Author: Julie Raffa

Introit Psalm 51:2–6; antiphon: v. 1
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your | steadfast love;* according to your abundant mercy blot out my trans- | gressions. Wash me thoroughly from my in- | iquity,* and cleanse me | from my sin! For I know my trans- | gressions,* and my sin is ever be- | fore me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil | in your sight,* so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your | judgment. Behold, I was brought forth in in- | iquity,* and in sin did my mother con- | ceive me. Behold, you delight in truth in the inward | being,* and you teach me wisdom in the | secret heart. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your | steadfast love;* according to your abundant mercy blot out my trans- | gressions.
Collect of the Day
Almighty God, our heavenly Father, Your mercies are new every morning; and though we deserve only punishment, You receive us as Your children and provide for all our needs of body and soul. Grant that we may heartily acknowledge Your merciful goodness, give thanks for all Your benefits, and serve You in willing obedience; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Old Testament Reading Genesis 15
1After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” 2But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” 4And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” 5And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
7And he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” 8But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” 9He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half. 11And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
12As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. 13Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. 14But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15As for yourself, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. 16And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
17When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. 18On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, 19the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, 20the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.”
Gradual Hebrews 12:2
[O come, let us fix our eyes on] Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Epistle 1 Peter 2:13–25
13Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, 14or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. 15For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. 16Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. 17Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.
18Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. 19For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. 20For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. 21For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 22He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 24He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
Holy Gospel John 18:12–18
12So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound him. 13First they led him to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. 14It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it would be expedient that one man should die for the people.
15Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the court of the high priest, 16but Peter stood outside at the door. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the servant girl who kept watch at the door, and brought Peter in. 17The servant girl at the door said to Peter, “You also are not one of this man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” 18Now the servants and officers had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold, and they were standing and warming themselves. Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself.
Announcements
Please check the Bulletin Board in the Narthex for Announcements that may not be in the Bulletin. There are many announcements on there that may be of interest to you.
The time for the Easter Vigil has been changed from 6:30 p to 7p. We will be meeting under the canopy at the North East entrance of the Church by the Fellowship hall.
PLEASE!!!
If you have moved or are planning to or have dropped your land line to go cell only. PLEASE let the office know, we like to keep our records up to date.
Lenten Services:
The Lenten Services will be held on Thursdays at 1 & 7:00 p.m. with a Lenten Dinner served at 5:30 p.m.
Pastor Fisher’s Wednesday Evening Bible Class will be taking a break from Chronicles and will be starting a study Lutheranism 103 starting April 23 at 6:00 p.m.
Pastor Raffa’s Thursday morning Bible Class will not be meeting again until May 1, 2025 at 10:00 a.m.
Cable Worship Schedule Pilgrim’s Sunday 8:00 a.m. Divine Service is broadcast on WB 987 and AT&T Uverse 99 multiple times during the week: Sundays: 6:00 a.m. Mondays: 4:00 p.m. Tuesdays: 11:30 a.m. Wednesdays: 9:00 a.m. Wednesdays: 4:00 p.m. Bible Study, Thursdays: 4:00 p.m. This service is also live streamed and archived on the church’s YouTube channel:
Pilgrim Lutheran Church- West Bend, WI

Lent Midweek 4
Divine Service
Lutheran Service Book: Page:
Liturgy: Setting 3 Nicene Creed 184 During Lent we omit the Gloria and the Alleluia
The Litany for Prayers of the Church
Concluding Collect Right Column
Hymns:
Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed 437 No Tramp of Soldiers’ Marching Feet 444
Communion Hymns:
Since Our Great High Priest, 529
Hail, Thou Once Despised Jesus 531
All Hail the Power of Jesus’ 549
O Dearest Jesus, What Law 439
In Silent Pain the Eternal Son 432
Scripture Readings:
Old Testament: Genesis 15:1-21
Epistle: 1 Peter 2:13-25
Gospel: John 18:12-18
In our prayers, we remember:
X all who live under the flag of our nation,
X our government and judicial officials,
X law enforcement officers, military personnel, and their families,
X those struggling with health issues:
Bill Schepp, Rob Aho, Randy Frank, Carolyn McAfee, Rob Selzler, Elaine Kuenzel, Barb Soat, Craig Martinez, Janet Meisenheimer, Nancy Rosenthal, Sheryl Pajewski, Margie & Allen Latall, Wade Muth, Jessie and Gracie Sutton, Joan Prine, Elsie Meyle, Ken Frank, Betty Voelzke, Betty Schneeweis, Ethan Tinlin, Eric Johanen, Rev. Clark Davis, Stephen Del Cuze, Mary Margaret Hatfield, Diane Behrens
X pastors, missionaries, and those who serve God’s people with the gifts of Christ,
X Christians persecuted for the confession of the faith, and especially we remember
X all who have forsaken the faith, that they may be restored to gladness of heart and be made wise to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.
Preacher: Rev. Christopher Raffa
Liturgist: Rev. Joseph Fisher
Elder: Jeff Schneeweis, Kent Voll
Organists: Kathy G., Ben G.

Coming Up at Pilgrim
Sunday, April 6:
8:00 a.m. & 10:30 a.m. Divine Service
9:15 a.m. Sunday School: Bible Studies
9:30 a.m. Adult Class: Augsburg Confession
12:30 p.m. Bible Study: Romans
Monday, April 7:
9:00 a.m. Matins
9:30 Chapel @ Meadowbrook
5:30 p.m. Elders Meeting
Tuesday, April 8:
2:00 p.m. Chapel @ Auxiliary Court
Wednesday, April 9:
9:00 a.m. Matins
9:00 a.m. Quilters
5:30 p.m. Evening Prayer
6:30 p.m. Adult Class: 1 & 2 Chronicles
Thursday, April 10:
1:00 p.m. Midweek Lenten Service
5:30 p.m. Lenten dinner
7:00 p.m. Midweek Lenten Service
Friday, April 11: Office Closed
9:00 a.m. Matins
Saturday, April 12
7:00 a.m. Men’s Breakfast & Bible Study

The Pilgrim Pantry is in need of the following as we are completely out.
Paper Towels
Laundry Detergent Smaller bottle of liquid or the pods, please.
Men’s & women’s deodorant .
Dish soap, again the smaller bottles work best.
Thank you in advance for all your help.

Lent Midweek 4
April 3, 2025
24He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
1 Peter 2:24
Welcome and blessings to you through our Lord Jesus Christ!
We welcome all who gather with us around the Altar and Pulpit to hear the Word of God. If you are visiting, we are happy that you could join us today. Please sign the guest book in the narthex and fill out one of the pew cards and place it in the offering plate to leave a record of your visit.
Communion Statement: By the design and specific warning of our Lord Jesus Christ in His Word, the precious gift of the Lord’s Body and Blood is to be shared with His blessing only with those prepared to take it rightly. (1 Cor 11:23-32) At the first communion our Lord did not commune all believers, but only those who had been instructed by Him daily for three years. The custom of our church is to offer the Sacrament only to confirmed members of The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod. So that our pastors would faithfully fulfill their obligations, (1 Cor 4:1; Heb 13:17; 1 Cor 11:27), all first-time visitors should speak to one of the pastors prior to communing. Our pastors are eager and available to provide instruction leading to a right and salutary reception of our Lord’s holy Body and Blood, so that in the future you may join us in the blessing of this sacrament.

Pilgrim Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Unaltered Augsburg Confession
The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
462 Meadowbrook Drive, West Bend, WI 53090
(262) 334-0375 www.pilgrimlutheran-westbend.org