March 8, 2026 | Third Sunday of Lent
PRELUDE
Call to Worship From John 14 & 2 Cor 1:3
Pastor: Do not let your heart be
troubled. Believe in God;
believe also in Me,
People: In my Father’s house are
many dwelling places.
Pastor: If it were not so, I would have
told you, for I go to
prepare a place for you.
People: If I go and prepare a place for
you, I will come again
and receive you to Myself;
that where I am, there you
may also be.
Pastor: I will ask the Father, and He
will give you another
Helper, that He may be with
you forever.
People: Peace I leave with you; My
peace I give you. Not as the
world gives, do I give it to
you.
Pastor: Do not let your heart be
troubled, nor let it be fearful.
All: Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Father of mercies
and God of all comfort.
Amen. ◆
WELCOME
PRAYER of INVOCATION
from Psalm 85:6-8
SONG of ADORATION
As I rise, strength of God; Go before, lift me up
As I wake, eyes of God; Look upon, be my sight
As I wait, heart of God; Satisfy and sustain
As I hear, voice of God; Lead me on, be my guide
Be my guide
Above and below me, Before and behind me
In every eye that sees me; Christ be all around me!
As I go, hand of God, My defense, by my side
As I rest, breath of God; Fall upon, bring me peace
Bring me peace
Above and below me, Before and behind me
In every eye that sees me; Christ be all around me!
Ohhhhh
Christ be all around me!
Your life, Your death, Your blood was shed
For every moment, every moment (x3)
Above and below me, Before and behind me
In every eye that sees me; Christ be all around me!
Ohhhhh
Christ be all around me!
Songwriters: Leeland Mooring / David Leonard / Leslie Jordan / Jack Anthony Mooring © Meaux Mercy Publishing, Meaux Jeaux Music, Meaux Mercy, Integrity's Praise! Music, Jack Mooring Music, The Devil Is A Liar! Publishng, Little Way Creative
Confession and Assurance
READING of GOD’S LAW
Hear God’s Law, His Will for Your Life, from I Thessalonians 4:1-12 . . .
“Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.”
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God. ◆
PRAYER of CONFESSION John Chrysostom
O Lord, receive us in repentance; O Lord, leave us not;
O Lord, save us from temptation and grant us pure thoughts;
O Lord, grant us tears of repentance, remembrance of death, and a sense of peace;
O Lord, grant us mindfulness to confess our sins; grant us humility, charity, and obedience;
O Lord, grant us tolerance, magnanimity, and gentleness;
implant in us the root of all blessings: the fear of You in our hearts;
O Lord, shield use from evil people and devils and passions and all other lawless matters; let Your will also be fulfilled in us sinner, for You are blessed forevermore. Amen. ◆
ASSURANCE of PARDON From Isaiah 62:11-12
Affirm with me these words of comfort from God:
Behold, the Lord has proclaimed
to the end of the earth:
Say to the daughter of Zion,
“Behold, your salvation comes;
Behold, His reward is with Him.”
And they shall be called The Holy People
The Redeemed of the Lord;
And you shall be called Sought Out
A City Not Forsaken.
We have the Word of the Eternal Word Himself that he will never forsake us, but will keep us—safe and holy—in His strong right hand.
SONG of RESPONSE “Blessed Assurance” #139
Life of Worship
PROFESSION of FAITH The Nicene Creed
We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, of all that exists—seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father before all worlds; Light of Light, True God of 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.
By the power of the Holy Spirit, he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and was made man.
For our sake, He was crucified under Pontius Pilate. He suf-fered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again, in accordance with the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, where he sits 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 Ghost, the Lord, the Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and from the Son. With the Father and the Son He is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy, universal, and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism unto the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.◆
OFFERING
DOXOLOGY #334
PRAYER of DEDICATION
CHILDREN’S CATECHISM
Q.8. What is God?
A. God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal,
and unchangeable in His being,
wisdom, power, holiness,
justice, goodness
and truth.
(John 5:39; Luke 16:29; Acts 8:28-30)
PASSING of the PEACE
PRAYER of INTERCESSION
THE LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father which art in heaven,
Hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,
For thine is the kingdom, and the power,
and the glory, forever. Amen. ◆
Ministry of the Word
SONG “My Worth Is Not in What I Own” #285
PRAYER for ILLUMINATION
SCRIPTURE READING II Samuel 11:1-9
In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.
One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home. The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.”
So David sent this word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent him to David. When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going. Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him. But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master’s servants and did not go down to his house.
SERMON “The Wisdom of Tatsu” Pastor Zach
SONG of DEPARTURE “Gloria Patri” #331
BENEDICTION
POSTLUDE
