The First Sunday in Lent

Unfortunately, technical difficulties prevented us from streaming today’s service.

Welcome to St. Paul Lutheran Church!

Notes for the First Sunday in Lent   

Today we begin our walk with Jesus to the cross. Lent is a wilderness time; a time to go deep into our hearts and recognize the depth of our estrangement from God, and to turn back to Him. St. Paul observes the tradition of eliminating alleluias or flowers in the sanctuary during Lent: these will return at Easter. In today’s Gospel reading, the Spirit leads Jesus to the wilderness where he fasts for 40 days. After the fast, Satan tempts Jesus. Jesus responds, by rebuking him and affirming his own identity as the Son of God. As we enter Lent, may we seek God in the scriptures and may God empower us as we pray, fast, and give in this holy season.

Greeting and Welcome

The assembly stands and faces the entrance of the sanctuary. We begin with a procession – the cross leading the way – an image of our life in Christ and journey to heaven. Some bow as the cross passes, honoring the mystery of salvation.

Gods Own Child I Gladly Say It (594) 

God’s own child, I gladly say it: I am baptized into Christ!

He, because I could not pay it, Gave my full redemption price.

Do I need earth’s treasures many? I have one worth more than any

That brought me salvation free Lasting to eternity!

Sin, disturb my soul no longer: I am baptized into Christ!

I have comfort even stronger: Jesus’ cleansing sacrifice.

Should a guilty conscience seize me Since my Baptism did release me

In a dear forgiving flood, Sprinkling me with Jesus’ blood!

Satan, hear this proclamation: I am baptized into Christ!

Drop your ugly accusation, I am not so soon enticed.

Now that to the font I’ve traveled, All your might has come unraveled,

And, against your tyranny, God, my Lord, unites with me!

Death, you cannot end my gladness: I am baptized into Christ!

When I die, I leave all sadness To inherit paradise!

Though I lie in dust and ashes Faith’s assurance brightly flashes:

Baptism has the strength divine To make life immortal mine.

There is nothing worth comparing To this lifelong comfort sure!

Open-eyed my grave is staring: Even there I’ll sleep secure.

Though my flesh awaits its raising, Still my soul continues praising:

I am baptized into Christ; I’m a child of paradise!

The Holy Baptism of Randall Julius Cox

Randall is the son of Thomas and Reina Cox. Chloe Coomer and Riley Romine

have agreed to serve as his godparents. May the Lord enable Randall’s growth as child of God and guide the ministry of his parents and all who surround him with the love of Jesus.

The Invocation

       En el nombre del Padre, y del X Hijo, y del Espíritu Santo.

All     Amen.

Baptismal Address

Dearly beloved, our Lord commanded Baptism, saying to His disciples in Matthew: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all I have commanded you. I will be with you always, to the very end of the age”. And St. Paul says, “Baptism now saves you”. The Holy Scriptures also teach that all are conceived and born sinful and are under the power of the devil until Christ claims us as His own. Receive the sign of the holy cross both upon your X forehead and upon your X heart to mark you as one redeemed by Christ the crucified.

The Flood Prayer

Almighty and eternal God, according to Your strict judgment You condemned the unbelieving world through the flood, yet according to Your great mercy You preserved believing Noah and his family, eight souls in all. You drowned hard-hearted Pharaoh and all his host in the Red Sea, yet led Your people Israel through the water on dry ground, foreshadowing this washing of Your Holy Baptism. Through the Baptism in the Jordan of Your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, You sanctified and instituted all waters to be a blessed flood and a lavish washing away of sin. We pray that You would behold this child according to Your boundless mercy and bless him with true faith by the Holy Spirit, that through this saving flood all sin in him, which has been inherited from Adam and which he himself has committed since, would be drowned and die. Grant that he be kept safe and secure in the holy ark of the Christian Church, being separated from the multitude of unbelievers and serving Your name at all times with a fervent spirit and a joyful hope, so that, with all believers in Your promise, he would be declared worthy of eternal life; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

All     Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

All     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; forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; 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.

       Confession of Faith

Do you renounce the devil and all his works and all his ways?

All     I do renounce them.

Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty?

All     Yes, I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.

Do you believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son?

Yes, 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 sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.

Do you believe in the Holy Spirit?

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

Randall, I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Almighty God and the Father of our Lord, who has given you the new birth of water and of the Spirit and has forgiven you all your sins, strengthen you with His grace to life X everlasting.

All     Amen.

The Presentation of the Candle

Live always by the light of Christ, and be watchful for His return in glory that you may meet Him with joy and enter with Him to the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom, which has no end.

The Baptismal Prayer

Almighty and most merciful God and Father, we thank and praise You that You graciously preserve and enlarge Your family and have granted Randall Julius the new birth in Holy Baptism and made him a member of Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and an heir of Your heavenly kingdom. We humbly implore You that, as he has now become Your child, You would keep him in his baptismal grace that according to all Your good pleasure he may faithfully grow in a godly life to the praise and honor of Your holy name and finally with all Your saints obtain the promised inheritance in heaven; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

All     Amen.

Sentences of Welcome

Randall Julius, Child of God, Christ has set you free and given you life. Live in Him.

All     Randall Julius, Child of God, we welcome you into the family of family of Christ!

The Kyrie

Prayer of the Day

The Lord be with you.

All     And also with you.

Let us pray.

All     Heavenly Father, your Son battled with the powers of darkness, and grew closer to you in the desert: help us to use these days to grow in wisdom and prayer that we may witness to your saving love in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Scripture Readings

Genesis 3:1-21

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” ² The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, ³ but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” ⁴ “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. ⁵ “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” ⁶ When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. ⁷ Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. ⁸ Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. ⁹ But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” ¹⁰ He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” ¹¹ And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” ¹² The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” ¹³ Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” ¹⁴ So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. ¹⁵ And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspringand hers; he will crushyour head, and you will strike his heel.” ¹⁶ To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” ¹⁷ To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. ¹⁸ It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. ¹⁹ By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” ²⁰ Adamnamed his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living. ²¹ The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.

         This is the word of the Lord.

All     Thanks be to God.

Romans 5:12-19

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—¹³ To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law. ¹⁴ Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come. ¹⁵ But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! ¹⁶ Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ! ¹⁸ Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. ¹⁹ For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

This is the word of the Lord.

All      Thanks be to God

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Matthew.

All      Glory to You, O Lord.

Matthew 4:1-11

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. ² He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry. ³ The tempter approached and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread.” ⁴ He said in reply, “It is written:‘ One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.’”⁵ Then the devil took him to the holy city, and made him stand on the parapet of the temple, ⁶ and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you’ and ‘with their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’Jesus answered him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.’” ⁸ Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, ⁹ and he said to him, “All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.” ¹⁰ At this, Jesus said to him, “Get away, Satan! It is written: The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.’ ¹¹ Then the devil left him and, behold, angels came and ministered to him.

The Gospel of the Lord.

All      Praise to you, O Christ.

Children’s Sermon

What Wonderous Love is this (543)

What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!

What wondrous love is this, O my soul!

What wondrous love is this That caused the Lord of bliss

To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,

To bear the dreadful curse for my soul!

To God and to the Lamb I will sing, I will sing;

To God and to the Lamb I will sing;

To God and to the Lamb, Who is the great I AM.

While millions join the theme, I will sing, I will sing.

While millions join the theme, I will sing.

And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on;

And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on.

And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing His love for me,

And through eternity I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on,

And through eternity I’ll sing on.

Sermon

Prayer of the Church

After the pastor says Lord in Your Mercy, all respond with Hear our Prayer.

For a Holy Lent – to focus on Christ in our praying, fasting, and giving.

Thanksgiving that Randall has received life and rebirth in Holy Baptism

For blessing in our outreach; CDC, Thrift Ship, Food Pantry, LINC, Presa

Pastors Philip, Roy, Naresh, Christoph, Matt, and all church planters

For U.S. Leaders: President Joe, Governor Greg, Mayor Ron

For those in Military: Jarred, Alissa, Mark, Tom, Thomas, Ricky

Church Leaders; LCMS President Matthew, District President Michael

Persecuted Christians in: Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan

Global Partner Church: The Lutheran Synod of Mexico

For Comfort, Health, Encouragement, and Recovery:

The people of Ukraine

Family of Delia Flores (mourning her death)

Keith Everett (thanksgiving after receiving kidney transplant)

Melissa Hild (thanksgiving for successful surgery this week)

Pat Garcia (cousin of Rick Garza in need of liver transplant)

Marianna (with upcoming gallbladder surgery)

Linda Wenck (started chemotherapy last week)

Michael Garcia (brother of Eva, with upcoming treatments for cancer)

Daniel (brother of Patricia Perez, recovering from surgery)

Diane Beasley

Ana Garcia (cousin of Paul and JoAnn – diagnosed with cancer)

Cecilia Luna (friend of America Alderete – diagnosed with cancer)

Joe Ojeda (blessing and guidance as he begins pastoral formation)

Tillie Cropper

Alex Rivera

Gulley Rivera

Roy Wessel

Everett Mason

Vicky Dean (sister of Melissa Hild)

Yesenia (daughter of Anna Marquez)

Teresa Medellin (neighbor of Alicia Guerrero)

Mildred Westphal

Albert Pedroza (neighbor of Thomas Robledo)

Cayley (granddaughter of Robert and Linda Chetwood)

Austin Hernden

Robin Beasley Jr

The Offering

Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow (805)

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;

Praise Him, all creatures here below;

Praise Him above, ye heav’nly host:

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

Prayer Before Reception of Holy Communion

O Lord, I believe and profess that you are truly Christ,
The Son of the living God, who came into the world
To save sinners of whom I am the first.

Accept me as a partaker of your mystical supper, O Lord,
For I will not reveal your mystery to your enemies,
Nor will I give you a kiss as did Judas, But like the thief I profess to you:

Remember me, O Lord, when you come in your kingdom.
Remember me, O Master, when you come in your kingdom.
Remember me, O Holy One, when you come in your kingdom.

May the partaking of your Holy mysteries, O Lord,
Be not for my judgment or condemnation,
But for the healing of my soul and body.

O Lord, I also believe and profess, that this,

Which I am about to receive,
Is truly your most precious Body, and your life-giving Blood,
Given for me for remission of all my sins and for life everlasting. Amen

Service of the Sacrament

          The Lord be with you.

All     And also with you.

          Lift up your hearts.

All     We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

All     It is right to give Him thanks and praise.

It is indeed right and good to give you thanks and praise, almighty God  and everlasting Father, through Jesus Christ your Son. For in these forty days you lead us into the desert of repentance that through a pilgrimage of prayer and discipline we may grow in grace and learn to be your people once again. Through fasting, prayer and acts of service you bring us back to your generous heart. Through study of your holy word you open our eyes to your presence in the world and free our hands to welcome others into the radiant splendor of your love. As we prepare to celebrate the Easter feast with joyful hearts and minds we bless you for your mercy and join with saints and angels forever praising you and saying:

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of Sabaoth adored;

Heaven and earth with full acclaim shout the glory of Your name.

Sing hosana in the highest, sing hosana to the Lord;

Truly blest is He who comes in the name of the Lord!

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Blessed are You, Lord of heaven and earth, for You have had mercy on those whom You created and sent Your only-begotten Son into our flesh to bear our sin and be our Savior. With repentant joy, we receive the salvation accomplished for us by the all-availing sacrifice of His body and His blood on the cross. Gathered in the name and the remembrance of Jesus, we beg You, O Lord, to forgive, renew, and strengthen us with Your Word and Spirit. Grant us to faithfully eat His body and drink His blood as He bids us to in His own testament. Gather us together from the ends of the earth to celebrate, with all the faithful, the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom, which has no end. Receive our prayers; deliver and preserve us. To You alone be all glory, honor, and worship, now and forever.

All     Amen.

The Consecration

The Acclamation and Invitation

As often as we eat of this bread and drink from this cup, we proclaim your Death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection until you come again.

All     Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.

Behold the Lamb of God, behold Jesus, who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb.

All     Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed.

          La paz del Señor sea con ustedes.

All     Y Tambien contigo

Sharing of the Peace

Greet each other in the name of Jesus by saying, ‘the Peace of the Lord be with you’ as a sign of forgiveness & reconciliation in preparation for reception of the Blessed Sacrament.

Lamb of God

Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world; have mercy on us.

Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world; have mercy on us.

Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world; grant us peace.

The Distribution

O Splendor of God’s Glory Bright (874)

Sung as a solo by the cantor

Eucharistic Dismissal

Lord, Bid Your Servant Go in Peace (937)

Lord, bid Your servant go in peace, Your word is now fulfilled.
These eyes have seen salvation’s dawn, This child so long foretold.

This is the Savior of the world, The Gentiles’ promised light,
God’s glory dwelling in our midst, The joy of Israel.

With saints of old, with saints to come, To You we lift our voice;
To Father, Son, and Spirit blest Be honor, love, and praise.

Post-Communion Prayer

          We give thanks to You, almighty God, that You have refreshed us through this salutary gift, and we implore You, that of Your mercy, You would strengthen us in faith toward You and in fervent love toward one another; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Announcements

Blessing

  When Peace Like a River (763) 

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way;

When sorrows, like sea billows, roll;

Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,

It is well, it is well with my soul.

It is well with my soul, It is well, it is well with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,

Let this blest assurance control,

That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate

And hath shed his own blood for my soul.

It is well with my soul, It is well, it is well with my soul.

He lives—-Oh, the bliss of this glorious thought;

My sin, not in part, but the whole,

Is nailed to His cross, and I bear it no more.

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

It is well with my soul, It is well, it is well with my soul.

And, Lord, haste the day when our faith shall be sight,

The clouds be rolled back as a scroll,

The trumpet shall sound and the Lord shall descend;

Even so it is well with my soul.

It is well with my soul, It is well, it is well with my soul.