Order of Home Worship 3/29/2020
Intro: Welcome everyone. It's time to worship God, so let's put aside planning and worrying and whatever might distract us, and spend the next few minutes focused on the Lord.
Lyrics:
Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light
Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord
Thou my great Father, and I Thy true son
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one
Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power
Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart
High King of Heaven, my Treasure
Thou art High King of Heaven, my victory won
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all
Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light
Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord
Thou my great Father, and I Thy true son
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one
Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power
Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart
High King of Heaven, my Treasure
Thou art High King of Heaven, my victory won
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all
OPENING
(There is no need to cross yourself here unless you feel comfortable with it and want to.)
Leader: "We worship in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen."
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION
Leader: "God is holy, and we are unholy. God is pure and we are impure. God is good and we are so often evil. Let us take a moment to silently confess our sins to God... Father, we confess that we have feared, loved, and trusted other things more than you (pause for silence).... we have not loved each other as we should (pause for silence)...we have done what is evil, and failed to do what is good (pause for silence)... forgive us for Jesus' sake."
(brief pause)
Leader: "Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. Your sins are forgiven. You are at peace with God. Amen."
(There is no need to cross yourself here unless you feel comfortable with it and want to.)
Leader: "We worship in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen."
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION
Leader: "God is holy, and we are unholy. God is pure and we are impure. God is good and we are so often evil. Let us take a moment to silently confess our sins to God... Father, we confess that we have feared, loved, and trusted other things more than you (pause for silence).... we have not loved each other as we should (pause for silence)...we have done what is evil, and failed to do what is good (pause for silence)... forgive us for Jesus' sake."
(brief pause)
Leader: "Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. Your sins are forgiven. You are at peace with God. Amen."
PRAYER FOR BLESSING ON WORSHIP
Leader: "Be with us now as we gather in your name. Bless us through the hearing of your word. Give us hearts that are eager to believe what you promise and obey what you command, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen."
SCRIPTURE READINGS
Today we will continue reading the history of Jesus' passion, combining all four gospel account. Here is a link to the entire passion history if you missed previous weeks and would like to read it at home.
Leader: "Be with us now as we gather in your name. Bless us through the hearing of your word. Give us hearts that are eager to believe what you promise and obey what you command, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen."
SCRIPTURE READINGS
Today we will continue reading the history of Jesus' passion, combining all four gospel account. Here is a link to the entire passion history if you missed previous weeks and would like to read it at home.
FIRST READING
Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, and said to them, “You brought this man to me as one who is misleading the people. Look, I have examined him in your presence. I have found in this man no basis for the charges you are bringing against him. Herod did not either, for he sent him back to us. See, he has done nothing worthy of death. So I will have him flogged and release him.”
At the time of the Festival the governor had a custom to release to the crowd any one prisoner they wanted. At that time they were holding a notorious prisoner named Barabbas, who had been thrown in prison for a rebellion in the city and for murder. The crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do for them what he usually did.
So when they were assembled, Pilate said to them, “Do you want me to release the King of the Jews to you? Which one do you want me to release to you? Barabbas—or Jesus, who is called Christ?” For Pilate in fact knew that they had handed Jesus over to him because of envy.
While he was sitting on the judgment seat, Pilate’s wife sent him a message. “Have nothing to do with that righteous man,” she said, “since I have suffered many things today in a dream because of him.” But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus put to death. The governor asked them, “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?”
They all shouted together with one voice: “Take him away! Release Barabbas to us!”
Pilate said to them, “Then what do you want me to do with the man you call the King of the Jews? What should I do with Jesus, who is called Christ?”
They all said to him, “Crucify him!”
But the governor said, “Why? What has he done wrong?”
But they kept shouting even louder: “Crucify him!”
Pilate addressed them again, because he wanted to release Jesus. But they kept shouting, “Crucify! Crucify him!”
He said to them the third time, “Why? What evil has he done? I have found no grounds for sentencing him to death. So I will whip him and release him.” But they kept pressuring him with loud voices, demanding that he be crucified. And their voices were overwhelming
Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged.
The governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole cohort of soldiers around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him. They twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand, knelt in front of him, and mocked him by saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” They spit on him, took the staff, and hit him repeatedly on his head. They also kept hitting him in the face.
Watch this short video depicting the choice between Jesus and Barabbas. It is from "The Passion of the Christ" but there are no graphic scenes.
Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, and said to them, “You brought this man to me as one who is misleading the people. Look, I have examined him in your presence. I have found in this man no basis for the charges you are bringing against him. Herod did not either, for he sent him back to us. See, he has done nothing worthy of death. So I will have him flogged and release him.”
At the time of the Festival the governor had a custom to release to the crowd any one prisoner they wanted. At that time they were holding a notorious prisoner named Barabbas, who had been thrown in prison for a rebellion in the city and for murder. The crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do for them what he usually did.
So when they were assembled, Pilate said to them, “Do you want me to release the King of the Jews to you? Which one do you want me to release to you? Barabbas—or Jesus, who is called Christ?” For Pilate in fact knew that they had handed Jesus over to him because of envy.
While he was sitting on the judgment seat, Pilate’s wife sent him a message. “Have nothing to do with that righteous man,” she said, “since I have suffered many things today in a dream because of him.” But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus put to death. The governor asked them, “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?”
They all shouted together with one voice: “Take him away! Release Barabbas to us!”
Pilate said to them, “Then what do you want me to do with the man you call the King of the Jews? What should I do with Jesus, who is called Christ?”
They all said to him, “Crucify him!”
But the governor said, “Why? What has he done wrong?”
But they kept shouting even louder: “Crucify him!”
Pilate addressed them again, because he wanted to release Jesus. But they kept shouting, “Crucify! Crucify him!”
He said to them the third time, “Why? What evil has he done? I have found no grounds for sentencing him to death. So I will whip him and release him.” But they kept pressuring him with loud voices, demanding that he be crucified. And their voices were overwhelming
Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged.
The governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole cohort of soldiers around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him. They twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand, knelt in front of him, and mocked him by saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” They spit on him, took the staff, and hit him repeatedly on his head. They also kept hitting him in the face.
Watch this short video depicting the choice between Jesus and Barabbas. It is from "The Passion of the Christ" but there are no graphic scenes.
Listen to these short comments by clicking "download file", then listen to the following hymn:
SECOND READING
Pilate went outside again and said to them, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.”
So Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!”
When the chief priests and guards saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”
Pilate told them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no basis for a charge against him.”
The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”
When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid. He went back inside the palace again and asked Jesus, “Where are you from?”
But Jesus gave him no answer.
So Pilate asked him, “Are you not talking to me? Don’t you know that I have the authority to release you or to crucify you?”
Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over me at all if it had not been given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin.”
From then on Pilate tried to release Jesus. But the Jews shouted, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar! Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar!”
When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus outside. He sat down on the judge’s seat at a place called the Stone Pavement, or Gabbatha in Aramaic. It was about the sixth hour on the Preparation Day of the Passover. Pilate said to the Jews, “Here is your king!”
They shouted, “Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!”
Pilate said to them, “Should I crucify your king?”
“We have no king but Caesar!” the chief priests answered.
When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing and that instead it was turning into a riot, he decided that what they demanded would be done. He took water, washed his hands in front of the crowd, and said, “I am innocent of this righteous man’s blood. It is your responsibility.”
And all the people answered, “Let his blood be on us and on our children!”
Since he wanted to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them.
So then Pilate handed Jesus over to them to be crucified.
After they had mocked him, the soldiers took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him. Jesus was carrying his own cross.
Here is a short video about the various forms of suffering Jesus endured from a medical perspective. This covers the readings from last week, this week, and next week.
Now listen to the following meditation and the subsequent hymn:
Lyrics:
O sacred head now wounded With grief and shame way down,
Now scornfully surrounded With thorns thine only crown,
How art thou pale with anguish, With sore abuse and scorn.
How does that visage languish, Which once was bright as morn.
What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered, was all for sinners’ gain;
Mine, mine was the transgression, but Thine the deadly pain.
Lo, here I fall, my Savior! ’Tis I deserve Thy place;
Look on me with Thy favor, vouchsafe to me Thy grace.
What language shall I borrow To thank thee dearest man?
For this, thy dying sorrow, Thy pity without end.
O make me thine forever, And should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, ever Outlive my love to thee.
O sacred head now wounded With grief and shame way down,
Now scornfully surrounded With thorns thine only crown,
How art thou pale with anguish, With sore abuse and scorn.
How does that visage languish, Which once was bright as morn.
What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered, was all for sinners’ gain;
Mine, mine was the transgression, but Thine the deadly pain.
Lo, here I fall, my Savior! ’Tis I deserve Thy place;
Look on me with Thy favor, vouchsafe to me Thy grace.
What language shall I borrow To thank thee dearest man?
For this, thy dying sorrow, Thy pity without end.
O make me thine forever, And should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, ever Outlive my love to thee.
THIRD READING
As they were going out of the city, a certain man, Simon of Cyrene (the father of Alexander and Rufus), was passing by on his way in from the country. They placed the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. A large crowd of the people was following him, including women who were mourning and wailing for him.
Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. Be sure of this: The days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never gave birth, and the breasts that never nursed.’ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ For if they do these things to the green wood, what will happen to the dry?”
As they were going out of the city, a certain man, Simon of Cyrene (the father of Alexander and Rufus), was passing by on his way in from the country. They placed the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. A large crowd of the people was following him, including women who were mourning and wailing for him.
Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. Be sure of this: The days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never gave birth, and the breasts that never nursed.’ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ For if they do these things to the green wood, what will happen to the dry?”
CREED
I personally love this song version of the Apostles Creed (click here).
Or you can recite the words. For fun, try to do it from memory. If you need help, click here.
OFFERING
At this time you may write a check and mail it church, as described on this page, which also tells you how to set up online giving.
Also, if you'd like to offer your time, there is still plenty of raking and other outdoor work to do at the church. Contact Jake Laete to get specific instructions, or start with areas closest to the building.
CONNECTION CARD SUBSTITUTE
Instead of a connection card, leave an encouraging comment on our Facebook page! Or call a friend from church later.
PRAYER
Take a moment to ask for prayer requests.
BLESSING
Leader: May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all, now and always. Amen.
I personally love this song version of the Apostles Creed (click here).
Or you can recite the words. For fun, try to do it from memory. If you need help, click here.
OFFERING
At this time you may write a check and mail it church, as described on this page, which also tells you how to set up online giving.
Also, if you'd like to offer your time, there is still plenty of raking and other outdoor work to do at the church. Contact Jake Laete to get specific instructions, or start with areas closest to the building.
CONNECTION CARD SUBSTITUTE
Instead of a connection card, leave an encouraging comment on our Facebook page! Or call a friend from church later.
PRAYER
Take a moment to ask for prayer requests.
- Remember to include prayers of thanks and prayers asking for things, both for you and for others.
- Remember to ask for spiritual blessings as well as physical blessings.
- It is fine to have a short prayer. It doesn't need to sound super-fancy or ultra spiritual, just speak to God from the heart.
- Bring these thanks and requests to God in your own way, then close
- Leader: "We ask your blessings on The Vine, our sister congregation as they consider purchasing land. We ask your blessing on Kelsey O'Haver and our school as she transitions to a new call this summer. We ask you to comfort Anna Barton and her family at the death of her sister Lois. Bless Lovice Thaemert's granddaughter, who was exposed to the coronavirus"
- Say the Lord's Prayer
BLESSING
Leader: May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all, now and always. Amen.
