5th Sunday of Easter (D)

1Samuel 21:1-15 OR 2Kings 4:38-44

Psalm 49

Matthew 15:29-39; 16:1-12 OR Mark 8:1-26

2Corinthians 8:1-6 (7-15) 16-24


    

OPENING PRAYER [from GREATER ATTENTION: LERW, YEAR D]

Praise be to you, O God of Israel, for sending your only Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to cure the sick and to restore to life those long dead. Showing us your great compassion, Christ Jesus feeds the hungry, makes the mute to speak, the lame to walk, the blind to see, and the maimed to be made whole. He himself, once dead and buried, was raised to eternal life, and thus fulfilled the sign of Jonah. Now reigning with you and the Holy Spirit in glory, he comes with the dawn to receive the worship of those who are baptized in his name, those who long for his glorious appearing. Therefore, let nothing worldly weigh down our words, our songs, our hearts, our spirits, but come and receive, O Triune God, the thanksgiving and praise that is due you! Praise be to you, O God of Israel, for you alone are worthy of praise.

4th Sunday of Easter (D)

Genesis 38:1-30 OR Ecclesiastes 5:1-20
Psalm 10
Matthew 22:23-33 OR Mark 12:18-27 (OR Luke 20:27-40)
2Corinthians 7:2-16


    

OPENING PRAYER [from GREATER ATTENTION: LERW, YEAR D] 

Holy LORD, you are the God of the living, not the dead! For you, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, spoke from the burning bush about our ancestors, and spoke of them as living with you. Truly, you are the God of the Resurrection! Yours is the power, revealed in your Word, by which the dead are raised to new life and Christ Jesus your Son is the head of your new creation. By your grace, you have given us the Spirit of your risen Son to dwell in our hearts, that we might die to sin and self and live together with Christ in your eternal presence. This, O LORD, is our great consolation, and by this promise, you give us joy to see us through every temporary affliction. Therefore, we draw near to you, to offer you our thanks and praise. Come, LORD, and receive our humble, yet exultant, testimony to your goodness!

3rd Sunday of Easter (D)

Zechariah 13:1-9
Psalm 60 OR Psalm 108
John 16:25-33
2Corinthians 6:11-7:1


   

OPENING PRAYER [from GREATER ATTENTION: LERW, YEAR D]
O God our Father, whose love for us we have seen and known in Christ Jesus, we thank you for sending your Son into the world, for Christ has overcome the world for the vindication of your holy name and for the salvation of all who love and believe in him. We praise you for the promise that, though we face persecution in the world, we may take heart and find of peace in Jesus Christ, who has won for us the victory, and through whom we can approach you in confidence, in his name.

2nd Sunday of Easter (D)

Hosea 14:1-9
Psalm 64 OR 119:73-96
John 16:16-24
2Corinthians 1:23-2:17

    

CALL TO WORSHIP [from GREATER ATTENTION: LERW, YEAR D]

The LORD says, “What have I to do with idols?

It is I who answer and look after you.”

The ways of the LORD are right, and the upright walk in them,

but transgressors stumble in them.

“I am like an evergreen cypress; your faithfulness comes from me.

The wise understand these things; the discerning know them.”

Let the righteous rejoice and take refuge in the LORD.

Let all the upright in heart glory.

“You have pain now, but it will soon turn to joy; I will see you again,

and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.”

Thanks be to God, who in Christ leads us in triumphal procession,

and through us spreads the fragrance that comes from knowing him.

Resurrection of the Lord/Easter Sunday (D)

Deuteronomy 7:1-26

Psalm 75 OR 76

John 5:19-30

2Corinthians 1:1-17 (18-22)

CALL TO WORSHIP 

Just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life,
so the Son gives life to whomever he wishes.
        Let all honor be given to the risen Son of God,
        to God the Father, and to God the Holy Spirit.

Jesus says, “Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word

and believes him who sent me has eternal life.”
        The hour is coming - and this is the hour!  -
        when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God.

“Those who hear will live; whoever believes does not

come under judgment, but has passed from death to life.”
        Those in their graves will hear his voice and be raised —
        those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, 

        and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.

Good Friday (D) — A Prayer of Confession and Declaration of Forgiveness

Ezra 9:5-15 OR Jeremiah 25:15-38 OR 2Chronicles 7:1-22

Psalm 88

Luke 23:(1-12) 13-49

1Peter 4:1-19

Prayer of Confession [see Ezra 9]

O Lord our God, how can we lift our faces to you, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens. From the days of our ancestors to the present, we have been deep in guilt, and we are ashamed of all our iniquities. For we have forsaken your commandments and filled the land from end to end with uncleanness. And now, our God, what shall we say? Here we are before you in our guilt, and no one can face you who may claim to be righteousness, no one but Jesus Christ, the Righteous One himself. After all that has come upon us for our sins and our great guilt, you, our God, have not punished us as our iniquities deserve; you have not forsaken us, but have extended your steadfast love to us, to give us new life in Christ. Forgive us, therefore, O merciful God, for the sake of your gracious Son, Jesus Christ, that his great suffering and his redeeming work might bring us fully into eternal fellowship with you, and that we might commit and commend our spirits, as he has done, into your loving and gracious hand.

Declaration of Forgiveness [see Luke 23; 1Peter 4]

Truly Jesus our Messiah came not to save himself, but to save sinners. In his suffering on the cross, and in his prayer that even his executioners might be forgiven, he who was found guiltless has atoned for our guilt and secured the salvation of all those who, though formerly his enemies, now trust in him whose love covers a multitude of sins. For this is the reason the gospel was proclaimed even to you who were once dead in your sins, so that you too might live in the Spirit as God does, no longer by human desires, but by the will of God and with all the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ, in whom we are forgiven and to whom, with the Father and the Spirit, belongs all glory and power, forever and ever. Blessed be God forever! Amen!

Maundy Thursday (D)

Deuteronomy 30:1-14
Psalm 113
John 7:53-8:11 OR Luke 22:1-38 (39-46)
Romans 2:12-29

   

CALL TO WORSHIP [from GREATER ATTENTION: LERW, YEAR D]

Love the LORD your God with all your heart

and with all your soul, in order that you may live.

    Let the greatest become like the youngest,

    and the leader like one who serves.

This commandment is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away. 

No, the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart.
    For who is greater, the one at the table or the one who serves?
    But our Lord is among us as one who serves!

Who is like the LORD our God, who is seated on high?

Yet he raises the poor from the dust, and lifts the needy from the ashes.
    O LORD, raise us up and out of our need, 
    that by your grace we might eat and drink 
    at your table in your kingdom.

Sixth Sunday of Lent/Palm Sunday (D)

Deuteronomy 11:1-17 OR Isaiah 43:8-15

Psalm 94 OR 35

John 8:48-59

Romans 1:8-15 (16-17) 18-32; 2:1-11 OR Galatians 6:1-18

PRAYER OF CONFESSION [from GREATER ATTENTION: LERW, YEAR D]

O God our Creator, we confess we are without excuse, for though we know you in part, we often fail to honor you as God or give you thanks. We have allowed futility, senselessness, and darkness to overtake our thoughts, which are but an empty breath. Claiming wisdom, we have act foolishly, exchanging your glory for lifeless images, and the truth about you for the lies of the world. We have worshiped your creatures and our own creations rather you, our Creator, who alone are holy and blessed forever! Forgive us, O God, for our impurity and for every lapse into idolatry. Protect us, O God, against every temptation and every tempter. Rise up and contend with those who contend with your people, that we, with your help, might learn how to desire and choose the right, the good, and the true. For without you, O LORD, we have no hope of peace or prosperity; apart from you, we can do nothing.