Mt Calvary Lutheran Church

+SERVICE OF THE WORD+
Fourth Sunday in Lent
March 15, 2026

OLD TESTAMENT
Isaiah 42:14–21

For a long time I have held my peace;
I have kept still and restrained myself;
now I will cry out like a woman in labor;
I will gasp and pant.
I will lay waste mountains and hills,
and dry up all their vegetation;
I will turn the rivers into islands,
and dry up the pools.
And I will lead the blind
in a way that they do not know,
in paths that they have not known
I will guide them.
I will turn the darkness before them into light,
the rough places into level ground.
These are the things I do,
and I do not forsake them.
They are turned back and utterly put to shame,
who trust in carved idols,
who say to metal images,
“You are our gods.”

Hear, you deaf,
and look, you blind, that you may see!
Who is blind but my servant,
or deaf as my messenger whom I send?
Who is blind as my dedicated one,
or blind as the servant of the Lord?
He sees many things, but does not observe them;
his ears are open, but he does not hear.
The Lord was pleased, for his righteousness’ sake,
to magnify his law and make it glorious.

EPISTLE
Ephesians 5:8–14

For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,

“Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”

GOSPEL
John 9:1–7, 13–17, 34–39

As [Jesus] passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” Having said these things, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing. ...

They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them. So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.” ...

They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out.

Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.”

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
Fourth Sunday in Lent
March 15, 2026

In peace, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.

For the Church of God, that she, being enlightened by the Gospel, would be a home for those cast out by this world, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.

For the Church, gathered and sanctified in God’s truth; for Matthew, our Synod president; all district presidents and circuit visitors, that they would be guided and directed in their tasks; and for all vacant congregations, that God would send laborers into His harvest and sustain those whom He has sent, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.

For all authorities, especially parents and the civil servants of our nation, that God would strengthen homes and keep families firm in the Christian faith; and that He would preserve us from wickedness and uphold order and justice for a peaceful life, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.

For the afflicted in body or soul, that they would take heart, trust in Christ for healing and find Him even in the midst of their trials, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.

For faith to believe Christ’s blessed testament, seek His Holy Supper for the forgiveness of our sins, and confess His truth with honest hearts in the communion of this altar, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.

For those who wander in the darkness through rough places in this life, that they would wait on the salvation of the Lord and not be put to shame, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.

All these things, O heavenly Father, we pray in the name of Jesus Christ, asking You to grant our prayers not for our sake but for His sake alone. Teach our hearts to be content with Your will and to trust that You will answer with what is best for us and at the right time for our need. Graciously receive our prayers, deliver and preserve us, for to You alone we give all glory, honor and worship, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.