This is part of the worship series,
"Listening to the Prophets”
Series Introduction
Lent 1 | Lent 2 | Lent 3 | Lent 4 | Lent 5
WEEK 3: THE THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT
Bulletin Announcement
In our study of the Old Testament, we have come to the prophets as they speak words of warning to apostate Israel. Today we encounter Isaiah as he summons the exiles to return and to be restored.
Gathering Song
“Holy, Holy, Holy, My Heart” Spanish Traditional
[To introduce the song this week, a trio of young women sang it through once before the congregation joined.]
Responsive Reading
Seek the Lord while he may be found;
Call on him while he is near.
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. Let us glory in the cross of Jesus Christ. Through him we have salvation.
Cross of Christ, tree of hope.
For us he became obedient even to death on a cross. Because of this God exalted him above every name. See if there is any wicked way in me.
Cross of Christ, tree of hope, wisdom of God.
When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all to myself.
Cross of Christ, tree of hope, wisdom of God. We worship and praise you, O Christ; by your cross the world is redeemed.
—from Isaiah 55:6, 1 Corinthians 1, and the Prayer of St. John’s Abbey
Prayer
God of strength and mercy, grant us so to glory in the cross of Christ, that we may gladly suffer shame and loss for the sake of Jesus Christ our Savior; through whom in the Holy Spirit we pray.
Amen.
—Marvin Hofman © 2003 ReformedWorship.org CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
Song
“Isaiah the Prophet Has Written of Old” Patterson
God’s Greeting
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Our help comes from the Lord,
the maker of heaven and earth.
Grace, mercy, and peace are yours, from God the Father Almighty, from the lord Jesus Christ, and from the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Call to Confession from Isaiah 55
As we turn our hearts to the Lord in a time of confession we remember the words of the prophet Isaiah: Seek the Lord while he may be found, call on him while he is near; let the wicked forsake their way and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. Let us look to the Lord in a time of personal confession.
[silent prayer]
Let us pray together:
Most merciful God, we your church confess that often our spirit has not been that of Christ. Where we have failed to love each other as he loved us, where we have pledged loyalty to him with our lips and then betrayed, deserted, or denied him, forgive us. By your Spirit make us faithful in every time of trial, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
—Marvin Hofman © 2003 ReformedWorship.org CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
Song
“What Wondrous Love” (st. 1–2) Anon
Announcement of Grace from Isaiah 55 and Romans 8
Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! For those whom God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.
Song
“What Wondrous Love” (st. 3–4) Anon
Prayer for Illumination
Scripture Reading
Isaiah 55:1–13
Sermon
On Being Cheerful in Lent
Sermon Notes
God made a covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, with Jacob, with Moses and Joshua. And despite their present devastation, the Lord would restore the fortunes of his people. That promise also comes to us, the new Israel. It is the same God whose promises do not fail.
The Lord Jesus summons us to touch, to taste and see, to come to the water, to get bread without money. Come to the banquet. Come and eat. See that the Lord is good. With that invitation and that promise, we can face dark times with a quiet joy and a deep confidence.
Song
“How Firm a Foundation” (st. 1, 4–5) Keen
God’s Parting Blessing
Song
“The Trees of the Field” Rubin
[The text for this song comes from Isaiah 55.]
Revised Common Lectionary
Year C: Lent—Third Sunday in Lent
