Pinnacle Lutheran Church
Holy Thursday
April 9, 2020
AS WE GATHER
Holy Thursday begins the great three days that commemorate how God accomplished our salvation in Jesus Christ. It culminates our Lenten period of preparation for Christ’s Passion and Resurrection and leads into His sacrifice on our behalf. As such, the service, like that for Good Friday, exhibits a mood of restrained joy.
The first part of the service is confession and forgiveness, the culmination of the Lenten season of repentance. Then the Service of the Word focuses upon Christ’s humble service demonstrated in His washing of His disciples’ feet, a servanthood enacted on the Cross and whose benefits are bestowed in the Lord’s Supper. Our Epistle Reading tells of the Holy Thursday night when, during the Passover meal, Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to His disciples, saying, “This is My body.” He then took the cup, blessed it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My blood of the new covenant.” The old covenant involved regular repeated animal sacrifice. This new covenant involves the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus’ blood, which fulfilled the old covenant once for all. We now share this Meal regularly in remembrance of Jesus’ all-availing sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins. Tonight’s service ends with the reading of Psalm 22 (and typically the stripping of the altar), remembering the abandonment of Jesus by all who loved Him. This reminder of how Jesus was forsaken also assures us that Jesus is with us at times when we feel forsaken.
Press Play below to hear the Preparation (adjust your volume as needed)PREPARATION
HYMN: #423 – Jesus, Refuge of the Weary
Press Play below to hear and/or sing along with hymn #423 (adjust your volume as needed)
INVOCATION
Pastor: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen.
INTROIT (Psalm 116:1–4; antiphon: v. 5)
Pastor: Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; our God is merciful.
People: I love the Lord, because He has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy.
Pastor: Because He inclined His ear to me, therefore I will call on Him as long as I live.
People: The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish.
Pastor: Then I called on the name of the Lord: “O Lord, I pray, deliver my soul!”
People: Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; our God is merciful.
CONFESSION
Pastor: People of God, we struggle against sin, death, and the power of the devil. We have intensified the struggle begun at Baptism to daily die with Christ and also to rise daily in Christ to live anew. In this struggle we have been reminded again that we are weak and Christ is strong. We need the forgiveness of our sins in order to live as the people God has called us to be.
A time of silence is observed.
Pastor: Assured of God’s love for us through our Baptism into Christ, we confess our sin against God and our neighbors, so that we enter these three days, so central to our faith, reconciled to God and to one another.
All: Most merciful God, we confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean. We have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We justly deserve Your present and eternal punishment. For the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in Your will and walk in Your ways to the glory of Your holy name. Amen.
ABSOLUTION (Psalm 103:11–13)
Pastor: For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear Him. By the command of our Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen.
WORD
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Pastor: Let us pray together the prayer of the day.
All: Gracious God, Your covenant of love for us came to full fruition in the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Guide us to be so moved by the depth of Christ’s new covenant of love, that we love You with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love our neighbor as ourselves; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
OLD TESTAMENT READING – Exodus 12:1–14
The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household. And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.
“Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.
“This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast.”
Pastor: This is the Word of the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God.
PSALM Psalm 51:1–13 (Read Responsively)
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin!
For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,
and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
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 a willing spirit.
Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will return to you.
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
EPISTLE – 1 Corinthians 11:23–32
For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
Pastor: This is the Word of the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God.
VERSE (John 13:1b)
Pastor: Having loved His own who were in the world,
People: He loved them to the end.
HOLY GOSPEL – John 13:1–17, 31–35
Pastor: The Holy Gospel according to St. John, the thirteenth chapter.
People: Glory to You, O Lord.
Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.” For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.
When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once. Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’ A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Pastor: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
People: Praise to You, O Christ
HYMN OF THE DAY: #617 –O Lord, We Praise Thee
Press Play below to hear and/or sing along with hymn #617 (adjust your volume as needed)
SERMON – “The Remembering Word”
Press Play below to hear and view today’s Maundy Thursday Sermon (adjust your volume as needed)
Press Play below to hear the Nicene Creed, closing hymn, announcements, and Benediction (adjust your volume as needed)
NICENE CREED
I believe in one God,
the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth
and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only-begotten Son of God,
begotten of His Father before all worlds,
God of God, Light of Light,
very God of very God,
begotten, not made,
being of one substance with the Father,
by whom all things were made;
who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven
and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary
and was made man;
and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate.
He suffered and was buried.
And the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures
and ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of the Father.
And He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead,
whose kingdom will have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord and giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified,
who spoke by the prophets.
And I believe in one holy Christian and apostolic Church,
I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins,
and I look for the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
Pastor: Gathered by the love and remembrance of Jesus, we offer our prayers to God.
Silence for reflection
Pastor: For the Church, that by our love for one another, the world may know that we are disciples of Jesus Christ, that pastors and teachers follow the example of Jesus, gentle and humble of heart, let us pray to the Lord,
People: Lord, have mercy.
Pastor: For the poor, the hungry, and the homeless, that God use us to reach out to them and lift them up, let us pray to the Lord,
People: Lord, have mercy.
Pastor: For those who have lost their faith and for those who struggle to believe, that during these holy days they be filled with Christ’s light and peace, let us pray to the Lord,
People: Lord, have mercy.
Pastor: For the sick, the dying, and the mourning, especially those now suffering with corona virus help them to trust in the promise that nothing—not even sickness or death—can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, let us pray to the Lord,
People: Lord, have mercy.
Pastor: For all of us, gathered on this holy night, that we forgive those who have wronged us and love one another from our hearts, let us pray to the Lord,
People: Lord, have mercy.
Pastor: Hear the prayers of Your people, merciful God, for the sake of the One who stretched out His arms on the cross to redeem Your people and to reconcile the whole creation, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
People: Amen.
OFFERING
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.
STRIPPING OF THE ALTAR Psalm 22
My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?
Why are You so far from saving Me, from the words of My groaning?
O My God, I cry by day, but You do not answer
and by night, but I find no rest.
Yet You are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
In You our fathers trusted;
they trusted, and You delivered them.
To You they cried and were rescued;
in You they trusted and were not put to shame.
But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by mankind and despised by the people.
All who see Me mock Me;
they make mouths at Me; they wag their heads;
“He trusts in the LORD; let Him deliver Him;
let Him rescue Him, for He delights in Him!”
Yet You are He who took Me from the womb;
You made me trust You at My mother’s breasts.
On You was I cast from My birth,
and from My mother’s womb You have been My God.
Be not far from Me,
for trouble is near,
and there is none to help.
Many bulls encompass Me;
strong bulls of Bashan surround Me;
they open wide their mouths at Me,
like a ravening and roaring lion.
I am poured out like water,
and all My bones are out of joint;
My heart is like wax;
it is melted within My breast;
My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and My tongue sticks to My jaws;
You lay Me in the dust of death.
For dogs encompass Me;
a company of evildoers encircles Me;
they have pierced My hands and feet—
I can count all My bones—
they stare and gloat over Me;
they divide My garments among them,
and for My clothing they cast lots.
But You, O LORD, do not be far off!
O You My help, come quickly to My aid!
Deliver My soul from the sword,
My precious life from the power of the dog!
Save Me from the mouth of the lion!
You have rescued Me from the horns of the wild oxen!
I will tell of Your name to My brothers;
in the midst of the congregation I will praise You:
You who fear the LORD, praise Him!
All you offspring of Jacob, glorify Him,
and stand in awe of Him, all you offspring of Israel!
For He has not despised or abhorred
the affliction of the afflicted,
and He has not hidden His face from Him,
but has heard, when He cried to Him.
From You comes My praise in the great congregation;
My vows I will perform before those who fear Him.
The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied;
those who seek Him shall praise the LORD!
May your hearts live forever!
All the ends of the earth shall remember
and turn to the LORD,
and all the families of the nations
shall worship before You.
For kingship belongs to the LORD,
and He rules over the nations.
All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship;
before Him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
even the one who could not keep himself alive.
Posterity shall serve Him;
it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;
they shall come and proclaim His righteousness to a people yet unborn,
that He has done it.
HYMN: #436 – Go to Dark Gethsemane
