PRELUDE:
Fugue in E♭ major BWV 552/2 (J.S. Bach)
CALL TO WORSHIP:
Let us worship God, who has drawn us and healed us.
Let us worship God who has restored us to life.
Sing praises to the Lord, O you faithful ones, and give thanks to God’s holy name.
God’s anger is but for a moment; God’s favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.
You have turned our mourning into dancing; you have taken off our sackcloth and clothed us with joy, so that our souls may praise you and not be silent.
O Lord my God, we will give thanks to you forever.
Let us worship God. (From Psalm 30, Beth Merrill Neel)
COLLECT
Almighty God, you know that we have no power in ourselves
to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and
inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all
adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil
thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus
Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy
Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Collect for the Third Sunday of Lent, Contemporary Collects, The Book of Common Prayer (ECUSA)
OPENING HYMN:
O God Our Help in Ages Past (Isaac Watts and William Croft)
FIRST READING:
SECOND HYMN:
“The Man Who Once Has Found Abode” (The United Presbyterian Psalter 1901; Tune: Talks Canon)
SECOND READING:
SONG:
“How Long” (Isaac Wardell, 2016)
L O Lord, C have mercy.
L O Christ, C have mercy.
L O Lord, C have mercy.
L O Christ, C hear us.
L God the Father in heaven, C have mercy.
L God the Son, Redeemer of the world, C have mercy.
L God the Holy Spirit, C have mercy.
L Be gracious to us. C Spare us, good Lord.
L Be gracious to us. C Help us, good Lord.
L From all sin, from all error, from all evil;
From the crafts and assaults of the devil; from sudden and evil death;
From pestilence and famine; from war and bloodshed; from sedition and from rebellion;
From lightning and tempest; from all calamity by fire and water; and from everlasting death:
C Good Lord, deliver us.
L By the mystery of Your holy incarnation; by Your holy nativity;
By Your baptism, fasting, and temptation; by Your agony and bloody sweat; by
Your cross and passion; by Your precious death and burial;
By Your glorious resurrection and ascension; and by the coming of the Holy Spirit,
the Comforter:
C Help us, good Lord.
L In all time of our tribulation; in all time of our prosperity; in the hour of death; and
in the day of judgment:
C Help us, good Lord.
L We poor sinners implore You
C to hear us, O Lord.
L To rule and govern Your holy Christian Church; to preserve all pastors and ministers of Your Church in the true knowledge and understanding of Your wholesome Word and to sustain them in holy living;
To put an end to all schisms and causes of offense; to bring into the way of truth all who have erred and are deceived;
To beat down Satan under our feet; to send faithful laborers into Your harvest; and to accompany Your Word with Your grace and Spirit:
C We implore You to hear us, good Lord.
L To raise those who fall and to strengthen those who stand; and to comfort and help the weakhearted and the distressed:
C We implore You to hear us, good Lord.
L To give to all peoples concord and peace; to preserve our land from discord and strife; to give our country Your protection in every time of need;
To direct and defend our president/queen/king and all in authority; to bless and protect our magistrates and all our people;
To watch over and help all who are in danger, necessity, and tribulation; to protect and guide all who travel;
To grant all women with child, and all mothers with infant children, increasing happiness in their blessings; to defend all orphans and widows and provide for them;
To strengthen and keep all sick persons and young children; to free those in bondage; and to have mercy on us all:
C We implore You to hear us, good Lord.
L To forgive our enemies, persecutors, and slanderers and to turn their hearts; to give
and preserve for our use the kindly fruits of the earth; and graciously to hear our prayers:
C We implore You to hear us, good Lord.
L Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God,
C we implore You to hear us.
L Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,
C have mercy.
L Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,
C have mercy.
L Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,
C grant us Your peace.
L O Christ, C hear us.
L O Lord, C have mercy.
L O Christ, C have mercy.
L O Lord, C have mercy. Amen.
(The Litany, from the Lutheran Service Book (LCMS), copyright © 2006 Concordia Publishing House.)
THIRD READING
PRAYER:
Holy Father, Great Physician of our souls and bodies, You sent the Lord Jesus Christ, Your only-begotten Son, to redeem us from sin and death and to heal every illness. Heal the sickness of Your servant’s body and soul and give them life. You alone are the source of all healing, O God my God, and we give glory to You, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and in all eternity. Amen. – Greek Orthodox Prayer
BENEDICTION
Whatever wilderness the Spirit has brought you to:
walk in boldness, as a beloved child of God
walk in peace, under the shelter of the Most High
walk in faith, knowing Christ walks with you. Amen.
– By Rev. Joanna Harader, from SpaciousFaith.com
Letters From a Far Country 