The Lenten Season | 2nd Sunday 25 Feb 2024
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Opening:
Almighty God,
you know that we have no power
in ourselves to help ourselves:
Keep us both outwardly in our bodies
and inwardly in our souls,
that we may be defended from all adversities
that may happen to the body,
and from all evil thoughts
that may assault and hurt the soul;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Jesus said to them,
“Those who want to follow me
must say no to the things they want,
pick up their crosses, and follow me.”
(Mark 8:34)
__________
The God of Abraham Praise | St. Thomas Mount Ensemble | Male Voice Choir, Chennai
__________
From the Old Testament: Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 (GW)
The Lord’s Fifth Promise to Abraham
17:1 When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him. He said to Abram, “I am God Almighty. Live in my presence with integrity. I will give you my promise, and I will give you very many descendants.” Immediately, Abram bowed with his face touching the ground, and again God spoke to him, “My promise is still with you. You will become the father of many nations. So your name will no longer be Abram [Exalted Father], but Abraham [Father of Many] because I have made you a father of many nations. I will give you many descendants. Many nations and kings will come from you. I will make my promise to you and your descendants for generations to come as an everlasting promise. I will be your God and the God of your descendants….
17:15 God said to Abraham, “Don’t call your wife by the name Sarai anymore. Instead, her name is Sarah [Princess]. I will bless her, and I will also give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she will become ⌞a mother of⌟ nations, and kings will come from her.”
__________
From the Psalms: Psalm 22:25-31 – “I Will Praise You, Lord” – Francesca LaRosa
__________
From the Epistles: Romans 4:13-25 (GW)
4:13 So it was not by obeying the laws in Moses’ Teachings that Abraham or his descendants received the promise that he would inherit the world. Rather, he received this promise through God’s approval that comes by faith. If those who obey Moses’ Teachings are the heirs, then faith is useless and the promise is worthless. The laws in Moses’ Teachings bring about anger. But where those laws don’t exist, they can’t be broken. Therefore, the promise is based on faith so that it can be a gift. Consequently, the promise is guaranteed for every descendant, not only for those who are descendants by obeying Moses’ Teachings but also for those who are descendants by believing as Abraham did. He is the father of all of us, as Scripture says: “I have made you a father of many nations.”
Abraham believed when he stood in the presence of the God who gives life to dead people and calls into existence things that don’t even exist. When there was nothing left to hope for, Abraham still hoped and believed. As a result, he became a father of many nations, as he had been told: “That is how many descendants you will have.” Abraham didn’t weaken. Through faith he regarded the facts: His body was already as good as dead now that he was about a hundred years old, and Sarah was unable to have children. He didn’t doubt God’s promise out of a lack of faith. Instead, giving honor to God ⌞for the promise⌟, he became strong because of faith and was absolutely confident that God would do what he promised. That is why Abraham’s faith was regarded as the basis of his approval by God.
But the words “his faith was regarded as the basis of his approval by God” were written not only for him but also for us. Our faith will be regarded as the basis of our approval by God—each of us who believe in the one who brought Jesus, our Lord, back to life. Jesus, our Lord, was handed over to death because of our failures and was brought back to life so that we could receive God’s approval.
__________
Victorious | Heartcry of David (United Kingdom Collaboration)
Verse 1
You are the Lamb
Who died upon the tree
You paid for me
You paid for me
Chorus
You are victorious
You are the Champion
You overcome so we overcome
You are victorious
You are the Champion
You overcome
Lord You have won
Verse 2
You are the Son
Who rose in victory
You paid for me
You paid for me
Bridge
We join with Heaven
Holy holy is the Lord Almighty
Who was and is to come
Holy holy is the Lord Almighty
Who was and is to come
Verse 3
You are the King
Seated on the throne
It’s Yours alone
It’s Yours alone
__________
Gospel Reading: Mark 8:31-38 (GW)
Jesus Foretells That He Will Die and Come Back to Life
8:31 Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man would have to suffer a lot. He taught them that he would be rejected by the leaders, the chief priests, and the experts in Moses’ Teachings. He would be killed, but after three days he would come back to life. He told them very clearly what he meant.
Peter took him aside and objected to this. Jesus turned, looked at his disciples, and objected to what Peter said. Jesus said, “Get out of my way, Satan! You aren’t thinking the way God thinks but the way humans think.”
What It Means to Follow Jesus
8:34 Then Jesus called the crowd to himself along with his disciples. He said to them, 
“Those who want to follow me must say no to the things they want, pick up their crosses, and follow me. Those who want to save their lives will lose them. But those who lose their lives for me and for the Good News will save them. What good does it do for people to win the whole world yet lose their lives? Or what should a person give in exchange for life? If people are ashamed of me and what I say in this unfaithful and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of those people when he comes with the holy angels in his Father’s glory.”
__________
I Have Decided To Follow Jesus // Kathryn Scott // Worship Lyrics
__________
+ Most merciful God, we confess to You and to one another that we have not loved as You have called us to love. We have been impatient and unkind. We have been jealous, boastful and proud. We have responded rudely to others and often lived for ourselves alone. Our anger has come quickly while our desire for the best for others has been hard to find. We are truly sorry, and we humbly repent. In Your mercy forgive what we have been, help us to amend what we are, and direct what we shall be: that we may love as You first loved us, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
+ Almighty God, our heavenly Father, who in your great mercy has promised forgiveness of sins to all those who sincerely repent and with true faith turn to you, have mercy upon us, pardon and deliver us from all our sins, confirm and strengthen us in all goodness, and bring us to everlasting life; through 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.
Closing: FaithandWorship.com | John Birch
The Lord bless us, and preserve us from all evil,
and keep us in eternal life.
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
He asked them, “But who do you say I am?”
When people work, their pay is not regarded as a gift but something they have earned. However, when people don’t work but believe God, the one who approves ungodly people, their faith is regarded as the basis of God’s approval. David says the same thing about those who are blessed: God approves of people without their earning it. David said,
There is no difference between people. Because all people have sinned, they have fallen short of God’s glory. They receive God’s approval freely by an act of his kindness through the price Christ Jesus paid to set us free ⌞from sin⌟. God showed that Christ is the throne of mercy where God’s approval is given through faith in Christ’s blood. In his patience God waited to deal with sins committed in the past. He waited so that he could display his approval at the present time. This shows that he is a God of justice, a God who approves of people who believe in Jesus.
Once more the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms in the world and their glory. The devil said to him, “I will give you all this if you will bow down and worship me.”
The Peanut Gallery 