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.