FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT
From Death to Life March 29, 2020
AS WE GATHER
Long before Jesus’ death and resurrection, God made clear to His people that death would not have the last word. As Ezekiel was inspired to write of the dry bones of death having life breathed into them, it would foreshadow the future for God’s people through the One who conquered death and grave once for all. In a world of death and decay, we are sustained in our journey now until the resurrection of all flesh through Jesus Christ, our life-giving Lord and Savior.
PREPARATION
HYMN “Christ, the Life of All the Living” [Sts. 1–4: LSB 420]
Christ, the Life of all the living, Christ the Death of death, our foe,
Who Thyself for us once giving To the darkest depths of woe,
Patiently didst yield Thy breath But to save my soul from death;
Praise and glory ever be, Blessèd Jesus, unto Thee.
Thou, O Christ, hast taken on Thee Bitter strokes, a cruel rod;
Pain and scorn were heaped upon Thee, O Thou sinless Son of God,
Only thus for me to win Rescue from the bonds of sin;
Praise and glory ever be, Blessèd Jesus, unto Thee.
Thou didst bear the smiting only That it might not fall on me;
Stoodest falsely charged and lonely That I might be safe and free;
Comfortless that I might know Comfort from Thy boundless woe.
Praise and glory ever be, Blessèd Jesus, unto Thee.
Heartless scoffers did surround Thee, Treating Thee with shameful scorn
And with piercing thorns they crowned Thee, All disgrace Thou, Lord, hast borne
That as Thine Thou mightest own me And with heavenly glory crown me.
Thousand, thousand thanks shall be, Dearest Jesus, unto Thee.
INVOCATION
P: We gather today celebrating life: Life created by the Father;
C: life restored by Jesus Christ, the life of all the living, who is the resurrection and the life;
P: life sanctified by the living breath of the Holy Spirit. In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION Psalm 116:1–9; Ezekiel 37:13–14, adapted
P: I love the Lord, because He has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy.
C: Because He inclined His ear to me, therefore I will call on Him as long as I live.
P: The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish.
C: Then I called on the name of the Lord: “O Lord, I pray, deliver my soul!”
P: We come before our Lord, confessing our sins and seeking His forgiveness.
Silence for reflection
P: The apostle Paul has called us to live life through the Spirit, not according to the flesh.
C: We confess we have not put to death the things of the flesh and have sinned against You by what we have done and left undone, and we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
P: Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; our God is merciful. The Lord preserves the simple; when I was brought low, He saved me. Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you. For You have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling; I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living.
The Lord will open the graves and put His Spirit within His people, and they shall live. God, in His mercy has given His Son to die for you and through His death brought life and immortality to light. As a called servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
WORD
SALUTATION
P: The Lord be with you.
C: And also with you.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
P: Let us pray. Almighty God, in whom is life now and forever, through Your Son’s suffering and death You have given us victory over all we ever need fear in sin, eternal death, and the power of the devil. Breathe into our bones and our souls Your life-giving Word, that we rejoice in Your forgiveness and serve You and others in love and faithfulness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C: Amen.
ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE DAY
P: In this, our last Sunday in the season of Lent prior to Holy Week, we are given the truth of the life the Lord has come to bring. Ezekiel sees a vision of dry bones brought to life by the breath and power of God. In the Epistle to the Romans, we hear of our life in Christ through the Spirit, and in that life to live not of the flesh. In the Holy Gospel, we hear the greatest sign through which our Lord foreshadows His own resurrection, bringing a dead and decaying Lazarus back to life, which also foreshadows the resurrection and eternal life for all who believe.
OLD TESTAMENT READING Ezekiel 37:1–14 (The valley of dry bones)
The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’” 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army. 11 Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’”
L: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
RESPONSE“Them Bones”
Ezekiel saw them dry bones,
Ezekiel saw them dry bones,
Ezekiel saw them dry bones,
Now hear the word of the Lord!
Ezekiel came to that valley
Of bones all bare and dry,
But God gave him a message
And told him, “Prophesy!
My Spirit will blow o’er you
And cover you with flesh,
These bones will rise and live again;
Your hope will be made fresh!”
Them bones, them bones gonna walk about,
Them bones, them bones gonna walk about,
Them bones, them bones gonna walk about,
Now hear the word of the Lord!
Some day I’ll come to that valley,
Just bones, all brittle and dry,
I know Your righteous sentence:
Sinner, you must die!
And when I’m spent and helpless,
Lord, leave me not in death,
But send Your Holy Spirit
Once more to give me breath!
My bones will rise and live again,
My bones will rise and live again,
My bones will rise and live again,
I have the word of the Lord!
Text: Traditional (Refrain); David A. deSilva (Stanzas). Copyright © 2016 Concordia Publishing House. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
GRADUAL Hebrews 12:2
C: O come, let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
EPISTLE Romans 8:1–11 (Life in the Spirit)
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. 9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.
L: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
VERSE John 11:25
C: I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live.
HOLY GOSPEL John 11:1–45 (46–53) (Jesus is the resurrection and the life.)
P: The Holy Gospel according to St. John, the eleventh chapter.
C: Glory to You, O Lord.
Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) 3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” 4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, 7 and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.” 8 “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?” 9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. 10 It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.” 11 After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.” 12 His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” 13 Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep. 14 So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16 Then Thomas (also known as Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” 17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, 19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. 21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” 28 After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there. 32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied. 35 Jesus wept. 36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” 38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” 40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” 45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. “What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.” 49 Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! 50 You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.” 51 He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, 52 and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. 53 So from that day on they plotted to take his life.
P: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C: Praise to You, O Christ.
HYMN OF THE DAY “My Song Is Love Unknown” [LSB 430]
My song is love unknown, My Savior’s love to me;
Love to the loveless shown, That they might lovely be.
O who am I, that for my sake My Lord should take frail flesh and die?
He came from His blest throne Salvation to bestow;
But men made strange, and none The longed for Christ would know:
But O! my friend, my friend indeed, Who at my need His life did spend.
Sometimes they strew His way, And His sweet praises sing;
Resounding all the day Hosannas to their King:
Then Crucify! is all their breath, And for His death they thirst and cry.
Why, what hath my Lord done? What makes this rage and spite?
He made the lame to run, He gave the blind their sight,
Sweet injuries! Yet they at these Themselves displease, and ’gainst Him rise.
They rise and needs will have My dear Lord made away;
A murderer they saved, The Prince of Life they slay,
Yet cheerful He to suffering goes, That He His foes from thence might free.
In life, no house, no home My Lord on earth might have;
In death no friendly tomb But what a stranger gave.
What may I say? Heav’n was His home; But mine the tomb wherein He lay.
Here might I stay and sing, No story so divine;
Never was love, dear King! Never was grief like Thine.
This is my friend, in whose sweet praise I all my days could gladly spend.
SERMON
CREED APOSTLES CREED
I Believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And 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.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
P: The resurrection to eternal life has come to the world in Christ Jesus. Let us pray for the deliverance of all who belong to Christ by faith and for all for whom He died and rose again.
O God, as You created everything out of nothing by Your mighty Word, so You have brought resurrection and eternal life to light by the mighty command of Your Son, Jesus, who went through death and emerged victorious over death. Help us to learn from Ezekiel’s vision the death that comes when we lose faith and the life we gain through Your Spirit. Receive our praise and thanks for Your gift of eternal life. Help us to live as Your resurrection people, bringing the might of Your Word to all. Lord, in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: As our Lenten season soon transitions to Holy Week, help us continue to recognize our sin, our need for repentance, and our dependence on our Savior. Help us learn from Paul’s Letter to the Romans to continually put to death those things of the flesh that lead us astray, that we be fed and led by Your life-giving Spirit. Lord, in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: We lift up those who mourn and carry grief and sorrow in the loss of loved ones. Help us learn from our Savior at Lazarus’s tomb, that death is not the last word of this life, that we rejoice in Your promises made, fulfilled, and yet to come of the resurrection of the dead and life of the world to come. Enable and equip us to be heralds of the hope that is ours and witness to Christ and the power of His resurrection. Lord, in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: Inspire and bless all called to preach Your Word and administer Your Holy Sacraments
with resurrection power, that they do not grow weary but grow in compassion and
perseverance. Lord, in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: For the sake of Your Word, by which You cause repentance and faith to issue from human hearts, guide the leaders of nations and communities in our world to pursue ways of peace and tranquility among people, that Your Word be preached for the salvation of all. Lord, in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: Comfort and heal all those who are sick or infirm, disabled, or troubled, [especially . . .]. Breathe Your life-giving Spirit into all in need, that hope, comfort, and peace in You may be theirs. Remind us that our ultimate healing is in the resurrection of the dead and the life everlasting. Lord, in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: Into Your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in Your mercy O Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C: Amen.
LORD’S PRAYER Matthew 6:9–13
C: 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.
PAX DOMINI
P: The peace of the Lord be with you always.
C: Amen.
DISTRIBUTION HYMNS
“Abide with Me” [LSB 878]
Abide with me! Fast falls the eventide;
The darkness thickens. Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail, And comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me!
I need Thy presence every passing hour
What but Thy grac can foil the tempter’s power
Who like Thyself my guide and stay can be
Through cloud and sunshine O abide with me
Come not in terrors, As the King of kings,
But kind and good, With healing in Thy wings,
Tears for all woes, A heart for every plea,
Come, friend of sinners, And abide with me.
Swift to its close ebbs out lief’s little day
Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.
I fear no foe With Thee at hand to bless:
Ills have no weight, And tears no bitterness.
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, If Thou abide with me.
Hold Thou Thy cross Before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom, And point me to the skies;
Heav’n’s morning breaks, And earth’s vain shadows flee:
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me!
“Glory Be to Jesus” [LSB 433]
Glory be to Jesus, Who, in bitter pains,
Poured for me the lifeblood From His sacred veins!
Grace and life eternal In that blood I find;
Blest be His compassion, Infinitely kind.
Blest through endless ages Be the precious stream
Which from endless torments Doth the world redeem.
Abel’s blood for vengeance Pleaded to the skies;
But the blood of Jesus For our pardon cries.
Oft as earth exulting Wafts its praise on high,
Angel hosts, rejoicing, Make their glad reply.
Lift we then our voices, Swell the mighty flood;
Louder still and louder Praise the precious blood!
BENEDICTION Hebrews 13:20–21
P: We depart today and continue each day celebrating life:
C: life created by the Father;
P: life restored by Jesus Christ, the life of all the living, who is the resurrection and the life;
C: life sanctified by the living breath of the Holy Spirit.
P: Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever.
C: Amen.
HYMN “My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less” [LSB 576]
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus’ name.
Refrain
On Christ the solid rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.
Refrain
His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.
Refrain
When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.
Refrain
Creative Worship for the Lutheran Parish, Series A, Quarter 2. Copyright © 2019 Concordia Publishing House.
All rights reserved. Used by permission
Roger says
Pastor Larmi as usual your message is enlightening ad satisfying to my Soul. I did not sing the songs but read them. Thank you so much for your uplifting message from Christ to us.
Kim Collins says
Thank you for putting the service on the web site. It is very helpful to here the word of God each week even though we can”t meet together.