The Crucial Hours – The Meal of our Lord which Unites Us! –  MAUNDY THRUSDAY – April 6, 2023

ZION EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH – LCMS  700 Main St.  P.O. Box 220   Clyman, WI  53016

Pastor Dan 1-(920)-341-2025 – shepherdatzion@gmail.com

Ringing of the Bell and Welcome

 Zions Bell Choir – “Ah, Holy Jesus”

Hymn  “Jesus, Thy Blood and Righteousness”      LSB 563

 Invocation – In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Opening Sentences and Call to Worship – I will go to the Altar of the Lord.  To my God and Father, who is my exceedingly great joy.  Our help is in the name of the Lord.  Who made heaven and earth.  Christ entered the most Holy place once for all.  He did it through His own blood and obtained eternal redemption.  Through His blood shed and body broken, He is the mediator of a new covenant.  He provided redemption for His people, and put in place His covenant forever.  Whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim your Lord’s death until He returns in His full power and glory.  He will judge the hearts of all people, but because of the faith He has given to us and sustains in us through the work of the Holy Spirit, we will be judged innocent and welcomed into heaven for all eternity.

 Confession and Absolution – Let us now confess our sin and ask God our heavenly Father to grant us forgiveness, for the sake of His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

All: O Almighty God, merciful Father, I, a poor miserable sinner, confess unto You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You, and justly deserved Your temporal and eternal punishment.  But I am heartily sorry for them, and sincerely repent of them, and I pray You of Your boundless mercy, and for the sake of the Holy, innocent, bitter, sufferings and death, of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor sinful being.  Amen

God be merciful to you and strengthen your faith by and through God the Holy Spirit.  Amen

Do you believe that the forgiveness I proclaim to you, is not my forgiveness, but God your heavenly Father’s forgiveness given to you through His Son Jesus Christ?

Yes, I do so believe.

Let it be done for you as you believe.  In the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ, I forgive you all your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit, soul, and body, be kept blameless until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it.  God in peace.

Amen and Amen, so shall it be, let it be so.  Amen.

“I will remember My covenant, which is between you and every living creature.  Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as wool…, thus says the Lord”  “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us…”

Choir “God So Loved the World”

 Psalm 116:12-19  antiphon vs1-2

I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy.  Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.

Pulpit: How can I repay the Lord for all his goodness to me?

Lectern: I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.
I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people.  O Lord, truly I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant; you have freed me from my chains.
Pulpit: I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the Lord.
Lectern: I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people,
Pulpit: in the courts of the house of the LORD

Lectern: in your midst, O Jerusalem. Praise the LORD.

I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy.  Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.

Prayer of the Day – O Lord Jesus Christ, since You have left us a memorial of Your passion in Your grace filled sacrament, grant we pray, that we may use Your sacrament of Your body and blood in a way, that the fruits of Your redeeming work may be seen in all that we do and say.  You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen

Old Testament Lesson   Exodus 24:3-8 –  When Moses went and told the people all the Lord’s words and laws, they responded with one voice, “Everything the Lord has said we will do.”  Moses then wrote down everything the Lord had said.  He got up early the next morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel.  Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the Lord.  Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he sprinkled on the altar.  Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, “We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey.”  Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

Epistle Lesson  1 Corinthians 11:23-29 –  For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.”  In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”  For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.  Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.  A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.  For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.

 Gradual – Christ entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, and has obtained eternal redemption.  He is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who repent, can receive the forgiveness of their heavenly Father.  He provided redemption for His people.  He has made possible, His covenant of forgiveness and life forever.

 Gospel Readings –  Matthew 26:19-30   –  So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.  When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve.  And while they were eating, he said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me.”  They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely not I, Lord?”  Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me.  The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him.  But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”  Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely not I, Rabbi?”  Jesus answered, “Yes, it is you.”  While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”  Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you.  This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.  I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father’s kingdom.”  When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Luke 22:14-23 – When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table.  And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.  For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”    After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you.  For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”  And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”  In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.  But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table.  The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed, but woe to that man who betrays him.”  They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this.

Nicene Creed – I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible.  And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of His Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made; who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried. And the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures and ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father. And He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead, whose kingdom will have no end.   And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets. And I believe in one holy Christian and apostolic Church, I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins, and I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life X of the world to come.    Amen.

 Hymn “Lord, Jesus Christ, You Have Prepared” LSB 622

Sermon

Prayers of the Church

The 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.

We Gather our Tithes and Offerings

Service of the Sacrament

Preface   2 Timothy 4:22 – The Lord be with you.  And also with you.  Lift up your hearts.  We lift them to the Lord.  Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.   It is right to give Him thanks and praise.

The Words of Our Lord – Consecration of the Elements

 Pax Domini – The peace of the Lord be with you always.   And also with you.  Amen

 We Celebrate our Lord’s Supper

Distribution Hymns: “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence”  LSB 621   “My Hope is Built on…”   LSB 575           “Draw Near and Take the Body of the Lord”         LSB 637

 Post-Communion Thanksgiving – O God the Father, the fountain and source of all goodness, who in loving kindness sent Your only-begotten Son into the flesh, we than You that for His sake You have given us pardon and peace in this Sacrament, and we ask You not to forsake Your children but always to rule our hearts and minds by Your Holy Spirit that we may be enabled constantly to serve You; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen

Benediction

 Choir “Throned Upon the Awful Tree”

 The Stripping of the Altar – The Altar is covered with symbols of our faith.  Each is placed with purpose and care.  They are signs of a faith which is alive.  Tonight, we remember that Christ was betrayed, arrested, falsely accused and sentenced unjustly to death.  Tomorrow we observe Good Friday, the day our Lord died and gave His life for the sins of the world.  Our sins!  It is not right that the altar, our symbol of God’s presence in this house of worship, be unaffected by His death.  We therefore symbolically strip it of its life, as was our Lord.

As the Altar is being stripped we sing:  Hymn:  “Go to Dark Gethsemane”                     LSB 436       

***Please leave in silence to return at 1pm tomorrow to join your brothers and sisters in Christ, at His Cross***