Saturday of Lent 4

Saturday of Lent 3 – March 21, 2020 – Hebrews 9:14
 

[1]

Come to Calv’ry’s holy mountain,

    Sinners, ruined by the fall;

Here a pure and healing fountain

    Flows for you, for me, for all,

In a full, perpetual tide,

Opened when our Savior died. [2]

“How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.” – Hebrews 9:14

The blood, shed by Christ, has the kind of power missing from that of animal sacrifices. Interestingly, the writer to the Hebrews invokes all three persons of the Trinity when explaining how this sacrifice fulfills the entire purpose of the new covenant. God the Father receives our service, because God the Son offers Himself as sacrifice, as guided by God the Holy Spirit. Jesus' life is "without blemish," a reference to His sinless life. (See Hebrews 4:15)

O God, You know us to be set in the midst of so many and great dangers, that by reason of the frailty of our nature we cannot always stand upright: Grant us such strength and protection as may support us in all dangers, and carry us through all temptations; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen. [3]

God of our salvation, Your beloved Son entered the Holy City to shouts of "Hosanna!" for truly He came in the name of the Lord. Give us faith to grasp the mystery of His suffering, death, and resurrection on our behalf as we journey with Him this Lenten season to the cross and, beyond that, to the empty tomb; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. [4]

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  1. Image: Good Friday © Higher Things
  2. Come to Calvary’s Holy Mountain, Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis
  3. Collect for Saturday of Lent 3,  http://www.liturgies.net/Lent/LentenCollects.htm
  4. Collect for Saturday of Lent 3, Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis