Prelude
Announcements
Call to Worship and Confession and Forgiveness
We are people of impatient hungers.
People of God: We want to be filled with all good things immediately. We don’t want to wait.
We are people who seek power and authority.
People of God: We want to be in control, not to be controlled.
We are people whose individual safety is of highest concern.
People of God: Protect and guide us.
Stop our greed and selfishness, O Lord. Help us listen to your words of comfort and hope. Give us the strength of Jesus in the wilderness.
People of God: Open us up to all the wonders of your love. Heal our hardened hearts. Give us lives of loving service to others. Amen.
Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God, who makes all things new, whose mercy endures forever.
People of God: Amen.
Trusting in God’s mercy, let us confess our sin.
Silence is kept for reflection.
Holy One, source of our renewal,
People of God: we confess that we are wrapped up in sin, and cannot free ourselves. We have not practiced your righteousness. Our hearts have turned away from you. For the sake of the world you so love, forgive us, that we may be reconciled to one another for the glory of your holy name. Amen.
Thus says our God: “The former things have come to pass and new things I now declare.” God’s mercy makes us new. We are forgiven in the name of ☩ Christ our Savior.
People of God: Amen.
Prayer of the Day
Assisting Minister: Let us pray. God of strength, your son Jesus withstood many temptations because his love for you was greater than his earthly desires. Make our love for you so strong, that we might withstand anything that threatens to stand between us and your love. We pray these things in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. People of God: Amen.
Reading Matthew 4:1-17
Assisting Minister: 1Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. 3The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4But he answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'” 5Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'” 7Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'” 8Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; 9and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'” 11Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him. 12Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. 13He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: 15“Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles — 16the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.” 17From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” The word of the Lord. People of God: Thanks be to God
Sermon Rev. Daniel Shutters
Prayers of the People
Assisting Minister: Sisters and brothers, let us lift our hearts in faith to the one who hears all prayers and holds close all those in need.
A brief silence.
Assisting Minister: God with the church, bless bishops, pastors, deacons, council members, and all leaders in faith communities; work through the church to bring your kingdom near. Lord, in your mercy, People of God: hear our prayer.
Assisting Minister: God with the wilderness and waters, bless creation with your creative and sustaining love; work through farmers, gardeners, and us to care for what you have made. Lord, in your mercy, People of God: hear our prayer.
Assisting Minister: God with the nations, bless the world with peace and justice; bring humility and compassion into our systems of governance and justice. Lord, in your mercy, People of God: hear our prayer.
Assisting Minister: God with the broken-hearted, grant wholeness to those struggling with anxiety, depression, and any other mental illness; make us agents of hope and love. Lord, in your mercy, People of God: hear our prayer.
Assisting Minister: God with the ill, bring healing where it is needed, and peace where healing cannot come; be with doctors, nurses, EMTs, and all others who heal so that they may offer comfort to those in need. We pray especially for Alicia, the Knaack Family, the McDonough family, Jeanne, Barb, Cecil (See-sil), Stan, Marlene, Ryleigh, Dylan, Sandy, Hopie (Hope-y), the Lang family, the Mauger (maw-ger) family, Susan, the Bredemus (bread-a-mus) family, Allen, Bunny, the Vogt (vote) family, Richard, Pat, Pete, Dick, Karen, Patricia, Michael, Nicholas and his family, Beth, Jim, Kara (car-a), Betty, Tom, Lorie and her family, Pastor Kara (car-a) and those we name silently or aloud <pause> Lord, in your mercy, People of God: hear our prayer.
Assisting Minister: God with us, bless our ministries, especially with our youth; deepen our intergenerational relationships and build up our whole community. Lord, in your mercy, People of God: hear our prayer.
Please offer your own prayers of joy or concern, ending with “Lord in your mercy,”
We respond with “hear our prayer.”
Assisting Minister: God with the saints, keep us mindful of those who have gone before us; grant us thankful hearts for their witness and proclamation. Lord, in your mercy, People of God: hear our prayer.
Holy God, you gather the whole universe into your radiant presence and continually reveal your Son as our Savior. Bring healing to all wounds, make whole all that is broken, speak truth to all illusion, and shed light in every darkness, that all creation will see your glory and know your Christ. People of God: Amen.
Hymn Out in the Wilderness Played by Gloria Peetz Sung by Jordan Devine
Children’s Sermon Rev. Daniel Shutters
The Peace (Please share peace by waving or showing the peace sign.)
The peace of Christ be with you always. People of God: And also with you.
Offering
Let us pray. Liberating God, you break the bonds of injustice and let the oppressed go free. Receive these offerings in thanksgiving for all your works of merciful power, and shape us as people of your justice and freedom. You we magnify and adore, through Jesus our Savior, People of God: Amen.
Communion
The Lord be with you.
People of God: And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
People of God: We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People of God: It is right to give our thanks and praise.
In the night in which he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took bread and gave thanks; he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying: 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.
And now let us pray with confidence in the words that Jesus taught us:
People of God: 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
Assisting Minister: Come and taste the joy of God!
For our at-home worshippers, you may take communion using these words:
The body of Christ, given for you.
The blood of Christ, shed for you.
Table Blessing
And now may the body and blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ, strengthen you and keep you in his grace. People of God: Amen.
Prayer after Communion
Assisting Minister: Let us pray. Holy One, we thank you for the healing that springs forth abundantly from this table. Renew our strength to do justice, love kindness, and journey humbly with you. People of God: Amen.
Blessing
The God who faithfully brings forth justice and breaks the oppressor’s rod ☩ bless, strengthen, and uphold you, today and always. People of God: Amen.
Sending Hymn ELW #742 What a Friend We have in Jesus Played by Gloria Peetz Sung by Jordan Devine
Dismissal
Assisting Minister: Go in peace. Follow the way of Jesus. People of God: Thanks be to God.
Postlude
Thank you to those serving us today
Pastor: Rev. Daniel Shutters
Worship Assistant: Debbie Ramirez
Acolyte: Daniel Whyte
Music: Gloria Peetz~Song Leader: Jordan Devine
Altar Guild: Dianne Brooks
Usher/Greeter: Andy Taylor
Sound Board: Phyllis Blumke
AV Tech: Mark Gates
Counter: Marianne Barstow and Sally Skalany
Altar Flowers: Alan and Catherine Cox
From sundaysandseasons.com. Copyright © 2023 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved
Call to Worship based on work by Nancy C. Townley, https://www.ministrymatters.com/all/entry/4548/worship-connection-march-1-2020