Tue. morning Mar. 31
Opening response
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
Let your ways be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Lord God of our salvation, to you be praise and glory forever. As a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, your only Son was lifted up that he might draw the whole world to himself. May we walk this day in the way of the cross and always be ready to share its weight, declaring your love for all the world.
Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God forever.
The night has passed, and the day lies open before us; let us pray with one heart and mind.
Silence is kept.
As we rejoice in the gift of this new day, so may the light of your presence, O God, set our hearts on fire with love for you; now and forever.
Amen.
Hymn
I Must Tell Jesus
Words and Music: Elisha A. Hoffman (1839-1929)
Our Great Redeemer’s Praise (#383)
I must tell Jesus all of my trials;
I cannot bear these burdens alone;
In my distress He kindly will help me;
He ever loves and cares for His own.
Refrain:
I must tell Jesus!
I must tell Jesus!
I cannot bear my burdens alone;
I must tell Jesus!
I must tell Jesus!
Jesus can help me, Jesus alone.
I must tell Jesus all of my troubles;
He is a kind, compassionate friend;
If I but ask Him, He will deliver,
Make of my troubles quickly an end. [Refrain]
Tempted and tried, I need a great Savior,
One who can help my burdens to bear;
I must tell Jesus, I must tell Jesus;
He all my cares and sorrows will share. [Refrain]
O how the world to evil allures me!
O how my heart is tempted to sin!
I must tell Jesus, and He will help me
Over the world the vict'ry to win. [Refrain]
Confession of Sin
Let us admit to God the sin which always confronts us.
A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.
Almighty God, patient and of great goodness: I confess to you, I confess with my whole heart my neglect and forgetfulness of your commandments, my wrong doing, thinking, and speaking; the hurts I have done to others, and the good I have left undone. O God, forgive me, for I have sinned against you; and raise me to newness of life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
May the God of love and power forgive us and free us from our sins, heal and strengthen us by his Spirit, and raise us to new life in Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Psalm 27
𝙍: The LORD is my light and my salvation.
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the strength of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
When the wicked came against me
to devour my flesh —
my enemies and my foes—
they stumbled and fell.
Though an army may encamp against me,
my heart will not fear;
though war may rise against me,
yet I will be confident.
One thing have I asked of the LORD,
that will I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the LORD,
and to inquire in His temple.
For in the time of trouble
He will hide me in His pavilion;
in the shelter of His tabernacle He will hide me;
He will set me high upon a rock.
Now my head will be lifted up
above my enemies all around me;
therefore will I offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD.
𝙍: The LORD is my light and my salvation.
Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice!
Be gracious to me and answer me!
When You said, “Seek My face,”
my heart said to You, “Your face, LORD, will I seek.”
Do not hide Your face from me;
do not turn thrust Your servant away in anger;
You have been my help.
Do not leave me nor forsake me,
O God of my salvation.
If my father and my mother forsake me,
then the LORD will take me in.
Teach me Your way, O LORD,
and lead me on a level path,
because of my enemies.
Do not deliver me to the will of my enemies;
for false witnesses have risen against me,
and they breathe out violence.
I believe
that I will see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait on the LORD;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait on the LORD.
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be forever. Amen.
𝙍: The LORD is my light and my salvation.
Psalm prayer
God, our light and our salvation, illuminate our lives, that we may see your goodness in the land of the living, and, looking on your beauty, may be changed into the likeness of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Lamentations 3:1-18
I am the man who has seen affliction
by the rod of His wrath.
He has driven and brought me
into darkness without any light.
Surely against me has He turned His hand
continually, the whole day long.
My flesh and my skin He has made waste away;
He has broken my bones;
He has besieged and enveloped me
with gall and travail.
He has set me in dark places,
like the dead of long ago.
He has hedged me in so that I cannot get out;
He has made my chain heavy.
Even when I cry for help,
He shuts out my prayer.
He has blocked my ways with hewn stone;
He has made my paths crooked.
He is to me a bear lying in wait,
a lion in hiding.
He has turned aside my ways and torn me in pieces;
He has made me desolate.
He has bent His bow
and set me as a target for the arrow.
He has caused the arrows of His quiver
to pierce my inward parts.
I have become the derision of all my people,
their mocking song all the day.
He has filled me with bitterness,
He has sated me with wormwood.
He has made my teeth grind on gravel,
and covered me with ashes.
My soul is bereft of peace;
I have forgotten prosperity.
So I say, “My strength and my hope
from the LORD have perished.”
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Luke 22:24-53
There was also rivalry among them concerning which of them was to be counted the greatest. He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called benefactors. But you are not so. Instead, let him who is greatest among you be as the younger, and he who rules as he who serves. For who is greater: he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? But I am among you as He who serves. You are those who have continued with Me in My trials. And I appoint to you a kingdom as My Father has appointed one to Me, so that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
Then the Lord said, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded to have you to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have repented, strengthen your brothers.”
He said to Him, “Lord, I am ready to go with You to prison and to death.”
He said, “I tell you, Peter, before the cock crows today, you will deny three times that you know Me.”
Then He said to them, “When I sent you without bag or pouch or sandals, did you lack anything?”
They said, “Nothing.”
He said to them, “But now, let him who has a bag take it and also a pouch. And let him who has no sword sell his garment and buy one. For I tell you, what is written must yet be accomplished in Me, ‘And He was numbered with the transgressors.’ Indeed, what is written concerning Me has a fulfillment.”
They said, “Lord, look, here are two swords.”
He said to them, “It is enough.”
According to His custom, He came out and went to the Mount of Olives. And His disciples followed Him. When He came there, He said to them, “Pray that you may not fall into temptation.” He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me. Nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. And being in anguish, He prayed more earnestly. And His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
When He rose from prayer and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow. He said to them, “Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you fall into temptation.”
While He was yet speaking, a crowd came. And he who was called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He drew near to Jesus to kiss Him. But Jesus said to him, “Judas, do you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?”
When those who were around Him saw what would follow, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear.
But Jesus said, “This is enough!” And He touched his ear and healed him.
Then Jesus said to the chief priests, and captains of the temple guard, and the elders who had come for Him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs as against a rebel? Daily, while I was with you in the temple, you did not lay hands on Me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness!”
Silence may be kept.
The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)
Luke 1:68-79
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for He has visited and redeemed His people,
and has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of His servant David,
as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets of long ago,
that we should be saved from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us,
to perform the mercy promised to our fathers
and to remember His holy covenant,
the oath which He swore to our father Abraham,
to grant us that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies,
might serve Him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our lives.
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest;
for you will go before the presence of the Lord to prepare His ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to His people
by the remission of their sins,
through the tender mercy of our God,
whereby the sunrise from on high has visited us;
to give light to those who sit in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be forever. Amen.
Brief silence.
The Apostle’s Creed
Let us unite in this historic confession of the Christian faith:
I believe in God,
the Father Almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ,
his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He 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,
and is seated at the
right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge
the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen.
Intercession and thanksgiving
Prayers may be offered for:
the day and its tasks
the world and its needs
the church and her life
Prayers may include the following concerns:
The persecuted church
The oppressed peoples of the world
All who are lonely
All who are near to death
All who are facing loss
Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.
Response
Loving God, we look to you.
Receive our prayer.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Most merciful God, who by the death and resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ delivered and saved the world: grant that by faith in him who suffered on the cross we may triumph in the power of his victory; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Standing at the foot of the cross, as our Savior taught us, so we pray
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. Amen.
Conclusion
May Christ, who bore our sins on the cross, set us free to serve him with joy.
Amen.