St. eter s Union hurch of Mantzville... where worship and service don t stop with the final hymn. The Rev. Kenneth L. Buckwalter, Interim astor Kristine K. Betz, Director of Music February 14, 2018 sh Wednesday Holy ommunion/imposition of shes 7:30 p.m. Welcome to Worship this Day! Lent begins with a solemn call to fasting and repentance as we begin our journey to the baptismal waters of Easter. s we hear in today's readings, now is the acceptable time to return to the Lord. During Lent the people of God will reflect on the meaning of their baptism into hrist's death and resurrection. The sign of ashes suggests our human mortality and frailty. What seems like an ending is really an invitation to make each day a new beginning, in which we are washed in God's mercy and forgiveness. With the cross on our brow, we long for the spiritual renewal that flows from the springtime Easter feast to come. Worship begins with the prelude; please prepare your hearts with silence. Light faced type leaders Bold-faced type congregation
Gathering RELUDE " Jesus aid It ll ~J. ethel GREETING and RYER nnouncements and welcome will be shared at the time of the sermon. fter the prelude the congregation stands as the ministers enter. The Lord be with you. nd also with you. Let us pray. Gracious God, out of your love and mercy you breathed into dust the breath of life, creating us to serve you and our neighbors. all forth our prayers and acts of kindness, and strengthen us to face our mortality with confidence in the mercy of your Son, Jesus hrist, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. men. INVITTION TO LENT The assembly is seated. The presiding minister may invite the assembly into the discipline of Lent. Friends in hrist, today with the whole church we enter the time of remembering Jesus' passover from death to life, and our life in hrist 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. s 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. ONFESSION OF SIN The presiding minister leads the following confession. Let us confess our sin in the presence of God and of one another. The assembly remains seated. Silence is kept for reflection and self-examination. Most holy and merciful God, 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. 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. We have shut our ears to your call to serve as hrist served us. We have not been true to the mind of hrist. We have grieved your Holy Spirit.
Our past unfaithfulness, the pride, envy, hypocrisy, and apathy that have infected our lives, we confess to you. Our self-indulgent appetites and ways, and our exploitation of other people, we confess to you. Our negligence in prayer and worship, and our failure to share the faith that is in us, we confess to you. Our neglect of human need and suffering, and our indifference to in justice and cruelty, we confess to you. Our false judgments, our uncharitable thoughts toward our neighbors, and our prejudice and contempt toward those who differ from us, we confess to you. Our waste and pollution of your creation, and our lack of concern for those who come after us, we confess to you. Restore us, O God, and let your anger depart from us. Hear us, O God, for your mercy is great. IMOSITION OF SHES eople may come forward to receive the ashes by the center aisle. The pastor marks the forehead of each person with a cross of ashes, saying: Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return. HYMN Lord Jesus, Think on Me The hymn, printed on the following page, is sung quietly during the imposition of ashes.
LI #160-1646 fter the ashes are distributed, the minister continues. ccomplish in us, O God, the work of your salvation, that we may show forth your glory in the world. By the cross and passion of your Son, our Savior, bring us with all your saints to the joy of his resurrection lmighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through our Lord Jesus hrist, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life. men. ll who are able stand for the rayer of the Day. RYER of the DY lmighty and ever-living God, you hate nothing you have made, and you forgive the sins of all who are penitent. reate in us new and honest hearts, so that, truly repenting of our sins, we may receive from you, the God of all mercy, full pardon and forgiveness through your Son, Jesus hrist, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. men. The assembly is seated.
Word NTHEM Jesu, Jesu --Senior hoir SRITURE REDING: Joel 2:1 2, 12 17 Because of the coming Day of the Lord, the prophet Joel calls the people to a community lament. The repentant community reminds God of his gracious character and asks God to spare the people, lest the nations doubt God s power to save. L L L reading from the rophet Joel. The text of the reading is printed on the back cover of this worship folder. fter the reading the following response is said. Our sins are many, O God; they darken the face of your creation For all our sins we are truly sorry and humbly repent. The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. SLM REDING: salm 51:1 17 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love. (s. 51:1) 1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; in your great compassion blot out my offenses. 2 Wash me through and through from my wickedness, and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my offenses, and my sin is ever before me. 4 gainst you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are justified when you speak and right in your judgment. 5 Indeed, I was born steeped in wickedness, a sinner from my mother's womb.
7 Remove my sins with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be purer than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; that the body you have broken may rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my wickedness. 10 reate in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11 ast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit. 13 Let me teach your ways to offenders, and sinners shall be restored to you. 14 Rescue me from bloodshed, O God of my salvation, and my tongue shall sing of your righteousness. 15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall proclaim your praise. 16 For you take no delight in sacrifice, or I would give it. You are not pleased with burnt offering. 17 The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit; a troubled and broken heart, O God, you will not despise. The congregation stands to welcome the Gospel GOSEL REDING: Matthew 6:1 6, 16 21 In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus commends almsgiving, prayer, and fasting, but emphasizes that spiritual devotion must not be done for show The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the sixth chapter. Glory to you, O Lord. fter the reading the following response is said.
We store up treasures on earth, O God, and fail to treasure your eternal love. For loving ourselves more than you, we humbly repent. The Gospel of our Lord. raise to you, O hrist. SERMON ~ Hear the Echo to It s End Brief silence for reflection follows the sermon. RYERS of INTERESSION Returning to the Lord, our God, let us pray for the church, the world, and all of God's creation. brief silence. Gracious and merciful God, empower your church to be an ambassa dor of reconciliation in the world, and unite the congregations of our community here at home, as we gather this Lenten season in worship. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. Gracious and merciful God, restore creation to wholeness and strengthen our resolve to be good stewards of all that you have made. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. Gracious and merciful God, make this the acceptable time for peace. Guide the leaders of all nations to put an end to war and violence, especially in North Korea, in fghanistan and Syria, and in nations where pockets of violence destory lives, families and communities. Guide the thoughts and tend to the hearts of resident Trump and his staff that they may work for peace throughout the world, for justice in the face of tyranny, and for unity here at home. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Gracious and merciful God, deliver those in need: the hungry, the afflicted, the imprisoned, and the ill, especially, and those whom we name before you at this time (pause), that their joy be re stored. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. Gracious and merciful God, create a clean heart in all who worship here today and bless all who prepare during these forty days to be baptized at Easter. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. Gracious and merciful God, we give you thanks for all the saints who now partake in your heavenly treasure, especially those most dear to us who rest in you (pause for remembrance). Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. Into your hands, O God, we commend ourselves and all for whom we pray, trusting in your abundant mercy, through Jesus hrist, our Savior and Lord. men. The assembly may be seated. Meal OFFERING OFFERTORY Lenten Blessing" ~J. Southbridge
ONGREGTIONL OFFERTORY We Give Thee But Thine Own We give thee but thine own, whate er the gift may be; ll that we have is thine alone, a gift, O hrist, from thee. OFFERTORY RYER God our provider, you have not fed us with bread alone, but with words of grace and life. Bless us and these your gifts, which we receive from your bounty, through Jesus hrist our Lord. men. THNKSGIVING T THE TBLE Blessed are you, O God of the universe. Your mercy is everlasting and your faithfulness endures from age to age. In the night in which he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks; broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take and eat; this is my body, given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me. gain, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it for all to drink, saying: This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin. Do this for the remembrance of me. With this bread and cup we remember our Lord's passover from death to life as we proclaim the mystery of faith: hrist has died. hrist is risen. hrist will come again. O God of resurrection and new life: our out your Holy Spirit on us and on these gifts of bread and wine. Bless this feast. Grace our table with your presence. ome, Holy Spirit.
Reveal yourself to us in the breaking of the bread. Raise us up as the body of hrist for the world. Breathe new life into us. Send us forth, burning with justice, peace, and love. ome, Holy Spirit. With your holy ones of all times and places, with the earth and all its creatures, with sun and moon and stars, we praise you, O God, blessed and holy Trinity, now and forever: Holy, Holy, Holy Worship Booklet, p. 46 LORD S RYER Lord, remember us in your kingdom and teach us to pray. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy king dom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. men. RERTORY HYMN Just s I m LI #160-1646
WE BREK the BRED This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Happy are we who are called to his supper. Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed. lease be seated for the hymn. DISTRIBUTION THE GIFT OF GOD S RESENE IN HOLY OMMUNION ll baptized persons who receive Holy ommunion in their home congregations are invited to receive the Sacrament here today. In the Lutheran and U traditions we believe and teach that Jesus is truly present in, with and under the bread and wine/grape juice of Holy ommunion. He is there to strengthen our faith, comfort us in our sorrows, and inspire us to service in his name. BLESSING and RYER ll who are able please stand at the direction of the minister The body and blood of our Lord Jesus hrist strengthen you and keep you in his grace. men. Let us pray. lmighty God, we thank you for your great mercy given to us in this sacrament, whereby we are made partakers of hrist and all his benefits. So enrich us by your Holy Spirit that the life of Jesus may be seen in our lives, and all our days may be spent in your love and service; through Jesus hrist our Lord. men. Brief silence follows the prayer.
Sending DISMISSL Go forth, people of God to be a blessing to the world in hrist s service. We will put no obstacle in anyone s way, so no fault may be found with our ministry. Let your love be genuine, your speech truthful, your relationship with others patient and kind. We seek to be authentic witnesses to God s love in hrist Jesus. You may face hardships, humiliation and sorrow; others may not understand your commitment. We will rejoice, even in times of difficulty God in hrist gives us all we need. God empowers you to walk in faith and humility, to give generously and unselfishly. We go out to invest the gifts of God for the sake of all whom we meet. BLESSING the EOLE of GOD lmighty God, Father, + Son, and Holy Spirit, bless you now and forever. men. SENDING HYMN Softly and Tenderly rinted on the following page fter the Sending Hymn, the assembly leaves in silence, observing the solemnity of the day.
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