SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT

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March 13, 2022

Jesus Breaks Sin’s Cycle of Wash, Rinse, Repeat

Throughout biblical history, God used prophets to call His people to repentance with the promise of mercy. God’s mercy should encourage us to return to Him, but too often, the people of God have refused His care. That is the story of Jeremiah, who was sent by the Lord to speak His Word, warn His people of disaster if they refused Him, and promise mercy to all who repent. It is also our story. The Law warns us of the failure to confess our sins and the Gospel promises forgiveness to all who confess and believe in our Lord Jesus Christ. Today, we pray the Lord to grant us hearts willing to hear His Word, confess our sins, believe in the forgiveness of Christ, and rejoice in this blessing all our days.

+ PREPARATION +

OPENING HYMN: #728 –How Firm a Foundation

INVOCATION

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

People: Amen.

CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION Psalm 74:1

Pastor: O God, why do You cast us off forever?

People: Why does Your anger smoke against the sheep of Your pasture?

Pastor: May the Lord direct us to the ruins of our righteousness

People: that we may learn repentance.

Silence for meditation and reflection.

Pastor: O Lord,

People: we poor sinners cry to You and beg Your mercy. We confess that we have lived as if You did not matter and as if we mattered most of all. Our Lord’s name we have not honored as we should; our worship and prayers have faltered. We have not loved God above all things, and we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not done the good Your Word desires and have done the evil Your Word forbids. May God be merciful to us, forgive us all our sins, and strengthen our faith for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Pastor: Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins. 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. To the impenitent and unbelieving I declare that so long as you continue in your impenitence, God will not forgive your sins and will visit your iniquity upon you until you turn from your sinful ways, come to repentance, and trust in the merits of Jesus Christ alone.

People: Amen.

Pastor: May the Lord, who has begun this good work in us, bring it to completion in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

People: Amen.

+ WORD +

PSALM Psalm 4 (spoken responsively by verse)

(Be angry but do not sin, pondering in your hearts the Word of the Lord.)

¹Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!

You have given me relief when I was in distress.

Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!

²O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame?

How long will you love vain words and seek after lies?

³But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself;

the Lord hears when I call to him.

⁴Be angry, and do not sin;

ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent.

⁵Offer right sacrifices,

and put your trust in the Lord.

⁶There are many who say, “Who will show us some good?

Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!”

⁷You have put more joy in my heart

than they have when their grain and wine abound.

⁸In peace I will both lie down and sleep;

for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

LITANY

Pastor: O God, the Father in heaven,

People: have mercy upon us.

Pastor: O God, the Son, Redeemer of the world,

People: have mercy upon us.

Pastor: O God, the Holy Spirit, sanctifier of the faithful,

People: have mercy upon us.

Pastor: Remember not our offenses, but forgive us, O Lord,

People: whom You have redeemed with Your most precious blood.

Pastor: From all blindness, hardness of heart, and impenitence,

People: good Lord, deliver us.

Pastor: From all pride, hypocrisy, anger, hatred, and greed,

People: good Lord, deliver us.

Pastor: From the deceit of the devil, from the lure of the world, and | our own flesh,

People: good Lord, deliver us.

Pastor: In time of danger, in the hour of trial, and in the day of | judgment,

People: good Lord, deliver us.

Pastor: Lord, have mercy upon us.

People: Christ, have mercy upon us.

Pastor: Lord, have mercy upon us.

People: Save us, O Lord, for the sake of Your name. Amen.

SALUTATION and PRAYER OF THE DAY

Pastor: The Lord be with you.

People: And also with you.

Pastor: Let us pray.
Merciful Lord, because of Your mercy, we pray, deliver us from our pride and arrogance and bring us to repentance, that we may know the refuge of Your mercy, be comforted with a clear conscience through the forgiveness of sins, and serve in the obedience of faith; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, we pray.

People: Amen.

ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE DAY

Pastor: On this Second Sunday in Lent, we are reminded that the Lord is rich in mercy and willing to forgive our sins and save us by His grace, but we are not always ready to approach Him in the humility of faith and with a heart of repentance. From the prophet Jeremiah comes the story of how the Word of the Lord was met with rejection, anger, and rebellion. In Philippians, a sorrowful Paul recounts the story of those who once believed but now walk as enemies of the Lord. In the Gospel, we hear the lament of the Lord who wanted to gather His people under the arms of His mercy, but they would not.

OLD TESTAMENT READING Jeremiah 26:8–15

(The Lord has sent me to speak all these words in your ears.)

⁸When Jeremiah had finished speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold of him, saying, “You shall die! ⁹Why have you prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate, without inhabitant’?” And all the people gathered around Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.

¹⁰When the officials of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to the house of the Lord and took their seat in the entry of the New Gate of the house of the Lord. ¹¹Then the priests and the prophets said to the officials and to all the people, “This man deserves the sentence of death, because he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your own ears.”

¹²Then Jeremiah spoke to all the officials and all the people, saying, “The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and this city all the words you have heard. ¹³Now therefore mend your ways and your deeds, and obey the voice of the Lord your God, and the Lord will relent of the disaster that he has pronounced against you. ¹⁴But as for me, behold, I am in your hands. Do with me as seems good and right to you. ¹⁵Only know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood upon yourselves and upon this city and its inhabitants, for in truth the Lord sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears.”

Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God.

EPISTLE Philippians 3:17–4:1

(Paul laments those who lose their faith and become enemies of the Gospel.)

¹⁷Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. ¹⁸For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. ¹⁹Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. ²⁰But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

¹Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.

Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God.

VERSE Luke 13:35

Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see Me until you say, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”

HOLY GOSPEL Luke 13:31–35

(Jesus would gather His people like a hen gathers her chicks.)

Pastor: The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke, the thirteenth chapter.

People: Glory to You, O Lord.

³¹At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to [Jesus], “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” ³²And he said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course. ³³Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.’ ³⁴O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! ³⁵Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

Pastor: This is the Gospel of the Lord.

People: Praise to You, O Christ.

HYMN OF THE DAY: Softly and Tenderly

SERMON Jesus Breaks Sin’s Cycle of Wash, Rinse, Repeat

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

After each petition:

Pastor: … Lord, in Your mercy:

People: hear our prayer.

At conclusion:

Pastor: … through Jesus Christ, our Lord, we pray.

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.
O God, You see that of ourselves we have no strength. By Your mighty power defend us from all adversities that may happen to the body and from all evil thoughts that may assault and hurt the 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.

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.

DISMISSAL

Pastor: Go in peace! Serve the Lord!

People: Thanks be to God.

SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT – Online Church at Home Service Bulletin