Welcome!
March 10, 2013
We’re glad you joined us today to worship our Savior, Jesus. If this is your first time here, we’re honored that you
chose to worship with us! If you have been our guest before, welcome back! It’s great to see you again. I pray that
your worship with us will be meaningful and worthwhile for you. A nursery is available for parents who may be
struggling with a little one during worship. Please ask an usher for assistance. A restroom is located in the lobby just
to the right of the front entrance. And please come back soon! We value your friendship and the opportunity to share
the love of Jesus together with you. Again, WELCOME!
Before Worship Begins: Prayers for meditation are on pages 10-11 in the red hymnal.
Preview today’s hymns: #540, 372, 379
THE ORDER OF WORSHIP
Greeting by the Pastor
A HYMN: CW: 540
Rejoice, O Pilgrim Throng
P:
C:
In the name of the Father and of the Son ╬ and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
P:
Dear friends, let us confess our sins to the Lord and plead for his mercy.
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.
P:
The almighty God has been merciful to us and has sent his Son to die for all. For his sake God has
forgiven our sins and called us out of darkness into 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.
Amen.
C:
THE EXHORTATION
P:
Our Lord Jesus Christ has promised us the power to forgive and love each other. Relying
on his promise, therefore, be reconciled with one another.
C:
Brothers and sisters, may the peace of Christ rule in our hearts, in our words, and in
our actions. Amen.
THE PRAYER OF THE DAY
P:
Let us pray.
C:
Almighty God, we confess that we deserve to be punished for our evil deeds. But we ask you
graciously to cleanse us from all sin and to comfort us with your salvation; through your Son, Jesus Christ our
Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Be seated
THE SCRIPTURE READINGS
THE FIRST LESSON: Judges 10:6-16
Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD. They
served the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the
Ammonites and the gods of the Philistines. And because the Israelites forsook the LORD and no longer served him, he
became angry with them. He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites, who that year shattered
and crushed them. For eighteen years they oppressed all the Israelites on the east side of the Jordan in Gilead, the
land of the Amorites. The Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah, Benjamin and Ephraim; Israel
was in great distress. Then the Israelites cried out to the LORD, “We have sinned against you, forsaking our God and
serving the Baals.”
The LORD replied, “When the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, the Sidonians, the
Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you and you cried to me for help, did I not save you from their hands? But
you have forsaken me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you. Go and cry out to the gods you have
chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble!”
But the Israelites said to the LORD, “We have sinned. Do with us whatever you think best, but please rescue us
now.” Then they got rid of the foreign gods among them and served the LORD. And he could bear Israel’s misery no
longer.
P:
The word of the Lord.
Psalm 51
Refrain
Choir:
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Refrain
Choir:
Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.
Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquity.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
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.
Refrain
copyright© Mark Bitter, 2008. All rights reserved.
THE SECOND LESSON: James 4:7-10
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will
flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your
hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
P:
C:
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Please stand for the reading of the Gospel.
THE GOSPEL LESSON: Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering
around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and
eats with them.” Then Jesus told them this parable:
“There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the
estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered
his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he
began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to
feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I
am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against
heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’
So he got up and went to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to
his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be
called your son.’
“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and
sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was
dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
“Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he
called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. He replied, ‘Your brother has come and your
father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he
answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you
never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has
squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
The father said, “‘My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate
and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”
P:
C:
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise be to you, O Christ.
THE CHILDREN'S MESSAGE
I am Jesus’ little lamb, ever glad at heart I am,
For my shepherd gently guides me, Knows my needs and well provides me,
Loves me every day the same, Even calls me by my name.
A HYMN:
CW: 372
I Lay My Sins on Jesus
THE SERMON TEXT: Luke 15:11b-32
THE APOSTLES’ CREED
I believe in God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
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.
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.
THE OFFERING - The members of Mt. Olive gather an offering to support the Lord’s work that we do here
in Tulsa and around the world. This is very important to us. If you are a guest today, please do not feel that
you must participate in the offering. You are our guest!
The Prayer of the Church
In peace let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For the peace of our nation and of the world, that evil may be bound and crippled, and good order cultivated
and preserved, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For the Church of God, that it unfailingly confess the Lord’s work and willingly suffer for the well-being of its
enemies, and for our congregation, that our Savior would make clear to us what his will is for the future of our
ministry, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For the president of our nation, our governor, and all others in positions of civil authority, that they serve
faithfully and be strengthened in every good deed, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For the unbelieving and all those outside the Church, that our heavenly Father would create in them a living
desire for the blessed crumbs of his word that he provides for our nourishment, let us pray to the Lord: Lord,
have mercy.
For all pastors, that our almighty Father would sanctify such impure and fallen men for holy use in his hands,
just as he has most surely justified them by his Son and called them in ordination, let us pray to the Lord:
Lord, have mercy.
For the sick, the shut-in, the immobile, the lonely, the depressed, the mentally-ill, the trapped, the dying and
all those in disappointment, pain, anger, frailty, guilt, fear, desperation who are tempted to despair of God’s
mercy and aid, including those enslaved by addictions, that God would strengthen them to wrestle, endure and
hold fast his ways in the certain hope of his ongoing and future healing of body and soul, let us pray to the
Lord: Lord, have mercy.
Hear us, Lord as we bring you our private petitions.
Silent prayer
Into your gracious hands we commend all for whom we pray, O Lord, trusting in the mercy you have revealed
to us in Jesus Christ: Amen.
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.
A HYMN:
CW: 379
Amazing Grace
A PRAYER FOR THE BLESSING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
THE BENEDICTION
P:
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.
THE CLOSING PRAYER
The time has come, O Lord, for us to leave this place,
Guide us and protect us, and lead us in your grace.
Wherever life may take us as we go our sep'rate ways,
Help us share with others the things we've shared today.
May the peace of God the Father, and the love of Christ, his Son,
Guide us in the days ahead and strengthen us, each one.
May the blessings of the Spirit fill us from within;
God bless us and return us to this fellowship once again.
Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen. Amen.