Wednesday, March 1, 2017
Lenten Season
Christ Will Suffer, Die and Be Raised; Get Ready.
Order of Worship*Processional
*GREETING
L: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
P: And also with you.
L: Bless the Lord who forgives all our sins.
P: God's mercy endures for ever.
*Opening Hymn “Lord, I Want to Be a Christian” # 282
Prayer Lord’s PRAYER #756 # 307
Selection “Just as IAM” #258
Old Testament Scripture: Joel 2:12-19
New Testament Scripture: I Corinthians 9:19-27
Gospel Scripture: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
Homily
INVITATION TO THE OBSERVANCE OF LENTEN DISCIPLINE
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:
the early Christians observed with great devotion the days of our Lord's passion and resurrection,
and it became the custom of the Church that before the Easter celebration there should be a forty–day season of spiritual preparation. During this season converts to the faith were prepared for Holy Baptism. It was also a time when persons who had committed serious sins and had separated themselves from the community of faith were reconciled by penitence and forgiveness, and restored to participation in the life of the Church. In this way the whole congregation was reminded of the mercy and forgiveness proclaimed in the gospel of Jesus Christ and the need we all have to renew our faith. I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to observe a holy Lent:
- by self–examination and repentance;
- by prayer, fasting, and self–denial;
- and by reading and meditating on God's Holy Word.
THANKSGIVING OVER THE ASHES
Almighty God, you have created us out of the dust of the earth.
Grant that these ashes may be to us a sign of our mortality and penitence, so that we may remember that only by your gracious gift
are we given everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
*IMPOSITION OF ASHES
Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
Repent, and believe the gospel.
CONFESSION AND PARDON (pray this Psalm)
Psalms 51:1-17
1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against you, you alone, have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are justified in your sentence
and blameless when you pass judgment.
5 Indeed, I was born guilty,
a sinner when my mother conceived me.
6 You desire truth in the inward being;
therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right[b] spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your holy spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will return to you.
14 Deliver me from bloodshed, O God,
O God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.
15 O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 For you have no delight in sacrifice;
if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased.
17 The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Copyright: “A Service of Worship for Ash Wednesday” Copyright © 1979, 1986 by Abingdon Press. Renewal Copyright © 1992 UMPH. “Invitation to the Observance of the Lenten Discipline,” “Thanksgiving over the Ashes,” and “Pardon” from The Book of Common Prayer (The Episcopal Church, 1979), 264-269. Public Domain.
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