MIDWEEK LENTEN WORSHIP
Grace Lutheran Church • Tucson, Arizona
March 25, 2026
OPENING HYMN Sweet the Moments, Rich in Blessing Christian Worship 400
Please stand
INVOCATION
Minister: In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Congregation: Amen.
PRAYER
Let us pray.
Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires are known, and from whom no secrets are hidden: cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by your Holy Spirit, that we may love you and praise your holy name; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION
Our help is in the name of the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 124:8
Let us confess our sins to God and ask for his forgiveness: Almighty God, merciful Father, I confess to you that I have not loved you with all my heart. In what I have done and left undone, I have pursued my ways instead of your ways. I have not loved others as you command. For this I deserve your punishment now and forever. I am sorry for my sins. I repent of them. I beg for your mercy.
Forgive us for the sake of Jesus Christ, who suffered and died for us. Cleanse me from my sins. Release me from my guilt. Grant me your Holy Spirit to amend my sinful life.
Jesus says to his people, “If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven.” Do you believe this? Yes, I believe.
John 20:23
God, who is rich in mercy, loved us even when we were dead in sin and made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved. Ephesians 2:4-5
In the name of (+) Jesus Christ, I forgive you all your sins.
Amen.
EXHORTATION
Our Lord Jesus Christ has forgiven us, has reconciled us to God, and has promised us the power to forgive and love one another. Relying on his promise, therefore, be reconciled with one another. Brothers and sisters, may the peace of Christ rule in our hearts, in our words, and in our actions.
PRAYER
Let us pray.
God, our Father, by the sacrifice of your Son you reconciled the world to yourself. We thank you for the precious gift of forgiveness. Refresh us with the joy of our salvation, that we may walk in the way of peace with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Renew our minds and wills, that daily we may speak your word of peace; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
Please be seated
RESPONSIVE READING FROM PSALM 32
Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit.
When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.
For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.
Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.
You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble.
Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him.
PSALM PRAYER
Lord, whenever we feel the crushing burden of our sin, show us again how blessed we are. You have lifted our transgressions from us. You have covered our sins with the robe of your Son’s righteousness. You no longer count our misdeeds against us. For this great deliverance, we rejoice and sing your saving name.
Amen.
27Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole cohort of soldiers around him. 28They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him. 29They twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand, knelt in front of him, and mocked him by saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30They spit on him, took the staff, and hit him repeatedly on his head.
31After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.
32As they were going out of the city, they found a man of Cyrene named Simon. They forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. 33They came to a place called Golgotha, which means “The place of the skull.” 34They offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. 35After they had crucified him, they divided his clothing among themselves by casting lots. 36Then they sat down and were keeping watch over him there. 37Above his head they posted the written charge against him: “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.”
38At the same time two criminals were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. 39People who passed by kept insulting him, shaking their heads, 40and saying, “You who were going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross!”
41In the same way the chief priests, experts in the law, and elders kept mocking him. They said, 42“He saved others, but he cannot save himself. If he’s the King of Israel, let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now, if he wants him, because he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” 44In the same way even the criminals who were crucified with him kept insulting him.
45From the sixth hour until the ninth hour, there was darkness over all the land. 46About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
47When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “This fellow is calling for Elijah.”
48Immediately one of them ran, took a sponge, and soaked it with sour wine. Then he put it on a stick and gave him a drink. 49The rest said, “Leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”
50After Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. 51Suddenly, the temple curtain was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and rocks were split. 52Tombs were opened, and many bodies of saints who had fallen asleep were raised to life.
53Those who came out of the tombs went into the holy city after Jesus’ resurrection and appeared to many people. 54When the centurion and those who were guarding Jesus with him saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they were terrified and said, “Truly this was the Son of God.”
55Many women who had followed Jesus from Galilee and who had served him were there, watching from a distance. 56Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.
57When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus. 58He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 59Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60and laid it in his own new tomb that he had cut in the rock. He rolled a large stone over the tomb’s entrance and left. 61Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there sitting opposite the tomb.
62On the next day, which was the day after the Preparation Day, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered in the presence of Pilate 63and said, “Sir, we remembered what that deceiver said while he was still alive: ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 64So give a command that the tomb be made secure until the third day. Otherwise his disciples might steal his body and tell the people, ‘He is risen from the dead.’ And this last deception will be worse than the first.”
65Pilate said to them, “You have a guard. Go, make it as secure as you know how.” 66So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and posting a guard. HYMN—Christ, the Life of All the Living
Look at the One Who Was Pierced Zechariah 12:10-13
10 “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace, who pleads for mercy. Then they will look at me, the one they have pierced.”
They will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child. They will grieve bitterly for him, as one grieves over his firstborn. 11 On that day there will be great mourning in Jerusalem, as great as the mourning for Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land will mourn, each family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of Shimei by itself, and their wives by themselves.
SERMON
CONFESSION OF FAITH Apostles’ Creed with Luther’s Explanation
ALL: I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
What does this mean?
I believe that God created me and all that exists,
and that he gave me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my mind and all my abilities. And I believe that God still preserves me by richly and daily providing clothing and shoes, food and drink, property and home, spouse and children, land, cattle, and all I own, and all I need to keep my body and life.
God also preserves me by defending me against all danger, guarding and protecting me from all evil.
All this God does only because he is my good and merciful Father in heaven, and not because I have earned or deserved it.
For all this I ought to thank and praise, to serve and obey him. This is most certainly true.
ALL: I believe 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 is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
What does this mean?
I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from all eternity, and also true man, born of the virgin Mary, is my Lord.
He has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil, not with gold or silver but with his holy precious blood and with his innocent suffering and death.
All this he did that I should be his own, and live under him in his kingdom, and serve him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness,
just as he has risen from death and lives and rules eternally. This is most certainly true.
ALL: 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.
What does this mean?
I believe that I cannot by my own thinking or choosing believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to him.
But the Holy Spirit has called me by the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.
In the same way he calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.
In this Christian church he daily and fully forgives all sins to me and all believers.
On the Last Day he will raise me and all the dead and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ. This is most certainly true.
Please stand
LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen.
PRAYER FOR PEACE
Lord God, all holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works come from you. Give to us, your servants, that peace which the world cannot give, that our hearts may be set to obey your commandments. Defend us also from the fear of our enemies, that we may live in peace and quietness; through the merits of Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
BLESSING
Go in peace. Christ Jesus has set you free. Thanks be to God.
Please be seated
SEASON OF LENT
The Lenten Season is observed during the six weeks prior to Easter. The traditional goal of Lent is to prepare believers for a proper celebration of the events of Holy Week, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The purple color of the altar paraments and vestments reminds us that Lent is also a season of repentance. The Bible tells us that repentance is always the divine work of the Holy Spirit through the Law and the Gospel. The Law crucifies the old Adam, the sinful nature within us, and the Gospel raises up the new man, the new creation in us. For us, the Lenten focus on the cross and suffering of Jesus is not aimed at an emotional response. It is a pointed proclamation and confession of the Law and the Gospel, a preaching of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Lent is properly a season of repentance when it brings the cross to sinners and sinners to the cross of Christ as the fountain and source of forgiveness, life, and salvation.
This Lenten season, the theme for our midweek services is “It Is Finished.” This series explores the prophecies of Zechariah, offering an enriching look at our Savior Jesus, particularly as these prophecies relate to the events of Jesus’ Holy Week passion, death, and resurrection.
WORSHIP NOTES
The order of worship we will follow is printed in this worship folder for you to follow along and participate. You’ll notice that the service is a dialogue between God and us, his people. The pastor speaks to God along with the congregation and also speaks the Word of God to the people. The hymns we are using come from the blue Christian Worship hymnal, which is found in the hymnal racks in each pew. LARGE PRINT worship folders are available for those who desire one.
Those wishing to leave an offering can do so at either exit today or give online at GraceLutheranSAZ.org/give. (You can also scan the QR code to the right to access the online giving page.)
We would greatly appreciate a record of your attendance in our worship today. Please take a moment to sign the Friendship Register located in the red folder at the end of each row. Thank you!
PARKING
There is no cost to park in our parking lot during worship services. If you receive a citation by mistake, please let our office staff know so it can be cleared
Grace Central Office: Email office@gracelutheransaz.org. Phone (520)623-6633
THOSE ASSISTING IN WORSHIP TODAY
Minister..................................................................................................................... Pastor Ron Koehler
Accompanist...........................................................................................................................Jim Bakken
Vocalist..............................................................................................................Jeff Weinstein (7:00 PM) Sound and Recording Technicians .................................................. Jeremy Snavely, Danny Koehler
Acknowledgements: