The Lenten Season | Ash Wednesday 14 Feb 2024: Joel 2:1-2, 12-17; Ps 103:8-14; 2 Cor 5:20—6:10; Matt 6:1-6, 16-21 ~ Pray privately to your Father.

The Lenten Season | Ash Wednesday 14 Feb 2024

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Opening:

Almighty and everlasting God,
you hate nothing you have made,
and you forgive the sins of all who are penitent:
Create and make in us new and contrite hearts,
that we, worthily lamenting our sins
and acknowledging our wretchedness,
may obtain of you, the God of all mercy,
perfect remission and forgiveness;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

When you pray,
go to your room and close the door.
Pray privately
to your Father who is with you.
(Matthew 6:6)

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Powerful sound of shofar | Sound of healing | Shofar

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1st OT Reading: Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 (GW)

The Day of the Lord

2:1 Blow the ram’s horn in Zion.
Sound the alarm on my holy mountain.
Everyone who lives in the land should tremble,
because the day of the Lord is coming.
Certainly, it is near.
It is a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and overcast skies.
A large and mighty army
will spread over the mountains like the dawn.
Nothing like this has ever happened.
Nothing like this will ever happen again.

The Lord Invites the People to Return to Him

2:12 “But even now,” declares the Lord,
“return to me with all your heart—
with fasting, crying, and mourning.”

Tear your hearts, not your clothes.
Return to the Lord your God.
He is merciful and compassionate,
patient, and always ready to forgive
and to change his plans about disaster.
Who knows?
He may reconsider and change his plan
and leave a blessing for you.
Then you could give grain offerings and wine offerings
to the Lord your God.

Blow the ram’s horn in Zion.
Schedule a time to fast.
Call for an assembly.
Gather the people.
Prepare them for a holy meeting.
Assemble the leaders.
Gather the children, even the nursing infants.

Grooms leave their rooms.
Brides leave their chambers.
The priests who serve the Lord cry
between the altar and the entrance to the temple.
They say,
“Spare your people, O Lord.
Don’t let the people who belong to you become a disgrace.
Don’t let the nations ridicule them.
Why should people ask, ‘Where is their God?’ ”

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From Psalms: Psalm 103 (Bless the Lord) | The Prestonwood Choir & Orchestra | Horizon (2017)

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2nd OT Reading: Job 19:23-27 (GW)

Job’s Confidence in His Defender

19:23 “I wish now my words were written.
I wish they were inscribed on a scroll.
I wish they were forever engraved on a rock
with an iron stylus and lead.
But I know that my defender lives,
and afterwards, he will rise on the earth.
Even after my skin has been stripped off my body,
I will see God in my own flesh.
I will see him with my own eyes,
not with someone else’s.
My heart fails inside me!

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I Know That My Redeemer Lives (Official Lyric Video) – Keith & Kristyn Getty, Laura Story

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NT Reading: 1 Timothy 3:14-16 (GW)

3:14 I hope to visit you soon. However, I’m writing this to you in case I’m delayed. I want you to know how people who are members of God’s family must live. God’s family is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.

The mystery that gives us our reverence for God is acknowledged to be great:

He appeared in his human nature,
was approved by the Spirit,
was seen by angels,
was announced throughout the nations,
was believed in the world,
and was taken to heaven in glory.

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Because of Jesus / Charity Gayle

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Gospel Reading: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 (GW)

Don’t Do Good Works to Be Praised by People

6:1 “Be careful not to do your good works in public in order to attract attention. If you do, your Father in heaven will not reward you. So when you give to the poor, don’t announce it with trumpet fanfare. This is what hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets in order to be praised by people. I can guarantee this truth: That will be their only reward. When you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Give your contributions privately. Your Father sees what you do in private. He will reward you.

Prayer

6:5 “When you pray, don’t be like hypocrites. They like to stand in synagogues and on street corners to pray so that everyone can see them. I can guarantee this truth: That will be their only reward. 6 When you pray, go to your room and close the door. Pray privately to your Father who is with you. Your Father sees what you do in private. He will reward you.

Fasting

6:16 “When you fast, stop looking sad like hypocrites. They put on sad faces to make it obvious that they’re fasting. I can guarantee this truth: That will be their only reward. When you fast, wash your face and comb your hair. Then your fasting won’t be obvious. Instead, it will be obvious to your Father who is with you in private. Your Father sees what you do in private. He will reward you.

True Riches

6:19 “Stop storing up treasures for yourselves on earth, where moths and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal. Instead, store up treasures for yourselves in heaven, where moths and rust don’t destroy and thieves don’t break in and steal. Your heart will be where your treasure is.

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Ashes to Ashes – Dan Schutte [Official Lyric Video]

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Prayer: ACNA | BCP2019

Confession of Sin:

Lord, have mercy upon us: for we have sinned against you.

+ For all our unfaithfulness and disobedience; for the pride, vanity, and hypocrisy of our lives;
Lord, have mercy upon us: for we have sinned against you.

+ For our self-pity and impatience, and our envy of those we think more fortunate than ourselves;
Lord, have mercy upon us: for we have sinned against you.

+ For our unrighteous anger, bitterness, and resentment; for all lies, gossip, and slander against our neighbors;
Lord, have mercy upon us: for we have sinned against you.

+ For our sexual impurity, our exploitation of other people, and our failure to give of ourselves in love;
Lord, have mercy upon us: for we have sinned against you.

+ For our self-indulgent appetites and ways, and our intemperate pursuit of worldly goods and comforts;
Lord, have mercy upon us: for we have sinned against you.

+ For our dishonesty in daily life and work, our ingratitude for your gifts, and our failure to heed your call.
Lord, have mercy upon us: for we have sinned against you.

+ For our blindness to human need and suffering, and our indifference to injustice and cruelty;
Lord, have mercy upon us: for we have sinned against you.

+ For our wastefulness and misuse of your creation, and our lack of concern for those who come after us;
Lord, have mercy upon us: for we have sinned against you.

+ For all false judgments, for prejudice and contempt of others, and for all uncharitable thoughts toward our neighbors;
Lord, have mercy upon us: for we have sinned against you.

+ For our negligence in prayer and worship; for our presumption and abuse of your means of grace;
Lord, have mercy upon us: for we have sinned against you.

+ For seeking the praise of others rather than the approval of God;
Lord, have mercy upon us: for we have sinned against you.

+ For our failure to commend the faith that is in us;
Lord, have mercy upon us: for we have sinned against you.

Show favor to your people, O Lord, who turn to you in weeping, fasting, and prayer. For you are a merciful God, full of compassion, long-suffering, and abounding in steadfast love. You spare when we deserve punishment, and in your wrath you remember mercy. Spare your people, good Lord, spare us; in the multitude of your mercies, look upon us and forgive us; through the merits and mediation of your blessed Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Intercession:

+O God, our heavenly Father: Pour out your Spirit on your faithful people in the Middle East, that your Son’s life-giving Gospel may be preached to every tribe and nation. Send forth laborers into your harvest; defend them in all dangers and temptations; and hasten the time when the fullness of the Gentiles shall be gathered in, and faithful Israel shall be saved; through your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

+ Lord of Heaven’s Armies, we pray for swift and total victory over all evil in the Holy Land. Bring home the hostages, and deliver from bondage every person captivated by the evil death cult terrorizing the Middle East. And finally, grant heavenly wisdom to those guiding Israel militarily, politically, diplomatically, and especially to those who will restore Israel spiritually, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

+ Heavenly Father, you have promised to hear what we ask in the Name of your Son: Accept and fulfill our petitions, we pray, not as we ask in our ignorance, nor as we deserve in our sinfulness, but as you know and love us in your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Closing: faithandworship.com / John Birch

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Morning Prayer: 19 Jan – Heb 5:1-10; Mk 2:18-22 ~ Jesus Christ, High Priest forever

Monday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening sentences:

Come, O Creator Spirit, come, and make within our hearts Your home; to us Thy grace eternal give, who of Your breathing move and live.

A Reading from Letters: Hebrews 5:1-10 (NLT)

Every high priest is a man chosen to represent other people in their dealings with God. He presents their gifts to God and offers sacrifices for their sins. And he is able to deal gently with ignorant and wayward people because he himself is subject to the same weaknesses. That is why he must offer sacrifices for his own sins as well as theirs.

Christ the High Priest, Bodruzal, district Svidnik, from the wooden Church of St. Nicholas, 1650-60 — Christ the High Priest, Bodruzal, district Svidnik, Slovakia, from the wooden Church of St. Nicholas, 1650-60

And no one can become a high priest simply because he wants such an honor. He must be called by God for this work, just as Aaron was. That is why Christ did not honor himself by assuming he could become High Priest. No, he was chosen by God, who said to him, “You are my Son. Today I have become your Father.” And in another passage God said to him, “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”

While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God. Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him. And God designated him to be a High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.
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The word of God is living and effective, able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)
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A Reading from the Gospels: Mark 2:18-22 (NLT)

Once when John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting, some people came to Jesus and asked, “Why don’t your disciples fast like John’s disciples and the Pharisees do?”

Jesus replied, “Do wedding guests fast while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. They can’t fast while the groom is with them. But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.

“Besides, who would patch old clothing with new cloth? For the new patch would shrink and rip away from the old cloth, leaving an even bigger tear than before.

“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the wine would burst the wineskins, and the wine and the skins would both be lost. New wine calls for new wineskins.”
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Canticle

Christ, as a light illumine and guide me. Christ as a shield overshadow me. Christ under me; Christ over me; Christ beside me on my left and my right.

This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful. Be in the heart of each to whom I speak; in the mouth of each who speaks unto me. This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.

Christ as a light; Christ as a shield; Christ beside me on my left and my right.

Blessing:

May the Lord Christ go with you, wherever He may send you. May He guide you through the wilderness, protect you through the storm. May He bring you home rejoicing at the wonders He has shown you. May He bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen

1st Sunday of Lent: Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7; Psalm 51:3-6, 12-13, 17; Romans 5:12, 17-19; Matthew 4:1-11 ~ grace under fire

1st Sunday of Lent

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening sentence and prayer:

All over the world today, men and women are preparing for Easter – looking forward to receiving the gift of a new start.

Lord God, in every age you call a people to hear your word and to do your will. Renew me in these Lenten days: washed clean of sin, sealed with the Spirit, and sustained by your living bread, may I remain true to my calling and, with the elect, serve you alone. Grant this through Christ, my liberator from sin, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, holy and mighty God for ever and ever.

A Reading from the Old Testament: Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7 (NLT)

Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.

Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there he placed the man he had made. The Lord God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground—trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
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The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”

“Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”

“You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”

The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.

A Reading from the Psalms: Psalm 51:3-6, 12-13, 17 (NLT)

Broken Spirit

For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night. Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just.

For I was born a sinner — yes, from the moment my mother conceived me. But you desire honesty from the womb, teaching me wisdom even there.
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Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. Then I will teach your ways to rebels, and they will return to you.
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The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.

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A Reading from the Letters: Romans 5:12, 17-19 (NLT)

When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.
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For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.

Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous.

A Reading from the Gospels: Matthew 4:1-11 (NLT)

Temptation of Christ Eric Armusik — Temptation of Christ
Eric Armusik

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry.

During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.”

But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say,

‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say,

‘He will order his angels to protect you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’”

Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’”

Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.”

“Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say,

‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”

Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.

Intercessions:

Gracious God, hear my prayers on behalf of all those in need:

+ For church leaders and servants, especially those who labor in faith under great stress and difficult, even dangerous, circumstances, I pray…. Lord, hear me.

+ For reconciliation in homes and neighborhoods, towns and cities, in my country and in countries throughout the world, I pray…. Lord, hear me.

+ For peace in troubled lands, especially in Ukraine, Syria and the Middle East, I pray…. Lord, hear me.

+ For the hungry, the poor, the homeless, the destitute, and the weakest among us, I pray…. Lord, hear me.

+ For my community, particularly for my friends who are sick and those who care for them, I pray…. Lord, hear me.

+ For those who have died, and those who mourn their loss, that they may dwell in God’s presence now and forever, I pray…. Lord, hear me.

Merciful God, you understand our weaknesses, you know our needs: give us the joy of your help, I ask you, through Christ my Lord. Amen.

Hymn: Just As I Am”

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen

Morning Reading: Acts 13:1-3 NLT – hands on commissioning

Reading: Acts 13.1-3 NLT

Among the prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch of Syria were Barnabas, Simeon (called “the black man”), Lucius (from Cyrene), Manaen (the childhood companion of King Herod Antipas), and Saul. One day as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Dedicate Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them.” So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way.

Prayer: Holy Spirit – Call forth godly prophets and teachers from within your church… people who will worship, fast and pray. And set apart worker/evangelists who will go to harvest fields near and far… seeking those who are lost. Unite the world-wide community of believers around this missionary effort… regardless of religious tradition. Speak your Word of truth… that all might know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. I ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Hymn: “Fling Out the Banner! Let it float!” – George W. Doane (1848)
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