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 48
A Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.
[1] Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised
in the city of our God!
His holy mountain, [2] beautiful in elevation,
is the joy of all the earth,
Mount Zion, in the far north,
the city of the great King.
[3] Within her citadels God
has made himself known as a fortress.
[4] For behold, the kings assembled;
they came on together.
[5] As soon as they saw it, they were astounded;
they were in panic; they took to flight.
[6] Trembling took hold of them there,
anguish as of a woman in labor.
[7] By the east wind you shattered
the ships of Tarshish.
[8] As we have heard, so have we seen
in the city of the LORD of hosts,
in the city of our God,
which God will establish forever. Selah
[9] We have thought on your steadfast love, O God,
in the midst of your temple.
[10] As your name, O God,
so your praise reaches to the ends of the earth.
Your right hand is filled with righteousness.
[11] Let Mount Zion be glad!
Let the daughters of Judah rejoice
because of your judgments!
[12] Walk about Zion, go around her,
number her towers,
[13] consider well her ramparts,
go through her citadels,
that you may tell the next generation
[14] that this is God,
our God forever and ever.
He will guide us forever.
Psalm 49
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.
[1] Hear this, all peoples!
Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
[2] both low and high,
rich and poor together!
[3] My mouth shall speak wisdom;
the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.
[4] I will incline my ear to a proverb;
I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre.
[5] Why should I fear in times of trouble,
when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me,
[6] those who trust in their wealth
and boast of the abundance of their riches?
[7] Truly no man can ransom another,
or give to God the price of his life,
[8] for the ransom of their life is costly
and can never suffice,
[9] that he should live on forever
and never see the pit.
[10] For he sees that even the wise die;
the fool and the stupid alike must perish
and leave their wealth to others.
[11] Their graves are their homes forever,
their dwelling places to all generations,
though they called lands by their own names.
[12] Man in his pomp will not remain;
he is like the beasts that perish.
[13] This is the path of those who have foolish confidence;
yet after them people approve of their boasts. Selah
[14] Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;
death shall be their shepherd,
and the upright shall rule over them in the morning.
Their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell.
[15] But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,
for he will receive me. Selah
[16] Be not afraid when a man becomes rich,
when the glory of his house increases.
[17] For when he dies he will carry nothing away;
his glory will not go down after him.
[18] For though, while he lives, he counts himself blessed—
and though you get praise when you do well for yourself—
[19] his soul will go to the generation of his fathers,
who will never again see light.
[20] Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.
Psalm 50
A Psalm of Asaph.
[1] The Mighty One, God the LORD,
speaks and summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
[2] Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God shines forth.
[3] Our God comes; he does not keep silence;
before him is a devouring fire,
around him a mighty tempest.
[4] He calls to the heavens above
and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
[5] “Gather to me my faithful ones,
who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!”
[6] The heavens declare his righteousness,
for God himself is judge! Selah
[7] “Hear, O my people, and I will speak;
O Israel, I will testify against you.
I am God, your God.
[8] Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you;
your burnt offerings are continually before me.
[9] I will not accept a bull from your house
or goats from your folds.
[10] For every beast of the forest is mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.
[11] I know all the birds of the hills,
and all that moves in the field is mine.
[12] “If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the world and its fullness are mine.
[13] Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?
[14] Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and perform your vows to the Most High,
[15] and call upon me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”
[16] But to the wicked God says:
“What right have you to recite my statutes
or take my covenant on your lips?
[17] For you hate discipline,
and you cast my words behind you.
[18] If you see a thief, you are pleased with him,
and you keep company with adulterers.
[19] “You give your mouth free rein for evil,
and your tongue frames deceit.
[20] You sit and speak against your brother;
you slander your own mother’s son.
[21] These things you have done, and I have been silent;
you thought that I was one like yourself.
But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you.
[22] “Mark this, then, you who forget God,
lest I tear you apart, and there be none to deliver!
[23] The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me;
to one who orders his way rightly
I will show the salvation of God!”
Old Testament Reading
Proverbs 23
[1] When you sit down to eat with a ruler,
observe carefully what is before you,
[2] and put a knife to your throat
if you are given to appetite.
[3] Do not desire his delicacies,
for they are deceptive food.
[4] Do not toil to acquire wealth;
be discerning enough to desist.
[5] When your eyes light on it, it is gone,
for suddenly it sprouts wings,
flying like an eagle toward heaven.
[6] Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy;
do not desire his delicacies,
[7] for he is like one who is inwardly calculating.
“Eat and drink!” he says to you,
but his heart is not with you.
[8] You will vomit up the morsels that you have eaten,
and waste your pleasant words.
[9] Do not speak in the hearing of a fool,
for he will despise the good sense of your words.
[10] Do not move an ancient landmark
or enter the fields of the fatherless,
[11] for their Redeemer is strong;
he will plead their cause against you.
[12] Apply your heart to instruction
and your ear to words of knowledge.
[13] Do not withhold discipline from a child;
if you strike him with a rod, he will not die.
[14] If you strike him with the rod,
you will save his soul from Sheol.
[15] My son, if your heart is wise,
my heart too will be glad.
[16] My inmost being will exult
when your lips speak what is right.
[17] Let not your heart envy sinners,
but continue in the fear of the LORD all the day.
[18] Surely there is a future,
and your hope will not be cut off.
[19] Hear, my son, and be wise,
and direct your heart in the way.
[20] Be not among drunkards
or among gluttonous eaters of meat,
[21] for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,
and slumber will clothe them with rags.
[22] Listen to your father who gave you life,
and do not despise your mother when she is old.
[23] Buy truth, and do not sell it;
buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.
[24] The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice;
he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.
[25] Let your father and mother be glad;
let her who bore you rejoice.
[26] My son, give me your heart,
and let your eyes observe my ways.
[27] For a prostitute is a deep pit;
an adulteress is a narrow well.
[28] She lies in wait like a robber
and increases the traitors among mankind.
[29] Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has strife? Who has complaining?
Who has wounds without cause?
Who has redness of eyes?
[30] Those who tarry long over wine;
those who go to try mixed wine.
[31] Do not look at wine when it is red,
when it sparkles in the cup
and goes down smoothly.
[32] In the end it bites like a serpent
and stings like an adder.
[33] Your eyes will see strange things,
and your heart utter perverse things.
[34] You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea,
like one who lies on the top of a mast.
[35] “They struck me,” you will say, “but I was not hurt;
they beat me, but I did not feel it.
When shall I awake?
I must have another drink.”
New Testament Reading
1 Thessalonians 2
[1] For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain. [2] But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict. [3] For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, [4] but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. [5] For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness. [6] Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. [7] But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. [8] So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.
[9] For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. [10] You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. [11] For you know how, like a father with his children, [12] we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.
[13] And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. [14] For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews, [15] who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind [16] by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them at last!
[17] But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, [18] because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us. [19] For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? [20] For you are our glory and joy.
- 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.