Bulletin: 5th Sunday in Lent – Online Church at Home

FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT

March 21, 2021

Jesus Came to Give Us Everything We Need, Not Whatever We Ask

The ancient name for today, the Fifth Sunday in Lent, is Judica, the Latin behind “vindicate” in the Introit. This Sunday prepares us for next Sunday’s review of the Passion. Only in Christ are we truly vindicated. But the emphasis is on our response to God’s love and forgiveness. In today’s Gospel, Jesus inverts the usual triangle of power into an upside-down pyramid of service. The greatest in God’s kingdom, the position sought by His disciples in the Gospel, is now at the bottom, serving everyone above. Jesus is describing Himself! In contrast to priests who repeatedly pray for others and offer sacrifices also for their own sins, Jesus was a one-time priest, offering Himself as the sacrifice while being sinless. In this new covenant, promised in the Reading from Jeremiah, we know of our Lord’s great love, now written in our hearts. From the inside out, our desire is to return Christ’s sacrificial, forgiving love by serving one another in His name.

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OPENING HYMN: Come to Calvary’s Holy Mountain

INVOCATION

Pastor: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

People: Amen.

OPENING SENTENCES Jeremiah 31:31, 33; Mark 10:43–44

Pastor: The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant.

People: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts.

Pastor: And I will be their God,

People: and they shall be My people.

Pastor: Whoever would be great among you must be your servant,

People: and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.

CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION Jeremiah 31:34; Hebrews 5:9

Pastor: Bearing our sins and in need of a Savior, let us go to our heavenly Father, asking for forgiveness.

Time for reflection on the word of God and for personal examination.

Pastor: Most merciful, heavenly Father, You promised a covenant written on Your people’s hearts.

People: But we do not always rely on Your promises and great love. We are sorry.

Pastor: Gracious Holy Spirit, through Your use of Word and Sacrament, many people know the Lord.

People: But we have not taken advantage of every opportunity to share Your Word with others. We are sorry.

Pastor: Jesus taught that the greatest in the Kingdom is the servant of all.

People: But our hearts have not always been humble and eager for service. We are sorry.

Our thoughts, words, and deeds fall short. As fallen sinners, we are helpless to change. For Jesus’ sake, forgive us, and give us new and clean hearts to love You and serve our neighbors.

Pastor: God promised in the new covenant, “I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” In the sacrifice of Himself, Jesus, being perfect, “became the source of eternal salvation.” 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.

People: Amen.

+ WORD +

PSALM – Psalm119:9-16 (spoken responsively)

⁹How can a young man keep his way pure?
            By guarding it according to your word.
¹⁰With my whole heart I seek you;
            let me not wander from your commandments!
¹¹I have stored up your word in my heart,
            that I might not sin against you.
¹²Blessèd are you, O Lord;
            teach me your statutes!
¹³With my lips I declare
            all the just decrees of your mouth.
¹⁴In the way of your testimonies I delight
            as much as in all riches.
¹⁵I will meditate on your precepts
            and fix my eyes on your ways.
¹⁶I will delight in your statutes;

I will not forget your word.

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.

KYRIE

Pastor: In peace, let us pray to the Lord.

People: Lord, have mercy.

Pastor: For peace in our hearts, knowing that salvation is sure, let us pray to the Lord.

People: Lord, have mercy.

Pastor: For peace among the nations and the growth of the Church in faith and numbers, let us pray to the Lord.

People: Lord, have mercy.

Pastor: For the Church here and wherever God’s people gather for praise and worship, let us pray to the Lord.

People: Lord, have mercy.

Pastor: Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord.

People: Amen.

SALUTATION and PRAYER OF THE DAY

Pastor: The Lord be with you.

People: And also with you.

Pastor: Let us pray.
Almighty God, by Your great goodness mercifully look upon Your people that we may be governed and preserved evermore in body and soul; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

People: Amen.

OLD TESTAMENT READING – Jeremiah 31:31–34

(A new covenant is coming, written on people’s hearts.)

³¹“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, ³²not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. ³³But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. ³⁴And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God.

GRADUAL Hebrews 12:2

O come, let us fix our eyes on Jesus,
the founder and perfecter of our faith,
who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame,
and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

EPISTLE – Hebrews 5:1–10

(Jesus was both one-time priest and sacrifice, dying for all.)

¹Every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. ²He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. ³Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people. ⁴And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.

⁵So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him,

“You are my Son,
today I have begotten you”;

⁶as he says also in another place,

“You are a priest forever,
after the order of Melchizedek.”

⁷In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. ⁸Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. ⁹And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, ¹⁰being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.

Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God.

VERSE – Mark 10:45

Even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.

HOLY GOSPEL – Mark 10:32–45

(Jesus teaches about true greatness.)

Pastor: The Holy Gospel according to St. Mark, the tenth chapter.

People: Glory to You, O Lord.

³²And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, ³³saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. ³⁴And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.”

³⁵And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” ³⁶And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” ³⁷And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” ³⁸Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” ³⁹And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized, ⁴⁰but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” ⁴¹And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. ⁴²And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. ⁴³But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. ⁴⁵For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Pastor: This is the Gospel of the Lord.

People: Praise to You, O Christ.

SERMON HYMN: My Song Is Love Unknown

SERMON: Jesus Came to Give Us Everything We Need, Not Whatever We Ask

Apostles’ Creed

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.

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.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH

After each petition:

Pastor: … Lord, in Your mercy:

People: hear our prayer.

At conclusion:

Pastor: … You and the Holy Spirit, one God forever.

People: Amen.

LORD’S PRAYER Matthew 6:9–13

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.

CLOSING PRAYER

Pastor: Let us pray.
Heavenly Father, who has revealed to us Your great love in Christ our Savior and written Your covenant on our hearts, grant us such faith that our daily joy is in sharing Your love in what we think, say, and do; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

People: Amen.

BENEDICTION Numbers 6:24–26

Pastor: The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you.
The Lord look upon you with favor and + give you peace.

People: Amen.

CLOSING HYMN: Love Divine, All Loves Excelling

DISMISSAL

Pastor: Go in peace as you serve the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God!