Prelude
Announcements
Confession and Forgiveness
Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God, who journeys with us these forty days of Lent, and sustains us with the gift of grace. People of God: Amen
Let us acknowledge before God and one another our need for repentance and God’s mercy.
Silence is kept for reflection.
Holy God,
People of God: we confess to you our faults and failings. Too often we neglect and do not trust your holy word; we take for ourselves instead of giving to others; we spoil rather than steward your creation; we cause hurt though you call us to heal; we choose fear over compassion. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, as we seek to follow in your way of life. Amen
Hear the good news: God so loved the world that God gave the only Son, so that all may receive life. This promise is for you! God embraces you with divine mercy, ☩ forgives you in Christ’s name, and revives you in the Spirit’s power. People of God: Amen
Prayer of the Day
Assisting Minister: Let us pray. Generous God, you have promised to open your kingdom to all people, despite their circumstances. Bring us close to you, and help us to proclaim the goodness of your generosity. We pray these things in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. People of God: Amen
Reading Matthew 20:1-16
Assisting Minister: [Jesus taught his disciples,] 1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. 3When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; 4and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. 5When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. 6And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why are you standing here idle all day?’ 7They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ 8When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.’ 9When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. 10Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. 11And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, 12saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ 13But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? 14Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. 15Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ 16So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
The word of the Lord. People of God: Thanks be to God
Sermon Rev. Sarah Wilson
Holy Baptism
In baptism our gracious heavenly Father frees us from sin and death by joining us to the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are born children of a fallen humanity; by water and the Holy Spirit we are reborn children of God and made members of the church, the body of Christ. Living with Christ and in the communion of saints, we grow in faith, love, and obedience to the will of God.
Sponsors: We present Patrick Theodore Scharrer for baptism.
Keith and Lauren, called by the Holy Spirit, trusting in the grace and love of God, do you desire to have Patrick baptized into Christ? Parents: We do.
Keith and Lauren, as you bring Patrick to receive the gift of baptism, you are entrusted with responsibilities: to live with him among God’s faithful people, bring him to the word of God and the Holy Supper, teach him the Lord’s Prayer, the Creed, and the Ten Commandments, place in his hands the holy scriptures, and nurture him in faith and prayer, so that he may learn to trust God, proclaim Christ through word and deed, care for others and the world God made, and work for justice and peace. Do you promise to help him grow in the Christian faith and life? Parents: We do.
Justin and Cailey, as Patrick’s sponsors, do you promise to nurture him in the Christian faith as you are empowered by God’s Spirit, and to help him live in the covenant of baptism and in communion with the church? Sponsors: We do.
People of God, do you promise to support Patrick and pray for him in his new life in Christ?
People of God: We do.
Profession of Faith
People of God, I ask you to profess your faith in Christ Jesus, reject sin, and confess the faith of the church. Do you renounce evil and all the forces that defy God?
People of God: I renounce them.
Do you renounce the powers of this world that rebel against God?
People of God: I renounce them.
Do you renounce the ways of sin that draw you away from God?
People of God: I renounce them.
Do you believe in God the Father?
People of God: I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
Do you believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God?
People of God: I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
Do you believe in God the Holy Spirit?
People of God: I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the dead, and the life everlasting. Amen.
Thanksgiving at the Font
The Lord be with you.
People of God: And also with you.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People of God: It is right to give our thanks and praise.
Let us pray. We give you thanks, O God, for in the beginning your Spirit moved over the waters and by your Word you created the world, calling forth life in which you took delight. Through the waters of the flood you delivered Noah and his family, and through the sea you led your people Israel from slavery into freedom. At the river your Son was baptized by John and anointed with the Holy Spirit. By the baptism of Jesus’ death and resurrection you set us free from the power of sin and death and raise us up to live in you. Pour out your Holy Spirit, the power of your living Word, that those who are washed in the waters of baptism may be given new life. To you be given honor and praise through Jesus Christ our Lord, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, now and forever. People of God: Amen.
Baptism
Patrick Theodore, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. People of God: Amen.
Let us pray. We give you thanks, O God, that through water and the Holy Spirit you give your son new birth, cleanse him from sin, and raise him to eternal life. Sustain Patrick with the gift of your Holy Spirit: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, the spirit of joy in your presence, both now and forever.
People of God: Amen. You belong to Christ, in whom you have been baptized.
Patrick Theodore, you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever. People of God: Amen.
Welcome
Assisting Minister: Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Let us welcome the newly baptized.
People of God: We welcome you, Patrick, into the body of Christ and into the mission we share: join us in giving thanks and praise to God and in bearing God’s creative and redeeming word to all the world.
Hymn ELW #456 Baptized in Water Played by Gloria Peetz Sung by Aaron Brewer
Prayers of the People
Assisting Minister: Beloved friends, in this season of repentance and healing, we accept God’s invitation to be ever-mindful of the needs of others, offering our prayers on behalf of God’s community in the church and the world.
A brief silence.
Assisting Minister: Keep the church from jealousy over your amazing and abundant grace, O Lord, and show us how to be better workers for your kingdom. Lord, in your mercy, People of God: hear our prayer.
Assisting Minister: Strengthen creation, O Lord, and instill in all people a desire to care for and nurture all plants and animals. Lord, in your mercy, People of God: hear our prayer.
Assisting Minister: Bend governments and rulers to your will, O Lord, and instill in all nations an earnest desire for generosity, peace, and justice. Lord, in your mercy, People of God: hear our prayer.
Assisting Minister: Help us to better live with respect and equity for all, O Lord, especially between genders and among cultures. Lord, in your mercy, People of God: hear our prayer.
Assisting Minister: Provide hope and healing for the sick, O Lord, especially Denise, Leslie, Norma, Brian, Scott, Jessica, Alicia, Jeanne, Barb, Cecil, Stan, Marlene, Ryleigh, Dylan, Sandy, Hopie, the Bredemus family, Allen, Bunny, the Vogt family, Patricia, Michael, Nicholas and his family, Beth, Betty, Tom, Kara and those we name silently or aloud (<pause>). May all know vibrant and whole life. Lord, in your mercy, People of God: hear our prayer.
Assisting Minister: Direct this congregation in your ways, O Lord, and help us to better serve you in our daily lives. 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: Grant peaceful rest to the faithful dead, O Lord, especially Jasmine, and bring us, with them, to your new creation. Lord, in your mercy, People of God: hear our prayer.
Assisting Minister: Thank you for the gift of baptism and for marking Patrick as your own beloved son in his baptism. May he always know your presence in his life. Be with Cailey and Justin as they live into their roles as his godparents. Give patience and wisdom to Lauren and Keith as they parent Patrick. Thank you for family and friends who surround the Scharrer family with love and support. Lord, in your mercy, People of God: hear our prayer.
Fill us with your strength to resist the seductions of our foolish desires and the tempter’s vain delights, that we may walk in obedience and righteousness, rejoicing in you with an upright heart. People of God: Amen.
Children’s Sermon Rev. Sarah Wilson
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. God of good gifts, receive these and all our offerings as we present them in faithful service for the sake of your gospel. Prepare our hearts to receive you in this meal as you pour out your very presence through Christ Jesus, the wellspring of eternal life. 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 receive Jesus, our strength in the wilderness.
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.
Communion Hymns
ELW #674 Let Us Talents and Tongues Employ
ELW #759 My Faith Looks Up to Thee
ELW #789 Savior like a Shepherd Lead Us
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. Embodied God, at your table, we have tasted the goodness of Jesus. With the eyes of our hearts open to your promise, empower us to hear the needs of our neighbors and touch the world with your love. People of God: Amen.
Blessing
God, the giver of love, ☩ Christ, the resurrection and the life, and the Holy Spirit of rebirth bless you in this Lenten journey. People of God: Amen
Sending Hymn ELW #677 This Little Light of Mine Played by Gloria Peetz Sung by Aaron Brewer
Dismissal
Assisting Minister: Go in peace. Live in generosity. People of God: Thanks be to God.
Thank you to those serving us today
Pastor: Rev. Sarah Wilson
Worship Assistant: Debbie Ramirez
Acolyte: Marissa Mauger
Music: Gloria Peetz ~ Song Leader: Aaron Brewer
Altar Guild: Phyllis Blumke
Usher/Greeter: Danielle Proebsting and Bob Eccker
Sound Board: Sally Skalany
Producer: Mark Gates ~ Graphics: Dawna Gates
Counters: Marianne Barstow and Karen McKune
Coffee Host: Calliemae Sherwood
Altar Flowers: Dave and Danielle Proebsting
In Celebration of Elizabeth and Ricky’s Birthdays.
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