Lenten Midweek 5 3.25.26
LENTEN MIDWEEK SERVICE
MARCH 25, 2026
IN THE NAME OF JESUS, WELCOME TO ST. PAUL’S!
VESPERS
7:00 p.m.
✠ ✠ ✠
PRELUDE
ENTRANCE VERSE (Stand) LSB 229
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare Your praise.
Make haste, O God, to deliver me;
make haste to help me, O 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.
Praise to You, O Christ, Lamb of our salvation.
PSALMODY Psalm 41
Blessèd is the one who considers the poor!
In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him;
the Lord protects him and keeps him alive;
he is called blessèd in the land;
you do not give him up to the will of his enemies.
The Lord sustains him on his sickbed;
in his illness you restore him to full health.
As for me, I said, “O Lord, be gracious to me;
heal me, for I have sinned against you!”
My enemies say of me in malice,
“When will he die and his name perish?”
And when one comes to see me, he utters empty words,
while his heart gathers iniquity;
when he goes out, he tells it abroad.
All who hate me whisper together about me;
they imagine the worst for me.
They say, “A deadly thing is poured out on him;
he will not rise again from where he lies.”
Even my close friend in whom I trusted,
who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.
But you, O Lord, be gracious to me,
and raise me up, that I may repay them!
By this I know that you delight in me:
my enemy will not shout in triumph over me.
But you have upheld me because of my integrity,
and set me in your presence forever.
Blessèd be the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting!
Amen and Amen.
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.
FIRST READING (Be seated) Hebrews 2:5-10
Now it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. It has been testified somewhere,
“What is man, that you are mindful of him,
or the son of man, that you care for him?
You made him for a little while lower than the angels;
you have crowned him with glory and honor,
putting everything in subjection under his feet.”
Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
RESPONSORY (Stand) LSB 231
L Deliver me, O Lord, my God, for You are the God of my salvation.
C Rescue me from my enemies, protect me from those who rise against me.
L In You, O Lord, do I put my trust, leave me not, O Lord, my God.
C Rescue me from my enemies, protect me from those who rise against me.
L Deliver me, O Lord, my God, for You are the God of my salvation.
C Rescue me from my enemies, protect me from those who rise against me.
GOSPEL READING Mark 8:31-9:1
And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
And he called to him the crowd with his disciples and said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? For what can a man give in return for his life? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to You, O Christ.
HYMN O Love, How Deep Sts. 1, 5, 7 LSB 544
1 O love, how deep, how broad, how high,
Beyond all thought and fantasy,
That God, the Son of God, should take
Our mortal form for mortals’ sake!
5 For us by wickedness betrayed,
For us, in crown of thorns arrayed,
He bore the shameful cross and death;
For us He gave His dying breath.
7 All glory to our Lord and God
For love so deep, so high, so broad;
The Trinity whom we adore
Forever and forevermore.
SERMON (Be seated)
Tonight, we continue our study of God’s great love for us as expressed in the ancient hymn O Love, How Deep, How Broad, How High. Last week we looked at the last line of stanza three, noting how Jesus drives back the forces of Satan for us. This week, looking at stanza five, we are confronted with what happens when we are the problem.
In the Gospel lesson just read, Jesus teaches “that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again” (Mark 8:31). In these words, Jesus tells of his upcoming death and resurrection, before it happened. Two of the words he uses shed particular light on the problem we cause.
The first of these is the word “suffer.” In Jesus’ humiliation – meaning his humbling of himself for the purpose of our rescue – he suffers, both for us and with us. The author of Hebrews tells of this suffering when he writes: “For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering” (Hebrews 2:10).
The suffering Jesus felt was not simply the physical pain he endured. Rather, it included also the emotional pain he felt because of his great love for us. The Greek word Mark uses here is “pathos” – a word that serves as a root for our English words compassion and sympathy.
Jesus suffered great physical pain, yes. But perhaps the greater suffering he endured was that of rejection. And this is the second word from our text that sheds light on our problem. Jesus was rejected by the leaders of his own people, and by others too.
In many ways, Jesus’ journey throughout the Gospel of Mark is the story of his rejection. City after city, town after town, group after group rejects him – not because he hurts anybody or does anything wrong. Far from it. They reject him because he is good and holy and righteous in every way. And for that, they reject him.
As Jesus’ story goes forward, his rejection, sadly, takes an even darker turn. That’s because Jesus then gets rejected by two of his closest disciples – Peter and Judas. Peter denies knowing him, and Judas betrays him into the hands of those who hate him. Rejection by friends, as we know, cuts the deepest of all, leading to a suffering of terrible pain.
The depth of this pain occurred because Jesus loved both Peter and Judas. And this reminds us that while love is a wonderful gift and one that we all desire, a danger of love is that it makes you vulnerable. When you love another person, you tend to endure so much from them that it’s almost as if you’re giving them permission to hurt you.
Think about this. The closer you are to a person, the more they will hurt you through disappointment, letdown, and acts which are seen as betrayal, even when they aren’t intended as such. This rejection by a loved one feels so much greater; and usually has greater impact too.
This is why Peter’s denial cuts so deep. By many accounts he was one of Jesus’ three closest disciples. Yet he denied Jesus three times when Jesus was down.
And Judas . . . well, Judas betrays Jesus all the way to death itself. He found a time when Jesus was vulnerable and exposed, then betrayed him with a kiss.
Our hymn stanza rightfully declares that Jesus was betrayed by “wickedness.” It says: “For us by wickedness betrayed, for us, in crown of thorns arrayed.” Judas’ betrayal in particular, bore the imprint of evil.
But these words of the hymn also rightfully suggest that Jesus let this happen to him. Jesus had a plan in mind – one that was formulated and carried out “for us.”
Jesus permitted this betrayal because of his great love for each of us. And for this same reason, he also went willingly to the cross. As the hymn stanza concludes: “He bore the shameful cross and death; For us He gave His dying breath.”
On Good Friday we will read the full account of Jesus’ Passion. And at that time, we will hear many painful details about Jesus’ suffering and death. We will hear about his betrayal and denial for sure, but also about the false accusations levied against him, angry condemnations made by community leaders, the people’s preference for a convicted criminal with their insistent cries for Jesus’ death, a politician’s washing of his hands, soldiers mocking, scourging and beating him, a crown of thorns placed on his head and nails driven into his hands and feet, reviling by passersby and by religious leaders, and finally his own painful cries.
Such details are given so that we might know the extent of Jesus’ love for us. Jesus endured all these things so that our salvation could be secured.
And these details are given, too, so that we can better see how our sins also drove Jesus to the cross. For we, too, have dealt in falsehood and become angry for no good reason. We’ve made sinful choices out of complete self-interest and washed our hands of our responsibilities. We’ve mocked others, hurt them, denied them and betrayed them. Our sins against others have brought pain to many.
Thankfully, Jesus died for these sins. And because he died, we will live.
When Jesus died, the one who first breathed life into all creation breathed his last; and the one by whom all things were made was unmade (so to speak) by his death. Jesus was rejected, by friends and enemies alike.
And yet, even in his last breath he gave. He gave his dying breath so that you may have life breathed into you again.
This is the heart and soul of the Christian faith. And this is also the essence of true love.
The cross tells us that we are forgiven. Love took Jesus to the cross.
“For us by wickedness betrayed, for us in crown of thorns arrayed, he bore the shameful cross and death, for us he gave his dying breath.” Stanza five expresses Christ’s love in its wondrous and sacrificial glory.
But there is more glory too. And we will celebrate it soon.
Until then, we give thanks for Christ’s loving sacrifice. And we seek to live from this love in all things.
In the name of Jesus. Amen.
CANTICLE (Magnificat) (Stand) LSB 231
My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior;
for He has regarded the lowliness of His handmaiden.
For behold, from this day all generations will call me blessed.
For the Mighty One has done great things to me, and holy is His name;
and His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and has exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent empty away.
He has helped His servant Israel in remembrance of His mercy as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever.
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.
VESPER PRAYERS (Kneel) LSB 233-234
KYRIE LSB 233
Lord, have mercy;
Christ, have mercy;
Lord, have mercy.
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.
COLLECT
COLLECT FOR PEACE
Stand
BENEDICAMUS LSB 234
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
BENEDICTION LSB 234
The grace of our Lord ✠ Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Amen.
EVENING HYMN Christ, Mighty Savior LSB 881
1 Christ, mighty Savior, Light of all creation,
You make the daytime radiant with the sunlight
And to the night give glittering adornment,
Stars in the heavens.
2 Now comes the day’s end as the sun is setting,
Mirror of daybreak, pledge of resurrection;
While in the heavens choirs of stars appearing
Hallow the nightfall.
3 Therefore we come now evening rites to offer,
Joyfully chanting holy hymns to praise You,
With all creation joining hearts and voices
Singing Your glory.
4 Give heed, we pray You, to our supplication,
That You may grant us pardon for offenses,
Strength for our weak hearts, rest for aching bodies,
Soothing the weary.
5 Though bodies slumber, hearts shall keep their vigil,
Forever resting in the peace of Jesus,
In light or darkness worshiping our Savior
Now and forever.
POSTLUDE
THOSE SERVING:
Greeter: Bob Juenger
Reader: Melissa Hecht
Offerings support the church’s mission work – both here and through our many partners. Offerings may be placed in the box at the sanctuary entrance or sent to the church through our website or the mail. Fellowship Cards help us welcome new people and track participation. Please fill one out and place it in the offering box following the service.
Acknowledgments
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.
544 O Love, How Deep Text: attr. Thomas à Kempis, 1380–1471; tr. Benjamin Webb, 1819–85, alt. Tune: English, 15th cent. Text: Public domain
881 Christ, Mighty Savior Text: Latin, c. 7th cent.; tr. Alan McDougall, 1895–1966; rev. Anne K. LeCroy, 1927–2016 Tune: Richard W. Dirksen, 1921–2003 Text: © 1982 The United Methodist Publishing House, admin. Music Services (ASCAP). Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110005326 Tune: © 1984 Washington National Cathedral. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110005326
