Midweek Lent Evening Worship Service
March 04, 2026
This Year’s Theme: “Lent By The Forties”
The Great Flood’s 40 Days and Nights
of God’s Judgment…and His Mercy
This evening we are going to give our attention to the third installment in our 2026 Midweek Lenten Service and Sermon series on “Lent by the Forties.” So far we’ve considered the 40 days’ Jesus spent in the wilderness on our behalf, facing and defeating many of Satan’s temptations by relying on the powerful Word of God. We’ve also examined the 40 year’s of divine discipline in the desert that the Children of Israel needed to undergo in order to grow their faith and faithfulness.
Tonight, with the aid of the Scriptures, we’ll travel back to the time of the Great Flood. We’ll be reminded how wicked the world of Noah’s day was, and how their unbelief brought God’s judgment upon them. We’ll also see God’s mercy to Noah, his family, and the assortment of animals that had been gathered on the ark. The ark was the means through which God saved them…..similar to how Christ’s righteousness, cross and open grave are the means through which we have been saved from our sins, for eternal life in heaven, through faith.
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Imagine, for a moment, that you’re in a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean. The waves are gently rocking you back and forth. You’re fairly certain that soon a ship will pass by to rescue you. And so, all in all things don’t seem that bad. But then you notice something that’s a little disturbing. Your lifeboat is taking on water…not a lot; just a trickle. So you think, “It’s not that bad, I can manage this.” And you do manage it, for a while. But as time passes the small trickle turns into a steady flow, and it’s not long before you’re frantically bailing water….and your lifeboat is about to sink with no help, or hope, on the horizon.
Applying this scenario to the account of the great flood in Genesis 6, we could say that humanity was drowning, not in water but in sin. However, the world of Noah’s day was so focused on pursuing wickedness that the people didn’t heed his words of warning as he mercifully preached repentance and God’s impending judgment to them (Hebrews 11:9-11). Like the slowly sinking lifeboat, the people of Noah’s day were sure they could manage things…..until they couldn’t, and God’s judgment came (pardon the pun) “thundering down” upon them, destroying everything that was not inside the ark.
The 40 days and nights of relentless storms that Noah’s world experienced was unprecedented then – in terms of its sheer volume – or since. It’s even possible that rainfall, as we know it, was not a part of the pre-flood world, since Genesis 2:5-6 tells us “No bushes that grow in the field were yet on the earth, and no plants of the field had yet sprung up, since the Lord God had not yet caused it to rain on the earth. There was not yet a man to till the soil, but water came up from the earth and watered the entire surface of the ground.” Regardless, no one had ever seen the kind of devastating rain that fell, matched by water coming up from within the earth, to cause the great flood.
The flood and its after-effects is the Old Testament’s counterpart to Judgment Day (Lk 17:27; I Pet 3:20; 2 Pet 2:5), with its destruction of everything and God’s creation of a new heaven and new earth (Is 51:6; Mat 24:35; 2 Pet 3:7-13).
Sadly, our world today isn’t really any better, Spiritually-speaking, than Noah’s world was. We also live in a time when people, generally, are completely oblivious to the reality and eternal consequences of their sin. The percentage of our population that admits they do not (or no longer…) believe in God is rapidly increasing….and now numbers approximately one in five people. And most of them, as was the case with people also in Noah’s day, are confident of themselves, certain that they don’t (and won’t) need God, since they’re sure they can handle their lives just fine. However the day is coming when they will come to the belated realization that, Spiritually-speaking, they’re “slowly taking on water and are in the process of drowning in their sins and unbelief.” Now, as then, people desperately need “the ark” of Spiritual safety and security that Jesus is. But as many people then mocked Noah for his “foolishness” as he spent 100 years building the ark, so today many mock the Gospel as “foolishness” (I Cor 1:21-25) and as not worthy their consideration. For them, the only “future” ahead is one of God’s judgment and eternal condemnation in hell because of their unbelief.
There’s something else that needs to be mentioned before concluding this worship introduction. Noah was not saved because of the things he did (including faithfully constructing the ark, and preaching God’s Word to a, generally, hostile audience). Noah was a sinner just like you and I are, since Adam’s and Eve’s sin had also been passed down through the generations to him. Noah and his family were spared God’s judgment and the destruction that the rest of their world experienced, solely because of God’s grace to them, and the Holy Spirit’s having worked saving faith in the true God in their hearts. That’s why the writer to the Hebrews says, about Noah (Heb 11:6-7), “Without faith it is impossible to please God. Indeed, it is necessary for the one who approaches God to believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him. By faith Noah, when he was warned about things that had not been seen before, built an ark, in reverent fear, in order to save his family. By it he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that is by faith.” Although the people of Noah’s age turned their backs on God, Noah and his family remained faithful.
Like the people in Noah’s time….even as the Christians that we are by God’s grace, you and I can still frequently underestimate the seriousness of our sin. And so we need to more carefully and consistently examine our lives, words and thoughts in the light of God’s Word – particularly His Law – and repent of them, trusting in God’s mercy for Jesus’ sake. The Scriptures God gives us are an evidence of His saving grace to us, as His Holy Spirit works in the Word, enabling us to believe (Rom 10:17; I Cor 12:3; Eph 2:9-10) and be saved.
And so, in closing, as we hear God’s Word this evening, particularly as it pertains to Noah and his family, the ark, and the world of his day that God destroyed in His great act of judgment know as the Flood……let’s repent of all our sins and rely for our salvation on God’s mercy to us, secured through the righteousness and shed blood of Jesus crucified and risen. After all, just as Noah and his family were saved through the ark, you and I – by God’s grace, through faith – have also been saved through Christ, our Lord and Savior.
The portions of God’s Word used in this worship flyer have been taken from The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version, Copyright 2019, The Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission
Music and lyrics, as needed, are used with permission via OneLicense.net #A712831
Silent Prayer Pre-service Music
We Approach The Lord With Praise And Prayer
The Service Introduction and Invitation to Worship
The Invocation
In the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Opening Psalm: Psalm 38
P: Lord, do not rebuke me in anger. Do not discipline me in wrath. Indeed, Your arrows have stuck in me. Your hand has come down on me. There is no health in my flesh because of Your rage. There is no wellness in my bones because of my sin, because my guilt has gone over my head. Like a heavy burden, it is too heavy for me.
C: My wounds stink and ooze because of my folly. I am drooping. I am completely bent over. All day long I go around mourning. Even my back burns with pain. My whole body is unhealthy. I have become numb. I am totally crushed. I groan loudly because of my anxious thoughts. Lord, all my needs lie before You. My sighs are not hidden from You.
P: My heart beats quickly. My strength leaves me. Even the light of my eyes is gone from me. My loved ones and my friends stand far away because of the blow I have suffered. My neighbors stand at a distance. Those who pursue my life set traps. Those who seek to harm me talk about my ruin. All day long they plot deception.
C: I am deaf. I cannot hear. Like a mute person, I cannot open my mouth. I am like a man who cannot hear. No response comes from his mouth. Yet I wait for You, Lord. You will answer, O Lord my God. So I said, “Do not let them celebrate because of me. Do not let them gloat when my foot slips.”
P: Look! I am about to fall, and I am always in pain, so I declare my guilt, and I am troubled by my sin. My aggressive enemies are numerous. Those who hate me for no reason are many. Those who repay evil for good slander me because I pursue what is good.
C: Do not forsake me, O Lord. My God, do not be far from me. Hurry to help me, O Lord, my salvation.
After which the Congregation may be seated for
The Opening Hymn Hymn 101 “Behold the Lamb of God”
1 Behold the Lamb of God
For guilty sinners slain;
Let it not be in vain
That you have died!
You for my Savior let me take;
My only refuge let me make
Your pierced side.
2 Behold the Lamb of God!
Into the sacred flood
Of your most precious blood
My soul I cast.
Wash me and make me pure and clean;
Uphold me through life’s changing scene
Till all is past.
3 Behold the Lamb of God!
All hail, incarnate Word!
O everlasting Lord,
Purge out our leav’n.
Clothe us with godliness and good;
Feed us with your celestial food,
Manna from heav’n.
4 Behold the Lamb of God!
Worthy is he alone
To sit upon the throne
Of God above,
One with the Ancient of all days,
One with the Comforter in praise,
All light, all love!
After which the Congregation will rise for
The Order of Vespers / Evening Worship
Pastor “O Lord, open my lips.”
Congregation (Sung)
And my mouth shall show forth Your praise.
Pastor “Hasten, O God, to deliver me.”
Congregation (Sung) Hasten to help me, O Lord.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be.
World without end. Amen.
We Confess our Sins with modifications, from Daniel 9
O Lord, my great and awesome God, + my merciful Father in heaven, + Who keeps His covenant of love with all who love Him and obey His commands, + I confess that I have sinned and done wrong. + I have been wicked and have rebelled against You. + I have turned away from Your commands and laws. + I have not listened to Your Holy Word faithfully. Lord, You alone are righteous, + while I am covered with shame because of my unfaithfulness to You. + Indeed, at times I have refused to obey You, + and have repeatedly done wrong in my thoughts, words, and actions.
O Lord, in keeping with all Your righteous acts, + I plead with You to turn away from me Your anger and Your wrath. + O gracious God, hear this humble petition of Your servant. + Look with favor upon me and be gracious to me, an undeserving sinner. + O Lord, listen! + O Lord, forgive me all my sins! + O Lord, hear and act! + I do not make this request of You because I am righteous, + but because of Your great mercy, + and for the sake of the perfect life, + and the innocent sufferings and death of Your Son, + my Savior, Jesus Christ, + in Whose name I pray. + Amen.
Pastor – Upon this, your voluntary confession, and in accordance with the responsibilities entrusted to me as a called and ordained servant of the Living Word, I assure you that God, our heavenly Father, has forgiven you all your sins. By the perfect life and innocent death of our Lord Jesus Christ, He has removed your guilt and condemnation forever. You are His own dear child – an heir of everlasting life through faith in Christ. May God now give you the strength of faith to live according to His will. Go in His grace and peace. Amen.
We Meditate On God’s Word
Tonight’s Third Portion of the Passion History:
Jesus On Trial Before Caiaphas
While Jesus was still speaking, suddenly Judas (one of the
Twelve) arrived. With him was a large crowd with lanterns, torches, swords, and clubs, who came from the chief priests and elders of the people. Judas was leading them. Jesus, knowing everything that was going to happen to Him, went out and asked them, “Who are you looking for?”“Jesus the Nazarene,” they replied. “I am He,” Jesus told them. Judas, the betrayer, was standing with them. When Jesus told them, “I am He,” they backed away and fell to the ground. Then Jesus asked them again, “Who are you looking for?” “Jesus the Nazarene,” they said. “I told you that I am He,” Jesus replied. “So if you are looking for Me, let these men go.” This was to fulfill the statement He had spoken: “I did not lose any of those you have given me.”
Now the betrayer had given them a sign: “The One I kiss is the Man. Arrest Him.” Immediately he went to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him. Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”
Then they advanced, took hold of Jesus, and arrested Him. When those who were around Him saw what was about to happen, they said to him, “Lord, should we strike with a sword?” Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus. But Jesus responded, “Stop! No more of this! Put your sword back into its place, because all who take the sword will die by the sword. Do you not realize that I could call on My Father, and at once He would provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels? But then how would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen this way?” Then He touched the servant’s ear and healed him.
At that same time Jesus said to the crowd, “Have you come out to arrest Me with swords and clubs as if I were a robber? Day after day I was sitting in the temple courts teaching, and you did not arrest Me. But all this has happened so that the writings of the prophets would be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples deserted Him and fled. The company of soldiers, their commander, and the Jewish guards arrested Jesus and bound Him. First they led Him to Annas, because he was father-in-law to Caiaphas, who was the high priest that year. Now it was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews, “It is better that One Man die for the people.”
Simon Peter and another disciple kept following Jesus. That disciple was known to the high priest, so he went into the high priest’s courtyard with Jesus. But Peter stood outside by the door. So the other disciple, the one known to the high priest, went out and talked to the girl watching the door and brought Peter in. The servants and guards were standing around a fire of coals that they had made because it was cold. While they warmed themselves, Peter was standing with them, warming himself too. One of the servant girls of the high priest came there. When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked directly at him and said, “You were also with Jesus the Galilean.” But he denied it in front of everyone, saying, “I don’t know what you are talking about. Woman, I do not know Him.” When Peter went out to the entryway, someone else saw him and said to those who were there, “This is one of them. This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.” Again Peter denied it with an oath and said, “I do not know the Man.” After a little while those who stood by came and said to Peter, “Surely you are also one of them, because even your accent gives you away. You are a Galilean!” Then he began to curse and to swear, “I do not know this Man you are talking about! I do not know the Man!” At that very moment, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the Lord’s word, how He had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today you will deny Me three times.” He went outside, broke down, and wept bitterly.
The high priest questioned Jesus about His disciples and His teaching. Jesus answered him, “I have spoken openly to the world. I always taught in a synagogue or at the temple, where all the Jews gather. I said nothing in secret. Why are you questioning Me? Ask those who heard what I told them. Look, they know what I said.” When He said this, one of the guards standing there hit Jesus in the face. “Is that how You answer the high priest?” he demanded. “If I said something wrong,” Jesus answered, “testify about what was wrong. But if I was right, why did you hit Me?”
The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false testimony against Jesus so that they could put Him to death. They found none, even though many false witnesses came forward. Finally two came forward and said, “This Fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’” Yet even on this point, their testimony did not agree. The high priest stood up and said to Him, “Have You no answer? What is this that these men are testifying against You?” But Jesus remained silent. Then the high priest said to Him, “I place You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!” Jesus said to him, “It is as you have said. But I tell you, soon you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? See, you have just heard the blasphemy! What do you think?” They answered, “He is deserving of death!” Then some began to spit on Him. They covered His face, struck Him with their fists, and said, “Prophesy to us, Christ! Who hit You?” The guards also took Him and beat Him. And they went on saying many other blasphemous things against Him.
The Sermon Hymn: “Lord Jesus, Throughout Forty Days”
melody Evan……CM (8686)/CW 462 cwh 2026
Lord Jesus, through-out forty days
You prayed and You did fast.
Though Satan tempted You to sin, Your Word won every test.
In Noah’s day, throughout the world Mankind rejected You.
So through the flood You judged them all —
Who were not true to You.
Yet Noah, in the ark was safe According to his faith
Your mercy spared his family: the last eight of our race.
The rains of forty days would end. In time the flood was o’er.
They left the ark, and worshiped You.
The world revived once more.
The occupants of Canaan’s land You promised, You’d subdue
But fear consumed Your people, Lord.
They would not trust in You.
Their sin forced You to discipline That nation forty years.
They wandered in the wilderness,
Through heat, and sand, and tears.
Lord, help us learn from these sad tales To faithfully obey –
You ev’ryday throughout out lives, ‘Til heaven’s eternal day.
The Evening’s Meditation based on Genesis 6:5-22
5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of mankind was great on the earth, and that all the thoughts and plans they formed in their hearts were only evil every day. 6 The Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with sorrow. 7 The Lord said, “I will wipe out mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth, along with the animals, the creeping things, and the birds of the sky, because I regret that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
9 This is the account about the development of Noah’s family. Noah was a righteous man, a man of integrity in that generation. Noah walked with God. 10 Noah became the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11 In the sight of God the earth was morally corrupt, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 God looked at the earth and saw that it was corrupt, for all flesh was corrupt in all their ways on the earth.
13 So God said to Noah, “I have decreed the end of all flesh, because the earth is filled with violence because of them. Now I am going to destroy them along with the earth.
14 “Make an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark. Seal it inside and outside with pitch. 15 This is how you are to make it: The length of the ark is to be 450 feet, its width 75 feet, and its height 45 feet. 16 Make a roof for the ark, and leave an eighteen-inch opening just under the roof. Place a door on the side of the ark. Make it with lower, second, and third decks.
17 “I myself am about to bring a flood of waters on the earth, in order to destroy all flesh under the sky that has the breath of life. Everything that is on the earth will die, 18 but I will establish my covenant with you. You shall come into the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. 19 You shall bring a pair (male and female) of every kind of living flesh into the ark with you to keep them alive. 20 Include the birds according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, every creeping thing on the ground according to their kinds. Two of every sort shall come to you, so you can keep them alive. 21 Take with you every type of food that is eaten, and store it for yourself, so it can be used as food for you and for them.”
22 So that is what Noah did. He did everything that God commanded him, just as he had been told.
The Great Flood’s 40 Days and Nights
of God’s Judgment…and His Mercy
We Offer Our Gifts to the Lord
Our Offerings of Love to our Lord
At this point we will pass offering plates through the congregation
for those who wish to make an offering this evening. However, for those
watching tonight’s service online, we would like to make the following suggestions for you to provide Your thank-offerings to God
through our ministry:
1) You can send a check (no cash) in the mail to the church address
(415 N. 6th Place, Lowell, AR 72745)
2) You can go online to our website (www.gracelutherannwa.com)
and use the giving option there.
We Offer our Evening Prayers to the Lord
Tonight’s Special Prayers
P: For the well-being of people everywhere; for the growth of Your church in all the world; and for the strengthening of all who serve and worship here, we pray:
C: Christ have mercy upon us.
P: For one another, young and old; for Your blessings that come with every stage of life, and for joy in doing Your will, we pray:
C: O Lord, have mercy upon us.
P: For our public servants who work day and night to bring protection, justice, learning, and health to this and every place; we pray to You,
C: O Lord, hear our prayer.
P: For favorable weather and bountiful harvests; for clothing and food; for health of body, mind, and spirit; for deliverance from all sin and every form of evil; we pray to You,
C: O Lord, hear our prayer.
P: For the faithful who have gone before us, who have shared with us Your good news, whose souls are now at rest in Your heavenly kingdom, we give You thanks, O Lord:
C: Thanks be to God.
P: In thanksgiving for Your many and varied gifts to us we now commend ourselves to Your care. Be our shield and strength, O Lord. And now, in the name of Your Son, our Savior, Christ Jesus, we also join in praying…….
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.
We Conclude Tonight’s Worship Service
The Benediction
P: May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen.
The Closing Hymn Hymn 588 “Abide With Me”
verses 1, 5-7
1 Abide with me; fast falls the eventide.
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me!
5 I need thy presence ev’ry passing hour.
What but thy grace can foil the tempter’s pow’r?
Who like thyself my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, oh, abide with me!
6 I fear no foe with thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight and tears no bitterness.
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still if thou abide with me.
7 Hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heav’n’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me!
Silent Prayer
Announcements
Post-Service Music