Ash Wednesday
Wednesday, February 17, 2021
7:30 p.m.
St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church of Folcroft
p: 610.538.4977 email: stjohns1500@gmail.com
fb: https://www.facebook.com/StJohnsLutheranFolcroft
website: https://stjohnslutheranfolcroft.org
INTRODUCTION
On Ash Wednesday we begin our forty-day journey toward Easter with a day of fasting and repentance. Marking our foreheads with dust, we acknowledge that we die and return to the earth. At the same time, the dust traces the life-giving cross indelibly marked on our foreheads at baptism. While we journey through Lent to return to God, we have already been reconciled to God through Christ. We humbly pray for God to make our hearts clean while we rejoice that “now is the day of salvation.” Returning to our baptismal call, we more intentionally bear the fruits of mercy and justice in the world.
PRELUDE Jesus, I Will Ponder Now
We begin in the name of Jesus. Amen.
PRAYER OF THE DAY Gracious God, out of your love and mercy you breathed into dust the breath of life, creating us to serve you and our neighbors. Call forth our prayers and acts of kindness, and strengthen us to face our mortality with confidence in the mercy of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
FIRST READING: Isaiah 58:1-12
1Shout out, do not hold back!
Lift up your voice like a trumpet!
Announce to my people their rebellion,
to the house of Jacob their sins.
2Yet day after day they seek me
and delight to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that practiced righteousness
and did not forsake the ordinance of their God;
they ask of me righteous judgments,
they delight to draw near to God.
3“Why do we fast, but you do not see
Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice”
Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day,
and oppress all your workers.
4Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
and to strike with a wicked fist.
Such fasting as you do today
will not make your voice heard on high.
5Is such the fast that I choose,
a day to humble oneself
Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush,
and to lie in sackcloth and ashes
Will you call this a fast,
a day acceptable to the LORD
6Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke
7Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them,
and not to hide yourself from your own kin
8Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up quickly;
your vindicator shall go before you,
the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
9Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;
you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.
If you remove the yoke from among you,
the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,
10if you offer your food to the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,
then your light shall rise in the darkness
and your gloom be like the noonday.
11The LORD will guide you continually,
and satisfy your needs in parched places,
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters never fail.
12Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of streets to live in.
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
A reading from 2 Corinthians.
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
The holy gospel according to Matthew. Glory to you, O Lord.
"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.
The gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.
SERMON Pastor Wende Bleam
HYMN OF THE DAY Thy Holy Wings (ELW 613)
INVITATION TO LENT
Brothers and sisters in Christ, today with the whole church we enter the time of remembering Jesus' passover from death to life, and our life in Christ is renewed.
We begin this holy season by acknowledging our need for repentance and for God's mercy. We are created to experience joy in communion with God, to love one another, and to live in harmony with creation. But our sinful rebellion separates us from God, our neighbors, and creation, so that we do not enjoy the life our creator intended.
As disciples of Jesus, we are called to a discipline that contends against evil and resists whatever leads us away from love of God and neighbor. I invite you, therefore, to the discipline of Lent—self-examination and repentance, prayer and fasting, sacrificial giving and works of love—strengthened by the gifts of word and sacrament. Let us continue our journey through these forty days to the great Three Days of Jesus' death and resurrection.
CONFESSION
Let us confess our sin in the presence of God and of one another.
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.
IMPOSITION OF ASHES
Almighty God, you have created us out of the dust of the earth. May these ashes be a sign of our mortality and penitence, reminding us that only by the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ are we given eternal life; through the same Jesus Christ, our savior and Lord. Amen.
Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
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, our 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 INTERCESSION
Relying on the promises of God, we pray boldly for the church, the world, and all in need.
A brief silence.
O God, you call your church to be ministers of reconciliation throughout the world. Inspire your church in its proclamation of the gospel and guide its ministries to build up the body of Christ. Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
O God, you created the earth and all its inhabitants and you declared that it is good. Protect mountains and valleys, animals and plants, and direct us to be good stewards of all you have made. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
O God, you desire peace. Direct governments and leaders to work for the well-being of all people and raise up advocates to speak and serve on behalf of the downtrodden. Lord, in your mercy. hear our prayer.
O God, you are our hope in the midst of despair, our help in the midst of sorrow, and our consolation in the midst of affliction. Grant comfort to all who suffer in body, mind, or spirit. We especially pray for those affected by the covid virus in mind, body or spirit, for Derek, Morgan, Priscilla, Connie, Lois, Pat, the family of Eddie Davis, Hazel, Bill, Jacklyn, Addison, Joe and Sherrie, Deb, Tim, Ash, Sue, Gavin, Donna, Robert, Alannah, Lillian, Alexis, Sarah, Bob, Sharon, Shane, Tom, Carl, Cindy, Chrissy, Monica, Norman, Tucker, Marc, Alisia, Helen, Lucas, Laura, the family of Billy West, the Folcroft Police, Michael, Dick, Ruth, and support caregivers who attend to all in need. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
O God, you are love, and you call us to love one another. Accompany with your grace those journeying toward baptism and call us all to repentance as we prepare to celebrate Christ’s death and resurrection. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
PEACE
The peace of Christ be with you always.
And also with you.
+ MEAL +
+ God feeds us with the presence of Jesus Christ +
OFFERING
OFFERING PRAYER
Holy and generous host,
you set a table where we feast as friends. Prepare us to witness to your goodness with every gift you have given us to share, that all people may know your peace through Jesus Christ, now and forever.
Amen.
COMMUNION:
Merciful God, we do not presume to come to your table trusting in our own righteousness, but in your abundant mercy. Grant us, therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat and drink the body and blood of your dear Son, Jesus Christ, that we may live in him and he in us, now and forever. Amen.
In the night in which he was betrayed,
our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks;
broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying:
Take and eat; this is my body, given for you.
Do this for the remembrance of me.
Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks,
and gave it for all to drink, saying:
This cup is the new covenant in my blood,
shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin.
Do this for the remembrance of me.
* 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.
INVITATION TO COMMUNION
God’s love is poured out in Christ for you. Taste and see the Lord is good.
TABLE BLESSING
The body and blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ strengthen you and keep you in his grace. Amen.
SONG AFTER COMMUNION
POST COMMUNION PRAYER
We thank you, living God,
for the body and blood of your Son,
which sustains us in the wilderness and the garden alike.
As Christ has loved us in this feast,
so send us to love Christ in our neighbors.
In Jesus’ name we pray.
Amen.
Blessing
Almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit bless you now and forever. Amen.
Dismissal
Go forth into the world to serve God with gladness; be of good courage; hold fast to that which is good; render to no one evil for evil; strengthen the fainthearted; support the weak; help the afflicted; honor all people’ love and serve God, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit. Thanks be to God.
POSTLUDE Lord Jesus, Think On Me
You are welcome to watch the live service at 10:15 am at https://www.facebook.com/stjohnslutheranfolcroft
Or you can watch live streaming on the St. John's website: https://stjohnslutheranfolcroft.org
If you are having trouble accessing, please let us know.
Our Financial Response (January)
CURRENT
Budgeted costs per month $ 9,041.09
Offering last month $ 10,408.95
Budget required to date (1 month) $ 9,041.09
Total received to date $ 10,408.95
MISSION SUPPORT
Budget required to date (1 month) $ 500.00
Total received to date $ 510.00
Please continue to support St. John's.
Our expenses continue each month even if we are
not worshipping together inside our building.
Your offering and tithes may be made on line through our website: stjohnslutheranfolcroft.org or sent by mail to St. John’s Lutheran church, 1500 Glen Avenue, Folcroft, PA 19032.
From Sundays and Seasons.com. Copyright 2013 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #44714. New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
St. John's Annual Meeting is scheduled for February 28, at 12:00 pm.
You may take part in the meeting via zoom.
Lynda Sadusky is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: St. John's Annual Congregational Meeting
Time: Feb 28, 2021 12:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://drexel.zoom.us/j/89284920541pwd=MGlmMnY1c0Z4dHZOQTRzVnZqeThvUT09
Meeting ID: 892 8492 0541
Passcode: 866977
One tap mobile
+12678310333,,89284920541#,,,,*866977# US (Philadelphia)
+14703812552,,89284920541#,,,,*866977# US (Atlanta)
Dial by your location
+1 267 831 0333 US (Philadelphia)
+1 470 381 2552 US (Atlanta)
+1 646 518 9805 US (New York)
+1 646 876 9923 US (New York)
+1 651 372 8299 US (Minnesota)
+1 786 635 1003 US (Miami)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 470 250 9358 US (Atlanta)
+1 602 753 0140 US (Phoenix)
+1 669 219 2599 US (San Jose)
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 720 928 9299 US (Denver)
+1 971 247 1195 US (Portland)
+1 213 338 8477 US (Los Angeles)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
Meeting ID: 892 8492 0541
Passcode: 866977
Find your local number: https://drexel.zoom.us/u/kCl8Lp8Tg
