The Fourth Sunday in Lent

March 30, 2025 8:00 AM

Prelude: Adagio in G Minor - Tomaso Albinoni

Opening Welcome & Announcements

Processional Hymn: #141 Wilt thou forgive that sin

Penitential Order for Lent

Bless the Lord Who forgives all our sins; 
His mercy endures forever.

Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. 

The Confession

Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.

Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us;
that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your Name. Amen.

Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life. Amen.

S-102 Trisagion

Collect of the Day

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray.

Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world: Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The Word Of God

Old Testament Lesson:  Joshua 5:9-12

The Lord said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away from you the disgrace of Egypt." And so that place is called Gilgal to this day.

While the Israelites were camped in Gilgal they kept the passover in the evening on the fourteenth day of the month in the plains of Jericho. On the day after the passover, on that very day, they ate the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. The manna ceased on the day they ate the produce of the land, and the Israelites no longer had manna; they ate the crops of the land of Canaan that year.

Reader: The Word of the Lord. People: Thanks be to God.

Psalm  32

1 Happy are they whose transgressions are forgiven, *

and whose sin is put away!

2 Happy are they to whom the Lord imputes no guilt, *

and in whose spirit there is no guile!

3 While I held my tongue, my bones withered away, *

because of my groaning all day long.

4 For your hand was heavy upon me day and night; *

my moisture was dried up as in the heat of summer.

5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you, *

and did not conceal my guilt.

6 I said," I will confess my transgressions to the Lord." *

Then you forgave me the guilt of my sin.

7 Therefore all the faithful will make their prayers to you in time of trouble; *

when the great waters overflow, they shall not reach them.

8 You are my hiding-place; you preserve me from trouble; *

you surround me with shouts of deliverance.

9 "I will instruct you and teach you in the way that you should go; *

I will guide you with my eye.

10 Do not be like horse or mule, which have no understanding; *

who must be fitted with bit and bridle, or else they will not stay near you."

11 Great are the tribulations of the wicked; *

but mercy embraces those who trust in the Lord.

12 Be glad, you righteous, and rejoice in the Lord; *

shout for joy, all who are true of heart.

New Testament Lesson:  2 Corinthians 5:16-21

From now on, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Reader: The Word of the Lord. People: Thanks be to God.

Sequence Hymn:  #469 There’s a wideness in God’s mercy

The Gospel: Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Gospeller: The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.
People: Glory to you, Lord Christ.

All the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to Jesus. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them."

So Jesus told them this parable:

"There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.' So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, 'How many of my father's hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands."' So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his slaves, 'Quickly, bring out a robe--the best one--and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!' And they began to celebrate.

"Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, 'Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.' Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, 'Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!' Then the father said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.'"

Gospeller: The Gospel of the Lord. People: Praise to you, Lord Christ.

The Homily: The Rev’d Terry McGugan

The Nicene Creed

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: 
by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures;  he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.

We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.
Amen.

Prayers of the people

In peace, let us pray to the Lord, saying "Lord, have mercy."

For the holy Church of God, that it may be filled with truth and love, and be found without fault at the day of your
coming, we pray to you, O Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For Sean, our Presiding Bishop, for Kym, our own Bishop, for all bishops and other ministers, and for all the holy people of God, we pray to you, O Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For all who fear God and believe in you, Lord Christ, that our divisions may cease, and that all may be one as you and the Father are one, we pray to you, O Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For the mission of the Church, that in faithful witness it may preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth, we pray to you, O Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For the peace of the world, that a spirit of respect and forbearance may grow among nations and peoples, we pray
to you, O Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For those in positions of public trust that they may serve justice, and promote the dignity and freedom of every person, we pray to you, O Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For the poor, the persecuted, the sick, and all who suffer; for refugees, prisoners, and all who are in danger; that they may be relieved and protected, we pray to you, O Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For this congregation that we may be delivered from hardness of heart, and show forth your glory in all that we do, we pray to you, O Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For all who have commended themselves to our prayers; for our families, friends, and neighbors; that being freed from anxiety, they may live in joy, peace, and health, we pray to you, O Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For all who have died in the communion of your Church, and those whose faith is known to you alone, that, with all the saints, they may have rest in that place where there is no pain or grief, but life eternal, we pray to you, O Lord. Lord, have mercy.

Rejoicing in the fellowship of all the saints, let us commend ourselves, and one another, and all our life to Christ our God.
To you, O Lord our God.

For yours is the majesty, O Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, now and
for ever. Amen.

The Holy Communion

The Peace

Offertory Sentence

Offertory Music: Thou Knowest, Lord, the Secrets of Our Hearts - H. Purcell

Thou knowest, Lord, the secrets of our hearts; shut not thy merciful ears unto our prayers;
but spare us, Lord most holy, O God most mighty, O holy and most merciful Saviour, thou most worthy judge eternal,
suffer us not at our last hour, for any pains of death, to fall from thee. Amen

The Great Thanksgiving

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.

It is right, and a good and joyful thing, always and everywhere to give thanks to you, Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. Through Jesus Christ our Lord; who was tempted in every way as we are, yet did not sin. By his grace we are able to triumph over every evil, and to live no longer for ourselves alone, but for him who died for us and rose again. Therefore we praise you, joining our voices with Angels and Archangels and with all the company of heaven, who for ever sing this hymn to proclaim the glory of your Name:

We give thanks to you, O God, for the goodness and love which you have made known to us in creation; in the calling of Israel to be your people; in your Word spoken through the prophets; and above all in the Word made flesh, Jesus, your Son. For in these last days you sent him to be incarnate from the Virgin Mary, to be the Savior and Redeemer of the world. In him, you have delivered us from evil, and made us worthy to stand before you. In him, you have brought us out of error into truth, out of sin into righteousness, out of death into life.

On the night before he died for us, our Lord Jesus Christ took bread; and when he had given thanks to you, he broke it, and gave it to his disciples, and said, "Take, eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me."

After supper he took the cup of wine; and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and said, "Drink this, all of you: This is my Blood of the new Covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me."

Therefore, according to his command, O Father,
We remember his death, We proclaim his resurrection, We await his coming in glory;

And we offer our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving to you, O Lord of all; presenting to you, from your creation, this bread and this wine.

We pray you, gracious God, to send your Holy Spirit upon these gifts that they may be the Sacrament of the Body of Christ and his Blood of the new Covenant. Unite us to your Son in his sacrifice, that we may be acceptable through him, being sanctified by the Holy Spirit. In the fullness of time, put all things in subjection under your Christ, and bring us to that heavenly country where, with [___ and] all your saints, we may enter the everlasting heritage of your sons and daughters; through Jesus Christ our Lord, the firstborn of all creation, the head of the Church, and the author of our salvation.

By him, and with him, and in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor and glory is yours, Almighty Father, now and for ever. AMEN.

And now, as our Savior Christ has taught us, we are bold to say,

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, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Breaking of the Bread

Celebrant breaks Bread; silence is kept.

Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us; Therefore let us keep the feast.

Fraction Anthem: S-161 Agnus Dei

Invitation to Communion

The Gifts of God for the People of God. Take them in remembrance that Christ died for you and feed on him in your hearts by faith, with thanksgiving.

Communion Music

From Deepest Woe I Cry to Thee - Martin Luther

Post-Communion Prayer

Let us pray.

Almighty and everliving God, we thank you for feeding us with the spiritual food of the most precious Body and Blood of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; and for assuring us in these holy mysteries that we are living members of the Body of your Son, and heirs of your eternal kingdom. And now, Father, send us out to do the work you have given us to do, to love and serve you as faithful witnesses of Christ our Lord. To him, to you, and to the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen

Sending Forth of the Eucharistic Visitors

Will the Lay Eucharistic Visitors please come forward.

In the name of this congregation, we send you forth bearing these holy gifts, that those to whom you go may share with us in the communion of Christ’s Body and Blood. 

We who are many are one body, for we all share one bread, one cup.

Solemn Prayer

Let us bow our hearts before the Lord.

Grant, Almighty God, that your people may recognize their weakness and put their whole trust in your strength, so that they may rejoice forever in the protection of your loving providence; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Recessional Hymn: #686 Come, thou fount of every blessing

Dismissal & Closing Announcements

Postlude: We Thank You Christ, You Died for Us - J.S. Bach

Musicians for Today’s Service

Denise Lanning, Guest Organist
Sarah Kanyok, cantor