Invocation
P	In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C	Amen.

Versicles
In the morning, O Lord, You hear my voice;
in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for You and watch.

My mouth is filled with Your praise,
and with Your glory all the day.

O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare Your praise.

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.

Introit	Psalm 42:3, 9–10; antiphon: vv. 5–6a
5Why am I so discouraged, and why am I in such turmoil? 6I must look to God for help,
and praise Him Who is my Saviour and my God.
3My tears have been my food day and night
because I'm asked all day long, “Where is your God?”.
9I will ask God, “My Rock, why did You forget me? Why must I go mourning while the enemy oppresses me?” 10My enemies insult me — it's a crushing of my bones —by asking me all day long, "Where is your God?"
5Why am I so discouraged, and why am I in such turmoil? 6I must look to God for help,
and praise Him Who is my Saviour and my God.

The Lessons	Isaiah 49:1–7
The Servant of the Lord
49 Listen to Me, you lands by the sea; pay attention, you people far away. When I was still in the womb, the LORD called Me. Before My mother gave birth to Me, He pronounced My name. 2He made My mouth like a sharp sword and hid Me in the shadow of His hand. He made Me a polished arrow and hid Me in His quiver. 3He said to Me: “You are My Servant to Israel; through You I will show My glory.” 4But I said: "I have worked in vain. I have spent My strength uselessly and for nothing. But surely the LORD is ready to do what is right for Me, and God is ready to reward Me.” 5And now says the LORD, Who formed Me in the womb to be His Servant, to bring Jacob back to Him and to gather Israel to Him - the LORD treated Me with honor, and My God has become My Strength — 6He says: “It is not enough that You're My Servant to raise the tribes of Jacob and bring back those in Israel who have been preserved - I have also made You a Light for the nations that My salvation might reach to the most distant parts of the world.” 7The LORD, Who redeems Israel and is his Holy One, says to Him Whom people despise and nations abhor, bu to the Slave of tyrants: “When kings see You, they will get up, and princes will bow down because the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, is faithful. And He chose You.” The LORD says: "When the time comes to be kind, I will answer.

Christ the Wisdom and Power of God 1 Corinthians 1:18–31
18The message of the cross is something foolish to those who perish, but it is God's power to us who are saved. 19The Bible says: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and defeat the intelligence of the intelligent.” 20 Where is the wise man? Where is the Bible scholar? Where is the debater of our time? Hasn't God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21Since by God's wisdom the world by its wisdomi didn't get to know God, God decided to use the foolishness of our preaching to save those who believe. 22Now that Jews ask for miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23we preach a crucified Christ. The Jews stumble over Him, the Greeks think He's something foolish, 24but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, He is Christ, God's power and God's wisdom. 25God's foolishness is wiser than men's wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than men's strength.
26You see what happened, fellow Christians, when God called you. Not many of you are wise as the world judges, not many in positions of power, not many born of noble parents. 27No, God chose the foolish things in the world to make wise men ashamed. God chose the weak things in the world to make strong men ashamed. 28God chose the lowly things in the world, what it despises, what is nothing, to make what is something nothing 29and to keep anyone from bragging before God. 30He gave you your life in Christ Jesus, Whom God made our wisdom, righteousness, holiness, and ransom from sin, 31so that it may be as the Bible says: “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
The Gospel	John 12:23–50
23Jesus answered them, “The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24Surely, I tell you, if a kernel of wheat doesn't fall into the ground and die, it will be just one kernel. But if it dies, it produces much grain. 25Love your life and lose it, but hate your life in this world, and you will keep it for an everlasting life. 26If you serve Me, follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be. If you serve Me, the Father will honor you.
27“I am deeply troubled now. But what should I say? Father, save Me from what is going to happen? No! I came to suffer this now. 28Father, glorify Your name.”
Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified My name and will glorify it again.”
29The crowd, which stood there and heard it, said it had thundered. Others said, “An angel talked to Him.” 30Jesus explained: “That voice did not come for My benefit but for yours.
31“Now this world is being judged: now the ruler of this world will be thrown out. 32And once I have been lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to Me." 33He said this to indicate how He was going to die.
34Then the crowd answered Him. “We've heard from the Bible the Christ remains forever. How, then, can You say the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?”
35“The Light will be with you just a little longer.” Jesus answered them. “Walk while you have the Light, or darkness will overtake you. If you walk in the dark, you don't know where you're going. 36While you have the Light, believe in the Light in order to become enlightened people.”
After Jesus had said this, He went away and hid from them.
37Although they had seen Him do so many miracles, they wouldn't believe in Him – 38what the prophet Isaiah said had to come true: "Lord, who has believed what we preach? And to whom has the Lord's arm been uncovered?" 39 And so they couldn't believe, because Isaiah also said:
40“He blinded their eyes and dulled their hearts, so that their eyes don't see, their hearts don't understand,
and they don't turn and let Me heal them." : 41Isaiah said this because he saw His glory and spoke of Him. 42And yet even many of the rulers believed in Him but wouldn't say so publicly, because the Pharisees would have put them out of the synagogue. 43Yes, they loved to be praised by men more than God. 44Then Jesus called out, “If you believe in Me, you don't believe only in Me but in Him Who sent Me. 45And if you see Me, you see Him Who sent Me. 46I have come as a light into the world so that anyone who believes in Me will not have to stay in the dark. 47If anyone hears My words but doesn't keep them, I don't condemn him, because I didn't come to condemn the world but to save the world. 48If anyone rejects Me and doesn't take to heart what I say, he has one that is condemning him. The Word that I spoke will condemn him on the last day, 49because what I said didn't come from Me, but the Father Who sent Me ordered Me to say and tell it. 50I know what He orders is everlasting life. And so, whatever I say, I say it just as the Father told Me.”

425 When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

Text and tune: Public domain

Sermon

Apostles’ Creed
C	I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
     maker of heaven and earth.

And 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 sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
     From thence 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 T everlasting. Amen.

Litany (Lent)
L	In peace let us pray to the Lord:
C	Lord, have mercy.
L	For the peace from above and for our salvation, let us pray to the Lord:
C	Lord, have mercy.
L	For the peace of the whole world, for the well-being of the Church of God, and for the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord:
C	Lord, have mercy.
L	For this holy house and for all who offer here their worship and praise, let us pray to the Lord:
C	Lord, have mercy.
L	For [names of synodical and district presidents], for all pastors in Christ, for all servants of the Church, and for all the people, let us pray to the Lord:
C	Lord, have mercy.
L	For [name of president or monarch], for all public servants, for the government and those who protect us, that they may be upheld and strengthened in every good deed, let us pray to the Lord:
C	Lord, have mercy.
L	For those who work to bring peace, justice, health, and protection in this and every place, let us pray to the Lord:
C	Lord, have mercy.
L	For those who bring offerings, those who do good works in this congregation, those who toil, those who sing, and all the people here present who await from the Lord great and abundant mercy, let us pray to the Lord:
C	Lord, have mercy.
L	For favorable weather, for an abundance of the fruits of the earth, and for peaceful times, let us pray to the Lord:
C	Lord, have mercy.
L	For our deliverance from all affliction, wrath, danger, and need, let us pray to the Lord:
C	Lord, have mercy.
L	For . . . [additional bids for prayer may be inserted here] . . . let us pray to the Lord:
C	Lord, have mercy.
 
The prayers then continue:
 
L	For the faithful who have gone before us and are with Christ, let us give thanks to the Lord:
C	Thanks be to God.
 
L	Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord.
 
Silence for individual prayer may follow.
 
L	Rejoicing in the fellowship of the saints, let us commend ourselves, one another, and our whole life to Christ, our Lord:
C	To You, O Lord.

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.

Collect of the Day

L	Let us pray.

	Almighty and everlasting God, grant us by Your grace so to pass through this holy time of our Lord’s passion that we may obtain the forgiveness of our sins; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C	Amen.

	Almighty and everlasting God, grant us by Your grace so to pass through this holy time of our Lord’s passion that we may obtain the forgiveness of our sins; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C	Amen.

Almighty and everlasting God, grant us by Your grace so to pass through this holy time of our Lord’s passion that we may obtain the forgiveness of our sins; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C	Amen.

Morning
C	I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me.

Benedicamus	LSB 284
L	Let us bless the Lord.
C	Thanks be to God.

Blessing
L	The Lord bless us, defend us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life.
C	Amen.

Acknowledgments
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the AAT An American Translation All rights reserved.
Created by Lutheran Service Builder © 2018 Concordia Publishing House.