February 17, 2021 - Ash Wednesday
“Tested by families, for families (and others too). Church at Home is an interactive, weekly worship service to be held from the safety of your own home. Each service will be centered around one theme and will have 3 songs, readings, and prayers, and a longer (10 min) message for the whole family.”
Thank you for joining us for our Church at Home service!
Directly below in English and here in Spanish is an at-home worship service to be held with the family or as an individual or small group. Included are links to songs and pastoral messages (English, Spanish). The head of the household can lead (L) and others can respond (C) or everyone can take turns. Use the links for the songs and messages at the appropriate time. Please do not feel pressured to go through the whole thing in one sitting. Rather, use each element of this service so that it serves as a blessing to you and your family.
If you have any prayer requests, or if you worship in this way this weekend, please use or fill out our online connect card, or linked below in the service. Comment to let us know how it went and any suggestions you may have!
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Finally, for this week’s news update or more information about our church, click here.
May God bless your Church at Home worship service this week.
Pastor William Dunn
The Road to Redemption
From Lamb to LAMB
Today we begin the season of Lent, our journey to Calvary, in which we remember what our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ suffered to win for us the forgiveness of sins and salvation. Therefore, it is worthy and right that we begin this season of the year with confession of our sins, remembering the reason why our Savior began his journey to Calvary.
Opening Song - Just As I Am
Invocation
L. In the name of the Father and of the ☩ Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C. Amen.
Instruction for the Beginning of Lent
L. Brothers and sisters in Christ, during the forty days of Lent, we fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of God (Hebrews 12:2). The time of Lent reminds us that to know Christ and the power of his resurrection, we must also know the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death (Philippians 3:10). As disciples of the Lord Jesus, we are called to struggle against everything that leads us away from love of God and neighbor.
I invite you, therefore, to confess your sins, ask our Father for forgiveness, and commit yourselves to this struggle. Let us be silent. Let us be still. Let us pause now for a time of reflection and self-examination.
Confession and Absolution
We begin the service by recognizing how we have fallen short of God’s will and desire for our lives, and we receive the good news that we are forgiven in Jesus Christ.
L. Most holy and merciful Father,
C. We confess to you and to one another that we have sinned by our own fault, by our own grievous fault in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.
L. 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. We have been deaf to your call to serve as Christ served us. We have not been true to the mind of Christ. We have grieved the Holy Spirit.
C. Have mercy on us, Lord.
L. We confess to you, Lord, all our past unfaithfulness. The pride, hypocrisy, and impatience in our lives. Our self-indulgent appetites and ways, our manipulation of other people. Our anger when our selfish aims are denied and our envy of those more fortunate than ourselves. Our love of worldly goods and comforts and our dishonesty in daily life and work. Our negligence in worship and prayer and our failure to show the faith that is in us.
C. We confess to you, O Lord.
L. Forgive us, Lord, for the wrongs we have done. For our blindness to human need and suffering and our indifference to injustice and cruelty, for all false judgments, for uncharitable thoughts toward others, and for our prejudice and contempt for those who differ from us, for what we think or say or do that is at variance with your will,
C. Forgive us, O Lord.
L. Restore us, good Lord, and let your anger depart from us.
C. Hear us, Lord for your mercy is great.
L. Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, does not desire the death of sinners but rather that they turn from their wickedness and live (Ezekiel 33:11). Therefore, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the ☩ Son and of the Holy Spirit. During these days of Lent, let us implore God to give us renewal and his Holy Spirit. May we continue to abide in the true faith and at the last be received by him through the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord.
C. Amen.
Prayer of the Day
L. Almighty and eternal God, who does not hate anything you have done, and forgives the sins of all penitents: Create in us new hearts so that, by lamenting our sins and placing our faith and hope in Christ, we may reach out to you, that you are God of all mercy, complete forgiveness; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and with the Holy Spirit, always one God, for ever and ever.
C. Amen.
First Lesson - Exodus 12:1-14
The Final Plague.
1 The Lord told Moses and Aaron this in the land of Egypt: 2 This month is to be the beginning of your calendar. It is to be the first month of the year for you. 3 Tell the entire Israelite community that on the tenth day of this month, they are to take a lamb or a young goat for themselves, according to their fathers’ households, one lamb per household. 4 But if the household is too small for a whole lamb, then that person and his neighbor next door to him must select one, based on the number of people. Determine what size lamb is needed according to how much each person will eat. 5 Your lamb must be unblemished, a year-old male. You may take it from the sheep or the goats. 6 You are to keep it until the fourteenth day of this month. Then the whole assembly of the Israelite community is to slaughter the lambs at sunset. 7 They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses where they eat the lamb. 8 That night they shall eat the meat that has been roasted over a fire, along with unleavened bread. They shall eat it with bitter herbs. 9 Do not eat it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over a fire—with its head, its legs, and its internal organs. 10 You shall not leave any of it until the morning. Whatever remains until the morning, you shall burn in the fire. 11 This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt ready for travel, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover. 12 For on that night I will pass through the land of Egypt. I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both people and animals. Against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment. I am the Lord.
Second Lesson - 2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2
God through Saint Paul encourages us to reconcile ourselves to God, confessing our sins and trusting in his Son Jesus Christ, who has reconciled us to God, making us the righteousness of God. But we must not wait; nor should we say, "Tomorrow I will repent and believe in Christ," because today is the day of our salvation.
20b We urge you, on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him, who did not know sin, to become sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.
6:1 As fellow workers we also urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. 2 For he says: At a favorable time I listened to you, and in the day of salvation I helped you. Look, now is the favorable time! See, now is the day of salvation!
Gospel - Luke 18:9-14
The parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector. The Lord rejects those who in their pride and selfishness refuse to confess their sins, but receive in their mercy all who repent of their sins and believe in him for salvation.
9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ 13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ 14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Song - What Wondrous Love is This
English Sermon
Confession of Faith - The Apostles' Creed
We speak the truths of the faith that have united the church for thousands of years.
I believe in God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
Offering
Out of thanksgiving for God’s message of grace and forgiveness, if you would like to support our ministry with a financial gift you may do so with zero fees through our Facebook page or with a small fee included through Paypal. We thank you for your gracious support.
Online Connection Card
Please use the link to connect with us online! Let us know that you worshiped with us or submit a prayer request.
General Prayer
Use this time to pray to God about anything that is on your heart and mind. Remember who God is and how he describes himself in the Bible. Focus on his eternal perspective. Consider not only your own life, but also the lives of others. Finally, pray with confidence knowing that God hears you, and pray in the name of your savior, Jesus Christ.
The Lord's Prayer
Pray the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples.
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread; forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us; lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen.
The Blessing
Just as God told Aaron to bless his people in this way, we ask God’s blessing on us as we go forth in our lives.
L. The Lord bless us and keep us.
The Lord make his face shine on us and be gracious to us.
The Lord look on us with favor and ☩ give us peace.
C. Amen