SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT Worship Service
St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church
SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT – Coronavirus
BLACK HISTORY MONTH
02-28-2021 10:00AM Worship
+ Repentance Through God’s Mercy +
CONFESSION OF OUR SINS:
L People of God, we are but dust, we are like ashes. But Jesus offers us resurrection and life.
In this season we journey with Jesus toward his death.
In this season Jesus journeys with us as we seek to die to our old habits and destructive ways.
[Silence for reflection.] Let us confess…
C Eternal God, I confess that I am only human, created by you.
I have come from dust, and someday I will return to dust. My physical life on earth will end.
Eternal God, I confess that I am also a sinner.
My thoughts and my words, my attitudes and my actions all reveal my failures. I pray for your mercy.
Eternal God, I confess that I am also an unsure saint.
I sometimes look for an easier gospel, a lighter cross, a less demanding Savior, and a cheaper ticket to heaven. I need your renewal as I seek to be faithful.
Here I am, Lord. Forgive my sins. Revive my spirit. Give me new life. Amen.
L We have not earned it, we do not deserve it, and we dare not expect and demand it!
Salvation has come to us through the life, death, and resurrection of (+) Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior of the world.
You are forgiven, be at peace, try again, take up your cross and follow, walk the Jesus walk of faith and love. Amen.
OPENING SONG: “At the Cross”
THE PRAYER OF THE DAY:
Steadfast, faithful, covenant God,
through the self-sacrifice of your Son you have transformed the cross from a shameful instrument of death
into our salvation and hope.
Help me walk with Jesus this day.
Give me courage to carry my cross without shame, to accept the cost of my discipleship. We each pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
+ Renewal Through God’s Word +
FIRST READING: GENESIS 17:1-7, 15-16 [God’s second covenant: promise of ancestors to Abraham and Sarah.]
17:1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless.
17:2 And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you exceedingly numerous.”
17:3 Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him,
17:4 “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations.
17:5 No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations.
17:6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you.
17:7 I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.
17:15 God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.
17:16 I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall give rise to nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.”
BLACK HISTORY MOMENT: Spoken and Sung Word by various St. Peter’s Folk
SECOND READING: ROMANS 4:13-25 [Faith is trusting God’s ability to accomplish God’s purposes.]
4:13 For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith.
4:14 If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void.
4:15 For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation.
4:16 For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us,
4:17 as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”) –in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.
4:18 Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become “the father of many nations,” according to what was said, “So numerous shall your descendants be.”
4:19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb.
4:20 No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God,
4:21 being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.
4:22 Therefore his faith “was reckoned to him as righteousness.”
4:23 Now the words, “it was reckoned to him,” were written not for his sake alone,
4:24 but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,
4:25 who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.
GOSPEL 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: MARK 8:31-38 [Following Jesus has both costs and promises.]
8:31 Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
8:32 He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
8:33 But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
8:34 He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
8:35 For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.
8:36 For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?
8:37 Indeed, what can they give in return for their life?
8:38 Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
THE SERMON: Pastor David Maddox II
SONG SELECTION
A CREEDAL STATEMENT APPROPRIATE FOR BLACK HISTORY MONTH:
(written by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, South Africa), known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist):
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.
OFFERING [In this season of Lent we remember that Jesus risked all so that we might know the power of God’s steadfast love and mercy. Let us also risk giving freely – even sacrificially – of our money, our time, and our abilities to share God’s love and mercy with the whole world. Dare to respond with gratitude and generosity!]
THE OFFERTORY SONG: “I Know It Was the Blood”
- 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…
- They pierced him in the side…
- He’s coming back again
OFFERING PRAYER (from PSALM 51):
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.
MUSIC SELECTION Dennis Fortune
THE PRAYERS… We pray that THE WAY OF THE CROSS will continue to impact our lives and transform the world!
THE LORD’S PRAYER
+ Righteousness Through God’s Spirit +
CLOSING SONG: “I Want Jesus to Walk with Me”
- 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.
THE BENEDICTION by the Pastor… God calls us to “return home” to faithful discipleship! \
GIVE… to realign yourself with others.
PRAY… to realign yourself with God.
FAST… to realign yourself with self.