Living Faith Baptist Fellowship
Ash Wednesday Service
February 17, 2021 at 6pm
Roger Jasper, Pastor
We Gather in the Name of the Triune God
Candle Lighting –
Light and peace in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Call to Worship –
Hasten, O God, to save me;
Come quickly, LORD, to help me.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be forever. Amen.
The Prophet Joel records this:
12 “Even now,” declares the LORD,
“return to me with all your heart,
with fasting and weeping and mourning.”
13 Rend your heart
and not your garments.
Return to the LORD your God,
for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
and he relents from sending calamity.
(Joel 2:12-13, NIV)
Opening Prayer –
Let us pray in quiet remembrance of our need for redemption: God, our Maker, the light of your truth bestows sight to the darkness of sinful eyes. May this season of repentance bring us the blessing of your forgiveness and the gift of your light. Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
(St. Joseph Sunday Missal, alt.)
Statement of Purpose
Dear People of God: The first Christian observed with great devotion the days of the Lord’s Passion and resurrection, and it became the custom of the Church to prepare for them by a season of penitence and fasting. The season of Lent provided a time in which converts to the faith were prepared for Holy Baptism. It was also a time when those who, because of notorious sins, had been separated from the body of the faithful were reconciled by penitence and forgiveness, and restored to the fellowship of the Church. Thereby, the whole congregation was put in mind of the message of pardon and absolution set forth in the Gospel of our Savior, and of the need which all Christians continually have to renew their repentance and faith.
I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating of God’s holy Word.
(Book of Common Prayer, 1979)
We Hear God’s Word for Us
Gospel Reading – Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18 (NIV)
“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (…)
16 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Meditation
We Respond to God’s Word for Us
Signing with the Cross –
Repent and believe the Gospel. (Mark 1:15b)
Amen.
Confession – Psalm 51:1-12 (NIV)
1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
you taught me wisdom in that secret place.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Declaration of Pardon –
19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
(Colossians 1:19-20, NIV)
Intercessions –
Prayer intentions are mentioned and we then pray together.
We Depart to Love and Serve God and Our Neighbors
Benediction –
Lord, bless the sinner who asks for Your forgiveness and bless all those who have prayed with us tonight. May they keep this Lenten season in preparation for the joy of Easter. Lead us from this time to love and serve You and our neighbor. We ask all of this in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit as on God forever and ever.
(St. Joseph Sunday Missal, alt.)