Fifth Sunday
of Great Lent 2025
(Healing of Crippled Woman)

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Scripture Readings

Isaiah 50:1–5

Thus says the Lord:

“Where is the certificate of your mother’s divorce, Whom I have put away? Or which of My creditors is it to whom I have sold you? For your iniquities you have sold yourselves, And for your transgressions your mother has been put away. Why, when I came, was there no man? Why, when I called, was there none to answer? Is My hand shortened at all that it cannot redeem? Or have I no power to deliver? Indeed with My rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness; Their fish stink because there is no water, And die of thirst. I clothe the heavens with blackness, And I make sackcloth their covering.”

“The Lord God has given Me The tongue of the learned, That I should know how to speak A word in season to him who is weary. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear To hear as the learned. The Lord God has opened My ear; And I was not rebellious, Nor did I turn away.

Psalm 107:1–3, 17–22

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures for ever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, those he redeemed from trouble and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.

Some were sick through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities endured affliction; they loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress; he sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from destruction. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to humankind. And let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices, and tell of his deeds with songs of joy.

I Peter 3:8–16

Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. For

“He who would love life And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.

St. Luke 13:10–17

Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, ‘Woman, you are set free from your ailment.’ When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, ‘There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.’ But the Lord answered him and said, ‘You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?’ When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.

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Prayers

Opening Prayer

Our gracious and merciful Lord, we pray, please grant that we may observe this season of Great Lent with holy fasting, so that we may by Your power, battle against spiritual evils and grow in purity within and without. Enable us to live close to you and ceaselessly praise You, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and always forever will be, world without end. Amen.

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Great Thanksgiving Prayer

It is indeed good and right to give you thanks and praise, Almighty God and Everlasting Father, through Jesus Christ Your Son. For in this season of Great Lent, You lead us into the desert of repentance, that through the pilgrimage of prayer and discipline we may grow in grace and become more like our Lord. Through fasting, prayer and acts of service, You bring us to Your generous heart. May our self denial bring glory to You, and help us to be humble and get rid of our sinful pride. Help us to care for the poor and the destitute. Help us, Lord, to imitate You in our deeds. We thank you for Your mercy and join with saints and angels to proclaim:

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,
heaven and earth are full of His glory,
hosanna in the highest;
blessed is He who has come,
and is to come
in the name of the Lord,
hosanna in the highest.

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Prayer Focus

For the month of March GFA World’s prayer focus is for Jesus Wells.

“He turns a wilderness into pools of water, and dry land into watersprings.”

So often in the Holy Scriptures, God uses water to illustrate who He is and what He does for us. He compares His blessing to streams for dry ground, describes His Spirit as water for a thirsty man and calls Himself the “fountain of living waters” (Isaiah 44:3; Jeremiah 2:13).

Just as God blesses, satisfies and gives us life, water has the power to bring fruitfulness to our communities, refreshment to our thirst and life to our bodies.

Yet, in many places throughout Africa and Asia, precious people are living in “dry lands” and have yet to experience the gift of abundant, clean water. Their knowledge of the Living Water—and the wholeness its Giver brings—is even more limited.

This month, will you join us in asking God to bring water and hope to those still waiting in a “dry land”?

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Prayer for Jesus Wells

Father we ask you to make a way for us to bring clean water to communities. May you remove physical and spiritual obstacles standing in the way of people receiving the practical help a Jesus Well brings. Amen.

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Closing Prayer

Gracious and compassionate Father in heaven, we thank you for strengthening our faith and hope. We praise You for deepening our love through this worship. Pour out the power of the Holy Spirit on us that we may live by the Word of Christ, the Bread of Life. We offer our life at your feet that in this season of Great Lent, the life and nature of Christ may grow deeper in us. We ascribe praise and thanksgiving to You, to Your Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and always forever will be, world without end. Amen.

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Prayer Focus

For the month of March GFA World’s prayer focus is for Jesus Wells.

“He turns a wilderness into pools of water, and dry land into watersprings.”

So often in the Holy Scriptures, God uses water to illustrate who He is and what He does for us. He compares His blessing to streams for dry ground, describes His Spirit as water for a thirsty man and calls Himself the “fountain of living waters” (Isaiah 44:3; Jeremiah 2:13).

Just as God blesses, satisfies and gives us life, water has the power to bring fruitfulness to our communities, refreshment to our thirst and life to our bodies.

Yet, in many places throughout Africa and Asia, precious people are living in “dry lands” and have yet to experience the gift of abundant, clean water. Their knowledge of the Living Water—and the wholeness its Giver brings—is even more limited.

This month, will you join us in asking God to bring water and hope to those still waiting in a “dry land”?