Maundy Thursday
(including the stripping of the altar)
HYMN…….(#717-S) “When You Woke That Thursday Morning”
REMAIN SEATED
M: In this Lenten season we have heard again how our Lord walked the path of suffering which led him to the cross for our salvation. We have also heard our Lord’s call to intensify our struggle against sin, death, and the devil—all that keeps us from loving God and one another. This is the struggle to which we were committed at Baptism; God’s forgiveness and the power of his Spirit to amend our lives continue with us because of his love for us in Jesus our Savior.
Within the family of the Church, God never wearies of giving peace and new life. In the absolution, we receive forgiveness as from God himself. This absolution we should not doubt but firmly believe that our sins are thus forgiven before God in heaven, for it comes to us in the name and by the command of our Lord.
We who receive God’s love in Jesus Christ are called to love one another, to be servants to each other, as Jesus became our servant.
In Holy Communion the members of Christ’s body participate most intimately in his love. Remembering our Lord’s Last Supper with his disciples, we eat the bread and drink the cup of this meal. Together we receive the Lord’s gift of his body and blood for forgiveness and participate in that new covenant that makes us one with him and one another. The Lord’s Supper is the promise of the great banquet we will share with all the faithful when our Lord returns, the joyous culmination of our reconciliation with God and each other.
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION
M: Let us confess our sins to God and ask for his forgiveness.
C: 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 my brothers and sisters as myself.
For this I deserve your punishment both now and in eternity.
I am truly sorry for my sins.
I repent of them.
I beg for your mercy, O Lord.
Silence for meditation
M: Forgive us for the sake of Jesus Christ who suffered and died for us.
C: Cleanse me from my sins.
Release me from my guilt.
Grant me your Holy Spirit to amend my sinful life.
M: The almighty God has been merciful to us and has sent his Son to die for all. For his sake, God forgives our sins and calls us from darkness to his marvelous light.
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: Amen.
EXHORTATION
M: Our Lord Jesus Christ has forgiven us and reconciled us to God
and has promised us the power to forgive and love each other. Relying on his promise, therefore, be reconciled with one another.
C: May the peace of Christ rule in our hearts, in our words, and in our actions.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
M: Let us pray. Lord Jesus Christ, in the Sacrament of Holy Communion you give us your true body and blood as a remembrance of your suffering and death on the cross. Grant us so firmly to believe your words and promise that we may always partake of this Sacrament to our eternal good, for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C: Amen.
Be Seated
FIRST READING Exodus 24:1-11
24 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, along with Nadab and Abihu and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship me from a distance. 2 Only Moses is allowed to come near the Lord, but the others are not to come near, and the people are not to go up with him.” 3 Moses came and reported to the people all the words of the Lord and all the ordinances. Then all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words which the Lord has spoken we will do.” 4 Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord.
He got up early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain. He set up twelve memorial stones for the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 He sent young Israelite men, who offered whole burnt offerings and sacrificed fellowship offerings of cattle to the Lord. 6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and he splashed half of the blood on the altar. 7 He took the Book of the Covenant and read it out loud to the people and they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do. We will obey.” 8 Moses took the blood and splashed it on the people. He said, “Look, here is the blood of the covenant, which the Lord made with you by means of all these words.” 9 Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up. 10 They saw the God of Israel. Under his feet they saw what looked like a pavement of sapphire as clear as the sky. 11 The Lord did not lay his hand on the dignitaries of the people of Israel. They gazed at God, and they ate and drank. (EHV)
M: The Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
PSALM OF THE DAY (Sung) Psalm 116 (page 107)
SECOND READING 1 Corinthians 11:23-28
23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night when he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after the meal, he also took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new testament in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. 27 Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the Lord’s body and blood. 28 Instead, let a person examine himself and after doing so, let him eat of the bread and drink from the cup. (EHV)
M: The Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
VERSE OF THE DAY
M: Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. (John 13:1)
Stand
GOSPEL John 13:1-15, 34
After the announcement of the Gospel, the congregation sings:
C: (Sung) Glory be to you, O Lord!
13 Before the Passover Festival, Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved those who were his own in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 By the time the supper took place, the Devil had already put the idea into the heart of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God. 4 He got up from the supper and laid aside his outer garment. He took a towel and tied it around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to
wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who asked him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered him, “You do not understand what I am doing now, but later you will understand.” 8 Peter told him, “You will never, ever, wash my feet!” Jesus replied, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with me.” 9 “Lord, not just my feet,” Simon Peter replied, “but also my hands and my head!”
10 Jesus told him, “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet, but his body is completely clean. And you are clean, but not all of you.” 11 Indeed, he knew who was going to betray him. That is why he said, “Not all of you are clean.” 12 After Jesus had washed their feet and put on his outer garment, he reclined at the table again. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me Teacher and Lord. You are right, because I am. 14 Now if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 Yes, I have given you an example so that you also would do just as I have done for you.
34 “A new commandment I give you: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, so also you are to love one another. (EHV)
M: The Gospel of the Lord.
C: (Sung) Praise be to you, O Christ!
HYMN (#313) “Jesus Christ, Our Blessed Savior”
MAUNDY THURSDAY MESSAGE
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.
RESPONSIVE PRAYER
M: Lord God, heavenly Father, author of the everlasting covenant and giver of the cup of salvation,
C: We gather in your courts to offer you our sacrifice of
thanksgiving.
M: For fulfilling your promise to establish a new covenant through the blood of your Son, Jesus Christ,
C: We give you humble and hearty thanks.
M: As our Lord Jesus Christ gave thanks to you when he broke the
bread, as he gave thanks to you when he took the cup,
C: We also give you thanks.
M: Precious Savior, both Priest and offering, awe and wonder fill our
hearts as we partake of your body, broken for us, and your blood,
shed for us.
C: We praise you, bless you, and adore you, Lord Jesus Christ.
M: In our poverty of righteousness, we have nothing to offer. Without
your tremendous sacrifice, we would still be in our sins,
C: But through your sacrament of the New Testament, we are
assured that our iniquities are forgiven and our sins are no
longer remembered.
M: O Holy Spirit, dwell within us as we remember our Lord’s death in this sacrament. Enter our hearts to strengthen our faith and fill us with gratitude for your great mercy.
C: Move us to encourage one another to love and to do good works.
Special prayers and intercessions may follow.
M: Hear us, Lord, as we bring you our private petitions.
Silent prayer.
M: As our Lord served his disciples by washing their feet, so may we also humbly serve one another.
C: Help us live our lives as sacrifices of thanksgiving to him who first loved us. 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.
M: Almighty God, you have given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplication to you, and you have promised through your beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his name, you will be with them. Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us, granting us in this world knowledge of your truth and in the ages to come, life everlasting.
C: 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 HYMN (#742 S) “What Is This Bread?” (#135) “The Death of Jesus Christ, Our Lord”
STAND
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.
HYMN (#316) “O Jesus, Blessed Lord, to Thee”
STRIPPING OF THE ALTAR
During the psalm, the altar is solemnly stripped in token of the Lord’s abandonment by his disciples and in preparation for Good Friday.
PSALM 88
1 Lord, you are the God who saves me;
day and night I cry out to you.
2 May my prayer come before you;
turn your ear to my cry.
3 I am overwhelmed with troubles
and my life draws near to death.
4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit;
I am like one without strength.
5 I am set apart with the dead,
like the slain who lie in the grave,
whom you remember no more,
who are cut off from your care.
6 You have put me in the lowest pit,
in the darkest depths.
7 Your wrath lies heavily on me;
you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.
8 You have taken from me my closest friends
and have made me repulsive to them.
I am confined and cannot escape;
9 my eyes are dim with grief.
I call to you, Lord, every day;
I spread out my hands to you.
10 Do you show your wonders to the dead?
Do their spirits rise up and praise you?
11 Is your love declared in the grave,
your faithfulness in Destruction?
12 Are your wonders known in the place of darkness,
or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?
13 But I cry to you for help, Lord;
in the morning my prayer comes before you.
14 Why, Lord, do you reject me
and hide your face from me?
15 From my youth I have suffered and been close to death;
I have borne your terrors and am in despair.
16 Your wrath has swept over me;
your terrors have destroyed me.
17 All day long they surround me like a flood;
they have completely engulfed me.
18 You have taken from me friend and neighbor—
darkness is my closest friend.
The minister exits the chancel.
THE SERVICE ENDS IN SILENCE.
The Congregation Disperses Quietly (without ushers).
We will gather tomorrow evening at 6:30 p.m. in silence
for our Good Friday Tenebrae Service.
Thank you to those who also served with the stripping of the altar.
