WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 2026
MIDWEEK LENTEN SERVICE
CHRIST THE KING LUTHERAN CHURCH
CHURCH: 410-356-3400 CELL: 410-707-7663
Church email: ctklclcms@yahoo.com
Church Web Site: ctklchurch.org
***************************************************************
WORD OF WELCOME
OPENING HYMN: 728 “How Firm A Foundation”
THE INVOCATION AND OPENING SENTENCES
P. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
C. Amen.
P. I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
C. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
P. The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing,
C. but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
THE PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Lord Jesus Christ, in trial after trial, you answered the voices of the prosecution with love and faithful witness to the truth that you are God’s Son, the Savior of sinners. As Peter and John and many others bore witness to that truth, even to the point of death, grant us also boldness
to embrace you by faith and speak the good news of salvation in your name to others. This we pray in your name, Jesus. Amen.
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION
P. Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in love.
C. He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.
P. Confident that our God is gracious and forgiving, let us confess our sins.
O Lord, I have worried about your provision for me. I have been greedy for material things. I have sought power and glory at the expense of others. I have ignored your Word, though I know what it says. I have avoided the hard road of righteousness and taken the easy road of sin.
P. Our Lord Jesus Christ says, “If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven.” Assured by his word and promise, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
C. Amen.
PSALM RESPONSE: Psalm 76
P. In Judah God is known; his name is great in Israel.
C. His abode has been established in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion.
P. There he broke the flashing arrows, the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war.
C. Glorious are you, more majestic than the mountains of prey.
P. The stouthearted were stripped of their spoil; they sank into sleep;
C. all the men of war were unable to use their hands.
P. At your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both rider and horse lay stunned. But you, you are to be feared!
C. Who can stand before you when once your anger is roused?
P. From the heavens you uttered judgment; the earth feared and was still,
C. when God arose to establish judgment, to save all the humble of the earth.
THE FIRST LESSON: Isaiah 51:1-8
“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn; look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth. When I called him he was but one, and I blessed him and made him many. The LORD will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing. “Listen to me, my people; hear me, my nation: The law will go out from me; my justice will become a light to the
nations. My righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way, and my arm will bring justice to the nations. The islands will look to me and wait in hope for my arm. Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies. But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail. “Hear me, you who know what is right, you people who have my law in your hearts: Do not fear the reproach of men or be terrified by their in-
sults. For the moth will eat them up like a garment; the worm will devour them like wool. But my righteousness will last forever, my salvation through all generations.”
THE GOSPEL LESSON: John 18:12-24
Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus. They bound him and brought him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it would be good if one man died for the people.
Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard, but Peter had to wait outside at the door. The other disciple, who was known to the high priest, came back, spoke to the girl on duty there and brought Peter in.
“You are not one of his disciples, are you?” the girl at the door asked Peter.
He replied, “I am not.”
It was cold, and the servants and officials stood around a fire they had made to keep warm. Peter also was standing with them, warming himself.
Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.
“I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus replied. “I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said.”
When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby struck him in the face. “Is this the way you answer the high priest?” he demanded.
“If I said something wrong,” Jesus replied, “testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?” Then Annas sent him, still bound, to Caiaphas the high priest.
THE CREED
I believe in God the Father, the Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered and was crucified under Pontius Pilate. He died and was buried. He descended into hell, and the third day he rose again. He entered into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Almighty Father. He will come again 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 eternal. Amen.
HYMN: 438 “A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth”
THE DEVOTION: “Called To Be A Part Of God’s Family”
THE OFFERING
PRAYERS FOR THE PEOPLE OF GOD
P. Innocent Lord, who suffered for us,
C. Hear our prayer.
P. O Lord Jesus, we thank you for leaders in the Church who have steered your people in the right direction and made decisions that were in line with our needs and your will. Continue to bless our church leaders in all capacities to carry out your mission into all the world and build up the body of believers. Innocent Lord, who suffered for us,
C. Hear our prayer.
P. O Lord of the nations, bless the government leaders of our nation as well. Guide the decisions that are made by the president, senators, representatives and all those who serve as our ambassadors around the globe. Help them
to make choices that honor you. Let us show them a healthy respect for the offices they hold. Innocent Lord, who suffered for us,
C. Hear our prayer.
P. Silent Jesus, in the face of accusations from every side, you did not respond. Help us to remain calm, cool and collected in the face of accusations against us and our faith. Instill in us a desire to bring peace to people instead of discord, to react with kindness instead of anger. Innocent Lord, who suffered for us,
C. Hear our prayer.
P. Jesus, our Healer and Friend, help us to speak out to those we meet about what you have done in our lives. Let us remind others daily that you make our bodies, minds and souls complete and free of sin, guilt and sadness forever through your death on the cross. Innocent Lord, who suffered for us,
C. Hear our prayer.
P. Word made Flesh, keep us in your Word this Lenten season. Help us to set aside time to read more about you in the Bible. Open our eyes to what is recorded in Scripture about how you came to rescue people who were drowning in sin, grieving great losses and dealing with painful situations. Comfort us through the many messages of salvation found in the Bible and made manifest in you. Innocent Lord, who suffered for us,
C. Hear our prayer.
P. For these and all other things we have on our hearts, we ask for your grace, confident that you were tried and crucified to save sinners. In your name we pray.
C. Amen.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
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.
THE BENEDICTION
Fight the good fight of faith.
C. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the
presence of many witnesses.
I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,
C. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the spirit.
P. Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.
C. Amen.
CLOSING HYMN: 439 “O Dearest Jesus” (7-9)
