St Ansgar Lutheran Church, London

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Sunday Morning

We invite you to join us for the following worship services:

Sundays
10:30 a.m. Worship service

Hand sanitizer will be available at the entrance and other locations in the church for
your use.

Washrooms will be available for use.

In the service: The service will be shown on the screen. The offering will not be gathered and presented, but there will be an offering plate at the back of the sanctuary where you can put your offering as you enter or leave. Pastor David distributes the communion wafers and an Assisting Minister distributes wine or grape juice in individual glasses.

We have coffee and fellowship time available again in Luther Hall after the service.

We will continue to evaluate our worship service procedures on a monthly basis.

LENT 3, MARCH 8, 2026

St. Ansgar Lutheran Church, Outline for Worship (with Sermon)
Sunday, March 8, 2026 – Third Sunday in Lent
ELW Holy Communion Setting 5

GATHERING

WELCOME & ANNOUNCEMENTS

BRIEF ORDER FOR CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS
P: Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God, who forgives all our sin,
whose mercy endures forever.
C: Amen.

P: Let us confess our sin before God, who removes our guilt and
blots out all offenses.

Silence is kept for reflection.

P: Gracious God,
C: have mercy on us according to your steadfast love.

P: For seeking worldly delights that deceive us and dishonour you:
Gracious God,
C: have mercy on us according to your steadfast love.

P: For desiring self-reliance instead of hungering for your word:
Gracious God,
C: have mercy on us according to your steadfast love.

P: For failing to recognize your coming reign, and for hindering
the work of the Spirit: Gracious God,
C: have mercy on us according to your steadfast love.

P: For drawing from the well of self-serving ambition, and for
disdaining the living water Christ offers: Gracious God,
C: have mercy on us according to your steadfast love.

P: For disregarding voices from the margin, and for distrusting signs
of your healing and hope in the world: Gracious God,
C: have mercy on us according to your steadfast love.

P: For dwelling in tombs of self-pity and discontent, and for disregarding
Christ’s call to come forth to life: Gracious God,
C: have mercy on us according to your steadfast love.

P: God’s steadfast love, grace, and forgiveness abound.
Through faith, the free gift of God, you have been clothed in the
righteousness of Christ.
In the name of ☩ Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven. The Spirit of
the One who raised Christ from the dead dwells in you, pours God’s
love into your hearts, and gives you life and peace.
C: Amen.

ENTRANCE HYMN – O Jesus, Joy of Loving Hearts (ELW #658)

GREETING
P: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion
of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
C: And also with you

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

A: For the peace from above, and for our salvation, let us pray to the Lord.
C: Lord, have mercy.

A: For the peace of the whole world, for the well-being of the Church of God,
and for the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord.
C: Lord, have mercy.

A: For this holy house, and for all who offer here their worship and praise,
let us pray to the Lord.
C: Lord, have mercy.

A: Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord.
C: Amen.

PRAYER OF THE DAY
P: Let us pray.
P: Merciful God, the fountain of living water, you quench our thirst and
wash away our sin. Give us this water always. Bring us to drink from the
well that flows with the beauty of your truth through Jesus Christ, our Saviour
and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now
and forever.
C: Amen.

WORD

FIRST READING: Exodus 17:1-7
1 From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites
journeyed by stages, as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim,
but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 The people quarreled
with Moses, and said, "Give us water to drink." Moses said to them,
"Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?" 3 But the people
thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said,
"Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock
with thirst?" 4 So Moses cried out to the LORD, "What shall I do with this people?
They are almost ready to stone me." 5 The LORD said to Moses, "Go on
ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in
your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 I will be standing
there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will
come out of it, so that the people may drink." Moses did so, in the sight
of the elders of Israel. 7 He called the place Massah and Meribah,
because the Israelites quarreled and tested the LORD, saying, "Is the LORD
among us or not?"

A: The word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.

Psalm 95
1 Come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us shout for joy to the rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before God’s presence with thanksgiving
and raise a loud shout to the Lord with psalms.
3 For you, Lord, are a great God,
and a great ruler above all gods.
4 In your hand are the caverns of the earth;
and the heights of the hills are also yours.
5 The sea is yours, for you made it,
and your hands have molded the dry land.
6 Come, let us worship and bow down,
let us kneel before the Lord our maker.
7 For the Lord is our God, and we are the people of God’s pasture
and the sheep of God’s hand.
Oh, that today you would hear God’s voice!
8 “Harden not your hearts,
as at Meribah, as on that day at Massah in the desert.
9 There your ancestors tested me,
they put me to the test, though they had seen my works.
10 Forty years I loathed that generation, saying,
‘The heart of this people goes astray; they do not know my ways.’
11 Indeed I swore in my anger,
‘They shall never come to my rest.’”

SECOND READING: Romans 5:1-11
1 Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through
our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have obtained access to this
grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory
of God. 3 And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing
that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character,
and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not disappoint us, because God's
love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been
given to us. 6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for
the ungodly. 7 Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person--though
perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. 8 But God
proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.
9 Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood,
will we be saved through him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we
were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son,
much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life.
11 But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have now received reconciliation.

A: The word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
C: Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.

GOSPEL
P: The Holy Gospel according to John 4:5-42
C: Glory to you, O Lord.

5 So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground
that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob's well was there, and Jesus,
tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.
7 A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, "Give me
a drink." 8 (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan
woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman
of Samaria?" (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.)
10 Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is
saying 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
no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water?
12 Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with
his sons and his flocks drank from it?" 13 Jesus said to her, "Everyone who
drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but those who drink of the water
that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in
them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life." 15 The woman said to him,
"Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep
coming here to draw water." 16 Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband,
and come back." 17 The woman answered him, "I have no husband."
Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband';18 for you
have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband.
What you have said is true!" 19 The woman said to him, "Sir, I see that you
are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say
that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem."21 Jesus said
to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the
Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.22 You worship what
you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.
23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will
worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these 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 proclaim all things to us."
26 Jesus said to her, "I am he, the one who is speaking to you." 27 Just then
his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a
woman, but no one said, "What do you want?" or, "Why are you speaking
with her?" 28 Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city.
She said to the people, 29 "Come and see a man who told me everything
I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?" 30 They left the city
and were on their way to him. 31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him,
"Rabbi, eat something." 32 But he said to them, "I have food to eat that you
do not know about." 33 So the disciples said to one another, "Surely no one
has brought him something to eat?" 34 Jesus said to them, "My food is to
do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. 35 Do you not say,
'Four months more, then comes the harvest'? But I tell you, look around you,
and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. 36 The reaper is already
receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and
reaper may rejoice together. 37 For here the saying holds true, 'One sows
and another reaps.' 38 I sent you to reap that for which you did not labour.
Others have laboured, and you have entered into their labour." 39 Many
Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman's testimony,
"He told me everything I have ever done." 40 So when the Samaritans came
to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days.
41 And many more believed because of his word. 42 They said to the
woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we
have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Saviour of
the world."

P: The Gospel of the Lord.
C: Praise to you, O Christ.

SERMON
John 4:5-42
Let us pray: May the words of my mouth, and the prayers of our hearts,
always be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, our Strength, and our Redeemer.
AMEN

The surface of the Dead Sea is some 1,300 feet below sea level, making its
shoreline the lowest dry land on the face of the earth. The average rainfall
in the area immediately surrounding the Dead Sea is less than four inches a
year. The Jordan river flows into the north end of the sea. There is no outlet.
Everything that is washed into the Dead Sea remains in the Dead Sea. I have
had the opportunity to visit the Dead Sea on three separate occasions. It is a
strange sensation to be in water that is so salty you cannot sink.
Masada is a mountain-top fortress complex in the Judaean Desert
overlooking the western shore of the Dead Sea in southeastern Israel.
The fort, built in the first century B.C., sits on a mountain plateau rising
over 1,300 feet above the surrounding terrain. There is nothing but desert
for as far as one can see in any direction.
I think of those experiences when I read the account of Jesus’ encounter with
the Samaritan woman at the well. Samaria is not as barren as the Dead Sea,
but water is still very much an issue, even today. The people of Palestine
have always struggled with the chronic problem of not having enough water.
During the rainy season there is usually enough water. But during the dry
season which lasts for almost half the year, the only water available is from
springs or from wells dug deep into the rocky earth.
One such well, reportedly dug by Jacob himself, is found near the village
of Sychar in the heart of Samaria. Overlooking the town is also a hill,
Mount Gerizim. The Samaritans would come to this mountain to offer
their sacrifices. Mount Gerizim serves as the holiest site for Samaritans,
who believe it is the true location for their temple and the site Abraham’s sacrifice.
And although they worship the same God worshipped by the Jewish people
at the temple in Jerusalem, the two peoples were bitter enemies.
More than 700 years before Jesus was born, the Assyrian Empire invaded
Samaria. They deported many of the people who lived there, and later they
resettled people in that area from other lands which they had conquered.
Samaria thus became a sort of melting pot of various cultures and religions.
Even though the Samaritans continued to worship the God of Abraham and
Isaac and Jacob, and although they accepted the Law of Moses as
their scripture, the Jewish people refused to recognize the Samaritan people
as anything more than half-breeds with a watered-down religion. They were
considered to be impure people.
This is the backdrop of our Gospel lesson this morning. The unnamed woman
comes to the well in the middle of the day. This was a very unusual time to
get water. Normally, the women of the village would have come in the coolness
of the morning to get the water they needed for cooking and cleaning, and to
socialize. But the woman in our lesson comes alone at a time when the day
is much warmer, and all her peers would be at home.
We discover that this woman had been married five times and now lives with
a man to whom she is not married. Because of this she is regarded as a
promiscuous woman. The fact is that she probably had very little choice in
any of her relationships. Women in her society were regarded as the property
of their fathers or husbands. A single woman had almost no means of
supporting herself.
The marriages of this woman, for all we know, could have each been
arranged by her father or brothers with little or no input from her. Each
husband could have died or simply divorced her by writing a bill of divorce,
without any form of support. Women were not allowed to divorce their
husbands. They had little or no choice regarding whom they married, or if
they stayed married. As for the man she lives with, it is possible that she
would like to marry him, but he may not want to marry her. Again, the choice
is not hers.
Jesus is on his way with his disciples from Jerusalem, where they have been
celebrating the Passover, back to his home in Galilee. And unlike his fellow
Jews who would have skirted around Samaria to avoid contact with Samaritans,
Jesus takes the direct route through Samaria. And as he is sitting at the well
in Sychar, waiting for his disciples to return with food, this woman comes to
the well to draw water from the well.
She is probably surprised to see Jesus. No doubt she is even more shocked
when he speaks to her. Men do not speak to women in public, and Jews never
speak to Samaritans. And not only does Jesus speak to her, but he asks her for
a drink. This is perhaps the most amazing thing of all. Jews and Samaritans
certainly do not eat from the same dishes or drink from the same cups.
That would be a clear violation of Jewish law, and perhaps Samaritan
Law as well.
“How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?”
Jesus responds by saying that, if she knew who he was she would ask
him for living water, and he would give it to her. When she inquires what
this “living water” is that he is talking about, Jesus replies, “Everyone who
drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that
I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will becomes in
them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.”
Then the woman says to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never
be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.” In the conversation
that ensues, Jesus reveals to her that he knows about her past and all the
failed relationships. She does not seem to want to talk about this painful
subject and tries to redirect the conversation by asking a theological question
about where one should properly worship God, here on Mount Gerizim or
in Jerusalem. Jesus answers that where one worships is not the issue.
It is rather how one worships.
All this talk about “living water” and “worshipping in spirit and truth” is
probably very confusing to the woman, just as it is to many people today.
I am sure there was a tone of resignation in her voice as she sighs and says,
“I know that the Messiah is coming...When he comes, he will proclaim all
things to us.” And that is when Jesus said these very important words,
“I am he, the one who is speaking to you.” Remember when God appeared
to Moses in the burning bush? Moses first response was, “Who are you?”
God’s response was, “I AM who I AM.” God said further, “Thus you shall say
to the Israelites, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” By speaking those same words,
“I AM,” to the Samaritan woman, Jesus reveals his true identity as the Messiah.
It is at this climactic moment that the disciples return. They are just as
surprised and perplexed as the woman initially was to see Jesus talking to a
Samaritan woman. But now, suddenly now things have begun to make sense
to the woman. She runs back to town, leaving behind her water jar, so she
can tell her neighbours about the amazing thing that has happened to her.
And as she runs back to Sychar, she returns a woman transformed.
All of us find ourselves thirsting at times. We feel as though our lives are dry
and barren, with no oasis in sight. The thirsting may come in different forms.
We thirst for more fulfilling relationships. We thirst for a sense of meaning and
purpose. We thirst for greater understanding of God and God’s will for us.
We thirst for healing and hope amid our brokenness and doubt. These are
the sorts of thirsts that can be quenched by living waters.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus promised the crowds, “Blessed are
those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” In his
encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus demonstrates what
he means by that. And what Jesus did for that woman he is able to do for each
of us as well. Just as he broke down all the barriers that existed to reach her,
so he seeks to break down the barriers that we put up to reach us. The living
water is still available to all who are seeking to quench their thirst for
righteousness and wholeness. To all those whose lives may be parched,
whose relationships may seem dry, whose spiritual quest seems to have
taken them into the desert, to all these and to all others who thirst for healing
and hope, Jesus says, “Come. Come and sip the living water which I offer,
and you will no longer be thirsty. Come. Come and drink.”
AMEN

Silence is kept for reflection.

HYMN OF THE DAY – I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say (ELW #611)

APOSTLES’ CREED
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s 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 to the dead.*
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
A: Reconciled by God’s mercy and sustained by God’s presence, let us pray for
the world and its needs.
A: God of our church, send forth your Spirit as we pray for our Bishops Larry
and Carla. Empower them with your wisdom to lead the church. We also pray
for the Thames Ministry area, especially Pastor Sylvia Swiatoschik and the
people of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Leamington. Hear us, O God.
C: Your mercy is great.

A: O God, when suffering arises preserve your church. Give to pastors,
deacons, bishops, and all servants of your gospel the endurance that
produces character and the hope that will never disappoint. Hear us, O God.
C: Your mercy is great.

A: When the waters run dry, sustain this earth. Send water to places languishing
with drought, and bring relief to places damaged by floods. Hear us, O God.
C: Your mercy is great.

A: When quarrels ensue, soften our hearts. Quell hostilities between nations
and peoples, and reconcile all humans across the lines of race, class,
nationality, moral conviction, religion, and all else that divides or oppresses,
Hear us, O God.
C: Your mercy is great.

A: When your people thirst, satisfy their needs. Send water and food to all who
need nourishment. Grant welcome to all who are excluded. Show your mercy to
any in need. We pray especially for Beth, Jean, Mary Margaret, Kristine, Karen,
Emma, Cathy, Lene, Grethe, Lyra, Bud, Pastor Bob, and those others who are
in our hearts. Hear us, O God.
C: Your mercy is great.

A: When we gather to worship, send us your Spirit. Renew our hearts through
the joyful noise we make and bless the work of our church musicians and all
who prepare and lead worship. Hear us, O God.
C: Your mercy is great.

A: Merciful God, we pray for peace as war continues to rage in Ukraine and
in the Middle East. Shelter all living in fear; protect those seeking refuge in
neighbouring countries; sustain families separated by the horrors of war;
tend to those who are injured; comfort all who mourn their dead. Direct your
people into the way of peace. Hear us, O God.
C: Your mercy is great.

A: O God, when death draws near, we rejoice in the promise of life with you.
We remember all who have entered eternal rest, and we pray that you bring
us the hope of sharing in your glory. Hear us, O God.
C: Your mercy is great.

A: Receive our prayers, O God, through Jesus Christ, our strength and salvation.
C: Amen.

PEACE
P: The peace of Christ be with you always.
C: And also with you.

OFFERING PRAYER
A: O God, maker of heaven and earth, your steadfast love embraces
all creation. You send rain and sunshine to nourish the earth and bring
forth its bounty. Through these gifts of bread and wine, draw us into the
death and life of your Son, who calls us to bear witness to his saving work.
We ask this in Jesus’ name.
C: Amen.

LORD’S PRAYER
P: Lord, remember us in your kingdom and teach us to pray.
C: 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.

BLESSING
P: Receive the blessing of the holy Trinity: God, who calls all things into
existence; Jesus Christ, who redeems us; and the Holy Spirit, whose breath
sustains creation, ☩ bless you now and always.
C: Amen.

SENDING HYMN - Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me (ELW #623)

DISMISSAL
A: Go in peace. Believe the good news.
C: Thanks be to God.

DISMISSAL HYMN – Go Now in Peace
Go now in peace, never be afraid.
God will go with you each hour of every day.
Go now in faith, steadfast, strong and true.
Know He will guide you in all you do.
Go now in love, and show you believe.
Reach out to others, so all the world can see.
God will be there, watching from above.
Go now in peace, in faith, and in love.