Lent
“A journey, a pilgrimage! Yet, as we begin it, as we make the first step into the ‘bright sadness’ of Lent, we see - far, far away - the destination. It is the joy of Easter, it is the entrance into the glory of the Kingdom.”
- Alexander Schmemann.
The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are at the heart of the Christian gospel, and Good Friday and Easter are two of the most significant celebrations of the Christian year. Lent is a season of preparation and repentance during which we anticipate Good Friday and Easter. Just as we carefully prepare for big events in our personal lives... Lent invites us to make our hearts ready for remembering Jesus’ passion and celebrating Jesus’ resurrection (From The Worship Sourcebook).
- Calling -
O Lord, open our lips.
And our mouth shall proclaim Your praise.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever. Amen. Alleluia!
The Lord is full of compassion and mercy:
O come, let us adore him.
- Constitution -
Read/Listen, Meditate, Pray, and Contemplate on God’s Word, remembering that God is with you and ready to speak to you because he loves you.
Praying the Psalms
Psalm 42
To the choirmaster. A Maskil of the Sons of Korah.
[1] As a deer pants for flowing streams,
so pants my soul for you, O God.
[2] My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?
[3] My tears have been my food
day and night,
while they say to me all the day long,
“Where is your God?”
[4] These things I remember,
as I pour out my soul:
how I would go with the throng
and lead them in procession to the house of God
with glad shouts and songs of praise,
a multitude keeping festival.
[5] Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation [6] and my God.
My soul is cast down within me;
therefore I remember you
from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,
from Mount Mizar.
[7] Deep calls to deep
at the roar of your waterfalls;
all your breakers and your waves
have gone over me.
[8] By day the LORD commands his steadfast love,
and at night his song is with me,
a prayer to the God of my life.
[9] I say to God, my rock:
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning
because of the oppression of the enemy?”
[10] As with a deadly wound in my bones,
my adversaries taunt me,
while they say to me all the day long,
“Where is your God?”
[11] Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.
Psalm 43
[1] Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause
against an ungodly people,
from the deceitful and unjust man
deliver me!
[2] For you are the God in whom I take refuge;
why have you rejected me?
Why do I go about mourning
because of the oppression of the enemy?
[3] Send out your light and your truth;
let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy hill
and to your dwelling!
[4] Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God my exceeding joy,
and I will praise you with the lyre,
O God, my God.
[5] Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.
Psalm 44
To the choirmaster. A Maskil of the Sons of Korah.
[1] O God, we have heard with our ears,
our fathers have told us,
what deeds you performed in their days,
in the days of old:
[2] you with your own hand drove out the nations,
but them you planted;
you afflicted the peoples,
but them you set free;
[3] for not by their own sword did they win the land,
nor did their own arm save them,
but your right hand and your arm,
and the light of your face,
for you delighted in them.
[4] You are my King, O God;
ordain salvation for Jacob!
[5] Through you we push down our foes;
through your name we tread down those who rise up against us.
[6] For not in my bow do I trust,
nor can my sword save me.
[7] But you have saved us from our foes
and have put to shame those who hate us.
[8] In God we have boasted continually,
and we will give thanks to your name forever. Selah
[9] But you have rejected us and disgraced us
and have not gone out with our armies.
[10] You have made us turn back from the foe,
and those who hate us have gotten spoil.
[11] You have made us like sheep for slaughter
and have scattered us among the nations.
[12] You have sold your people for a trifle,
demanding no high price for them.
[13] You have made us the taunt of our neighbors,
the derision and scorn of those around us.
[14] You have made us a byword among the nations,
a laughingstock among the peoples.
[15] All day long my disgrace is before me,
and shame has covered my face
[16] at the sound of the taunter and reviler,
at the sight of the enemy and the avenger.
[17] All this has come upon us,
though we have not forgotten you,
and we have not been false to your covenant.
[18] Our heart has not turned back,
nor have our steps departed from your way;
[19] yet you have broken us in the place of jackals
and covered us with the shadow of death.
[20] If we had forgotten the name of our God
or spread out our hands to a foreign god,
[21] would not God discover this?
For he knows the secrets of the heart.
[22] Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.
[23] Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord?
Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever!
[24] Why do you hide your face?
Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?
[25] For our soul is bowed down to the dust;
our belly clings to the ground.
[26] Rise up; come to our help!
Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!
Old Testament Reading
Proverbs 21
[1] The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD;
he turns it wherever he will.
[2] Every way of a man is right in his own eyes,
but the LORD weighs the heart.
[3] To do righteousness and justice
is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.
[4] Haughty eyes and a proud heart,
the lamp of the wicked, are sin.
[5] The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance,
but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.
[6] The getting of treasures by a lying tongue
is a fleeting vapor and a snare of death.
[7] The violence of the wicked will sweep them away,
because they refuse to do what is just.
[8] The way of the guilty is crooked,
but the conduct of the pure is upright.
[9] It is better to live in a corner of the housetop
than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.
[10] The soul of the wicked desires evil;
his neighbor finds no mercy in his eyes.
[11] When a scoffer is punished, the simple becomes wise;
when a wise man is instructed, he gains knowledge.
[12] The Righteous One observes the house of the wicked;
he throws the wicked down to ruin.
[13] Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor
will himself call out and not be answered.
[14] A gift in secret averts anger,
and a concealed bribe, strong wrath.
[15] When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous
but terror to evildoers.
[16] One who wanders from the way of good sense
will rest in the assembly of the dead.
[17] Whoever loves pleasure will be a poor man;
he who loves wine and oil will not be rich.
[18] The wicked is a ransom for the righteous,
and the traitor for the upright.
[19] It is better to live in a desert land
than with a quarrelsome and fretful woman.
[20] Precious treasure and oil are in a wise man’s dwelling,
but a foolish man devours it.
[21] Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness
will find life, righteousness, and honor.
[22] A wise man scales the city of the mighty
and brings down the stronghold in which they trust.
[23] Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue
keeps himself out of trouble.
[24] “Scoffer” is the name of the arrogant, haughty man
who acts with arrogant pride.
[25] The desire of the sluggard kills him,
for his hands refuse to labor.
[26] All day long he craves and craves,
but the righteous gives and does not hold back.
[27] The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination;
how much more when he brings it with evil intent.
[28] A false witness will perish,
but the word of a man who hears will endure.
[29] A wicked man puts on a bold face,
but the upright gives thought to his ways.
[30] No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel
can avail against the LORD.
[31] The horse is made ready for the day of battle,
but the victory belongs to the LORD.
New Testament Reading
Colossians 4
[1] Masters, treat your bondservants justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.
[2] Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. [3] At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison—[4] that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.
[5] Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. [6] Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
[7] Tychicus will tell you all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. [8] I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts, [9] and with him Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you of everything that has taken place here.
[10] Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions—if he comes to you, welcome him), [11] and Jesus who is called Justus. These are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me. [12] Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. [13] For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis. [14] Luke the beloved physician greets you, as does Demas. [15] Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. [16] And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea. [17] And say to Archippus, “See that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord.”
[18] I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.
- Communion -
Pray for yourself, others, our church, our neighbors, and the world.
Pray the Lord’s Prayer & the collect of the week:
Our Father who art in heaven...
Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world: Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
- Commission -
After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. (1 Peter 5:10-11)
Let us go forth in the name of Christ.