March 5, 2025 7 PM
Order of Worship
Prelude
Welcome
We begin this holy season by acknowledging our need for repentance and our need for the Love and Forgiveness shown to us in Jesus Christ. I invite you therefore, in the name of Christ, to observe a Holy Lent, by self-examination and penitence, by prayer and fasting, by practicing works of love, and by reading and reflecting on God’s Holy Word
Opening Prayer based on Psalm 51: 15-17
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. Amen
*Call to Worship – based on 1 Corinthians 2:1-5
brothers and sisters in Christ, every year at Easter, during the time of the “Christian Passover,” we celebrate our redemption through the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Lent is a time to prepare for this celebration and to practice with discipline daily repentance, and our daily dying and rising in union with Christ. We begin this season by acknowledging our need for repentance, and for the mercy and forgiveness proclaimed in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Amen
*Opening Hymn #624 “Not What My Hands Have Done”
Call to Confession-based on Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A’s 88-90
Lent is a journey of deepening reflection and renewal, an opportunity to make new commitments in faith. We prepare for the journey by setting aside burdens that would weigh us down. Let us turn to God and confess our sin.
Solo “Lord, Have Mercy” Sung by Rose Admiraal
Prayer of Confession -from The Book of Common Prayer
Merciful God,
We confess that we have sinned against you 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. In your mercy forgive what we have been, help us amend what we are, and direct what we shall be, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy name. Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Words of Assurance
May God the Father, who does not despise the broken spirit, give us contrite hearts. May Christ, who bore our sins in His body on the tree, heal us by his wounds. May the Holy Spirit, who leads us into all truth, speak words of pardon and peace. Know that you are forgiven and be at peace.
Thans be to God.
Scripture Psalm 51: 1-12
This is the word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
Sermon “Starting our Lenten Journey”
Prayer
*Confession of Faith – from Philippians 2: 5-11
Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness, and being found in human form He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross. Therefore, God also high exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess to the glory of God: Jesus Christ is Lord
Imposition of Ashes
We begin our journey to Easter with the sign of ashes. This ancient sign speaks of the frailty and uncertainty of human life, calls us to heartfelt repentance, and urges us to place our hope in God alone.
Prayer
Almighty God, you have created us out of the dust of the earth. May these ashes remind us of our mortality and penitence and teach us again that only by your gracious gift are we given everlasting life through Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen
People Invited Forward to Receive Ashes
*Sending Hymn #627 “Just as I am, Without one Plea”
*Benediction
*Postlude