This is part of the worship series
"Picture Jesus"
Introduction
Lent 1 | Lent 2 | Lent 3 | Lent 4 | Lent 5
Palm Sunday | Good Friday | Easter
The third Sunday of Lent
The Miracle-Worker
Service of Confession
Call to Confession
In this season in which we remember our Savior’s suffering, let us confess our sinfulness to him.
Our Prayer of Confession
Most holy and merciful Father, we confess to you and to one another that we have sinned against you by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart and mind and strength. We have not fully loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not always had in us the mind of Christ. You alone know how often we have grieved you by wasting your gifts, by wandering from your ways, by forgetting your love. Forgive us, we pray you, most merciful Father, and free us from our sin. Renew in us the grace and strength of your Holy Spirit, for the sake of Jesus Christ your Son, our Savior. Amen.
Assurance of God’s Pardon
For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scholar? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of the proclamation, to save those who believe. For Jews ask for signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.
—1 Corinthians 1:18–25 NRSVUE
Hymn:
“Christ, the Life of All the Living” (st. 1) Homeburg et al.
A Commitment to Holy Living
Since we have been saved by grace, how shall we live in obedience to Him who saved us?
We will love the Lord our God with all our heart, our mind and our strength; and we will love our neighbors as ourselves.
And how will it be clear that your Lord has first place in your life?
We will have no other gods before God; we will not make for ourselves any substitute gods; we will not abuse the name of the Lord but speak it only in reverence and love; we will honor the Lord’s day through worship, witness, and fellowship with God’s people.
And how will it be clear that you love others as yourself?
We will honor our parents and hold the family in high esteem; we will not abuse, hate, or injure our friends or neighbors by word, gesture or deed; we will live sexually holy and disciplined lives; we will not steal; we will not lie; we will not grasp for what we do not have, nor reject others for having it.
Will you commit yourselves to this obedience?
Yes, by God’s grace we will do it!
The Word
Scripture
Psalm 19; 1 Corinthians 1:18–25
Text
John 2:1–11
Sermon Notes
To understand Jesus, we must be able to understand that he was a miracle worker. A look at Jesus’ first miracle at Cana gave us the opportunity to think through these extraordinary works of Jesus.
First we looked at what distinguishes miracles from other amazing events. A miracle is an intervention of supernatural power that overrides natural law. The gospel records several dozen such events in the ministry of Jesus.
Revisiting the wedding reception in Cana gave us the opportunity to observe one of Jesus’ miracles and to discern his motive in performing it. Both the surprise and the authenticity of this miracle needed to be set forth, but we also needed to draw lessons from the entire pattern of miracles in his ministry. Jesus’ purpose was clear—to reveal the glory of God so that others would believe in him. As a congregation we needed to understand that receiving healing, food, and safety was quite secondary to the primary purpose—to display God’s glory in order that people would believe.
But we also needed to realize that Jesus did not always perform miracles and that perhaps we understand him best when we wrestle with why he sometimes refused to do miracles. As a case in point, we looked at Matthew 4:11, where Jesus refused to perform a miracle in response to Satan’s temptation. We also looked at Mark 15:29–30, where he refused to come down from the cross and “save himself.” The existence of miracles (or lack of them) can be explained only in terms of God’s purpose.
Other Service Elements
Congregational Songs
“All Glory Be to God on High” Latin, 4th cent.
“Your Hands, O Lord, In Days of Old” Phumptre and Gawler's
“Love Divine, All Loves Excelling” Wesley and Prichard
“O Jesus, We Adore You” Russell and Lloyd
“O Love, How Deep, How Broad, How High” Webb and Schalk
Choral Suggestions
“Jesus, Joy of Man’s Desiring,” J. S. Bach (Schmitt, Hall McCreary SCHCH 1578, SATB anthem; see also the revised text and setting for congregation in RW 45, p. 17.)
Instrumental Suggestions
“All Glory Be to God on High,” Raymond H. Haan (Festival Hymn Preludes; allein gott; SMP KK329)
“Love Divine, All Loves Excelling,” Peter Pindar Stearns (Twelve Hymn Preludes for General Use ; hyfrydol; Flammer HF-5145)
“Partita on “Deo Gracias,” Michael Burkhardt (Morningstar MSM-10-844)
Liturgy Notes
- The service included a Litany of Profession taken from the contemporary testimony Our World Belongs to God, 24–26, found on pages 1026–1027 of the Gray Psalter Hymnal (worship edition). After the reading of each section, the congregation responded by speaking the refrain “Lord of the Universe” Clarkson.
Revised Common Lectionary
Year B: Lent—Third Sunday in Lent
