Licensing
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church is covered under the following licenses:
- CCLI: 1510407
- OneLicense: 732293-A
- Augsburg Fortress: SAS006846
Welcome!
CONFESSION & FORGIVENESS
Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God,
who journeys with us these forty days,
and sustains us with the gift of grace.
Amen.
Let us acknowledge before God and one another
our need for repentance and God’s mercy.
+ Silence is kept for reflection. +
Holy God,
we confess to you our faults and failings.
Too often we neglect and do not trust your holy word;
we take for ourselves instead of giving to others;
we spoil rather than steward your creation;
we cause hurt though you call us to heal;
we choose fear over compassion.
Forgive us, renew us, and lead us,
as we seek to follow in your way of life.
Amen.
Hear the good news:
God so loved the world that God gave the only Son,
so that all may receive life.
This promise is for you!
God embraces you with divine mercy,
☩ forgives you in Christ’s name,
and revives you in the Spirit’s power.
Amen.
GATHERING HYMN God, Whose Almighty Word (ELW #673 + Verses 1, 2 & 4)
1 God, whose almighty word
chaos and darkness heard
and took their flight:
hear us, we humbly pray,
and where the gospel day
sheds not its glorious ray,
let there be light!
2 Christ, who once came to bring,
on your redeeming wing,
healing and sight,
health to the troubled mind,
sight where illusions blind:
oh, now to humankind
let there be light!
4 Holy and blessed three,
glorious Trinity,
wisdom, love, might!
Boundless as ocean’s tide,
rolling in fullest pride,
through the earth, far and wide,
let there be light!
Public Domain.
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: This is the Day (W&P 141)
This is the day, this is the day
that the Lord has made, that the Lord has
made;
we will rejoice, we will rejoice
and be glad in it, and be glad in it.
This is the day that the Lord has made;
we will rejoice and be glad in it.
This is the day, this the day that the Lord has
made.
Music © 1997 Scripture in Song, admin. Music Services. All Rights Reserved. International Copyright Secured.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Bend your ear to our prayers, Lord Christ, and come among us. By your gracious life and death for us, bring light into the darkness of our hearts, and anoint us with your Spirit, for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
READINGS
FIRST READING 1 Samuel 16:1-13, NRSV
+ Samuel anointed David even though he was the eighth-oldest son of Jesse and did not match his brothers in height or other physical characteristics. With the anointing came endowment with the Spirit of the Lord, designating David as the Lord’s chosen successor to Saul. +
The first reading is from First Samuel beginning at the 16th chapter.
1The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” 2Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you.” 4Samuel did what the Lord commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, “Do you come peaceably?” 5He said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
6When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is now before the Lord.” 7But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 8Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 9Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 10Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.” 11Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.” 12He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; for this is the one.” 13Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.
Word of God, Word of Life.
Thanks be to God.
PSALM 23
We will now read responsively from Psalm 23.
1The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not be in want.
2The Lord makes me lie down in green pastures
and leads me beside still waters.
3You restore my soul, O Lord,
and guide me along right pathways for your name’s sake.
4Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil;
for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil, and my cup is running over.
6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
SECOND READING Ephesians 5:8-14
+ Because we now live in the divine light which is Jesus Christ, we conduct our lives in ways that reflect the light of Christ, so that our activity is truly pleasing to God. +
The second reading from Ephesians, beginning at the 5th chapter:
8Once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light—9for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. 10Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. 11Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly; 13but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,
“Sleeper, awake!
Rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”
Word of God, word of life.
Thanks be to God.
GOSPEL John 9:1-41, NRSV
+ Jesus heals a man born blind, provoking a hostile reaction that he regards as spiritual blindness to the things of God. +
The Holy Gospel according to John, beginning at the 9th chapter.
Glory to you, O Lord!
1As [Jesus] walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. 4We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. 5As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, 7saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see. 8The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” 9Some were saying, “It is he.” Others were saying, “No, but it is someone like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” 10But they kept asking him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” 11He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ Then I went and washed and received my sight.” 12They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”
13They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. 14Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 15Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, “He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see.” 16Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not observe the sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” And they were divided. 17So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” He said, “He is a prophet.”
18The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight 19and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” 20His parents answered, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; 21but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” 22His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. 23Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
24So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.” 25He answered, “I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” 26They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 27He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” 28Then they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” 30The man answered, “Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. 32Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. 33If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” 34They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?” And they drove him out.
35Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36He answered, “And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.” 37Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.” 38He said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped him. 39Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.” 40Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, “Surely we are not blind, are we?” 41Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.
CHILDREN’S MESSAGE
SERMON
HYMN OF THE DAY Dearest Jesus, At Your Word (ELW #520+ Verses 1&2)
1 Dearest Jesus, at your word
we have come again to hear you;
let our thoughts and hearts be stirred
and in glowing faith be near you
as the promises here given
draw us wholly up to heaven.
2 All our knowledge, sense, and sight
lie in deepest darkness shrouded
till your Spirit breaks the night,
filling us with light unclouded.
All good thoughts and all good living
come but by your gracious giving.
Public Domain.
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, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary and became truly human. 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,* who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who 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.
THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
Sustained by God’s abundant mercy, let us pray for the church, the world, and all of creation.
+ A brief silence +
Eternal God, you seal us by the Holy Spirit and mark us with the cross of Christ forever in baptism. Inspire us by your love as together we strive for justice and peace in all the earth. Merciful God,
receive our prayer.
Creating God, by your word you have made all things, and you hate nothing you have made. Teach us to perceive the beauty of the breadth of your creation, from the grandest mountain range to the smallest springtime bud. Merciful God,
receive our prayer.
Powerful God, you anoint kings and establish rulers. Guide the work of heads of state and elected officials. Encourage them to lead with justice and to remove barriers that impede the well-being of all. Merciful God,
receive our prayer.
Shepherding God, you lead us beside still waters and restore our souls. Keep watch over those who weep; tend all who are sick and comfort those who grieve especially Laura Occhiogrosso, Bob Sarro, Tom Sanfedele, Brian Sherwood, Phil Hartman, Susan Martin, Rhonda Winters, Carol Lynch, Valerie Jones-Washington, Jonathan Hussain, Heather Chittum, Bob Buckley, Heidi Neumark, Lynn Zernickow, Klohe Goetz, Francesca Giordano, Mary Ann Gallagher, Michael Cienki, Jackie Budds, and the family of Martina Miller. Merciful God,
receive our prayer.
God our host, you fill us at your table with more than we could ever ask. Feed us with hunger for justice. Equip the feeding ministries of this congregation and community especially The Midnight Run and Food Pantry at All Saint’s Lutheran Church. Nourish us so we can nourish our neighbors. Merciful God,
receive our prayer.
Healing God, you call us to care for ourselves and one another. Be with all who are struggling with extended periods of illnesses this winter. May they feel Your power of healing through the care of doctors and nurses. Merciful God,
receive our prayer.
Welcoming God, you call us your Beloved Community. End racism and oppression in our world. Deliver all who are unjustly imprisoned or persecuted. Reconcile nations and peoples in conflict. Help us pray for our enemies. Merciful God,
receive our prayer.
God of history, with thanksgiving we remember our ancestors in faith who cared for your people. We praise you for the ways they formed the faith of others and continue to inspire us. Merciful God,
receive our prayer.
We lift our prayers to you, O God, trusting in your steadfast love and your promise to renew your whole creation; through Jesus Christ our Savior.
Amen.
SHARING OF CHRIST’S PEACE
The peace of the Lord be with you always!
And also with you!
Let us share a sign of Christ’s peace with one another.
OFFERING MESSAGE
Please consider continuing to mail in your offering or giving online! We continue to have expenses that need to be covered during this time. We are most grateful for your generosity.
MUSICAL INTERLUDE
OFFERTORY HYMN Just As I Am, without One Plea (ELW #592 + Verses 1-2)
1 Just as I am, without one plea,
but that thy blood was shed for me,
and that thou bidd’st me come to thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
2 Just as I am, though tossed about
with many a conflict, many a doubt,
fightings and fears within, without,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Public Domain.
OFFERTORY PRAYER
God of good gifts,
receive these and all our offerings
as we present them in faithful service
for the sake of your gospel.
Prepare our hearts to receive you in this meal
as you pour out your very presence
through Christ Jesus, the wellspring of eternal life.
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 our thanks and praise.
PREFACE
It is indeed right our duty and our joy that we should at all times and in all places offer thanks and praise to you, almighty and merciful God, through our Savior Jesus Christ. You call your people to cleanse their hearts and prepare with joy for the paschal feast, that renewed in the gift of baptism, we may come to the fullness of your grace. And so, with all the choirs of angels, with the church on earth and the hosts of heaven, we praise your name and join their unending hymn:
HOLY, HOLY, HOLY
EUCHARISTIC PRAYER
In the night in which he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take and eat; this is my body, given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.
Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it for all to drink, saying: This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin. Do this for the remembrance of me.
Remembering, therefore, his birth and life among us, his death and resurrection, we await his coming again when all things will be restored in him.
By your Spirit bless us and this bread and cup, that, held and nourished by you, we may live as your children, shining with the light of your Son.
Through him all glory and honor is yours, Almighty Father, with the Holy Spirit, in your holy Church, now and forever.
Amen.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
Lord, remember us in your kingdom and teach us to pray:
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.
COMMUNION
Come and receive Jesus, our strength in the wilderness.
TABLE BLESSING & COMMUNION PRAYER
The body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ strengthen you and keep you in his grace.
Amen.
Let us pray.
Embodied God,
at your table, we have tasted the goodness of Jesus.
With the eyes of our hearts open to your promise,
empower us to hear the needs of our neighbors
and touch the world with your love.
Amen.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
LENTEN BIBLE STUDY
Our Lenten Bible Study on the Gospel of John continues on Mondays at 10am and 7pm. Books are $15. Note: There will be no bible study on 3/27 or 4/10.
GIRL SCOUTS
The girl scouts are collecting food for the All Saints Food Pantry through the end of March. If you would like to contribute to their efforts please bring food donations to the stage, downstairs in the fellowship hall.
THRIVENT CHOICE DOLLARS
Please consider directing your Thrivent Choice Dollars to Holy Trinity if you are a Thrivent member. Holy Trinity is grateful for these funds and the ministry we are able to do with them. Designating funds happens at no cost to you. The deadline is March 31st. Please contact Ken Henyan with questions or for more information.
ANNIVERSARIES
Do you have an anniversary coming up this year? Let us know! On the last Sunday of each month we want to celebrate with you, just like we do with birthdays. Fill out an anniversary form on the table in the narthex or in the literature rack outside the door to the office and let us know so we can send you a card!
COUNCIL MEETING
Thursday, April 11th @ 7:30 pm
WORSHIP COMMITTEE MEETING
TBD
Other announcements are located in the downloadable bulletin at the top of this webpage.
BLESSING
God, the giver of love,
☩ Christ, the resurrection and the life,
and the Holy Spirit of rebirth
bless you in this Lenten journey.
Amen.
SENDING HYMN: I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say (ELW #332+ Verses 1& 3)
1 I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Come unto me and rest;
lay down, O weary one, lay down
your head upon my breast.”
I came to Jesus as I was,
so weary, worn, and sad;
I found in him a resting-place,
and he has made me glad.
3 I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“I am this dark world’s light;
look unto me, your morn shall rise,
and all your day be bright.”
I looked to Jesus, and I found
in him my star, my sun;
and in that light of life I’ll walk
till trav’ling days are done.
Public Domain.
DISMISSAL
What is our Mission? Welcoming all to grow in faith;
living Christ’s message of serving and loving neighbors
near and far.
Go in peace. Serve in love.
Thanks be to God.
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Bellerose 