The Holy Eucharist
The Fifth Sunday in Lent
March 21, 2021
9:30 a.m.
Holy Spirit Lutheran Church
Lancaster, PA
Welcome to worship. If you are visiting with us, a special welcome. We invite you to return and worship with us as often as you are able. Guest cards are available on the round table in the center of the narthex. Please take one, fill it out and return it to an usher. If you need a large print bulletin, please ask an usher. As you enter the nave, please conclude all conversations and silence all cell phones and other electronic devices, as to fully enter into this time of worship.
Please note the instructions on distancing for the sharing of the peace and receiving Holy Communion.
The Entrance Rite
At the sound of the bell, the assembly stands. The Pastor will begin and the congregation will read responsively.
Psalm 51:1-12
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment.
Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me.
You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.
The Greeting and Prayer of the Day
P
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
C
And also with you.
P
Let us pray. O God, with steadfast love you draw us to yourself, and in mercy you receive our prayers. Strengthen us to bring forth the fruits of the Spirit, that through life and death we may live in your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C
Amen.
Please be seated.
Children’s Message
The children remain at their seat as the pastor share a message with them.
The First Reading
Jeremiah 31:31-34
A reading from Jeremiah: The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.
L
The word of the Lord.
C
Thanks be to God.
The Second Reading
Hebrews 5:5-10
A reading from Hebrews: Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”; as he says also in another place, “You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.”
In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.
L
The Word of the Lord
C
Thanks be to God.
The Holy Gospel
John 12:20-33
P
The Holy Gospel according to Saint John, the twelfth chapter.
Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.
“Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.
P
The Gospel of the Lord.
C
Praise to you, O Christ.
The Sermon
Silence for reflection follows.
Brief Order for Confession and Forgiveness
The assembly sits or kneels for confession.
P
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C
Amen.
P
God hears us and draws us close in Jesus Christ. Let us return to the one who is full of compassion.
Silence is kept for reflection and self-examination.
P
O God, fountain of living water,
C
pour out your mercy over us. Forgive our sin. Wash us in your cleansing flood. Make us alive in the Spirit to follow in the way of Jesus, as healers and restorers of the world you love. Amen.
P
Beloved, God’s word never fails. The promise rests on grace: by the saving love of Jesus Christ. Almighty God have mercy on us, forgives us all our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.
C
Amen.
The Prayers of the Church
The assembly remains sitting or kneeling for the prayers.
A
Relying on the promises of God, we pray boldly for the church, the world, and all in need.
After each portion of the prayers:
A
Lord, in your mercy,
C
Hear our prayer.
The prayers conclude:
P
Into your hands Gracious God we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in your mercy, through your Son, Jesus Christ our Savior.
C
Amen.
The Sharing of The Peace
P
The peace of Christ be with you always.
C
And also with you.
Without leaving your seat offer a wave to your neighbor, sharing God’s peace, in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Please stand.
Offertory Prayer
A
Let us pray. Faithful God,
C
you walk beside us in desert places, and you meet us in our hunger with bread from heaven. Accompany us in this meal, that we may pass over from death to life with Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
The Great Thanksgiving
P
The Lord be with you.
C
And also with you.
P
Lift up your hearts.
C
We lift them to the Lord.
P
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
C
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
Eucharistic Prayer
P
O God, Creator of our wilderness world,
O God, Savior of the lost,
O God, Comforter of the sick and suffering,
we give you thanks for your everlasting might;
we glorify you for your covenant of mercy.
For forty days you cleansed the earth with the waters of the flood.
For forty days you illumined Moses with the words of your law.
For forty years you fed your people with manna from heaven.
You became truly human in Jesus our brother.
For forty days, with fasting and prayer, he renounced the power of the devil.
On the night before he died he took bread, and gave thanks,
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.
P
We extol his life. Amen.
C
Amen.
P
We lament his death. Amen.
C
Amen.
P
We celebrate his resurrection. Amen.
C
Amen.
P
Transform us, O God, with your lively Spirit.
Make this food into manna for our journey, the body and blood of your Son.
Grant us with the Ninevites forty days of repentance.
Teach us your words of wisdom and justice.
Renew the whole earth with baptismal grace.
At the last, lead all your pilgrim people through our deserts to your Easter garden.
To you, O God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
be our worship and praise, adoration and thanksgiving,
now and forever. Amen.
C
Amen
The Lord’s Prayer
C
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.
The Fraction
P
God’s love is poured out in Christ for you. Come to his table where all are welcomed and fed.
C
Thanks be to God.
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world; have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world; have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world; grant us peace.
Please be seated.
The Distribution of Holy Communion
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America practices open table hospitality. Baptized communicants of other Christian denominations, of all ages, are welcome to receive the sacrament. An usher will direct each seating area to come forward to receive the sacrament. Bring your communion cup with you, or take one from the usher. The pastor will drop the host into your hand. Next move to receive the wine from the Assisting Minister. Then take another step to consume the sacrament. As you return to your seat, place the empty cup into the receptacle. Those persons not receiving communion are welcome to come forward to receive a blessing.
Please stand.
Post Communion Blessing
P
The body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ strengthen you and keep you in his grace.
C
Amen.
Post Communion Prayer
A
Let us pray. God of steadfast love, at this table you gather your people into one body for the sake of the world. Send us in the power of your Spirit, that our lives bear witness to the love that has made us new in Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
C
Amen.
The Blessing
P
Almighty God, the Father and the + Son, and the Holy Spirit bless you now and forever.
C
Amen.
The Dismissal
A
Go in peace. Serve the Lord!
C
Thanks be to God. We will!
Postlude
+++
The text for next week:
Passion/Psalm Sunday
Processional Gospel
Mark 11:1-11
Isaiah 50:4-9a
Philippians 2:5-11
Mark 14:1–15:47
PLAN YOUR WORSHIP SCHEDULE FOR LENT
by participating in the mid-week services of Holy Communion
Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m.
The Sermon series this season is entitled:
Martyrs, Missionaries, and Renewers
| March 24 | Oscar Romero | John 12:23-32 |
Holy Week
| March 28 | Sunday of the Passion/Palm Sunday, 9:30 a.m. |
| April 1 | The Triduum: Maundy Thursday, 7:00 p.m. |
| April 2 | The Triduum: Good Friday, 7:00 p.m. |
| April 3 | The Triduum: The Great Vigil of Easter – online only www.holyspiritlutheran.org |
| April 4 | Easter Day, 9:30 a.m. |
Acknowledgments
Copyright © 2021 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #SAS103416.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, Copyright © 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Revised Common Lectionary, Copyright © 1992 Consultation on Common Texts, admin Augsburg Fortress. Used by permission.
Eucharistic Prayer from Pray, Praise, and Give Thanks: A Collection of Litanies, Laments, and Thanksgivings at Font and Table by Gail Ramshaw, copyright © 2017 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. Reproduced by permission.