclaimed, we may hear with joy what you say to us today.

Enduring Presence, goal and guide, you go before and await our coming. Only our thirst compels us beyond complaint to conversation, beyond rejection to relationship. Pour your love into our hearts, that, refreshed and renewed, we may invite others to the living water given to us in Jesus Christ our Lord. And all the beloved said: Amen.

Scripture Reading - Psalm 95 (NASB)

O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord,

Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.

Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving,

Let us shout joyfully to him with psalms.

For the Lord is a great God

And a great King above all gods,

In whose hand are the depths of the earth,

The peaks of the mountains are his also.

The sea is his, for it was he who made it,

And his hands formed the dry land.

Come, let us worship and bow down,

Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.

For he is our God,

And we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.

Today, if you would hear his voice,

Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,

As in the day of Massah in the wilderness,

“When your fathers tested me,

They tried me, though they had seen my work.

“For forty years I loathed that generation,

And said they are a people who err in their heart,

And they do not know my ways.

“Therefore I swore in my anger,

Truly they shall not enter into my rest.”

One: This is our prayer.

Many: Lord, hear our prayer.

Lenten Candle Liturgy - John Mathiasen

As we extinguish this light, we acknowledge the darkness and pain of violence in the world and to the Earth.

(A candle is extinguished).

Let us pray: Draw us together in your love, O God. May our restless hearts not resist you, but continue to search until they find their rest in you. And all the beloved said: Amen.

Lectionary Hymn - #174, His Name Is Wonderful - Debbie

Prayers of the People - Pastor Mary Beth

God of the living, through baptism we pass from the shadow of death to the light of the resurrection. Remain with us and give us hope that, rejoicing in the gift of the Spirit who gives life to our mortal flesh, we may be clothed with the garment of immortality, through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Faithful God of love, you blessed us with your servant Son so that we might know how to serve your people with justice and with mercy. We gather the needs of ourselves and others, and offer them to you in faith and love, seeking to be strengthened to meet them.

Are there any requests?

(The congregation is invited to speak their requests. After each request is spoken, we all respond in unison. For prayer requests, we respond, “Lord, hear our prayer.” For praises, we respond, “Lord, we lift this praise.”)

Shape us and transform us by your grace, that we may grow in wisdom and in confidence, never faltering until we have done all that you desire to bring your realm of shalom to fulfillment. And all the beloved said: Amen.

(A moment for silent prayers)

And now let us pray the prayer the Lord taught all the disciples to pray. Let’s be so bold as to say:

Our Father, who art in heaven,

Hallowed by 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, now and forever. Amen.

Doxology - Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow (UMH #95) - James

Prayer for Today’s Offering

Generous God, we bring these gifts to you as a sign of our gratitude and our commitment to the Lenten journey. Use these offerings to bring hope to the weary and to extend your love to a world in need. As we give of our resources, help us also to give of ourselves, following the path of service set before us by Jesus Christ. In the name of Christ, our crucified Lord, all the beloved said: Amen.

Prayer Hymn - Still Waters - James

Sermon - Mark 15:16-21 (CEB) - Stations 5, 6, and 7 - Pastor Mary Beth

The soldiers led Jesus away into the courtyard of the palace known as the governor’s headquarters, and they called together the whole company of soldiers. They dressed him up in a purple robe and twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on him. They saluted him, “Hey! King of the Jews!” Again and again, they struck his head with a stick. They spit on him and knelt before him to honor him. When they finished mocking him, they stripped him of the purple robe and put his own clothes back on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

Simon, a man from Cyrene, Alexander and Rufus’ father, was coming in from the countryside. They forced him to carry his cross.

One: This is the Gospel of our Lord.

Many: Praise to you, Lord Christ!

Sermon Hymn - Tear Down The Walls - James

Sending:

Benediction - Pastor Mary Beth

May the God of the wilderness lead you into the quiet of the heart. May the grace of Christ sustain you on the road toward the cross. And may the power of the Holy Spirit give you courage to walk in love, today and throughout these forty days. Go in peace to serve the Lord. Amen.

Sending Hymn: Song of Hope (TFWS #2186) - Debbie & James

Postlude - James