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PRELUDE
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS
Friends in Christ, in this Lenten season we have heard our Lord’s
call to struggle against sin, death, and the devil—all that keeps us
from loving God and each other. This is the struggle to which we
were called at baptism.
Within the community of the church, God never wearies of forgiving
sin and giving the peace of reconciliation. On this night let us confess
our sin against God and our neighbor, and enter the celebration
of the great Three Days reconciled with God and with one another.
Most merciful God, we confess that we are captive to sin and
cannot free ourselves. 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. 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.
In the mercy of almighty God, Jesus Christ was given to die for us,
and for his sake God forgives us all our sins. As a called and ordained
minister of the church of Christ, and by his authority, I therefore
declare to you the entire forgiveness of all your sins, in the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
INDIVIDUAL ABSOLUTION
The assembly is seated. People may come forward and kneel for the laying of
hands and forgiveness.
SONGS DURING ABSOLUTION
“Great God, Your Love Has Called Us Here” Hymn #358
“What Feast of Love” Hymn #487
GREETING
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion
of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
And also with you.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Let us pray. Holy God, source of all love, on the night of his betrayal,
Jesus gave us a new commandment, to love one another as
he loves us. Write this commandment in our hearts, and give us
the will to serve others as he was the servant of all, your Son,
Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Please be seated.
WORD
FIRST READING Exodus 12:1-4 11-14
Israel remembered its deliverance from slavery in Egypt by celebrating
the festival of Passover. This festival featured the Passover lamb,
whose blood was used as a sign to protect God’s people from the threat
of death. The early church described the Lord’s supper using imagery
from the Passover, especially in portraying Jesus as the lamb who delivers
God’s people from sin and death.
1 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2 “This month
shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of
the year for you. 3 Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth
of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each
household. 4 If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its
closest neighbor in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion
to the number of people who eat of it.
11 This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your
feet, and your staff in your hand, and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is
the Passover of the Lord. 12 I will pass through the land of Egypt that
night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from
human to animal, and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments:
I am the Lord. 13 The blood shall be a sign for you on the
houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you,
and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
14 “This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall
celebrate it as a festival to the Lord; throughout your generations
you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance.”
The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
PSALM Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19
1 I love the LORD, who has heard my voice, and listened to
my supplication,
2 for the LORD has given ear to me whenever I called.
12 How shall I re- pay the LORD for all the good things God has |done
for me?
13 I will lift the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD.
14 I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all God’s people.
15 Precious in your sight, O LORD, is the death of your servants
16 O LORD, truly I am your servant; I am your servant, the child of
your handmaid; you have freed me from my bonds.
17 I will offer you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call upon the
name of the LORD.
18 I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all God’s people,
19 in the courts of the LORD’s house, in the midst of you, O Jerusalem.
SECOND READING 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
In the bread and cup of the Lord’s supper, we experience intimate
fellowship with Christ and with one another because it involves his
body given for us and the new covenant in his blood. Faithful participation
in this meal is a living proclamation of Christ’s death until he
comes in the future.
23 For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the
Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of
bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This
is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the
same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the
new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance
of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink
the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Please stand as you are able for the gospel reading.
The holy gospel according to John, the 13th chapter.
Glory to you, O Lord.
GOSPEL READING John 13:1-17, 31b-35
The story of the last supper in John’s gospel recalls a remarkable
event not mentioned elsewhere: Jesus performs the duty of a slave,
washing the feet of his disciples and urging them to do the same for
one other.
1 Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour
had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having
loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 The
devil had already decided that Judas son of Simon Iscariot would
betray Jesus. And during supper 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father
had given all things into his hands and that he had come from God
and was going to God, 4 got up from supper, took off his outer robe,
and tied a towel around himself. 5 Then he poured water into a basin
and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the
towel that was tied around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said
to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered,
“You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
8 Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus
answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” 9 Simon
Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my
head!” 10 Jesus said to him, “One who has bathed does not need to
wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean,
though not all of you.” 11 For he knew who was to betray him; for this
reason he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
12 After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had
reclined again, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to
you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for that is
what I am. 14 So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet,
you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have set you an
example, that you also should do as I have done to you. 16 Very truly,
I tell you, slaves are not greater than their master, nor are messengers
greater than the one who sent them. 17 If you know these
things, you are blessed if you do them.”
31b “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been
glorified in him. 32 If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify
him in himself and will glorify him at once. 33 Little children, I am with
you only a little longer. You will look for me, and as I said to the Jews
so now I say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ 34 I give
you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have
loved you, you also should love one another. 35 By this everyone will
know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
The gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.
SERMON Pastor Chris Steubing
Please stand as you are able.
HYMN OF THE DAY Hymn #359
“Where Charity and Love Prevail” Vs. 1-3, 5
THE PRAYERS
Hear us, O God… Your mercy is great.
SHARING THE PEACE
The peace of Christ be with you always.
And also with you.
Let us share the peace with one another.
OFFERING
OFFERING MUSIC “The Table”
Words and music by Chris Tomlin, Ed Cash, and Wayne Jolley. © 2014 S. D. G. Publishing | Sixsteps
Songs | Worship Together Music | Alletrop Music | Terebinth Music. Used by permission. CCLI License
#2561118
Verse 1
I will feast at the table of the Lord
I will feast at the table of the Lord
I won't hunger anymore at His table (Repeat)
Chorus
Come all you weary come and find
His yoke is easy His burden is light
He is able He will restore
At the table of the Lord
(At the table of the Lord) Last time only.
Verse 2
There is peace at the table of the Lord
There is peace at the table of the Lord
I won't worry anymore at His table
Verse 3
There is healing at the table of the Lord
There is healing at the table of the Lord
Oh and I won't suffer anymore at His table (Chorus)
Bridge
I know He has a place for me
Oh what joy will fill my heart
With the saints around the mercy seat of God (Chorus)
Verse 4
I'm invited to the table of the Lord
I'm invited to the table of the Lord
He says come just as you are to His table
Please stand as you are able at the offering is brought forward.
OFFERING PRAYER
Let us pray. O God, maker of heaven and earth, your steadfast
love embraces all creation. You send rain and sunshine to nourish
the earth and bring forth its bounty. Through these gifts of
bread and wine, draw us into the death and life of your Son,
who calls us to bear witness to his saving work. We ask this in
Jesus’ name. Amen.
MEAL
THE GREAT THANKSGIVING
The Lord be with you. And also with you.
Lift up your hearts. We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
THE WORDS OF INSTITUTION
It is indeed right, our duty and our joy, that we should at all times and
in all places give thanks and praise. . . We praise your name and join
their unending hymn:
In the night in which he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took bread, and
gave thanks; broke it, and gave it to his disciples, Take and eat; this is
my body, given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.
Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it for all to
drink, saying: This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you
and for all people for the forgiveness of sin. Do this for the remembrance
of me.
With this bread and cup we remember our Lord’s Passover from
death to life as we proclaim the mystery of faith;
Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
Remember us in your kingdom and teach us to pray…
THE 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.
INVITATION TO COMMUNION
Come to the table. Feast on God’s goodness and mercy.
Communion Hymns “Let Us Break Bread Together” Hymn #471
“Here is Bread” Hymn #483
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Let us pray. Lord Jesus, in a wonderful sacrament you
strengthen us with the saving power of your suffering, death,
and resurrection. May this sacrament of your body and blood
so work in us that the fruits of your redemption will show forth
in the way we live, for you live and reign with the Father and the
Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
STRIPPING OF THE ALTAR AND READING OF PSALM 22
Worshippers may remain to pray, seated in the pews or kneeling at the altar rail.
Please keep the silence in the sanctuary as you depart.
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Announcements/Reminders
Holy Week commemorates the final week of Jesus’ life, starting with Palm Sunday’s entry into Jerusalem and concluding with the Easter resurrection. Each service throughout the week draws us into greater appreciation and holy wonder of Jesus’ loving sacrifice and God’s promises for all who believe in him. We invite you to join us in worship as we remember what God has done for us and for the world through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Holy Week Services
• Good Friday @ Noon and 7PM– this service reflects on the betrayal, arrest, and crucifixion of Jesus. The lights of the sanctuary are dimmed as we remember the shadows that surrounded Jesus in his death on the cross.
• Easter Services @ 8AM and 10:30 AM– in this service we celebrate Christ’s resurrection from the dead with joyful proclamation that Jesus is alive! He has conquered death and sin, and we know that we too have been given the victory through Christ Jesus our Lord!
Please bring fresh flowers on Easter morning to place on the cross on the porch at the entrance to the sanctuary.
The youth of St. Andrew will be hosting a breakfast on Easter morning between services from 9:00 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. After the 10:30 service there will be an Easter Egg hunt for children.
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Church Staff and today’s worship leaders:
Pastor—Rev. Chris Steubing
Visitation Pastor—Rev. Judi Miller
Communion Assistants—Donna Clark & Evelyn Furgerson
Our Liturgist—Ken Kleid
Organist/Pianist—Daniel Vauter
Choir and Hand Bell Director—Wendy Kuenemann