GATHERING
CALL TO WORSHIP
L: We are invited--
All: Into the story,
Into this place,
Into this hour of worship.
L: We are invited--
All: Into reflection,
Into community,
Into our own spiritual journeys.
L: We are invited--
All: The broken and bruised,
The hopeful, the new,
The faithful, the doubting,
The wondering, the waiting.
L: We are invited--
All: Because God so loved;
L: So listen, trust the invitation, and bring your whole self.
All: All are invited here.
EXHORTATION
Brothers and sisters: God created us to experience joy in communion with him, to love all humanity, and to live in harmony with all of his creation. But sin separates us from God, our neighbors, and creation, and so we do not enjoy the life our Creator intended for us. Also, by our sin we grieve our Father, who does not desire us to come under his judgement, but to turn to him and live.
As disciples of the Lord Jesus we are called to struggle against everything that leads us away from love of God and neighbor. Repentance, fasting, prayer, and works of love—the discipline of Lent—help us to wage our spiritual warfare. I invite you, therefore, to commit yourselves to this struggle and confess your sins, asking our Father for strength to persevere in your Lenten discipline.
CONFESSION
L: In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
All: Amen.
L: With honest of heart, let u confess our sin.
Silence is kept for reflection.
L: Merciful God,
All: forgive us.
L: Our will is handcuffed to sin,
All: and we cannot break free.
L: We have spoken
All: when we should have kept quiet.
L: We were silent
All: when we should have said something.
L: We acted
All: when we knew better.
L: We were still
All: when we know we should have moved.
For the wrong we have done, for the good we have failed to do, have mercy on us, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
INVITATION TO RECEIVE ASHES
Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
KYRIE
CALL TO WORSHIP
L: We are invited--
All: Into the story,
Into this place,
Into this hour of worship.
L: We are invited--
All: Into reflection,
Into community,
Into our own spiritual journeys.
L: We are invited--
All: The broken and bruised,
The hopeful, the new,
The faithful, the doubting,
The wondering, the waiting.
L: We are invited--
All: Because God so loved;
L: So listen, trust the invitation, and bring your whole self.
All: All are invited here.
EXHORTATION
Brothers and sisters: God created us to experience joy in communion with him, to love all humanity, and to live in harmony with all of his creation. But sin separates us from God, our neighbors, and creation, and so we do not enjoy the life our Creator intended for us. Also, by our sin we grieve our Father, who does not desire us to come under his judgement, but to turn to him and live.
As disciples of the Lord Jesus we are called to struggle against everything that leads us away from love of God and neighbor. Repentance, fasting, prayer, and works of love—the discipline of Lent—help us to wage our spiritual warfare. I invite you, therefore, to commit yourselves to this struggle and confess your sins, asking our Father for strength to persevere in your Lenten discipline.
CONFESSION
L: In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
All: Amen.
L: With honest of heart, let u confess our sin.
Silence is kept for reflection.
L: Merciful God,
All: forgive us.
L: Our will is handcuffed to sin,
All: and we cannot break free.
L: We have spoken
All: when we should have kept quiet.
L: We were silent
All: when we should have said something.
L: We acted
All: when we knew better.
L: We were still
All: when we know we should have moved.
For the wrong we have done, for the good we have failed to do, have mercy on us, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
INVITATION TO RECEIVE ASHES
Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
KYRIE
ABSOLUTION
L: As a called and ordained minister of the Church of Christ, and by his authority, I therefore declare to you the entire forgiveness of all your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
L: 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.
All: Amen.
HYMN OF PREPARATION--“Be Thou My Vision,” ELW #793
L: As a called and ordained minister of the Church of Christ, and by his authority, I therefore declare to you the entire forgiveness of all your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
L: 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.
All: Amen.
HYMN OF PREPARATION--“Be Thou My Vision,” ELW #793
WORD
SCRIPTURE
Isaiah 58:1-12
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. 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.
“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. 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. 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? 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? 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?
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. 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, 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. 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. 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.
Matthew 6:1-21
“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. “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. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
“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. But 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. “When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
“Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
“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. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so 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.
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
MESSAGE
HYMN OF THE DAY “Come and Find the Quiet Center”
SCRIPTURE
Isaiah 58:1-12
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. 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.
“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. 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. 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? 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? 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?
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. 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, 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. 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. 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.
Matthew 6:1-21
“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. “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. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
“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. But 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. “When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
“Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
“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. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so 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.
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
MESSAGE
HYMN OF THE DAY “Come and Find the Quiet Center”
STATEMENT OF FAITH
L: Let us confess our faith together:
All: We believe in an inviting God
Who invites the poor and the sick,
The outcast and the lonely,
The immigrant and the refugee,
The awkward and the abrasive,
The young and the old,
The best and the worst—in all of us.
We believe this God meets us where we are--
In heartbreak and high hopes,
Around crowded tables and in quiet homes,
In joy and in suffering,
In loneliness and in connection,
In sanctuaries and in living rooms and parking lots,
In marches and in waiting rooms.
We believe God knows holy rage against injustice,
And this God entered the world to shift our perceptions of power.
From a temple to a manger;
From a palace to a people;
From a throne to a cross;
From a tomb to abundant life.
We believe that God loved first.
We believe that God breathed life into dust.
We believe that God said, “This is good,”
And because we believe that God loved first,
We strive to build lives that reflect God’s love.
May we begin again here. Amen.
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
Relying on the promises of God, we pray boldly for the church, the world, and all in need.
O God, you call your church to be ministers of reconciliation throughout the world. Inspire your church in its proclamation of the gospel and guide its ministries to build up the body of Christ. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
O God, you created the earth and all its inhabitants and you declared that it is good. Protect mountains and valleys, animals and plants, and direct us to be good stewards of all you have made. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
O God, you desire peace. Direct governments and leaders to work for the well-being of all people and raise up advocates to speak and serve on behalf of the downtrodden. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
O God, you are our hope in the midst of despair, our help in the midst of sorrow, and our consolation in the midst of affliction. Grant comfort to all who suffer in body, mind, or spirit (especially) and support caregivers who attend to all in need. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
O God, you are love, and you call us to love one another. Accompany with your grace those journeying toward baptism and call us all to repentance as we prepare to celebrate Christ’s death and resurrection. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
O God, you are our life and our salvation. We give you thanks for the righteous who have died in faith. Inspire us by their example to proclaim your steadfast love. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
We entrust ourselves and all our prayers to you, O faithful God, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
MEAL
PASSING THE PEACE
L: The peace of Christ be with you always.
All: And also with you.
PRAYER OF OFFERING DEDICATION
L: Faithful God, you walk beside us in desert places, and you meet us in our hunger with bread from heaven. Accompany us in this meal, that we may pass over from death to life with Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
WORDS OF INSTITUTION
LAMB OF GOD--ELW #197
L: Let us confess our faith together:
All: We believe in an inviting God
Who invites the poor and the sick,
The outcast and the lonely,
The immigrant and the refugee,
The awkward and the abrasive,
The young and the old,
The best and the worst—in all of us.
We believe this God meets us where we are--
In heartbreak and high hopes,
Around crowded tables and in quiet homes,
In joy and in suffering,
In loneliness and in connection,
In sanctuaries and in living rooms and parking lots,
In marches and in waiting rooms.
We believe God knows holy rage against injustice,
And this God entered the world to shift our perceptions of power.
From a temple to a manger;
From a palace to a people;
From a throne to a cross;
From a tomb to abundant life.
We believe that God loved first.
We believe that God breathed life into dust.
We believe that God said, “This is good,”
And because we believe that God loved first,
We strive to build lives that reflect God’s love.
May we begin again here. Amen.
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
Relying on the promises of God, we pray boldly for the church, the world, and all in need.
O God, you call your church to be ministers of reconciliation throughout the world. Inspire your church in its proclamation of the gospel and guide its ministries to build up the body of Christ. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
O God, you created the earth and all its inhabitants and you declared that it is good. Protect mountains and valleys, animals and plants, and direct us to be good stewards of all you have made. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
O God, you desire peace. Direct governments and leaders to work for the well-being of all people and raise up advocates to speak and serve on behalf of the downtrodden. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
O God, you are our hope in the midst of despair, our help in the midst of sorrow, and our consolation in the midst of affliction. Grant comfort to all who suffer in body, mind, or spirit (especially) and support caregivers who attend to all in need. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
O God, you are love, and you call us to love one another. Accompany with your grace those journeying toward baptism and call us all to repentance as we prepare to celebrate Christ’s death and resurrection. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
O God, you are our life and our salvation. We give you thanks for the righteous who have died in faith. Inspire us by their example to proclaim your steadfast love. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
We entrust ourselves and all our prayers to you, O faithful God, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
MEAL
PASSING THE PEACE
L: The peace of Christ be with you always.
All: And also with you.
PRAYER OF OFFERING DEDICATION
L: Faithful God, you walk beside us in desert places, and you meet us in our hunger with bread from heaven. Accompany us in this meal, that we may pass over from death to life with Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
WORDS OF INSTITUTION
LAMB OF GOD--ELW #197
LORD’S PRAYER
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,
forever and ever. Amen.
PARTAKING OF COMMUNION
POST-COMMUNION BLESSING & PRAYER
L: Accomplish in us, O God, the work of your salvation,
All: that we may show forth your glory in the world.
L: By the cross and passion of your Son, our Savior,
All: bring us with all your saints to the joy of his resurrection.
L: 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.
All: Amen.
BENEDICTION
L: God bless you ☩ that you may be a blessing, in the name of the holy and life-giving Trinity.
All: Amen.
SENDING
ANNOUNCEMENTS
SENDING MUSIC “Go, My Children, With My Blessing,” ELW #543
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,
forever and ever. Amen.
PARTAKING OF COMMUNION
POST-COMMUNION BLESSING & PRAYER
L: Accomplish in us, O God, the work of your salvation,
All: that we may show forth your glory in the world.
L: By the cross and passion of your Son, our Savior,
All: bring us with all your saints to the joy of his resurrection.
L: 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.
All: Amen.
BENEDICTION
L: God bless you ☩ that you may be a blessing, in the name of the holy and life-giving Trinity.
All: Amen.
SENDING
ANNOUNCEMENTS
SENDING MUSIC “Go, My Children, With My Blessing,” ELW #543
DISMISSAL
L: Go in peace. Serve the Lord.
All: Thanks be to God.
POSTLUDE
"Beautiful Things"
L: Go in peace. Serve the Lord.
All: Thanks be to God.
POSTLUDE
"Beautiful Things"
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