April 1st Midweek Service

INVOCATION & CALL TO WORSHIP

(Based on Job 19:23–27)
L: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.

L: Oh, that my words were recorded, that they were written on a scroll,
C: That they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead, or engraved in rock forever!

L: I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.
C: And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God.

L: I myself will see him with my own eyes, I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!
ALL: I know that my Redeemer lives!

HYMN No 423

“Jesus Refuge of the Weary” (vss. 1 – 2 )
Jesus, refuge of the weary, blest redeemer, whom we love,
Fountain in life’s desert dreary, Savior from the world above:
Often have Your eyes, offended, gazed upon the sinner’s fall;
Yet upon the cross extended, You have borne the pain of all.

Do we pass that cross unheeding, breathing no repentant vow,
Though we see You wounded, bleeding, see Your thorn encircled brow?
Yet Your sinless death has brought us life eternal, peace, and rest;
Only what Your grace has taught us calms the sinner’s deep distress.

CONFESSION & ABSOLUTION

P: God of thundering glory and wondrous love,
C: You laid the earth’s foundation.

P: You marked off its dimensions.
C: You laid its cornerstone.

P: You shut the sea behind doors.
C: And so to you we lay bare the thoughts and desires of our hearts;

P: We have been foolish in our secret desires.
C: We are bound to fatal enchantments that lead us into lies and deceit.

P: Hear our broken cries
C: For we have no other hope.

P: The God who wraps himself in a storm and speaks to Job is the same God who wrapped himself in a human body to die on a cross, bleed for your sins, and hang forsaken by his Father. Because of Jesus you are cleansed, healed, forgiven and made new.
ALL: I know that my Redeemer lives!

HYMN No 423

“Jesus Refuge of the Weary” (vs. 3 )
Jesus, may our hearts be burning with more fervent love for you;
May our eyes be ever turning to behold your cross anew
Till in glory, parted never from the blessed Savior’s side,
Graven in our hearts forever, dwell the cross, the Crucified.

PRAYER OF THE DAY

L: Let us pray. God of magnificent power and might, just as you spoke to Job out of the storm, speak now in our storms so that we have courage for the living of these days; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C: Amen.

OLD TESTAMENT

Job 38:1-11 (The LORD Answers Job)
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:

“Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
Dress for action like a man;
I will question you, and you make it known to me.

“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?
On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone,
when the morning stars sang together
and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

“Or who shut in the sea with doors
when it burst out from the womb,
when I made clouds its garment
and thick darkness its swaddling band,
and prescribed limits for it
and set bars and doors,
and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther,
and here shall your proud waves be stayed’?

L: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.

EPISTLE

2 Corinthians 6:1-10 (We commend ourselves in every way)
Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says,

“In a favorable time I listened to you,
and in a day of salvation I have helped you.”

Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.

L: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.

GOSPEL

Luke 8:22-25 (Jesus Calms a Storm)
P: The Gospel according to St. Luke, the eighth chapter.
C: Glory to You, O Lord.

One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they set out, and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”

P: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C: Praise to You, O Christ.

HYMN No. 644

“The Church’s One Foundation” (vss. 1, 4, & 5)
The Church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ, her Lord;
She is His new creation by water and the Word.
From heav’n He came and sought her to be His holy bride;
With His own blood He bought her, and for her life He died.

Through toil and tribulation and tumult of her war
She waits the consummation of peace forevermore
Till with the vision glorious her longing eyes are blest,
And the great Church victorious shall be the Church at rest.

Yet she on earth has union with God, the Three in One,
And mystic sweet communion with those whose rest is won.
O blessed heav’nly chorus! Lord, save us by Your grace
That we, like saints before us, may see you face to face.

MESSAGE

“Job: Blessed Be the Name of the Lord”
God Speaks in the Storm Pastor Vern (Job 38:1-11)

OFFERING

Please remember your church if you are able. We understand current circumstances may be causing you to tighten your budgets. Consider Jesus’ words in Luke 6:38:

Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

PRAYERS

L: Father, you inhabit eternity;
C: The heavens declare your glory and the earth announces your beauty.

L: Your presence fills the universe and yet in Christ you come to us with compassion and mercy.
C: Help us find light in our darkness,

L: Joy in our sorrow,
C: Healing in our sickness,

L: And your great grace that covers a multitude of our sins.

+ Silence for Additional Prayers God has laid on our hearts +

L: Dear Father, hold us tight in your fierce love, a love that gives sense to our days, and hope to our years. We pray in Christ’s holy name.
ALL: Amen.

LORD’S PRAYER

(Matthew 6:9-13)
P: Remember us in Your kingdom, Lord, and teach us to pray:
All: 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.

BLESSING OF THE LORD

(Based upon Job 1:21)
L: The Lord gives,
C: And the Lord takes away,

L: Blessed be the name of the Lord.
C: Yes, blessed be the name of the Lord!

L: And so we go forth confidently in the name of our Lord,
C: The Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

HYMN No. 878

“Abide with Me” (vss. 1 & 6)
Abide with me, fast falls the eventide.
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O 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.

SILENT PRAYER

“Speak, O Lord, your servant listens!”
Amen.

Study For Maundy Thursday

Read Job 41:20–34 and answer these questions:
1. Who is Leviathan?
2. Who has authority and power over this huge monster?
3. How does this victory over evil relate to the Lord’s Supper?