April 6, 2025 11 A.M.
Welcome!
Introduction
Our God makes all things new. In the first reading God promises it. In the gospel Mary anticipates it, anointing Jesus’ feet with costly perfume in preparation for the day of his burial. In the second reading Paul recalls his transformation from the persecutor Saul into an apostle. In baptism, God’s new person (you!) rises daily from the deadly mire of trespasses and sins.
(please stand for our opening song)
We Sing: “Let us ever walk with Jesus” ELW 802
| Let us ever walk with Jesus, follow his example pure, flee the world which would deceive us and to sin our souls allure. Ever in his footsteps treading, body here, yet soul above, full of faith and hope and love, let us do the Father’s bidding. Faithful Lord, abide with me; Savior, lead; I follow thee. | Let us suffer here with Jesus, to his image e’er conform; heaven’s glory soon will please us, sunshine follow on the storm. Though we sow in tears of sorrow, we shall reap in heav’nly joy, and the fears that now annoy shall be laughter on the morrow. Christ, I suffer here with thee; there, O share thy joy with me. |
Confession and Forgiveness
P: Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God, who forgives all our sin, whose mercy endures forever.
C: Amen.
P: Let us return to God, confessing our sin in the assurance of God’s abiding love.
Silence is kept for reflection.
P: Compassionate One,
C: you are slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, but our lives do not always reflect you and your love for the world. We do not show others the tender compassion you have shown to us. We do not welcome others with the radical hospitality you grant to all people. We oppress others, even though you have set us free again and again. We squander the abundant gifts of the earth. Transform our lives and guide us again in the way of the cross. Amen.
P: Beloved in Christ, God’s arms are always stretched open wide to welcome the wandering ones home. In ☩ Christ, your sins are forgiven. You have a place in God’s house forever.
C: Amen.
Prayer of the Day
Creator God, you prepare a new way in the wilderness, and your grace waters our desert. Open our hearts to be transformed by the new thing you are doing, that our lives may proclaim the extravagance of your love given to all through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
(Please be seated for the readings)
First Reading: Isaiah 43:16-21
R: 16 Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, 17 who brings out chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick: 18 Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. 19 I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. 20 The wild animals will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches; for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, 21 the people whom I formed for myself so that they might declare my praise.
…This is the Word of the Lord
C: Thanks be to God
Psalmody: Psalm 126
1 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, then were we like those who dream.
2 Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy. Then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.”
3 The Lord has done great things for us, and we are glad indeed.
4 Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like the watercourses of the Negeb.
5 Those who sowed with tears will reap with songs of joy.
6 Those who go out weeping, carrying the seed, will come again with joy, shouldering their sheaves.
Second Reading: Philippians 3:4b-14
R: [Paul writes:] 4b If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.
7 Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. 8 More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. 10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, 11 if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
12 Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.
…This is the Word of the Lord
C: Thanks be to God
Gospel: John 12:1-8
C: <sung>
🎵 Sing: 🎶
Lord, listen to your children praying,
Lord, send your Spirit in this place;
Lord, listen to your children praying,
send us love, send us pow’r, send us grace.
D: 1 Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 2 There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. 3 Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” 6 (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) 7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. 8 You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”
…This is the Gospel of the Lord
C: Praise to you, oh Christ
Wee Worship
We Sing: “Day by Day” ELW 790
Day by day, your mercies, Lord attend me, bringing comfort to my anxious soul.
Day by day, the blessing, Lord, you send me draw me nearer to my heav’nly goal.
Love divine, beyond all mortal measure, brings to naught the burdens of my quest;
Savior, lead me to the home I treasure, where at last I’ll find eternal rest.
Oh, what joy to know that you are near me when my burdens grow too great to bear;
oh, what joy to know that you will hear me when I come, O Lord, to you in prayer.
Day by day, no matter what betide me, you will hold me ever in your hand.
Savior, with your presence here to guide me, I will reach at last the promised land.
Sermon(Rev. Carrie Wolfe)
(please stand for the Apostles’ Creed)
Apostles’ Creed
C: I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth. And 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 into hell. On the third day, he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen
(please be seated)
Prayers of Intercession
Led by the Spirit, let us turn to God in prayer for the church, the world, and all those in need.
A brief silence.
The church declares your praise, O God. Guide us in the example of Isaiah’s imagination, Paul’s transformed identity, and Mary’s faith and devotion; that our lives, too, may be poured out in love as we trust in your promises. God, in your mercy,
receive our prayer.
The earth declares your praise, O God. Make a way for the planet’s future in the sea and the wilderness, the mountains and plains, the tundra and wetlands. Repair habitats and sustainable ecosystems on, above, and beneath the ground. God, in your mercy,
receive our prayer.
The nations declare your praise, O God. Where religious differences divide, bring together those who worship you in the name of Jesus Christ and those who call to you with different names. Guide interreligious dialogue, that faith may unite rather than divide communities. God, in your mercy,
receive our prayer.
The people declare your praise, O God. Restore those whose hope has been dampened through a health diagnosis, job or home loss, divorce, or death. Bring healing to those in need (especially). May all who weep now sing songs of joy again. God, in your mercy,
receive our prayer.
The gifts of the Spirit declare your praise, O God. We thank you for artists who proclaim the gospel. Inspire music, poetry, and images that proclaim the new thing you are doing. God, in your mercy,
receive our prayer.
The communion of saints declares your praise, O God. Giving thanks for those who have died, we trust in the one who has made them his own: Christ Jesus, our crucified and risen Savior. God, in your mercy,
receive our prayer.
Receive the prayers of your people and draw all things together in your love, in the name of Jesus, who leads us from death to life.
Amen.
(stand)
The Sharing of the Peace:
P: The peace of the Lord be with you always.
C: And also with you.
P: We Greet one another with the Peace of Christ
We Sing: “As we gather at your table” ELW 522
As we gather at your table,
as we listen to your word,
help us know, O God, your presence;
let our hearts and minds be stirred.
Nourish us with sacred story
till we claim it as our own;
teach us through this holy banquet
how to make Love’s victory known.
Communion
P: Gracious Provider, you set your immense treasures among us, opening your heart to the world. As we prepare to feast on your bountiful love,
deepen our commitment to sharing those treasures with others, through our Savior, Jesus Christ.
C: Amen.
P: The Lord be with you.
C: And also with you.
P: Rejoice before your Lord.
C: We lift them to the Lord.
P: Let us give thanks to our God.
C: It is right to give our thanks and praise.
P: It is indeed right, our duty and our joy, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks and praise to you, almighty and merciful God, through our Savior Jesus Christ. You call your people to cleanse their hearts and prepare with joy for the paschal feast, that, renewed in the gift of baptism, we may come to the fullness of your grace. And so, with all the choirs of angels, with the church on earth and the hosts of heaven, we praise your name and join their unending hymn:
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of Power and might.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
P: In the night in which he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks; broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take and eat; this is my body, given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.
P: Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it for all to drink, saying: This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin. Do this for the remembrance of me.
P: With this bread and cup we remember our Lord’s Passover from death to life
as we proclaim the mystery of faith:
C: Christ has died: Christ is risen: Christ will come again.
P: O God of resurrection and new life: Pour out your Holy Spirit on us and on these gifts of bread and wine. Bless this feast. Grace our table with your presence.
C: Come, Holy Spirit.
P: Reveal yourself to us in the breaking of the bread. Raise us up as the body of Christ for the world. Breathe new life into us. Send us forth, burning with justice, peace, and love.
C: Come, Holy Spirit.
P: We pray as Jesus taught us:
C: 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.
Invitation to Communion
P: All who are hungry, come! The feast of grace is spread.
(sit)
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Prayer after Communion
Generous Host, you have shared your feast with us and made us new. Send us now to set tables of love and grace in our communities, that your liberating love might nourish the world into freedom, in the name of the crucified one, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Blessing
God our tender parent, God the crucified one, God the reconciling Spirit, ☩ bless you now and forever.
Amen.
Announcements
| Birthdays April 10 – Joann Kohl, Elizabeth Ronolder Anniversary | Weekly Calendar Wednesday – 10 am – Stitching 10 am – Bible Study at Immanuel 5:30 pm – Council Meeting 6 pm – pre-service dinner 7 pm – Midweek Lent Service Thursday – 9 am – Quilting |
We Sing: “God’s Work, our Hands” ACS 1000
| God’s work, our hands: working together, building a future, repairing the world, raising up homes, planting new gardens, feeding the hungry and sheltering the cold. Bless, God, our hands as we work in your name, sharing the good news of your Gospel. | God is at work in and around us: seedlings are sprouting and bread’s on the rise! Washed and set free, humbled and honored, gifted by grace, we respond in God’s love. Bless, God, our lives as we answer your call, sharing the good news of your Gospel. |
Dismissal
P: Go in peace. Care for others as God cares for you.
C: Thanks be to God.