February 14, 2024P: Let us prepare our hearts and minds for this penitent worship service. Pause for three breaths P: Blessed be the holy Trinity, + one God, who writes the law on our hearts, who draws all people together through Jesus. C: Amen. PRAYER OF THE DAY P: Gracious God, out of your love and mercy you breathed into dust the breath of life, creating us to serve you and our neighbors. Call forth our prayers and acts of kindness, and strengthen us to face our mortality with confidence in the mercy of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. C: Amen. HYMN “Restore In Us, O God” READING Gospel: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 [Jesus said to the disciples:] 1“Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2“So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 3But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 5“And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 6But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 16“And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 17But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 19“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; 20but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” SERMON HYMN OF THE DAY “Come Down, O Love Divine” INVITATION TO LENT P: Friends in Christ, today with the whole church we enter the time of remembering Jesus’ passover from death to life, and our life in Christ is renewed. We begin this holy season by acknowledging our need for repentance and for God’s mercy. We are created to experience joy in communion with God, to love one another, and to live in harmony with creation. But our sinful rebellion separates us from God, our neighbors, and creation, so that we do not enjoy the life our creator intended. As disciples of Jesus, we are called to a discipline that contends against evil and resists whatever leads us away from love of God and neighbor. I invite you, therefore, to the discipline of Lent—self-examination and repentance, prayer and fasting, sacrificial giving and works of love—strengthened by the gifts of word and sacrament. Let us continue our journey through these forty days to the great Three Days of Jesus’ death and resurrection. CONFESSION OF SIN P: Let us confess our sin in the presence of God and of one another. Silence is kept for reflection and self-examination. P: Most holy and merciful God, C: we confess to you and to one another, and before the whole company of heaven, that we have sinned by our fault, by our own fault, by our own most grievous fault, in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. P: We have not loved you with our whole heart, and mind, and strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not forgiven others as we have been forgiven. C: Have mercy on us, O God. P: We have shut our ears to your call to serve as Christ served us. We have not been true to the mind of Christ. We have grieved your Holy Spirit. C: Have mercy on us, O God. P: Our past unfaithfulness, the pride, envy, hypocrisy, and apathy that have infected our lives, we confess to you. C: Have mercy on us, O God. P: Our self-indulgent appetites and ways, and our exploitation of other people, we confess to you. C: Have mercy on us, O God. P: Our negligence in prayer and worship, and our failure to share the faith that is in us, we confess to you. C: Have mercy on us, O God. P: Our neglect of human need and suffering, and our indifference to injustice and cruelty, we confess to you. C: Have mercy on us, O God. P: Our false judgments, our uncharitable thoughts toward our neighbors, and our prejudice and contempt toward those who differ from us, we confess to you. C: Have mercy on us, O God. P: Our waste and pollution of your creation, and our lack of concern for those who come after us, we confess to you. C: Have mercy on us, O God. P: Restore us, O God, and let your anger depart from us. C: Hear us, O God, for your mercy is great. PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION P: Trusting in God’s promise to reconcile all things, let us pray for the church, the well-being of creation, and a world in need. A brief silence. P: You call us to return to you, steadfast God. Renew a right spirit within the church and cleanse the hearts of your people. Strengthen those who proclaim your gospel in word and deed. Hear us, O God. C: Your mercy is great. P: You sustain your creation, generous God. Supply all that is needful for life to flourish. Protect endangered species and fragile habitats. Teach us to live lightly upon the earth and to honor it as our home. Hear us, O God. C: Your mercy is great. P: You seek justice and peace, righteous God. Rebuild cities and homelands devastated by war (especially Ukraine & Russia, Gaza & Israel). Provide welcome, help, and safety to refugees. Prosper negotiations that lead to lasting peace among the nations. Hear us, O God. C: Your mercy is great. P: You care for all people, loving God. Heal any who are scarred by violence, addiction, or trauma of any kind. Comfort those who grieve and bring relief to any in pain. Hear us, O God. C: Your mercy is great. P: You gather this assembly, abiding God. Unite us in serving our neighbors and working for justice. We pray for caregivers and people who are hospitalized, in treatment, or recovering from illness (especially Julie, Karla, Stephanie, Cammie, Nancy, Beverly, Micala, Murlene, Eileen, and Brian). Hear us, O God. C: Your mercy is great. P: You redeem us from death, faithful God. We give thanks for those who served you in the church and shared their gifts in unique ways. Bring us with all the saints into everlasting joy. Hear us, O God. C: Your mercy is great. P: Accompany us on our journey, God of grace, and receive the prayers of our hearts, through Jesus Christ, our Savior. C: Amen. OFFERING PRAYER Financial gifts may be sent to the church P: Jesus, you are the bread of life and the true host of this meal. Bless the gifts that we have gathered today in our offering, that all people may know your goodness. Feed us not only with this holy food but with hunger for justice and peace. We pray this in your name. C: Amen. LORD’S PRAYER Spoken in Old Norse PRAYER P: Let us pray. Merciful God, accompany our journey through these forty days. Renew us in the gift of baptism, that we may provide for those who are poor, pray for those in need, fast from self-indulgence, and above all that we may find our treasure in the life of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. C: Amen. BLESSING P: Almighty God, Father, + Son, and Holy Spirit, bless you now and forever. C: Amen. HYMN “Just As I Am, Without One Plea” CHARGE P: Go forth into the world to serve God with gladness; be of good courage; hold fast to that which is good; render to no one evil for evil; strengthen the fainthearted; support the weak; help the afflicted; honor all people; love and serve God, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit. C: Thanks be to God.
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AuthorRev. Lori E.L. Kitzing Archives
April 2024
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