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Fifth Sunday in Lent

March 21, 2010

Thought for the Day: God offers us the precious gift of salvation in Jesus, our Savior. 

M: Minister of the Service

C: Congregation

THE ORDER OF HOLY BAPTISM

(Hymnal, page 12)

opening greeting by the pastor

HYMN 256, verses 1-3, “How Great Thou Art”

REMAIN SEATED

M: The grace of our Lord † Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you.

C: And also with you. (spoken)

CONFESSION OF SINS

M: Our Savior Jesus Christ commanded Baptism when he said: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” All of us are born into this world with a deep need for Baptism. From our parents we inherit a sinful nature; we are without true fear of God and true faith in God and are condemned to eternal death. But Jesus took away our sin by giving his life on the cross. At our baptism he clothes us with the robe of his righteousness and gives us a new life. Our sinful nature need not control us any longer. We recall what Baptism means for our daily lives as we speak these words:

C: Baptism means that the sinful nature in us should be drowned by daily sorrow and repentance, and that all its evil deeds and desires be put to death. It also means that a new person should daily arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.

M: As baptized children of God we confess our sins:

C: Holy and merciful Father, I confess that I am by nature sinful, and that I have disobeyed you in my thoughts, words, and actions. I have done what is evil and failed to do what is good. For this I deserve your punishment both now and in eternity. But I am truly sorry for my sins, and trusting in my Savior Jesus Christ, I pray: Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.

M: God, our heavenly Father, has been merciful to us and has given his only Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Therefore, as a called servant of Christ and by his authority, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son † and of the Holy Spirit.

C: Amen. (spoken)

8:00am Service- Continue with the hymn verse on page 4.

10:30am Service- The Affirmation of Baptism for William David, infant son of Nate and Edie Menges, continues at the font. Will was born July 16, 2009 and baptized in the hospital July 18.

public recognition of a private baptism

The minister marks the sign of the cross on the child and says:

M:  Receive the sign of the cross on the head and heart (†) to mark you as one redeemed by Christ.

The minister asks a witness:

M: Before the Lord and his church, I ask you, was William David Menges baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit? 

R:  Yes, William David Menges was baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

M: In having Will baptized, you did what is God-pleasing. Jesus himself invited little children to become a part of his kingdom when he said, “‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’ And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.”

prayer

M: Let us pray:

 Holy God, mighty Lord, gracious Father, through your stern judgment the unbelieving world was destroyed by the flood, but according to your great mercy, you saved Noah and his family. You engulfed stubborn Pharaoh and his army in the waters of the Red Sea, but led your people through those same waters to safety on dry land. In the waters of the Jordan, your own Son was baptized and anointed with the Spirit. By these signs you foreshadowed the precious, cleansing bath which you give us in Holy Baptism. 

 Clinging to your command and promise, we ask that you would look with favor upon Will. Through the water of Baptism all sin inherited from Adam and any other evil he may do, was drowned in him. Set him apart from the unbelieving world and hold him safe and secure in the holy ark of the Church. Keep him always fervent in spirit and joyful in hope so that he may honor your holy name and at last receive, together with all your people, the promised inheritance of eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

The minister, holding his hand over the one baptized, says:

M: The Almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, has forgiven all your sins. By your baptism, you are born again and made a dear child of your Father in heaven. May God strengthen you to live in your baptismal grace all the days of your life. Peace be with you. Amen.

HYMN 256, verse 4, “How Great Thou Art”

BASED ON THE COMMON SERVICE

WITH HOLY COMMUNION

(Hymnal, page 17)

first lesson isaiah 43:16-21

Our powerful Lord, who delivered his people from slavery in Egypt and the slavery of sin, continues to offer a new life of blessings to his faithful people.

¹⁶ This is what the LORD says—he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, ¹⁷ who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick: ¹⁸ “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. ¹⁹ See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. ²⁰ The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, ²¹ the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.”

8:00am Service Only- Psalm 73, page 94

God is our stronghold and sure defense who will take us to eternal life with him when our life on this earth comes to an end.

second Lesson Philippians 3:8-14

⁸ What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. ¹⁰ I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. ¹² Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³ Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

STAND

GOSPEL

After the announcement of the Gospel, the congregation sings:

Glory be to you, O Lord!

LUKE 20:9-19

God continued to offer salvation to the people of Israel. As they rejected the prophets, so they also reject and would soon kill the author of their salvation, God’s own Son. May we never reject the precious gift of life from our Savior!

⁹ He [Jesus] went on to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time. ¹⁰ At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ¹¹ He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed. ¹² He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out. ¹³ Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.’ ¹⁴ But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. ‘This is the heir,’ they said. ‘Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ ¹⁵ So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? ¹⁶ He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When the people heard this, they said, “May this never be!” ¹⁷ Jesus looked directly at them and asked, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written: “ ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone’? ¹⁸ Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.” ¹⁹ The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people.

After the Gospel, the congregation sings:

Praise be to you, O Christ!

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 fully 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 in unity with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified,

 who has spoken through the prophets.

We believe in one holy Christian 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.

BE SEATED

HYMN 379, “Amazing Grace—How Sweet the Sound”

SERMON Philippians 3:8-14

THROW OUT THE GARBAGE!

1. Your best is only garbage

2. Christ’s best is yours through faith

3. Continue to live a “garbage-free” life

STAND

After the sermon, the congregation sings:

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 to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with your free Spirit. Amen.

BE SEATED

OFFERING

STAND

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH

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.

BE SEATED

THE SACRAMENT

PREFACE

M: The Lord be with you.

C: And also with you. (sung)

M: Lift up your hearts.

C: We lift them up unto the Lord. (sung)

M: Let us give thanks to the Lord, our God.

C: It is good and right so to do. (sung)

M: It is truly good and right that we should at all times and in all places give you thanks, O Lord, holy Father, almighty and everlasting God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who brought the gift of salvation to all people by his death on the tree of the cross, so that the devil, who overcame us by a tree would in turn by a tree be overcome. Therefore, with all the saints on earth and hosts of heaven, we praise your holy name and join their glorious song:

HOLY, HOLY, HOLY

Sanctus

C: (sung) Holy, holy, holy Lord God of heavenly hosts: heav’n and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he, blessed is he, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest.

STAND

WORDS OF INSTITUTION

M: Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night he was betrayed, took bread; and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

Then he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for you for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

M: The peace of the Lord be with you always.

C: Amen. (sung)

O CHRIST, LAMB OF GOD

Agnus Dei

C: (sung) O Christ, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world; have mercy on us. O Christ, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world; have mercy on us. O Christ, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world; grant us your peace. Amen.

BE SEATED

Our Holy Communion Practice—When we partake of the Lord’s Supper, we not only receive Christ’s Body and Blood under the bread and wine, but by our participation we also confess to believe the same things as our fellow communicants. “Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the loaf,” 1 Cor. 10:17. Therefore, we ask that only those people come forward to commune who have expressed oneness of belief with us by their membership at Cross of Christ, or at other Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) or Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS) congregations. For our guests and visitors who are not members of the WELS or ELS, we do not judge your personal faith by our practice of “Close Communion.” If you would like to know more about communicant membership at Cross of Christ, feel free to speak to one of our pastors after the service today.  Thank you.

DISTRIBUTION

During the distribution the congregation will sing the following hymns:

397, “Just as I Am, without One Plea”

376, “Jesus, Your Blood and Righteousness”

STAND

THANKSGIVING

SONG OF SIMEON

Nunc Dimittis 

C: (sung) Lord, now you let your servant depart in peace according to your word. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared before the face of all people, a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel.

M: O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.

C: And his mercy endures forever. (sung)

M: O God the Father, source of all goodness, in your loving kindness you sent your Son to share our humanity. We thank you that through him you have given us pardon and peace in this sacrament. We also pray that you will not forsake us but will rule our hearts and minds by your Holy Spirit so that we willingly serve you day after day, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C: Amen. (sung)

M: The Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you.

The Lord look on you with favor and † give you peace.

C: Amen. Amen. Amen. (sung)

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND MUSICAL POSTLUDE

A Reminder to Communicant Members

 Please be sure to register today your intent to participate in Holy Communion at the table in the narthex.