Welcome!
“Lord Jesus, we give thanks to Thee That Thou hast died to set us free;
Made righteous thru Thy precious blood, We now are reconciled to God.”
(TLH 173:1)
3RD SUNDAY in the season of LENT MARCH 8, 2026
ZION LUTHERAN CHURCH HIDEWOOD TWP, SD
TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH WATERTOWN, SD
To prepare yourselves for worship you are welcome to meditate on:
Today’s Psalm 95: 1-9
1 Oh come, let us sing to the Lord!
Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving;
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
3 For the Lord is the great God, And the great King above all gods.
4 In His hand are the deep places of the earth;
The heights of the hills are His also.
5 The sea is His, for He made it;
And His hands formed the dry land.
6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
7 For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture,
And the sheep of His hand.
Today, if you will hear His voice:
8 “Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion,
As in the day of trial in the wilderness,
9 When your fathers tested Me;
They tried Me, though they saw My work.”
ORDER for WORSHIP
The bell calls us for worship
Opening Prayer
P: O Lamb of God, pure and holy, it is with sorrow and fear, awe and wonder that we consider Your suffering and death. Make us to see that our own sins are the cause of it all, and lead us to genuine sorrow and repentance. Also lead us to see Your incredible love for us and marvel at Your willing sacrifice, so that we may worship and praise You with our whole heart. Hear us for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
Hymn 144: 1-4
Invocation, Confession and Forgiveness of Sins
to be used during the 2026 season of Lent
P: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
P: Beloved in the Lord! Let us draw near with a true heart and confess our sins to God, our Father, beseeching Him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to grant us forgiveness. Our help is in the name of the Lord.
P: I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.
P: Almighty God, our Maker and Redeemer, we poor sinners confess to You that we are by nature sinful and unclean and that we have sinned against You in our thoughts, words, and actions. Therefore we flee for refuge to Your infinite mercy, seeking and imploring Your grace for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ.
ALL: O most merciful God, You have given Your only begotten Son to die for us! Have mercy upon us and for His sake grant us remission of all our sins; and by Your Holy Spirit increase in us true knowledge of You and of Your will and true obedience to Your Word, to the end that by Your grace we may come to everlasting life; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
P: Almighty God, who is our heavenly Father, has had mercy upon us and has given His only Son to die for us and for His sake has forgiven us all our sins. To those who believe on His name He gives power to become the sons of God and has promised them His Holy Spirit. He who believes and is baptized shall be saved. Grant this, Lord, to us all!
Responsive Reading
from the Te Deum Laudamus (Hymnal, p. 35ff.)
P: We praise You, O God:
C: We acclaim You as the Lord.
P: Everlasting Father, all the world bows down before You.
C: All the angels sing your praise.
P: You, O Christ, are the King of glory,
C: Son of the eternal Father.
P: When You took our nature to save mankind,
C: You humbled Yourself to be born of a virgin.
P: You overcame the power of death
C: Opening the Father's kingdom to all believers.
P: May Your mercy always be with us, Lord, for we have hoped in You.
C: In You, Lord, we put our trust: we shall not be put to shame.
Hymn 151: 3, 7
First Reading – Old Testament – Exodus 17: 1-7
“Is the Lord among us or not?”
1 Then all the congregation of the children of Israel set out on their journey from the Wilderness of Sin, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped in Rephidim; but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 Therefore the people contended with Moses, and said, “Give us water, that we may drink.”
So Moses said to them, “Why do you contend with me? Why do you tempt the Lord?”
3 And the people thirsted there for water, and the people complained against Moses, and said, “Why is it you have brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”
4 So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me!”
5 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go on before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel. Also take in your hand your rod with which you struck the river, and go. 6 Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.”
And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 So he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
Trinity Choir / Congregation Selection
Second Reading – New Testament Epistle – Romans 5: 1-8
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us!
1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
P: So far with today’s Scripture readings.
Our “Hallelujah!” for Lent is the following hymn stanza, 23:2
CONFESSION OF FAITH – THE APOSTLES’ CREED
ALL: 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.
Hymn 142: 1-3
Sermon Text – Gospel Reading – John 4:1-30, 39-42
1 Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John 2 (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), 3 He left Judea and departed again to Galilee. 4 But He needed to go through Samaria.
5 So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” 8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.
9 Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.
10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
11 The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? 12 Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?”
13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
15 The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.”
17 The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.”
Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.”
19 The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.”
21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.”
26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”
27 And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or, “Why are You talking with her?”
28 The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, 29 “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” 30 Then they went out of the city and came to Him. ...
39 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all that I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of His own word.
42 Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.”
Hymn 142: 4-6
The Offering is collected / brought forward
Prayer led by the pastor
P: O Jesus, innocent Lamb of God, You volunteered to be cursed, punished, and even forsaken by God in our place. Look upon us with mercy and hear our prayers as we meditate upon Your bitter suffering and death.
Draw us in spirit back in time to witness the blood flowing from Your holy wounds, and open our hearts to the realization that it flows for us. Move us by Your love and tender mercy to bring our sins to You for pardon.
As Your prayed for those who reviled and crucified You, even so intercede for us with Your Father. Remove from our hearts any bitter feelings that we may have toward others.
Lord, should it be that You choose to test our faith by laying a cross upon us, give us grace to bear it patiently, and fill us with joy in knowing that we are counted worthy to suffer for Your name. To the frailty of our nature impart Your strength.
And grant that our souls will ever find in Your full cleansing, perfect healing, and lasting peace. To the glory of Your name we ask these things. Amen.
P: any special prayers there may be will be offered here...
P: And so we join to pray the words Jesus taught us:
ALL: 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
P: The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you His peace.
Closing Hymn 144: 5
Zion Lutheran Church Hidewood Township, SD – 8:30 a.m.
Trinity Lutheran Church Watertown, SD – 10:30 a.m.
trinitywatertownsd.com
Members: Church of the Lutheran Confession www.clclutheran.org
Pastor Paul Krause. . . parsonpaulkrause@gmail.com cell:920-238-5775
Teacher Mikkela Schmitt . . . . . . . .cell: 715-933-1502
Church and School: 605-886-2976
Organists: John Klatt, Rebecca Larson, Naomi Rehder
STATISTICS - week of March 1
Zion: 32; SS: 8; Zion “north” BC: 15; midweek Lent: 13
Trinity: 44; SS: 7; Ladies’ Aid: 6(+PK)
midweek Lent service: 31
CALENDAR and ANNOUNCEMENTS
THIS WEEK >> Zion – James DeBough instruction class – time t.b.d.
TODAY >> Zion – 8:30 a.m. service; Trinity – 10:30 a.m.
>> Sunday School - after church at Zion; 9:20 a.m. at Trinity
TUE >> Trinity – School Board meeting – 7 p.m.
WED >> Louis Jensen confirmation class after school at church
>> 7 p.m. Trinity – 4th midweek Lenten service – spkr: J. Klatt
FRI >> No school at Trinity Lutheran School – spring break – 3/13-16
FRI/SAT >> CLC Gradeschool Basketball Tournament – Eau Claire, WI
NEXT SUNDAY >> Zion – 8:30 a.m. Trinity – 10:30 a.m.
>> Lay services – Myron Kuhlman
>> Sunday School - after church at Zion; 9:20 a.m. at Trinity
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
3/18 WED 5th midweek Lenten service at Trinity – spkr: C. Drehle
3/21 SAT Des Moines worship service – 10:30 a.m. – spkr: P. Krause
3/21 SAT ILC Tour Choir concert – St. John’s/Okabena – 6:30 p.m.
MANY THANKS!
>> Do you have something you are thankful for at Zion/Trinity? Let Pastor Krause know, and he will be happy to include it in the bulletin!
MIDWEEK SERVICES DURING LENT This week we continue our custom of special services during the season of Lent as we focus on Jesus’ Passion. Pastors Cory Drehle (Berea/Sioux Falls) and John Klatt will be trading off with Pastor Krause.
CLC NEWS
Current pastoral/ILC faculty vacancies: ILC professor; Fridley and Red Wing, MN; Appleton, WI; Eau Claire, WI; Spokane, WA; Phoenix, AZ
Undecided calls: Pastor Tom Naumann, Detroit, MI, to Phoenix, AZ
Pastor Tom Naumann, Detroit, MI, to Fridley, MN
Teacher Noah Ohlmann, Valentine, NE, to Messiah/Eau Claire, WI
Dr. Daniel Sullivan, living in Eau Claire, WI, to be ILC Professor
Dr. Dan Schierenbeck, ILC, to a 2 year term as ILC President
Returned calls:Pastor Stefan Sonnenfeld, Sister Lakes, MI, to Appleton, WI
Pastor Johnathan Schnose, Morris, MN, to Messiah/Eau Claire, WI
Teacher Katie Naumann, Winter Haven, FL, to Cheyenne, WY
CALL FOR CLC NOMINATIONS The deadline is March 31 for nominations to CLC offices at our upcoming synod convention, June 25-28, 2026. Pastors, professors, male teachers, and voters of congregations within the Church of the Lutheran Confession are invited to nominate individuals for the following synodical offices:
● CLC President
● CLC Vice-President
● CLC Moderator
● CLC Secretary
● Called Servants for the Board of Trustees, Regents, Missions, and Education
● Lay Members for the Board of Trustees, Regents, Missions, and Education.
An online nomination form and accompanying information is available at clclutheran.net/nominations.
If you prefer to have a printed copy of the form, please see Pastor Krause.
CLC UPDATES that can be found online –
>> to keep up on our CLC missionaries, and to learn more of our overseas brethren, go to lutheranmissions.org. Scroll down and click on the photos of the missionaries to access their blog, photos, video, etc.
TANZANIA JOURNAL – PAULA NAUMANN – February 19, 2026
Excerpts – ... Both Bruce and I are back to our ROUTINES. He’s busy with the seminary, especially since there are so many students now. He arranged to have regular maintenance done on the Rav4, and he commented again on the reasonable charges and the luxury of having the mechanic come to our house to pick the vehicle up and drop it off when it’s done. Another chore he’s taken on is trying to get our electronic gate fixed. It has taken to closing only halfway, and then SLOWLY closing the rest of the way. The technician for the gate already came once, but he apparently needs to replace the sensor he cleaned last time. Bruce also has to find a replacement for our gardener, which might be difficult. There are plenty of people who would be happy to have the job, but we’re hoping to find someone with some experience who will be punctual and reliable. ...
Rainy season has just arrived. We don’t know if it’s the December rainy season arriving late, or if it’s the April/May rainy season arriving early. It is only raining for a brief time each day, and the rain is really needed.