03/15/2026
Here is the Order of Service for our Virtual Service at 10 AM this morning! Blessings, Pastor Rod
Hymn: LSB 430 “My Song Is Love Unknown”
1 My song is love unknown,
My Savior’s love to me,
Love to the loveless shown
That they might lovely be.
Oh, who am I
That for my sake
My Lord should take
Frail flesh and die?
2 He came from His blest throne
Salvation to bestow;
But men made strange, and none
The longed-for Christ would know.
But, oh, my friend,
My friend indeed,
Who at my need
His life did spend!
3 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.
4 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.
5 They rise and needs will have
My dear Lord made away;
A murderer they save,
The Prince of Life they slay.
Yet cheerful He
To suff’ring goes
That He His foes
From thence might free.
6 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.
7 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!
Text: Samuel Crossman, c. 1624–1683
Text: Public domain
Invocation
The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their Baptism.
P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
Confession and Forgiveness of Sins (Absolution)
P Let us then confess our sins to God our Father.
We observe a time of silence for reflection and confession.
P Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins. As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
Introit Psalm 27:4–6; antiphon: Psalm 25:15
My eyes are ever toward the LORD,
for he will pluck my feet out of the net.
One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.
For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock.
And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the LORD.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Prayer of the Day
P Let us pray.
Almighty God, our heavenly Father, Your mercies are new every morning; and though we deserve only punishment, You receive us as Your children and provide for all our needs of body and soul. Grant that we may heartily acknowledge Your merciful goodness, give thanks for all Your benefits, and serve You in willing obedience; 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 Reading Job 23
1Then Job answered and said:
2“Today also my complaint is bitter;
my hand is heavy on account of my groaning.
3Oh, that I knew where I might find him,
that I might come even to his seat!
4I would lay my case before him
and fill my mouth with arguments.
5I would know what he would answer me
and understand what he would say to me.
6Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power?
No; he would pay attention to me.
7There an upright man could argue with him,
and I would be acquitted forever by my judge.
8“Behold, I go forward, but he is not there,
and backward, but I do not perceive him;
9on the left hand when he is working, I do not behold him;
he turns to the right hand, but I do not see him.
10But he knows the way that I take;
when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.
11My foot has held fast to his steps;
I have kept his way and have not turned aside.
12I have not departed from the commandment of his lips;
I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food.
13But he is unchangeable, and who can turn him back?
What he desires, that he does.
14For he will complete what he appoints for me,
and many such things are in his mind.
15Therefore I am terrified at his presence;
when I consider, I am in dread of him.
16God has made my heart faint;
the Almighty has terrified me;
17yet I am not silenced because of the darkness,
nor because thick darkness covers my face.
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Epistle 2 Corinthians 5:14–21
14For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
16From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Holy Gospel Luke 14:25–32
P The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke, the fourteenth chapter.
C Glory to You, O Lord.
25Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, 26“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 28For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.
P This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C Praise to You, O Christ.
Hymn: LSB 725 “Children of the Heavenly Father”
1 Children of the heav’nly Father
Safely in His bosom gather;
Nestling bird nor star in heaven
Such a refuge e’er was given.
2 God His own doth tend and nourish;
In His holy courts they flourish.
From all evil things He spares them;
In His mighty arms He bears them.
3 Neither life nor death shall ever
From the Lord His children sever;
Unto them His grace He showeth,
And their sorrows all He knoweth.
4 Though He giveth or He taketh,
God His children ne’er forsaketh;
His the loving purpose solely
To preserve them pure and holy.
Text: Carolina Sandell Berg, 1832–1903; tr. Ernst W. Olson, 1870–1958
Text: Public domain
Sermon
Confession of Faith: Apostles’ Creed
C 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 T everlasting. Amen.
Prayer of the Church
Lord’s Prayer
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.
Benediction LSB 166
P The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you.
The Lord look upon you with favor and T give you peace.
C Amen.
Hymn: LSB 922 “Go, My Children, with My Blessing” sts. 1–4
1 Go, My children, with My blessing,
Never alone.
Waking, sleeping, I am with you;
You are My own.
In My love’s baptismal river
I have made you Mine forever.
Go, My children, with My blessing—
You are My own.
2 Go, My children, sins forgiven,
At peace and pure.
Here you learned how much I love you,
What I can cure.
Here you heard My dear Son’s story;
Here you touched Him, saw His glory.
Go, My children, sins forgiven,
At peace and pure.
3 Go, My children, fed and nourished,
Closer to Me;
Grow in love and love by serving,
Joyful and free.
Here My Spirit’s power filled you;
Here His tender comfort stilled you.
Go, My children, fed and nourished,
Joyful and free.
4 I the Lord will bless and keep you
And give you peace;
I the Lord will smile upon you
And give you peace:
I the Lord will be your Father,
Savior, Comforter, and Brother.
Go, My children; I will keep you
And give you peace.
Text: Jaroslav J. Vajda, 1919–2008
Text: © 1983 Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110005647
Acknowledgments
Divine Service, Setting One from Lutheran Service Book
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Created by Lutheran Service Builder © 2026 Concordia Publishing House.
