St Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church

313 4th Street, Manistee, MI 49660

website: StPaulsManistee.com

facebook.com/SPLCManistee

March 3, 2024 Lent 3

Rethinking the Worth of Worship

May the LORD bless your worship.

WELCOME

HYMN 255 “Open Now Thy Gates of Beauty”

– please stand for last stanza

SERVICE OF WORD & SACRAMENT - page 26

PRAYER OF THE DAY:

Almighty God, look with favor on your humble servants and stretch out the right hand of your power to defend us against all our enemies; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (Sing) Amen.

FIRST LESSON: Exodus 20:1-17

The Ten Commandments teach us that God is to be worshiped above all. Why? He is the God who brought us out of slavery.

1 And God spoke all these words: 2“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 3“You shall have no other gods before[a] me. 4“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. 7“You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.8“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. 12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. 13 “You shall not murder. 14 “You shall not commit adultery. 15 “You shall not steal. 16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. 17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

SECOND LESSON: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25

Whatever it is you trust most, that is what you truly worship. Some worship intelligence. Others worship power. May we worship Christ for what he did on the cross.

18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” 20Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 22 Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gen-tiles, 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

VERSE OF THE DAY:

Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

Alleluia is omitted during Lent

GOSPEL: John 2:13-22

Jesus restores his Father’s house to what it was supposed to be: a place of worship for all people.

13When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” 17 His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.” 18 The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” 20 They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” 21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

HYMN 390 “Salvation unto Us Has Come”

SERMON: John 2:13-2228

Rethinking the Worth of Worship

NICENE’ CREED - page 31

PRAYERS & LORD’S PRAYER

COMMUNION LITURGY - pages 33-35

COMMUNION DISTRIBUTION

THANK THE LORD & PRAYER - pages 36

BLESSING pages 37

(sung) Amen. Amen. Amen.

HYMN 318 “Sent Forth by God’s Blessing”

ANNOUNCEMENTS & REFRESHMENTS

THANKOFFERING BASKET BY DOOR

The members of St Paul's have joined together to do the Lord’s work in this area and around the world. Our guests may but are not expected to participate in this offering which supports our church’s ministry.

Guests, please sign our Guest Book in the entryway.

LENT WORSHIP AT REDEEMER, SCOTTVILLE – This Wednesday at 1:30 pm. All are invited.

All Scripture readings are from the NIV 2011. Used by permission.