SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT March 1, 2026
Immanuel Ev. Lutheran Church
Wisconsin Synod
Pastor Rev. Christopher Oehlke Pastor’s Phone: 1-262-909-7827
Organist Karen Davis, Mindy Kane, Church Telephone 763-682-4573
Lorraine Roush Email pastor@myimmanuel.org
WELCOME, VISITORS: We are glad you could be with us and we welcome you back any time. Please sign our “Welcome” card found in the pew holders or sign the guest book in the narthex/entry.
Prayer before Communion
Most gracious Lord, you bid me to approach your altar in confidence and hope. O sweet and friendly word in a sinner’s ear, that you, Lord God, invite the needy and the poor to the communion of your body and blood! You, the Lord of the Universe, have willed to come to me, a poor and lowly sinner, to live in me. Grant me grace at all times and in all places to give you hearty thanks for this marvelous gift. Amen
THE COMMON SERVICE
Beginning on Page 15 in the Hymnal.
HYMN (#288) “The Gospel Shows the Father’s Grace”
M: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: (Sung) Amen.
CONFESSION OF SINS
M: Beloved in the Lord: let us draw near with a true heart and confess our sins to God our Father, asking him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to grant us forgiveness.
C: Holy and merciful Father, I confess that I am by nature sinful and that I have disobeyed you in my thoughts, words,
and actions. I have done what is evil and failed to do what is
good. For this I deserve your punishment both now and in eternity. But I am truly sorry for my sins, and trusting in my Savior Jesus Christ, I pray: Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.
LORD, HAVE MERCY
C: (Sung) Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
M: God, our heavenly Father, has been merciful to us and has given his only Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Therefore, as a called servant of Christ and by his authority, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: (Sung) Amen.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
M: The Lord be with you.
C: (Sung) And also with you.
M: Let us pray: Almighty God, you see that we have no power to defend ourselves. Guard and keep us both outwardly and inwardly from all adversities that may happen to the body and all evil thoughts that may assault and hurt the soul; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C: (Sung) Amen.
THE WORD
FIRST LESSON Genesis 12:1-8
12 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Get out of your country and away from your relatives and from your father’s house and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great. You will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse anyone who dishonors you. All of the families of the earth will be blessed in you.” 4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him. Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 Abram took Sarai his wife, Lot his brother’s son, and all the possessions they had accumulated and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to travel to the land of Canaan. Eventually they arrived in the land of Canaan. 6 Abram passed through the land until he came to the Oak of Moreh at the place called Shechem. The Canaanites were in the land at that time. 7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your descendants.” Abram built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8 He moved on from there to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent there, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and proclaimed the name of the Lord. (EHV)
M: The Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
PSALM OF THE DAY (Sung) Psalm 121 (page 112)
SECOND LESSON Romans 4:1-5, 13-17
4 What then will we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered according to the flesh? 2 If indeed Abraham had been justified by works, he would have had a reason to boast—but not before God. 3 For what does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.” 4 Now to a person who works, his pay is not counted as a gift but as something owed. 5 But to the person who does not work but believes in the God who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited to him as righteousness.
13 Indeed, the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not given to Abraham or his descendants through the law, but through the righteousness that is by faith. 14 To be sure, if people are heirs by the law, faith is empty and the promise is nullified. 15 For law brings wrath. (Where there is no law, there is no transgression.) 16 For this reason, the promise is by faith, so that it may be according to grace and may be guaranteed to all of Abraham’s descendants—not only to the one who is a descendant by law, but also to the one who has the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. 17 As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” In the presence of God, Abraham believed him who makes the dead alive and calls non-existing things so that they exist. (EHV)
M: The Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
VERSE OF THE DAY
M: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
GOSPEL John 3:1-17
After the announcement of the Gospel, the congregation sings:
C: (Sung) Glory be to you, O Lord!
3 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these miraculous signs you are doing unless God is with him.”
3 Jesus replied, “Amen, Amen, I tell you: Unless someone is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?”
5 Jesus answered, “Amen, Amen, I tell you: Unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God! 6 Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh. Whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be surprised when I tell you that you must be born from above. 8 The wind blows where it pleases. You hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
9 “How can these things be?” asked Nicodemus.
10 “You are the teacher of Israel,” Jesus answered, “and you do not know these things? 11 Amen, Amen, I tell you: We speak what we know, and we testify about what we have seen. But you people do not accept our testimony. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven, except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven. 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (EHV)
M: The Gospel of the Lord.
C: (Sung) Praise be to you, O Christ!
NICENE CREED
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation, he came down from heaven,
was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary,
and became fully human.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate.
He suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who in unity with the Father and the Son
is worshiped and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy Christian and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
HYMN OF THE DAY (#391) “God Loved the World So that He Gave”
SERMON TEXT John 3:1-17
SERMON THEME “Faith Rests on God’s Grace”
After the sermon, the congregation stands and sings:
C: (Sung) Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and
take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with your free Spirit. Amen.
OFFERING – Please leave offering in the plate as you depart.
PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH
M: Heavenly Father, you loved the world and gave your Son to liberate us from sin and death by his obedient death on the cross.
C: We confess that without your love we are lost.
M: Lord of the Church, we thank you for the treasure of the gospel. By your Spirit, keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.
C: Strengthen our determination to do what pleases you,
no matter what the danger or the cost.
M: Let us pray for those who carry a cross in the name of Christ and
face ridicule and persecution for the sake of the kingdom: missionaries and chaplains, young people who stand up for what is right in the face of pressure to do what is wrong, and all who pay a high price for their faith and their values as Christians.
C: By your Spirit, O Lord, grant them patience and endurance.
M: Let us pray for those who carry heavy burdens in life: the sick
and the chronically ill, the depressed and the lonely, those torn
by conflict in personal relationships, those victimized by war and
injustice, and all who face the terrors of life with a heavy heart.
C: Grant them peace, O Lord, and in your mercy, be their
guardian and friend, their comfort and hope.
M: Let us pray for those who care for others: pastors and counselors;
physicians and nurses; social workers and caring friends; all who
feed the hungry, comfort the hurting, and stand beside the dying.
C: Strengthen them in their work, O Lord, and do not let them
become weary in doing good.
Special prayers and intercessions may follow.
M: Hear us, Lord, as we bring you our private petitions.
Silent prayer.
M: Help us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Keep
us faithful even to the point of death, that we may receive the
crown of life, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
C: Amen.
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.
THE SACRAMENT
PREFACE
M: The Lord be with you.
C: (Sung) And also with you.
M: Lift up your hearts.
C: (Sung) We lift them up unto the Lord.
M: Let us give thanks to the Lord, our God.
C: (Sung) It is good and right so to do.
M: It is truly good and right that we should at all times and in all places give you thanks, O Lord, holy Father, almighty and everlasting God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who brought the gift of salvation to all people by his death on the tree of the cross, so that the devil, who overcame us by a tree would in turn by a tree be overcome. Therefore, with all the saints on earth and hosts of heaven, we praise your holy name and join their glorious song:
HOLY, HOLY, HOLY
C: (Sung) Holy, holy, holy Lord God of heavenly hosts:
heav’n and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he, blessed is he, blessed is he
who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest.
WORDS OF INSTITUTION
M: Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night he was betrayed, took bread; and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his
disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
Then he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant,
which is poured out for you for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
M: The peace of the Lord be with you always.
C: (Sung) Amen
O CHRIST, LAMB OF GOD
C: (Sung) O Christ, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world;
have mercy on us.
O Christ, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world;
have mercy on us.
O Christ, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world;
grant us your peace. Amen.
DISTRIBUTION
DISTRIBUTION HYMNS (#390) “Salvation Unto Us Has Come” (#740s) “Draw Near”
THANKSGIVING
SONG OF SIMEON
C: (Sung) Lord, now you let your servant depart in peace according to your word. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared before the face of all people, a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel.
M: O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
C: (Sung) And his mercy endures forever.
M: We give thanks, almighty God, that you have refreshed us with this holy supper. We pray that through it you will strengthen our faith in you and increase our love for one another. We ask this in
the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C: (Sung) Amen.
M: The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you.
The Lord look on you with favor and (+) give you peace.
C: (Sung) Amen. Amen. Amen.
HYMN (#402) My Faith Looks Up to Thee”
SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT March 1, 2026
THE SCHEDULE
Tues., March 3 2 p.m., Tuesday Bible Study
7 p.m., Choir
Wed., March 4 6:30 p.m., Lenten Service
Thurs., March 5 6:30 p.m., Catechism Class
Next Sunday, March 8, Greeters: Hoffmann Family
OUR FATHER’S BUSINESS
EASTER GARDEN: We will again offer an opportunity to help decorate the church for Easter. If you would like to purchase a plant (or two+), there are sign-up sheets on the island counter in the narthex. For $11 each, a plant will be placed “In Memory/Honor of” on a bulletin insert (and then after Easter, the plant will be yours to take). While we can’t be specific, there will be a variety of Easter Lily, Asiatic Lily, hyacinth, daffodil and tulip plants.
SALEM FELLOWSHIP FUND-RAISER: Tickets are available to Huikko’s Fish Fry at the Bison Creek Event Center on March 13 from 4:30 to 8 p.m. supporting the Salem Lutheran School’s 7th and 8th graders on their biennial Washington DC trip (2028). Tickets are $15-adult / $10-child (10 and under). The students also will manage a bake sale at the dinner for dessert treats. Please see Liam or Greg Kleist after Sunday services to purchase tickets.
THRIVENT CHOICE DOLLARS: The Thrivent Choice program provides Thrivent members an opportunity to support charitable activities such as Immanuel. Choice Dollars must be directed by March 31. Last year Choice Dollars totaled $1,841. If you have any questions, contact your Thrivent representative or Julie Gutknecht.
MEDITATIONS entitled “Great Gain” have arrived with daily devotions for March 1 through May 30. Large print editions are also available. Feel free to take additional copies of either version to share. A free-will offering would be gratefully accepted to help defray the costs.
PASSOVER SPECIAL EVENT: Behold the Lamb of God: Christ in the Passover. Begin your Holy Week with Redeeming Grace-Rogers as we journey through the past to uncover all the rich foreshadows of Christ in the ancient festival of Passover! This family-friendly program begins at 4 p.m. on Sunday, March 29th. Along with the program, you will be enjoying an elegant meal, featuring lamb as the main course (turkey may be substituted) and wine (grape juice will also be available). A free will offering will be collected following the meal. Don’t miss this opportunity to enjoy an interactive, educational, and Christ-centered experience as we look forward to the real Passover on Easter Sunday. Please RSVP to Pastor or to rglc.org.
WEST SUMMER CAMPS: West Lutheran High School is excited to offer a variety of summer camps this year! See the poster and details on the west bulletin board.
LENTEN SERVICES: Wednesday evening, March 4, with the theme “It is Finished…The Holy Week Prophecies of Zechariah.”
Please NOTE – Lenten Services will be at 6:30 p.m. this year.
ATTENDANCE AT THE LORD’S HOUSE:
Sunday, Feb. 22 57
Wednesday, Feb. 25 54
FOR THE LORD’S WORK: Feb. 15: General Fund-$1,119; West-$105; Salem-$7; Fishers-$5; MLC-$5. Feb. 22: General Fund-$2,081; Salem-$2. (Note to consider: General Fund needs about $2,600 per week.) Mission Fund: Feb. 15-$310; Feb. 18-$210; Feb. 22-$360; Feb. 25-$295; (YTD-$2,895).
