First Sunday in Lent Worship Bulletin | 2-26-23
St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church
FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT
BLACK HISTORY MONTH
92nd ANNUAL MEETING
02-26-2023 10:00AM “Hybrid” Worship
+ Repentance Through God’s Mercy +
CONFESSION OF OUR SINS: Pastor Neil
L People of God, during these 40 days of Lent return to God with all your heart, with tears and fasting, with faithful prayers and fervent loving. [Silence for reflection.] With humility and honesty, let us confess…
C Almighty and Eternal God, I confess that I am a sinner.
I have no excuses and no one or nothing else to blame.
I have lived as if God did not matter, as if I mattered most.
I have not let God’s love have its way with me, and so my love for others has failed.
There are those whom I have hurt, and those whom I have not helped.
My thoughts, desires, words and deeds have been spoiled with sin.
I am sorry for all this and plead guilty before God. I ask and pray for mercy and grace.
I want to do and be better. Amen.
L Sisters and brothers, the truth is that all of us have sinned, all of us have fallen short of God’s glory. No one is righteous. No one deserves or can demand God’s mercy. The greater truth is that God loved the world so much – loved you! – and sent Jesus to live among us, to suffer and die for us, and to deliver us into new and everlasting life. Through (+) Jesus Christ you are forgiven, be at peace, try again, and live a life of faith and love. Amen.
OPENING SONG: “Lead Me, Guide Me” Brown #70
THE PRAYER OF THE DAY: Congregation
Let us pray. O God, we pray that you might lead us and guide us through the wilderness of trials, trouble, temptation, and testing. May we always look to Jesus for strength, for courage, and for new life. Amen.
+ Renewal Through God’s Word +
FIRST READING: Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7 [Our human story is this: “In the beginning we sinned against God, breaking several relationships.”] Mariah Morris
2:15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.
2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden;
2:17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.”
3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
3:2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden;
3:3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.'”
3:4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die;
3:5 for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
3:6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate.
3:7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.
DANCE SELECTION: St. Peter’s Praise Dancers
SECOND READING: Romans 5:12-19 [“Adam’s” disobedience… Christ’s faithful obedience and righteous death. It’s what makes the difference for all human living.] John Hill?
5:12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned-
5:13 sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law.
5:14 Yet death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who was to come.
5:15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man’s trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many.
5:16 And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification.
5:17 If, because of the one man’s trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
5:18 Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all.
5:19 For just as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.
SONG VERSE:
“Lord, let my heart be good soil, open to the seed of your word. Lord, let my heart
be good soil, where love can grow and peace is understood. When my heart is
hard, break the stone away. When my heart is cold, warm it with the day. When my
heart is lost, lead me on your way. Lord, let my heart, Lord, let my heart, Lord, let
my heart be good soil.”
THE GOSPEL: Matthew 4:1-11 [Evil is persistent, and Jesus knows all about temptation. After 40 days and 40 nights, he was still strong enough to resist.] Diana Hillsman
4:1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
4:2 He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished.
4:3 The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”
4:4 But he answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'”
4:5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple,
4:6 saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'”
4:7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'”
4:8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor;
4:9 and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”
4:10 Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'”
4:11 Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.
SONG SELECTION: All Saints Choir
THE SERMON: Pastor Gwen or Pastor Neil
SONG RESPONSE: “Victory Is Mine” Brown #266
A CONFESSION OF FAITH (words written by South African Bishop Desmond Tutu): Congregation
Goodness is stronger than evil; love is stronger than hate; light is stronger than darkness; life is stronger than death; and victory is ours through God who loves us. Amen.
THE PRAYERS… We pray that THE WAY OF THE CROSS will continue to impact our lives and transform the world! Elaine Jones
+ Revival Through God’s Meal +
THE OFFERING [We are often tempted by Satan and what the world pimps as the “good life” to forget about God, to forget about neighbor, to show no gratitude or generosity, to never give an offering, and to think that this is OK. But it isn’t.]
SONG SELECTION: All Saints Choir
THE OFFERTORY SONG: “I Know It Was the Blood” Brown #75
- I know it was the blood… I know it was the blood… I know it was the blood for me.
One day when I was lost, he died upon the cross… I know it was the blood for me.
- It was my Savior’s blood… (3) They pierced him in the side… (4) He’s coming back again…
OFFERING PRAYER (from PSALM 51) led by the Communion Assistant: Judy Echols
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence, or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain me with your bountiful spirit.
Then I will teach other sinners your ways; and I will eagerly sing of your goodness. Amen.
THE PREFACE:
L The Lord be with you. C And also with you.
L Lift up your hearts! C We lift them up in love for God!
L Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. C It is right to give God our thanks and praise.
L The Lord delivers us from sin and death… C … and grants us salvation and eternal life!
THE EUCHARISTIC WORDS by the Celebrant, who recalls and re-enacts Jesus’ Holy Meal.
THE LORD’S PRAYER (spoken)
COMMUNION AND BLESSINGS… All believers in Christ are welcome at the Lord’s Table! We will have “continuous distribution” with wafers and either wine or grape juice. CHRIST IS PRESENT IN BREAD AND WINE – HIS OWN BODY AND BLOOD – TO SAVE YOU FROM YOURSELF!
COMMUNION SONGS: Brown #128 Brown #195
THE COMMUNION BLESSING by the Celebrant after all have communed.
POST-COMMUNION PRAYER by the Communion Assistant. Tanya Morris
+ Righteousness Through God’s Spirit +
THE BENEDICTION by the Pastor… God calls us to “return home” to faithful discipleship!
CLOSING SONG: “I Want Jesus to Walk with Me” Brown #66
- I want Jesus to walk with me… I want Jesus to walk with me.
All along my pilgrim journey, Lord, I want Jesus to walk with me.
- In my trials, Lord, walk with me… In my trials, Lord, walk with me.
When my heart is almost breaking, Lord, I want Jesus to walk with me.
- When I’m in trouble, Lord, walk with me… When I’m in trouble, Lord, walk with me.
When my head is bowed in sorrow, Lord, I want Jesus to walk with me.
GIVE… to realign yourself with others.
PRAY… to realign yourself with God.
FAST… to realign yourself with self.