The Service in PDF format is at: 04-03-2019 - MIDWEEK LENTEN VESPERS
MIDWEEK LENTEN VESPERS:
APRIL 3,2019
A LENT TO REMEMBERI REMEMBER THE COVENANT
Pastor Larry Oliver
AS WE GATHER…As we gather for worship, the decisions of other people shape how we will express our faith in the service. The choice of what hymns will be sung, what lessons will be read, and what prayers will be spoken have been made by other people. But those choices will be a blessing for us. Even more important, the choice that God has made
for us and about us is the greatest of blessings. His covenant choice is to grant us spiritual blessings in Christ both here on earth in time and in eternity. Thank God for the choices He has made!
P: The Lord is the strength of His People; He is the saving refuge of His anointed. To You, O Lord, I call; my rock, be not deaf to me.
C: lest, if You be silent to me O Lord, I become like those who go down to the pit.
P: Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy, when I cry to You for help,
C: When I lift up my hands toward Your most holy sanctuary. Blessed be the Lord! For He has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.
P: The Lord is my strength and my shield; in Him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to Him.
C: The Lord is the strength of His people; He is the saving refuge of His anointed.
P: Oh, save Your people and bless Your heritage!
C: Be their shepherd and carry them forever.
All: 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.
P: The Lord is the strength of His people; He is the saving refuge of His anointed.
P: Although the major themes of Lent are drawn from the New Testament as the Gospel writers tell of Holy Week, there are many images that relate to this season in the books of the Old Testament as well. The hymn “Come to Calvary’s Holy Mountain” was based on Zechariah 13:1, “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.” As we come to our Lord in dust and ashes, we look forward in joyful expectation to being washed clean and renewed by His gracious work for us.
P: This classic Lenten hymn was first published in l8l9 by James Montgomery, a British newspaper owner and author of more than four hundred hymns. In many Lutheran hymnals, the text has been set to the tune Naar Mit Oie, written by Norwegian composer Ludvig Lindeman, who began his musical career as a substitute church organist at the age of 12. He is remembered in Norway for being the founder of the Oslo Conservatory and as a contributor to the church music treasury of his native land.
HYMN: “Come to Calvary’s Holy Mountain” LBW 301
SCRIPTURE LESSON Psalm 105:1-11
Oh, give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name;
make known his deeds among the peoples!
Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works!
Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice!
Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually!
Remember the wondrous works that he has done,
his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,
O offspring of Abraham, his servant,
children of Jacob, his chosen ones!
He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth.
He remembers his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
the covenant that he made with Abraham,
his sworn promise to Isaac, which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant, saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan as your portion for an inheritance.”
P: O Lord, have mercy on us.
C: Thanks be to God.
HYMN: “The God of Abraham Praise” LBW 544 vs. I-4 only
1 The God of Abr’ham praise,
Who reigns enthroned above;
Ancient of everlasting days,
And God of love.
Jehovah, great I Am!
By earth and heav’n confessed;
I bow and bless the sacred name
Forever blest.
2 The God of Abr’ham praise,
At whose supreme command
From earth I rise and seek the joys
At his right hand.
I all on earth forsake –
Its wisdom, fame, and pow’r –
And him my only portion make,
My shield and tow’r.
3 The God of Abr’ham praise,
Whose all-sufficient grace
Shall guide me all my pilgrim days
In all my ways.
He deigns to call me friend;
He calls himself my God!
And he shall save me to the end
Through Jesus’ blood.
4 He by himself has sworn;
I on his oath depend.
I shall, on eagle wings upborne,
To heav’n ascend.
I shall behold his face;
I shall his pow’r adore,
And sing the wonders of his grace
Forevermore.
HOMILY “Remember the Covenant” – Psalm 105:8 Pastor Larry Oliver
P: Let us pray. Heavenly Father, You have given Your people the sacred blessing of the covenant.
C: Grant that we remember Your kindness in choosing us for Your people. Shape our lives in ways that honor Your gracious commands in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
ALL: I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have graciously kept me this day; and I pray that You would forgive me all my sins where I have done wrong, and graciously keep me this night. For into Your hands I commend myself my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
P: Show us Your steadfast love, O Lord,
C: and grant us Your salvation.
P: Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness;
C: and let Your saints shout for joy.
P: Lord, keep this nation under Your care,
C: and guide us in the way of justice and truth.
P: Let the nations be glad and sing for joy.
C: for You judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon the earth.
P: Let the peoples praise You, O God;
C: let all the peoples praise You!
P: For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
C: and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.
P: Create in me a clean heart, O God,
C: And renew a right spirit within me.
P: Hear my prayer, O Lord;
C: Let my cry come to You.
C: Our Father who art in heaven,
hollowed 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.
BENEDICAMUS
P: Let us bless the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
BENEDICTION
P: The grace of our Lord + Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
C: Amen.