WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2026
MIDWEEK LENTEN SERVICE
CHRIST THE KING LUTHERAN CHURCH
CHURCH: 410-356-3400 CELL: 410-707-7663
Church email: ctklclcms@yahoo.com
Church Web Site: ctklchurch.org
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WORD OF WELCOME
OPENING HYMN: 423 “Jesus, Refuge Of The Weary”
THE INVOCATION AND OPENING SENTENCES
P. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
C. Amen.
P. I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
C. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
P. The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing,
C. but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
THE PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Lord Jesus, it is not just Judas who has betrayed you. We too have often turned from you to serve the devil for far less than thirty pieces of silver. But we are truly sorry and repent of our sin. We trust you, and you only, to save us. On this foundation alone all our hopes for salvation rest. Grant our prayer by your grace, for we pray in your name, dear Jesus. Amen.
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION
P. Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing
over transgression? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in love.
C. He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.
P. Confident that our God is gracious and forgiving, let us confess our sins.
O Lord, I have worried about your provision for me. I have been greedy for material things. I have sought power and glory at the expense of others. I have ignored your Word, though I know what it says. I have avoided the hard road of righteousness and taken the easy road of sin.
P. Our Lord Jesus Christ says, “If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven.” Assured by his word and promise, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
C. Amen.
PSALM RESPONSE: Psalm 75
P. We give thanks to you, O God; we give thanks, for your name is near. We recount your wondrous deeds.
C. At the set time that I appoint I will judge with equity.
P. When the earth totters, and all its inhabitants, it is I who keep steady its pillars.
C. I say to the boastful, “Do not boast,” and to the wicked, “Do not lift up your horn;
P. do not lift up your horn on high, or speak with haughty neck.”
C. For not from the east or from the west and not from the wilderness comes lifting up,
but it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another.
C. For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed, and he pours out from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs.
P. But I will declare it forever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
C. All the horns of the wicked I will cut off, but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.
THE FIRST LESSON: Isaiah 51:17-23
Awake, awake! Rise up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD the cup of his wrath, you who have drained to its dregs the goblet that makes men stagger. Of all the sons she bore there was none to guide her; of all the sons she reared there was none to take her by the hand. These double calamities have come upon you — who can comfort you? — ruin and destruction, famine and sword — who can console you? Your sons have fainted; they lie at the head of every street, like antelope caught in a net. They are filled with the wrath of the LORD and the rebuke of your God. Therefore hear this, you afflicted one, made drunk, but
not with wine. This is what your Sovereign LORD says, your God, who defends his people: “See, I have taken out of your hand the cup that made you stagger; from that cup, the goblet of my wrath, you will never drink again. I will put it into the hands of your tormentors, who said to you, ‘Fall prostrate that we may walk over you.’ And you made your back like the ground, like a street to be walked over.”
THE GOSPEL LESSON: Mark 14:32-42
They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.”
Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”
Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him.
Returning the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”
THE CREED
I believe in God the Father, the Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered and was crucified under Pontius Pilate. He died and was buried. He descended into hell, and the third day he rose again. He entered into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Almighty Father. He will come again 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 eternal. Amen.
HYMN: 436 “Go To Dark Gethsemane”
THE DEVOTION: “Planned For God’s Pleasure”
THE OFFERING
PRAYERS FOR THE PEOPLE OF GOD
P. Innocent Lord, who suffered for us,
C. Hear our prayer.
P. O Lord Jesus, forgive us for all the ways in which we have betrayed you in our lives and not stood up for you when we should have. Thank you for giving us a second chance and making it possible through your death on the cross to start fresh again, to stand beside you and defend you at every turn. Innocent Lord, who suffered for us,
C. Hear our prayer.
P. Enriching Savior, the Bible says that the love of money is the root of all evil, and in Judas’ case that was true. Help us to not be mastered by money, but to be driven instead by the riches of your kingdom, blessings of love and peace and honesty and integrity in all things. Innocent Lord, who suffered for us,
C. Hear our prayer.
P. Merciful Christ, we know that it was our sins that put you on the cross. As we journey toward that cross this Lent, fill our hearts with repentance and motivate us to confess our sins regularly to you and to those we have harmed with our words and deeds. Innocent Lord, who suffered for us,
C. Hear our prayer.
P. Jesus, our example, when people betray us in our lives, help us to turn the other cheek, as you have taught us, and to accept their apologies when they are offered to us. Remind us that just as you never give up on us, we should never give up on others who have hurt us in the past. Innocent Lord, who suffered for us,
C. Hear our prayer.
P. Listening Lord, strengthen our prayer life this Lent, even when we are tired and it is difficult for us to stay awake when we pray. Help us to never stop communicating with you, but always to go to you first with our questions, concerns and frustrations. Innocent Lord, who suffered for us,
C. Hear our prayer.
P. For these and all other things we have on our hearts, we ask for your grace, confident that you were tried and crucified to save sinners. In your name we pray.
C. Amen.
THE 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.
THE BENEDICTION
Fight the good fight of faith.
C. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
P. I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,
C. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the spirit.
P. Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.
C. Amen.
CLOSING HYMN: 439 “O Dearest Jesus” (4-6)
