The First Sunday in Lent
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Prelude, Welcome, and Information Hymn
#624 Jesus, Still
Lead On |
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The grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you
all. And also with
you. Psalm: Psalm 91:
1-2, 9-16 You who live
in the shelter of the Most High, Because you
have made the Lord your refuge, For he will
command his angels concerning you Those
who love me, I will deliver; I will be with them in trouble, |
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The Lord be with you. And
also with you. Let us pray. O Lord God, you led your people
through the wilderness and brought them to the promised land. Guide us now,
so that, by following your Son, we may walk safely through the wilderness of
this world toward the life you alone can give, through Jesus Christ, our
Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God,
now and forever. Amen. |
Reading:
Deuteronomy 26: 1-11
A reading from the book of Deuteronomy
When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is
giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in
it, you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which
you harvest from the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and
you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the Lord your
God will choose as a dwelling for his name. You shall go to the priest who
is in office at that time, and say to him, “Today I declare to
the Lord your God that I have come into the land that
the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.” When
the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of
the Lord your God, you shall make this response
before the Lord your God: “A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he
went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he
became a great nation, mighty and populous. When the Egyptians treated us
harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labor on us, we cried to
the Lord, the God of our ancestors; the Lord heard our voice and
saw our affliction, our toil, and our
oppression. The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand
and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and
wonders; and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land
flowing with milk and honey. So now I bring the first of the fruit of the
ground that you, O Lord, have given me.” You shall set it down before
the Lord your God and bow down before the Lord your
God. Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among
you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has
given to you and to your house.
The Word of the Lord
Reading:
Romans 10: 8b-13
A reading from the letter to the Romans
But what does it say? “The word is near you, on your lips and in your
heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because if you
confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God
raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the
heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is
saved. The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to
shame.”
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord
of all and is generous to all who call on him. For, “Everyone who calls on
the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
The Word of the Lord.
Gospel
Verse:
One does not live by bread
alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God (Mt. 4: 4)
Gospel Reading: Luke 4: 1-13
A reading from the Gospel of Luke
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by
the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the
devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was
famished. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this
stone to become a loaf of bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One
does not live by bread alone.’”
Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the
kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, “To you I will give
their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I
give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be
yours.” Jesus answered him, “It is written,
‘Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.’”
Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle
of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down
from here, for it is written,
‘He will command his angels concerning you,
to protect you,’
and
‘On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the
test.’” When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until
an opportune time.
This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise
to you, O Christ.
Sermon
(added at the end of the document)
Hymn
#504 A Mighty
Fortress Is Our God
Thanks and Offertory
Prayers of the Church:
Jesus was led into the wilderness to fast and
pray. Today, we dare to do the same and offer our prayers for the world, the
church, and for all people according to their needs.
[Short
pause]
God present
with us, grant that all of creation might remind us of your presence, your
mercy, and your peace. Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
God present
with us, watch over our families, loved ones and friends in all situations.
Help us to see your presence in them. Lord, in your mercy, Hear
our prayer.
God present
with us, strengthen us in our temptations and forgive us should we fall. Lord,
in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
God present
with us, grant peace to our homes and to our town. Help us to remember those in
need around us. Lord, in your mercy, Hear
our prayer.
God present
with us, grant peace to the people of Ukraine and Russia. Bless all the leaders
with a sense of justice and a desire for peace. Lord, in your mercy, Hear
our prayer.
God present
with us, help us as our province opens up to what might be called
“normal.” Keep us all in good health and bless doctors, nurses, medical
technicians, ambulance crews, fire fighters, and peace officers. Lord, in your
mercy, Hear our prayer.
God present
with us, look with favor on all who minister in the name of your Son. Bless our
congregation this day and all of our leadership. Lord, in your mercy, Hear
our prayer.
God present
with us, we trust in your grace and mercy all around us. Hear the prayers we
keep in our hearts… * … Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Into your
hands we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in your mercy and grace;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
{*Rose Gotzmeister, Gail Mauer, Bill Ungar,
Deb Kirschner}
Hymn#618 Guide Me Ever, Great Redeemer
The
Lord’s Prayer
Finally let
us pray for all things as our Lord would have us ask:
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.
Closing prayer & Benediction
O God of justice
and love, we give thanks to you that you illuminate our way through life with
the words of your Son. Give us the light we need, awaken us to the needs of
others, and at the end, bring all the world to your feast; through Jesus
Christ, our Savior and Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honour
and glory forever. Amen.
Hymn
#517 Lord, Keep
Us Steadfast in Your Word
Sending
May the Lord
bless us and keep us.
May the
Lord’s face shine upon us with grace and mercy.
May the Lord
look upon us with favor and X give us peace.
Amen.
Go in peace.
Walk humbly with God. Thanks be to
God.
by the Annual General
Meeting
March 27 Church, 11:00am
April 10 Saxonia Hall (Palm
Sunday), 11:00am
April 15 Church (Good
Friday), 11:00am
April 17 Church (Easter
Sunday), 11:00am
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Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit,
returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where
for forty days he was tempted by the devil.
·
Living in the
wilderness is a grand theme in the Scriptures, both Old and New. For the
Hebrews, their time of wandering in the wilderness was both terrible and
wonderful. They didn’t know where they were going and it took them 40 years to
get there. They grumbled and moaned about it, yet it was a time of complete
trust and dependence on God as there was no other place to put their trust.
·
In a similar
way, Jesus spend 40 days in the wilderness in fasting and prayer. The 40 days means
a decent amount of time and reflects the 40 years of the Exodus as does our 40
days of Lent. Jesus didn’t just decide to take a walk in the wilderness east of
the Jordan River; he was led by the Spirit. Luke mentions this specifically.
The Holy Spirit sent him, not his own desires nor a temptation of the Evil One.
Any openness to prayer and to God permits temptation to be around. A spiritual
director once told me that clearing a space for prayer is much like opening a hole
in a sand box. The stuff you put aside immediately flows back in to fill the
space you’ve opened. And this is good stuff, like obligations and things you’ve
forgotten, not just sinful temptations. For example, who’s thinking about lunch
right now? If you weren’t, you are now!
·
We might be
right to be alarmed and even frightened by the thought of Jesus being tempted
and of the devil waiting for another opportunity to tempt Jesus at an opportune time as Luke
puts it. When would this happen? Does “Father,
if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be
done.” sound familiar? There is temptation there. So if Jesus could
not avoid temptation, how could we?
·
First, let me
make it clear that temptation is NOT sin. Everyone can be tempted
in their own way, but that is not the same as sinning.
·
Second, we
are tempted in much the same ways as Jesus was. The difference is that our
temptations are illusions, whereas Jesus was tempted to what really could be. The devil is tempting Jesus to go after what
already belongs to Jesus and what will be his, just more quickly than divine
wisdom would lead him to it.
·
In the
wilderness, Jesus was tempted to:
·
Fulfill his
own needs before all else.
·
Make himself
the center of it all, if only he’d worship the devil
·
Make Almighty
God his slave/servant by doing dangerous things.
·
We are
tempted in just the same ways. We scramble after the illusion of fulfillment,
of being the center of it all even at the cost of our soul, and presume God’s
care over what we do. This is how little children act. They can be wonderfully
caring and will freely share, yet their happiness can depend on “one more
cookie” while at the same time their least desires cannot be thwarted and they
respond with the terrible insult, “I don’t like you!” (I’ve done this!)
Finally, they know they can climb that bookshelf because they’re Superman,
Batman, and Spider-man all rolled into one. This childish behavior is not
limited to children; it’s found in adults all the time, and even in heads of
state. What we all want is “MORE.”
·
We pray daily
“Lead us not into temptation” and
well we should! An alternate version of the lyrics of our Hymn of the Day
includes these words:
§ Mit unsrer Macht ist nichts getan,
wir sind gar bald verloren;
es streit' für uns der rechte
Mann,
den Gott hat selbst erkoren.
·
Did we in our own strength confide,
Our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side,
The Man of God's own choosing.
Dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is he;
·
There’s the
Good News for today. Not that we can avoid temptation, but better yet, we have
the grace of God embodied in Jesus Christ to rely on to see us through
temptation, even if we fail. Where else dare we turn?
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit,
returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for
forty days he was tempted by the devil.
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