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PRELUDE 

WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS 

RINGING OF THE BELL 

Please rise as you are able. 

CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS 

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. 

God of all mercy and consolation, come to the help of your people, turning us from our sin to live for you alone. Give us the power of your Holy Spirit that we may confess our sin, receive your forgiveness, and grow into the fullness of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen. 

Silence is kept for reflection. 

Let us confess our sin in the presence of God and one another. 

Most merciful God, we confess that we are captive to sin and cannot free ourselves. 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. For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy name. Amen. 

God, who is rich in mercy, loved us even when we were dead in sin, and made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved. In the name of Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven. Almighty God strengthen you with power through the Holy Spirit, that Christ may live in your hearts through faith. Amen. 

GATHERING HYMN “Blessed Assurance” Hymn #638 

GREETING 

The grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. 

And also with you. 

HYMN OF PRAISE 

PRAYER OF THE DAY 

Let us pray: Creator God, you prepare a new way in the wilderness, and your grace waters our desert. Open our hearts to be transformed by the new thing you are doing, that our lives may proclaim the extravagance of your love given to all through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen 

Please be seated 

WORD 

FIRST READING Isaiah 43:16-21 

The prophet declares that long ago God performed mighty deeds and delivered Israel from Egyptian bondage through the waters of the sea. Now, God is about to do a new thing, bringing the exiles out of Babylon and through the wilderness in a new Exodus. 

16 Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, 17 who brings out chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick: 18 Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. 19 I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. 20 The wild animals will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches; for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, 21 the people whom I formed for myself so that they might declare my praise. 

The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. 

PSALM Psalm 126 

Refrain 

1 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, then were we like those who 

dream. 2 Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy. Then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” 3 The Lord has done great things for us, and we are glad indeed. 4 Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like the watercourses of the Negeb. 

Refrain 

5 Those who sowed with tears will reap with songs of joy. 6 Those who go out weeping, carrying the seed, will come again with joy, 

shouldering their sheaves. 

Refrain 

SECOND READING Philippians 3: 4b-14 

Writing to Christians in Philippi, Paul admits that his heritage and reputation could give him more reason than most people to place confidence in his spiritual pedigree. But the overwhelming grace of God in Jesus calls Paul to a new set of values. 

[Paul writes:] 4b If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. 8 More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. 10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, 11 if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. 

The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. 

CHILDREN’S SERMON Pastor Chris Steubing 

Please rise as you are able. 

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION 

The gospel according to John. 

Glory to you, O Lord. 

GOSPEL READING John 12:1-8 

Judas willfully misinterprets as waste Mary’s extravagant act of anointing Jesus’ feet with costly perfume. Jesus recognizes that her lavish gift is both an expression of love and an anticipation of his burial. 

1 Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 2 There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. 3 Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this perfume not sold for three hun-dred denarii and the money given to the poor?” 6 (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) 7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. 8 You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.” 

The gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ. 

Please be seated 

SERMON Pastor Chris Steubing 

HYMN OF THE DAY “Faith Begins By Letting Go” (back page) 

Please rise as you are able. 

RECEPTION OF NEW MEMBER Sherry Lomelo 

THE APOSTLES’ CREED 

Together with the whole church, we confess our faith: 

I believe in God, the Father almighty, 

creator of heaven and earth. 

I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s 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 to the dead.* 

On the third day he rose again; 

he ascended into heaven, 

He is seated at the right hand of the Father, 

and he will come 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. 

Let us rejoice with our sister in Christ. 

We rejoice with you in the life of baptism. 

Together we will give thanks and praise to God 

and proclaim the good news to all the world. 

THE PRAYERS 

. . . God in your mercy Receive our prayer. 

THE PEACE 

The peace of Christ be with you always. And also with you. 

Let us share the peace with one another. 

PRAYER MOSIAC 

You are invited to offer your prayers to God by writing a word or phrase, on a piece of torn paper, trusting that God who is near to the broken-hearted hears our prayers whether they are written, spoken, or offered as sighs too deep for words. You may place them in the offering plate. Your prayers will be added to the “Broken and Beloved” prayer mosaic after worship. 

OFFERING 

OFFERING MUSIC “Wondrous Love” Choir 

Please rise as the offering is brought forward. 

OFFERING PRAYER 

Let us pray. Gracious Provider, you set your immense treasures among us, opening your heart to the world. As we prepare to feast on your bountiful love, deepen our commitment to sharing those treasures with others, through our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. 

The Lord’s Prayer (Sung) 

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 debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen 

 

BENEDICTION 

God our tender parent, God the crucified one, God the reconciling Spirit, bless you now and forever. 

SENDING HYMN “God’s Work, Our Hands” (insert) 

DISMISSAL 

Go in peace. Care for others as God cares for you. 

Thanks be to God. 

POSTLUDE 

Our thanks to those who serve as our worship leaders today: 

Our Reader—Kathy Lenhardt 

Our Liturgist—Don Gillett 

Organist—Jimmy Cheung 

Choir and Hand Bell Director—Wendy Kuenemann 

Pastor—Rev. Christopher Steubing