Sunday, March 29, 2020 Fifth Sunday of Lent

1 West Ridge Road, Savannah, GA 31411

(912) 598-1188 ~ FAX (912) 598-1339 www.messiahsi.org

GATHERING Note: Congregational responses in bold type. If you want to be served communion at your pew, please notify ushers. WELCOME TO THIS WORSHIP CELEBRATION of the living Christ’s presence in our midst. Christ comes to us with new life and strength for Christian living in daily life through the hearing of the Word, preaching, prayer, song, and community. ALL ARE INVITED TO JOIN US following worship in Fellowship Hall for conversation, coffee and snacks. PRELUDE CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God, who is present, who gives life, who calls into existence the things that do not exist. Amen. If you were to keep watch over sins, O Lord, who could stand? Yet with you is forgiveness, and so we confess. (Silence is kept for reflection.) Gracious God, have mercy on us. We confess that we have turned away from you, knowingly and unknowingly. We have wandered and we have strayed. Turn us back to you, O God. Give us new hearts and right spirits, that we may find what is pleasing to you and dwell in your house forever. Amen.

Receive good news: God turns to you in love. “I will put my spirit in you, and you shall live,” says our God. All your sin is forgiven in the name of ☩ Jesus Christ, who is the free and abounding gift of God’s grace for you. Amen. GATHERING SONG O God, Our Help in Ages Past Hymn 632 v. 1 & 2

GREETING The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, And the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. And also with you. PRAYER OF THE DAY Almighty God, your Son came into the world to free us all from sin and death. Breathe upon us the power of your Spirit, that we may be raised to new life in Christ and serve you in righteousness all our days, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

WORD FIRST READING: Job 23: 1-17 OT 434 Job declares, "when God has tested me, I will come forth as gold" (v. 10) 1Then Job answered: 2"Today also my complaint is bitter; his hand is heavy despite my groaning. 3Oh, that I knew where I might find him, that I might come even to his dwelling! 4I would lay my case before him, and fill my mouth with arguments. 5I would learn what he would answer me, and understand what he would say to me. 6Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power? No; but he would give heed to me. 7There an upright person could reason with him, and I should be acquitted forever by my judge. 8"If I go forward, he is not there; or backward, I cannot perceive him; 9on the left he hides, and I cannot behold him; I turn to the right, but I cannot see him. 10But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I shall come out like gold.

11My foot has held fast to his steps; I have kept his way and have not turned aside. 12I have not departed from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured in my bosom the words of his mouth. 13But he stands alone and who can dissuade him? What he desires, that he does. 14For he will complete what he appoints for me; and many such things are in his mind. 15Therefore I am terrified at his presence; when I consider, I am in dread of him. 16God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me; 17If only I could vanish in darkness, and thick darkness would cover my face! The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. PSALM: PSALM 130 I wait for you, O LORD; in your word is my hope. (Ps. 130:5) 1Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD; 2O LORD, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication. 3If you were to keep watch over sins, O LORD, who could stand? 4Yet with you is forgiveness, in order that you may be feared. 5I wait for you, O LORD; my soul waits; in your word is my hope. 6My soul waits for the Lord more than those who keep watch for the morning, more than those who keep watch for the morning. 7O Israel, wait for the LORD, for with the LORD there is steadfast love; with the LORD there is plenteous redemption.

8For the LORD shall redeem Israel from all their sins. SECOND READING: 2 Corinthians 5: 14-21 NT 159 We regard everything from a new perspective because Christ makes all things new! 14For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. 15And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them. 16From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. 17So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; 19that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. 20So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. GOSPEL ACCLAMATION Return to The Lord Page 151

GOSPEL: Luke 14: 25-32 NT 67 Jesus describes the cost of being one of his disciples. The Holy Gospel according Luke. Glory to you, O Lord. 25Now large crowds were traveling with him; and he turned and said to them, 26"Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. 27Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 28For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? 29Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, 30saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.' 31Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ. SERMON Rev. Jason Talsness HYMN OF THE DAY Jesus is a Rock in a Weary Land Hymn 333 Follows on the next page. v. 1 & 2

APOSTLE’S CREED I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, God's 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 to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION Response after each prayer…Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great. Response at end: According to your steadfast love, O God, hear these and all our prayers as we commend them to you; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

OFFERING OFFERING PRAYER Holy and generous host, you set a table before us as a community of faith. Prepare us to witness to your goodness with every gift you have given us to share, that all people may know your peace through Jesus Christ, now and forever. Amen.

LORD'S PRAYER Page 154

SENDING PASTORAL BENEDICTION May God who has called us forth from the dust of the earth, and claimed us as children of the light, strengthen you on your journey into life renewed. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord’s face shine upon you with grace and mercy. The Lord look upon you with favor and give you ☩ peace. Amen. SENDING SONG What a Friend We Have in Jesus Hymn 742 Follows on the next page. v. 1 & 2

DISMISSAL Go in peace. Serve the Lord. Thanks be to God. POSTLUDE From Sundays and Seasons.com. Copyright 2011Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #37016. “Now the Feast” words and music: © 1990 GIA Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted under ONE LICENSE #A-729969.

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

ALTAR FLOWERS are given today by Anne Jeanblanc to the glory of god and Connie Squibb in remembrance of my father, Carr Baldwin. THE ETERNAL CANDLE is given this month by Mary & Fred Buck in loving memory of our parents. TELEPHONE CALLS FROM COUNCIL At its March 23 meeting, the Church Council agreed to call every household to touch base on how the congregation is faring. So, if you get a call from a number you don't recognize, check your voicemail, it could be from your Church! FROM WEBMASTER PEGGY PEARSON Missed church on Sunday? View the service via the web. Just click on the calendar or the scrolling message at the top. To visit the website, just click on this link messiahsi.org. Enjoy and check out other information on our website! MEN’S CLUB NEWS The pine straw spreading event scheduled for April 4 has been postponed. MARK YOUR CALENDARS …On Sunday, May 24, former Interim Pastor Glen Boland will be at Messiah. … Bishop Kevin Strickland is preaching at Messiah as a part of our 25th Anniversary Celebration on Sept 27, 2020. SECOND HARVEST UPDATES Second Harvest collections are currently on hold. They are asking for online monetary donations during the coronavirus threat. To donate, visit their website at https://www.helpendhunger.org/. SERMON PREVIEW FOR APRIL 5 Job announces in 23:10 that God knows the way he's taken, and "when he has tested me, I shall come out like gold." We live in a time now when we are all living in adversity, stress, and testing. Jesus speaks of the cost of following him in Luke 14, saying one must evaluate the costs, just as a builder creating a tower, a king who goes to war. Job is confident that God will declare him righteous at the end of this period of testing. Thanks to Jesus, we can have that confidence too. Still, life has burdens, and we do well to evaluate them in light of our faith in Christ. The question isn't "will we be tested" but

"How can faith in Christ help us endure testing?" Questions for reflection: In what ways is your resiliency being tested right now in light of the COVID-19 virus? If someone were to ask, "How are you coping?" What would you say? How is your prayer life in the midst of this time of testing? How might it be improved?

Celebrating March Birthdays: Diana Munroe, Debora Fonteneau, and Verne Hartson.

SCENES FROM THE MARCH 11 LENTEN DRAMA

THIS WEEK AT MESSIAH

Ministers The People of Messiah Pastor Jason Talsness Pastor Emeritus James Peper Presiding Bishop ELCA Elizabeth A. Eaton Bishop, SE Synod ELCA Kevin Strickland Organist Diane Boyd Choral Director Mary Maner

MILESTONES THIS WEEK Birthdays: Sandy Clarke 4/02

Anniversaries: None