Call to Worship Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. Joel 2:13
Opening Prayer O God, Maker of every thing and judge of all that you have made, from the dust of the earth you have formed us and from the dust of death you would raise us up. By the redemptive power of the cross, create in us clean hearts and put within us a new spirit, that we may turn from our sins, leave the darkness behind and lead lives worthy of Your calling; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
I Am Thine, O Lord #419
I am thine, O Lord, I have heard thy voice, and it told thy love to me; but I long to rise in the arms of faith and be closer drawn to thee.
Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord, to the cross where thou hast died. Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord, to thy precious, bleeding side.
Consecrate me now to thy service, Lord, by the power of grace divine; let my soul look up with a steadfast hope, and my will be lost in thine.
Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord, to the cross where thou hast died. Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord, to thy precious, bleeding side.
O the pure delight of a single hour that before thy throne I spend, when I kneel in prayer, and with thee, my God, I commune as friend with friend!
Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord, to the cross where thou hast died. Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord, to thy precious, bleeding side.
There are depths of love that I cannot know till I cross the narrow sea; there are heights of joy that I may not reach till I rest in peace with thee.
Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord, to the cross where thou hast died. Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord, to thy precious, bleeding side.
Old Testament Reading Listen to what the LORD says: "Stand up, plead your case before the mountains; let the hills hear what you have to say. Hear, O mountains, the LORD's accusation; listen, you everlasting foundations of the earth. For the LORD has a case against his people; he is lodging a charge against Israel.
Old Testament Reading My people, what have I done to you? How have I burdened you? Answer me. I brought you up out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. I sent Moses to lead you, also Aaron and Miriam. My people, remember what Balak king of Moab counseled and what Balaam son of Beor answered. Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the LORD.
Old Testament Reading With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:1-8
Psalm 103:8-14 P C P C P C P C The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will He harbor His anger forever; He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him;
Psalm 103:8-14 P C P C P C as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust.
Roses and Thorns Sanctuary Choir
Prayer of Confession Leader: Most holy and merciful Father: We confess to you and to one another, and to the whole community of saints in heaven and on earth, That we have sinned by our own pride and arrogance in thought, word, and deed; By what we have done, and by what we have left undone.
Leader: 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. Response: Lord, have mercy on us.
Leader: We have been deaf 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, Response: Lord, have mercy on us.
Leader: We confess to you, Lord, all our past unfaithfulness: the pride, hypocrisy, and impatience in our lives, Response: Lord, have mercy on us.
Leader: Our self-indulgent appetites and ways, and our exploitation of other people, Response: Lord, have mercy on us.
Litany of Penitence Leader: Our anger at our own frustration, and our envy of those more fortunate than ourselves, Response: Lord, have mercy on us.
Leader: Our intemperate love of worldly goods and comforts, and our dishonesty in daily life and work, Response: Lord, have mercy on us.
Leader: Our negligence in prayer and worship, and our failure to offer the faith that is our hope and our salvation, Response: Lord, have mercy on us.
Leader: Accept our repentance, Lord, for the wrongs we have done: for our blindness to human need and suffering, and our indifference to injustice and cruelty, Response: Lord, have mercy on us.
Leader: For all the false judgments, for uncharitable thoughts toward our neighbors, and for the prejudice and contempt toward those who differ from us, Response: Lord, have mercy on us.
Leader: For our waste and pollution of your creation, and our lack of concern for those who come after us, Response: Lord, have mercy on us.
Leader: Restore us, good Lord, and let your anger depart from us; Response: Hear us, O God, for your mercy is great.
Leader: Accomplish in us the work of your salvation, Response: That we may show forth your glory in the world.
Leader: By the cross and passion of your Son our Lord, Response: Bring us with all your saints to the joy of His Resurrection!
Leader: Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life. Amen As Jesus taught his disciples, let us now pray together...
Lord s Prayer In unison: Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever.
Offerings of Thanksgiving
The Doxology Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye Heavenly Host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. Ezekiel 37
He asked me, Son of man, can these bones live? I said, O Sovereign LORD, you alone know. Then he said to me, Prophesy to these bones and say to them, Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD. Ezekiel 37
So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. Ezekiel 37
Then he said to me, Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet a vast army. Ezekiel 37
From Death unto Life
Blessing of the Ashes Lord, help us to know your powerful presence this night. We have come to this place shrouded in darkness both of night and of spirit. Bless these ashes as a sign on our forehead and a seal upon our hearts that we might travel this Journey of Lent and in the end find the healing light of your grace and hope found in Jesus Christ. We lift our souls and spirits to receive your direction. In Christ s Name, we pray. AMEN.
Remember...
Psalm 51 P C P C P C P C Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; According to your great compassion blot out my transgressions Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight,
P C P C P C P C P C So that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
P C P C P C P C P C Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.
P C P C P C P C Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise Psalm 51
Take My Life, and Let it Be [#399] Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to thee. Take my moments and my days; let them flow in ceaseless praise. Take my hands, and let them move at the impulse of thy love. Take my feet, and let them be swift and beautiful for thee.
Take My Life, and Let it Be [#399] Take my voice, and let me sing always, only, for my King. Take my lips, and let them be filled with messages from thee. Take my silver and my gold; not a mite would I withhold. Take my intellect, and use every power as thou shalt choose.
Take My Life, and Let it Be [#399] Take my will, and make it thine; it shall be no longer mine. Take my heart, it is thine own; it shall be thy royal throne. Take my love, my Lord, I pour at thy feet its treasure-store. Take myself, and I will be ever, only, all for thee.
Benediction May the Lord bless you and keep, May the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift turn his face toward you, and give you peace.