Second Sunday in Lent February 28, 2021

Today’s Theme for Worship: Jesus is the only way to heaven. He is our only link with the Father.

Special Music The Lord is My Salvation

P: The grace of our Lord + Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you.

C: And also with you.

Confession of Sins

P: We have come into the presence of God, who created us to love and serve him as his dear children. But we have disobeyed him and deserve only his wrath and punishment. Therefore, let us confess our sins to him and plead for his mercy.

C: Merciful Father in heaven, I am altogether sinful from birth. In countless ways I have sinned against you and do not deserve to be called your child. But trusting in Jesus, my Savior, I pray: have mercy on me according to your unfailing love. Cleanse me from my sin, and take away my guilt.

P: God, our heavenly Father, has forgiven all your sins. By the perfect life and innocent death of our Lord Jesus Christ, he has removed your guilt forever. You are his own dear child. May God give you strength to live according to his will.

C: Amen.

P: In the peace of forgiveness, let us praise the Lord.

♬ Oh Taste And See

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good.

Bless-ed are they who take re-fuge in him.

Your Word, O Lord, is e-ter-nal;

it stands firm in the heav-ens.

Your faith-ful-ness con-tin-ues for-ev-er.

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good.

Bless-ed are they who take re-fuge in him.

Prayer of the Day

P: Let us Pray.

Almighty God, you see that we have no power to defend ourselves. Guard and keep us both outwardly and inwardly from all adversities that may happen to the body and from all evil thoughts that may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. C: ♬ Amen.

First Lesson: Genesis 28:10-17

Jacob is reassured of his part in the Messianic line, and of the LORD’s guidance in his life.

¹⁰Jacob set out from Beersheba and traveled toward Haran. ¹¹He came to a certain place and decided to spend the night there, because the sun had set. He took one of the stones from that place, put it under his head, and lay down to sleep in that place. ¹²He had a dream in which he saw a stairway set up on the earth with its top reaching to heaven. There were angels of God ascending and descending on it. ¹³There at the top stood the Lord, who said, “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. The land on which you are lying, I give to you and to your descendants. ¹⁴Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south. In you and in your seed all the families of the earth will be blessed. ¹⁵Now, I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back again into this land. Indeed, I will not leave you, until I have done what I have promised to you.”

¹⁶Jacob woke up from his sleep, and he said, “Certainly the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” ¹⁷He was afraid and he said, “How awe-inspiring is this place! This is nothing other than the house of God, and this is the gate to heaven.”

Psalm of the Day – Psalm 73

Refrain

Surely, it is God who saves me;

I will trust in him and not be afraid.

For the Lord is my stronghold and my sure defense,

and he will be my Savior.

I am always with you, O LORD;*

you hold me by my right hand.

You guide me with your counsel,*

and afterward you will take me into glory.

Whom have I in heaven but you?*

And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

My flesh and my heart may fail,*

but God is the strength of my heart

and my portion forever.

Glory be 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.

Refrain

Surely, it is God who saves me;

I will trust in him and not be afraid.

For the Lord is my stronghold and my sure defense,

and he will be my Savior.

Refrain Tune: Jack Noble White. © 1976 Belwin-Mills Publishing Corp., (admin. Alfred Publishing Co.). All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Second Lesson: Romans 5:1-11
Jesus’ redemptive work links us with God. We rejoice in the hope he won for us.

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. ²Through him we also have obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand. And we rejoice confidently on the basis of our hope for the glory of God.

³Not only this, but we also rejoice confidently in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces patient endurance, ⁴and patient endurance produces tested character, and tested character produces hope. ⁵And hope will not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who was given to us.

⁶For at the appointed time, while we were still helpless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷It is rare indeed that someone will die for a righteous person. Perhaps someone might actually go so far as to die for a person who has been good to him. ⁸But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

⁹Therefore, since we have now been justified by his blood, it is even more certain that we will be saved from God’s wrath through him. ¹⁰For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, it is even more certain that, since we have been reconciled, we will be saved by his life. ¹¹And not only is this so, but we also go on rejoicing confidently in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received this reconciliation.

Verse
M: Jesus humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross.

Gospel: Mark 8:31-38

Jesus instructs his followers about his suffering, death, and resurrection.

³¹Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things; be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the experts in the law; be killed; and after three days rise again. ³²He was speaking plainly to them. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ³³But after turning around and looking at his disciples, Jesus rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! You do not have your mind set on the things of God, but the things of men.”

³⁴He called the crowd and his disciples together and said to them, “If anyone wants to follow me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. ³⁵For whoever wants to save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. ³⁶After all, what good is it for a man to gain the whole world and yet forfeit his soul? ³⁷Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? ³⁸In fact, whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
C: ♬ Praise be to you, O Christ!

Hymn of the Day: 434 Lord, You I Love with All My Heart

1 Lord, you I love with all my heart; I pray you ne’er from me depart;

With tender mercies cheer me.

Earth has no pleasure I would share; Heaven itself were void and bare

If you, Lord, were not near me.

And should my heart for sorrow break, My trust in you no one could shake.

You are the treasure I have sought; Your precious blood my soul has bought.

Lord Jesus Christ, My God and Lord, my God and Lord,

Forsake me not! I trust your Word.

2 Lord God, ’twas your rich bounty gave My body, soul, and all I have

In this poor life of labor.

Lord, grant that I in ev’ry place May glorify your lavish grace

And serve and help my neighbor.

Let no false doctrine me beguile; Let Satan not my soul defile.

Give strength and patience unto me To bear my crosses willingly.

Lord Jesus Christ, My God and Lord, my God and Lord,

Forsake me not! I trust your Word.

3 Lord, let at last your angels come; To Abram’s bosom bear me home

That I may die unfearing.

And in its narrow chamber keep My body safe in peaceful sleep

Until your reappearing.

And then from death awaken me That my own eyes with joy may see,

O Son of God, your glorious face, My Savior and my Fount of grace.

Lord Jesus Christ, My prayer attend, my prayer attend,

And I will praise you without end.

Text: Martin M. Schalling, 1532-1608; tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827-78, alt.

Sermon

Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his 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 into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Offering Prayer

Electronic Giving! You can give your offerings from your smartphone with the GivePlusChurch app, which can be downloaded for free at Google Play or the App Store. You can also give at holytrinitylutheranwyoming.com by clicking the Offerings link at the top of the page or scan the QR code below. If you have any questions about any of these options, please contact Dave Conrad at dconrad765@gmail.com or 616-406-7172

Prayer of the Church

Lord’s Prayer

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.

Hymn: 347 Jesus! And Shall It Ever Be

1 Jesus! and shall it ever be A mortal man ashamed of thee?

Ashamed of thee, whom angels praise, Whose glories shine through endless days?

2 Ashamed of Jesus? Just as soon Let midnight be ashamed of noon.

’Tis midnight with my soul till he, Bright Morning Star, bids darkness flee.

3 Ashamed of Jesus, that dear friend On whom my hopes of heav’n depend?

No; when I blush, be this my shame, That I no more revere his name.

4 Ashamed of Jesus? Yes, I may when I’ve no guilt to wash away,

No tear to wipe, no good to crave, No fear to quell, no soul to save.

5 Till then-nor is my boasting vain-Till then I boast a Savior slain;

And oh, may this my glory be: That Christ is not ashamed of me.

Text: Joseph Grigg, c. 1722-68, abr.; altered by Benjamin Francis, 1734-99.

Prayer and Blessing

P: O Lord God, our heavenly Father, pour out the Holy Spirit on your faithful people. Keep us strong in your grace and truth, protect and comfort us in all temptation, and bestow on us your saving peace, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

or

P: Almighty God, we thank you for teaching us the things you want us to believe and do. Help us by your Holy Spirit to keep your Word in pure hearts that we may be strengthened in faith, guided in holiness, and comforted in life and in death, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C: ♬ A-men.

P: Brothers and sisters, go in peace. Live in harmony with one another. Serve the Lord with gladness.

The Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you.

The Lord look on you with favor and + give you peace.

C: ♬ A-men, A-men, A-men

Closing Hymn: 366 O Jesus So Sweet, O Jesus So Mild

1 O Jesus so sweet, O Jesus so mild!

For sinners you became a child.

You came from heaven to fulfill

Your Father’s just and holy will.

O Jesus so sweet, O Jesus so mild!

2 O Jesus so sweet, O Jesus so mild!

With God we now are reconciled.

You have for all the ransom paid,

Your Father’s righteous anger stayed.

O Jesus so sweet, O Jesus so mild!

3 O Jesus so sweet, O Jesus so mild!

Joy fills the world which sin defiled.

Whate’er we have belongs to you;

Oh, keep us faithful, strong, and true.

O Jesus so sweet, O Jesus so mild!

Text: Valentin Thilo, 1607-62, abr.; tr. Frieda Pietsch, alt.