Welcome to worship at
St. Paul’s Lutheran Church!
PRELUDE I
Had a Great Heaviness of Heart J.S.
Bach
FIRST READING: Joel
2:1-2, 12-17
1Blow the trumpet in Zion;
sound the
alarm on my holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
for the day
of the LORD is coming, it is near—
2a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of
clouds and thick darkness!
Like blackness spread upon the mountains
a great and
powerful army comes;
their like has never been from of old,
nor will be
again after them
in ages to
come.
12Yet even now, says the LORD,
return to
me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
13rend your
hearts and not your clothing.
Return to the LORD, your God,
for he is
gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love,
and relents
from punishing.
14Who knows whether he will not turn and relent,
and leave a
blessing behind him,
a grain offering and a drink offering
for the
LORD, your God?
15Blow the trumpet in Zion;
sanctify a
fast;
call a solemn assembly;
16gather the
people.
Sanctify the congregation;
assemble
the aged;
gather the children,
even
infants at the breast.
Let the bridegroom leave his room,
and the
bride her canopy.
17Between the vestibule and the altar
let the
priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep.
Let them say, "Spare your people, O LORD,
and do not
make your heritage a mockery,
a byword
among the nations.
Why should it be said among the peoples,
'Where is
their God?'"
PSALM: Psalm
51:1-17
1Have mercy on me, O God, according to your |
steadfast love;
in your
great compassion blot out | my offenses.
2Wash me through and through | from my wickedness,
and
cleanse me | from my sin.
3For I know | my offenses,
and my sin
is ev- | er before me.
4Against 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.
5Indeed, I was born | steeped in wickedness,
a sinner
from my | mother's womb.
6Indeed, you delight in truth | deep within me,
and
would have me know wisdom | deep within.
7Remove my sins with hyssop, and I | shall be
clean;
wash me,
and I shall be pur- | er than snow.
8Let me hear | joy and gladness,
that the
body you have broken | may rejoice.
9Hide your face | from my sins,
and blot
out | all my wickedness.
10Create in me a clean | heart, O God,
and
renew a right spir- | it within me.
11Cast me not away | from your presence,
and take
not your Holy Spir- | it from me.
12Restore to me the joy of | your salvation
and
sustain me with your boun- | tiful Spirit.
13Let me teach your ways | to offenders,
and sinners
shall be re- | stored to you.
14Rescue me from bloodshed, O God of | my
salvation,
and my
tongue shall sing | of your righteousness.
15O LORD, o- | pen my lips,
and my
mouth shall pro- | claim your praise.
16For you take no delight in sacrifice, or | I
would give it.
You are
not pleased | with burnt offering.
17The sacrifice of God is a | troubled spirit;
a troubled
and broken heart, O God, you will | not despise.
SECOND READING: 2
Corinthians 5:20b—6:10
20bWe entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21For
our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become
the righteousness of God.
6:1As we work together with him, we urge you also not to accept
the grace of God in vain. 2For 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! 3We are putting no obstacle in anyone's way, so that no
fault may be found with our ministry, 4but as servants of God we
have commended ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions,
hardships, calamities, 5beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors,
sleepless nights, hunger; 6by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness,
holiness of spirit, genuine love, 7truthful speech, and the power of
God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; 8in
honor and dishonor, in ill repute and good repute. We are treated as impostors,
and yet are true; 9as unknown, and yet are well known; as dying, and
see—we are alive; as punished, and yet not killed; 10as sorrowful,
yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet
possessing everything.
GOSPEL: Matthew
6:1-6, 16-21
[Jesus said to the disciples:] 1"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.
2"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. 3But when you
give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so
that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will
reward you.
5"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. 6But
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.
16"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. 17But when you fast, put oil on your
head and wash your face, 18so 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.
19"Do
not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and
where thieves break in and steal; 20but store up for yourselves
treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do
not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your
heart will be also."
SERMON Pastor
Muse
Hymn: O
Lord, Throughout These Forty Days # 319 v. 1,3,4
+ Kneel or sit (The minister leads the confession.)
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.
Have mercy on us, O God.
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.
Have mercy on us, O God.
Our past unfaithfulness,
the pride, envy, hypocrisy, and apathy that have infected our lives, we confess
to you.
Have mercy on us, O God.
Our self-indulgent
appetites and ways, and our exploitation of other people, we confess to you.
Have mercy on us, O God.
Our negligence in prayer
and worship, and our failure to share the faith that is in us, we confess to
you.
Have mercy on us, O God.
Our neglect of human need
and suffering, and our indifference to injustice and cruelty, we confess to
you.
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.
Have mercy on us, O God.
Our waste and pollution of
your creation, and our lack of concern for those who come after us, we confess
to you.
Have mercy on us, O God.
Restore us, O God, and let
your anger depart from us.
Hear us, O God, for your
mercy is great.
Sit Imposition of Ashes
Accomplish 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, of Savior,
bring us with all your
saints to the joy of his resurrection.
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.
PRAYERS
OF THE PEOPLE
PEACE
OFFERING
COMMUNION
PRAYER
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
DISTRIBUTION
OF COMMUNION
BLESSING
Hymn: Be
Though My Vision #
793
Dismissal
Postlude Eternal
Lord of Love, Behold Your Church Childs
Liturgy and hymns printed and streamed
with permission through OneLicense. A-710659
