Login / Signup

Free Access

Ash Wednesday

Worship
Joel 2:1-2, 12-17
Psalm 51:1-17
2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
Ash Wednesday - A
B. David Hostetter
LECTIONARY WORSHIP AIDS
Series III, Cycle A
CALL TO WORSHIP
Take joy in your salvation and be willing to obey God as the Spirit prompts you.

PRAYER OF CONFESSION
God above all, you have created us from the ground up and in Christ came to our turf, to show us again that the earth is yours and you have made all things to be good. Your own Spirit infused life into the lifeless so that the human race should be distinct not in its physical properties but in its ability to control behavior individually and socially, Forgive lack of self-control, for abuse of what you have created for the good of all. May such fasting and penitence as we may practice enable us to balance things out and to bring the spiritual and the physical into equilibrium, following the example of Jesus Christ. Amen.

DECLARATION OF GOD'S FORGIVENESS
Hear the Good News! God appointed the sinless Christ to share our sin in order that in union with him we might share the goodness of God. Friends, believe the Good News. In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven.

EXHORTATION
Having received God's grace in Christ, do not let it be wasted, but express it to others enriching them as well.

PRAYER OF THE DAY
Distinguished and distinguishing Spirit, grant us wisdom, so that both our fasting and our charitable actions are inconspicuous. Then only you will know what we have done and we will be content with your private reward. Amen.

PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
Maker, Sharer and Shaper of the human spirit, we are thankful that we have not been cast in stone that cannot be reshaped. You forgive our failures and give us further opportunities to restore some of the beauty of your image. We can be thankful even for the trouble and suffering that brings us closer to you in prayer. Then at least we may recognize our need to depend on you. We welcome this Lenten season as a time of personal renewal. Amen.

PRAYER OF DEDICATION
Eternal God, Ruler of time and space, we offer to you an expanded portion of our time and increased concentration of our attention during this Lenten season for our own growth in grace and in love for your family. Amen.

PSALM 51:1-17
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love:
according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
Against you, you alone, have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are justified in your sentence
and blameless when you pass judgment.
Indeed, I was born guilty,
a sinner when my mother conceived me.
You desire truth in the inward being;
therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your holy spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing spirit.
UPCOMING WEEKS
In addition to the lectionary resources there are thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Advent 3
31 – Sermons
180+ – Illustrations / Stories
34 – Children's Sermons / Resources
22 – Worship Resources
30 – Commentary / Exegesis
2 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Advent 4
36 – Sermons
180+ – Illustrations / Stories
32 – Children's Sermons / Resources
19 – Worship Resources
31 – Commentary / Exegesis
3 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Christmas!
27 – Sermons
100+ – Illustrations / Stories
31 – Children's Sermons / Resources
20 – Worship Resources
33 – Commentary / Exegesis
3 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Plus thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...

New & Featured This Week

The Immediate Word

Katy Stenta
Mary Austin
Christopher Keating
Dean Feldmeyer
George Reed
For January 5-6, 2025:
Katy Stenta
Mary Austin
Christopher Keating
Dean Feldmeyer
George Reed
For January 5-6, 2025:

CSSPlus

John Jamison
Object: A large paper bag with candy or stickers inside, depending on what you are comfortable giving your children.

Note: When the child reaches into the bag, quickly squeeze or shake the bag and make a noise to surprise them. The goal is just to surprise them, not scare them. Have fun with this!

* * *
John Jamison
Object: A small candle and a bright flashlight. If you have a really bright flashlight, just shine it in the children’s direction, and not directly into their eyes.

* * *

Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Excellent! Today’s story is about Jesus. But I need to warn you that the story may sound a little confusing when I tell it to you.

One day, a man named John was writing to people to tell them about Jesus, and this is what he wrote. He said:

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Mark Ellingsen
Frank Ramirez
Bill Thomas
Bonnie Bates
Isaiah 60:1-6
David Coffin
An upper middle-aged man is politely led out of the factory where he works by both the union and management representatives into mandatory early retirement. The company wants to hire two employees at a lower rate of pay rather than pay this skilled worker for the thirty years of seniority that he earned through days of sweat and toil.
Mark Ellingsen
Bill Thomas
Frank Ramirez
Bonnie Bates
Jeremiah 31:7-14
Frank Ramirez
Just when you thought the holidays were over, when the last of the holiday snacks, Chex Mix and cookies and the fruit in the basket that arrived in the mail, were finally eaten, New Year’s celebrated and the football games turned off for the moment, and things are almost back to normal — along comes a late Christmas card, with its traditional picture of shepherds and kings and angels and cows and sheep and the light shining out of the manger, a tried and true quotation from scripture or a reference to a Christmas carol, and a swiftly penned greeting from an old friend, to make it all real agai

StoryShare

John E. Sumwalt
Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
For darkness shall cover the earth
and thick darkness the peoples,
but the Lord will arise upon you,
and his glory will appear over you. (vv. 1-2)
Frank Ramirez
See, I am going to bring them from the land of the north and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth…a great company, they shall return here (Jeremiah 7:8).

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Call to Worship:

 When Jesus came, many people failed to recognise him. As we worship him today let us try to recognise him in each other.

Invitation to Confession:

 Jesus, Lord, have mercy.

 Jesus, Christ, have mercy.

 Jesus, Lord, have mercy.

 Reading:

 John 1:10-18

SermonStudio

Stephen P. McCutchan
He has not dealt thus with any other nation; they do not know his ordinances. Praise the Lord!
-- Psalm 147:20

Constance Berg
Karny runs. She runs marathons. She runs races. She runs for fun. Karny loves to run because it reminds her that she is alive. Alive to feel the ocean breeze near her house. Alive to feel the gentle pain in her legs after a good ten-mile run. She is grateful for her life because she was so close to losing it.
Richard A. Jensen
The focus in Matthew 1 was on names. Name after name after name culminating in THE Name: Jesus! In Matthew 2 there is a focus on places. The first place mentioned is Bethlehem. Matthew begins his birth story by simply telling us that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. In the course of the story the Magi come from the east looking for the city in which the "child of the star" was to be found. Herod didn't know. The chief priests and scribes looked it up. Bethlehem!
John T. Ball
Today is an important day in the life of the world and the life of the church. In the northern hemisphere this is the first day of the New Year. Last night many of us celebrated the eve of this New Year -- noisily or somberly. Noisy types went out to dinner and danced until our feet grew weary. We counted down the last seconds of the old year, and wildly greeted one another with shouts, drinks, hugs, kisses, and fireworks. Then we sang the traditional lines of Robert Burn's poem, "Auld Lang Syne," and went home.
Mary S. Lautensleger
Walking in the dark is difficult, even in the familiarity of your own home. Furniture has a way of rearranging itself in the dark so that you can whack your shins a little easier. Small, sharp toys crawl out from their hiding places to park themselves in your path. Your dog or cat is stretched out on the carpet, sleeping blissfully until your foot makes contact with a tail or a paw.
Richard E. Gribble, CSC
One Christmas morning, Dennis, Nancy, and their young son, Eric, were traveling south from San Francisco to their home in Los Angeles. They had spent Christmas Eve with relatives in the Bay Area, but both parents had to work the next day, thus, it was necessary to travel on Christmas. About noon, Dennis and Nancy decided they were hungry so they stopped at a local diner for lunch. Naturally, because it was Christmas, the restaurant was nearly empty and Eric, their young son, was the only child in the restaurant.

Steven E. Albertin
"Sticks and stones may hurt my bones, but words can never harm me."

There has never been a bigger lie that has ever been so widely perpetuated. A friendly playground game erupts into a fight and insults fill the air. One of the combatants defiantly shouts, "Sticks and stones may hurt my bones, but words can never harm me." Even though such words attempt to minimize the harm inflicted by such insults, in fact they reveal just the opposite. These words have wounded him deeply.

Special Occasion

Wildcard SSL