Worship Bulletin
Wednesday, March 5, 2025
Ash Wednesday
Introduction
On Ash Wednesday we begin our forty-day journey toward Easter with a day of fasting and repentance. Marking our foreheads with dust, we acknowledge that we die and return to the earth. At the same time, the dust traces the life-giving cross indelibly marked on our foreheads at baptism. While we journey through Lent to return to God, we have already been reconciled to God through Christ. We humbly pray for God to make our hearts clean while we rejoice that “now is the day of salvation.” Returning to our baptismal call, we more intentionally bear the fruits of mercy and justice in the world.
Psalm: Psalm 51:1-17
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love. (Ps. 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 Against 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.
6 Indeed, you delight in truth deep within me,
and would have me know wisdom deep within.
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 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast 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.
Prayer of the Day
Almighty and ever-living God, you hate nothing you have made, and you forgive the sins of all who are penitent. Create 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 Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling
1 Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,
calling for you and for me.
See, on the portals he's waiting and watching,
watching for you and for me.
Refrain
"Come home, (Come home,)
come home! (come home!)
You who are weary, come home."
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
calling, "O sinner, come home!"
2 Why should we tarry when Jesus is pleading,
pleading for you and for me?
Why should we linger and heed not his mercies,
mercies for you and for me? Refrain
3 Oh, for the wonderful love he has promised,
promised for you and for me!
Though we have sinned, he has mercy and pardon,
pardon for you and for me. Refrain
Text: Will L. Thompson, 1847-1909
First Reading: Isaiah 58:1-12
Shortly after the return of Israel from exile in Babylon, the people were troubled by the ineffectiveness of their fasts. God reminds them that outward observance is no substitute for genuine fasting that results in acts of justice, such as feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, and clothing the naked. Sincere repentance will lead to a dramatic improvement of their condition.
1 Shout out, do not hold back!
Lift up your voice like a trumpet!
Announce to my people their rebellion,
to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 Yet day after day they seek me
and delight to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that practiced righteousness
and did not forsake the ordinance of their God;
they ask of me righteous judgments,
they delight to draw near to God.
3 “Why do we fast, but you do not see?
Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?”
Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day,
and oppress all your workers.
4 Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
and to strike with a wicked fist.
Such fasting as you do today
will not make your voice heard on high.
5 Is such the fast that I choose,
a day to humble oneself?
Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush,
and to lie in sackcloth and ashes?
Will you call this a fast,
a day acceptable to the Lord?
6 Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them,
and not to hide yourself from your own kin?
8 Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up quickly;
your vindicator shall go before you,
the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.
If you remove the yoke from among you,
the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,
10 if you offer your food to the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,
then your light shall rise in the darkness
and your gloom be like the noonday.
11 The Lord will guide you continually,
and satisfy your needs in parched places,
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters never fail.
12 Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of streets to live in.
Word of God, Word of Life!
Thanks Be to God!
Second Reading:
2 Corinthians 5:20b—6:10
The ministry of the gospel endures many challenges and hardships. Through this ministry, God’s reconciling activity in the death of Christ reaches into the depths of our lives to bring us into a right relationship with God. In this way, God accepts us into the reality of divine salvation.
20b We entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
6:1 As we work together with him, we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain. 2 For he says,
“At an acceptable time I have listened to you,
and on a day of salvation I have helped you.”
See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation! 3 We are putting no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, 4 but as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, 5 beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; 6 by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, 7 truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; 8 in honor and dishonor, in ill repute and good repute. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; 9 as unknown, and yet are well known; as dying, and see—we are alive; as punished, and yet not killed; 10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.
Word of God, Word of Life!
Thanks Be to God!
Together in One Spirit
One church, One body
One faith, One Lord
Together in one Spirit
Rejoicing in His word.
One church, One body
One faith, One Lord
Together in one Spirit
Rejoicing in His word.
All created equal,
Together we belong.
United in one body,
Rejoicing in one song.
One church, One body
One faith, One Lord
Together in one Spirit
Rejoicing in His word.
All created equal,
Together we belong.
United in one body,
Rejoicing in one song.
United in one body,
Rejoicing in one song.
Gospel: Luke 6:27-38
Jesus continues to address a crowd of his disciples. He invites his followers to shower radical love, blessing, forgiveness, generosity, and trust even on enemies and outsiders. Living in harmony with God’s intent brings the reward of overflowing blessing.
[Jesus said:] 27 “But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. 30 Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. 35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38 give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”
The Gospel of the Lord
Praise to You, O Christ
Just As I Am, without One Plea
1 Just as I am, without one plea,
but that thy blood was shed for me,
and that thou bidd'st me come to thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
2 Just as I am, though tossed about
with many a conflict, many a doubt,
fightings and fears within, without,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
3 Just as I am, thou wilt receive,
wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
because thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come,
4 Just as I am; thy love unknown
has broken ev'ry barrier down;
now to be thine, yea, thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Text: Charlotte Elliott, 1789-1871
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.
P: 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
IMPOSITION OF ASHES
P: Almighty God, you have created us out of the dust of the earth. May these ashes be a sign of our mortality and penitence, reminding us that only by the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ are we given eternal life; through the same Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
C: Amen.
Remember that you are dust,
and to dust you shall return.
P: Accomplish in us, O God, the work of your salvation,
C: that we may show forth your glory in the world.
P: By the cross and passion of your Son,
our Savior,
C: bring us with all your saints to the joy of his resurrection.
P: 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.
C: Amen.
Prayers of the People
Led by the Spirit, let us turn to God in prayer for the church, the world, and all those in need.
A brief silence.
God of our journeys, we pray for the church as the season of Lent begins. Guide your people in spiritual practices and preparation for baptism. Strengthen communities of faith in discipleship and witness for the sake of the gospel. God, in your mercy,
receive our prayer.
God of creation, we pray for the earth. As you once brought forth life from the dust, breathe healing and renewal into all places where ecosystems are stretched and strained. Nurture organic cycles of life, death, and rebirth. God, in your mercy,
receive our prayer.
God of the nations, we pray for an end to wars and occupations that reduce communities to ash. Turn leaders away from fearful decision-making, and lead all people into the justice and compassion of your reign. God, in your mercy,
receive our prayer.
God of the suffering, we pray for all who live with any pain. We remember any who are sick or suffering those named in our prayer bowl, those on our prayer list, and those we name aloud or in the silence of our hearts. (PAUSE) Comfort people living with chronic or terminal illnesses, addictions, or anxiety. Grant that all who dwell in the dust of grief may know your presence there. God, in your mercy,
receive our prayer.
God of community, we pray for those who accompany the dying: for first responders, health care and hospice workers, chaplains, and those who facilitate burials of the dead. Sustain them as they serve their neighbors in life and death with dignity and care. God, in your mercy,
receive our prayer.
Here other intercessions may be offered.
God of the cross, we give thanks for those who have completed their lives on earth and have returned to you. Strengthen us with the promise that within the ashes of death are the seeds of resurrection life. God, in your mercy,
receive our prayer.
Receive the prayers of your people and draw all things together in your love, in the name of Jesus, who leads us from death to life.
Amen.
Lenten Litany
P: During Lent we wander, as though through a wilderness
C: with our ancestors in the faith, with Christ to the cross.
P: We come face to face with our sin.
C: We see starkly our needs and those of our neighbors.
P: Yet we are never alone.
C: We journey with God’s sure and certain promises.
P: I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
C: I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
P: Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.
C: So shall your descendants be.
P: The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand
C: and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.
P: So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground
C: that you, O Lord, have given me.
P: O God, you are my God. I seek you; my soul thirsts for you;
C: my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
P: Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters,
C: and you that have no money, come, buy and eat!
P: The manna ceased on the day they ate the produce of the land,
and the Israelites no longer had manna;
C: they ate the crops of the land of Canaan that year.
P: The 40 days of Lent are a journey with promise:
C: God’s promises of the full table, the salvific cross and the empty tomb.
Thanks be to God!
P: Almighty God, Father, ☩ Son, and Holy Spirit, bless you now and forever.
C: Amen
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.