Cycle A Lent 1

3/9/2014 Confession

Sunday Title:  Identity Sunday

Sermon Title: “The Antidote”

Previously:  

Sunday Title:  Eden Sunday

Sermon Title: “Who are you?”

Sunday Title:  Relationship Sunday

Sermon Title: “Obedience and Faithfulness”

Sunday Title:  Temptation Sunday 

Sermon Title: “The Master of Disaster”

Scripture Cuttings:

Genesis 2:15-17 & 3:1-7 You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat....

Psalm 32 I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord and you forgave the guilt of my sin.

Romans 5:12-19 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man's trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many.

Matthew 4:1-11 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came....

Confession:

All may make the sign of the cross in remembrance of baptism

as the presiding minister begins:

P:  In the Name of the Father, and the Son, + and the Holy Spirit.

C: Amen

P:  Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, and whose sin is put away. Let us confess our transgressions to the Lord, and seek the forgiveness of the guilt of our sin. (pause)

  O Lord...

C: how we love our choices,

and when we choose badly,

  we are experts with “but”

    and blaming others

      and bad circumstance

        and even “the devil made me do it.” 

Lord you make your word known to us,

  and we cover ourselves with sad stories of unfaithfulness.

You ask us to pick good over evil,

  but we decide to just re-categorize

    using our own scheme of sad compromise.

Save, O Lord, your people.

Forgive us the sins we know in our heart.

Save us from the sins we hide. (pause for reflection and self-examination)

P:  Lord, you are God...

C: we acknowledge our sin and do not conceal our guilt. Amen

P:  God does see the stain of sin upon us. A stain we can not excuse or remove. But God wills grace for us through Jesus Christ. Because of this free gift from God’s love we are returned to right relationship. (Our repentance counts. For Christ's sake our sins are forgiven.) God even sends the Holy Spirit to lead us through all that the tempter would put in our way. In the name of the Father, and the Son, + and the Holy Spirit.

C: Amen. -wjw

P:  The peace of the Lord be with you always!

C: And also with you!

during Lent the Absolution may be withheld

Cycle ABC Ash Wednesday

3/5/2014 Confession

Scripture Cuttings:

Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love....

Psalm 51:1-17 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.

2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10 ...we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 "Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them;

Confession:

All may make the sign of the cross in remembrance of baptism

as the presiding minister begins:

P:  In the Name of the Father, and the Son, + and the Holy Spirit.

C: Amen

Psalm 51:1-17   

Leader:    Have mercy on me, O God,

Women:    according to your steadfast love;

Men:    according to your abundant mercy

Women:    blot out my transgressions.

Men:    Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,

Women:    and cleanse me from my sin.

Men:    For I know my transgressions,

Women:    and my sin is ever before me.

Men:    Against you, you alone, have I sinned,

Women:    and done what is evil in your sight,

Men:    so that you are justified in your sentence

Women:    and blameless when you pass judgment.

Men:    Indeed, I was born guilty,

Women:    a sinner when my mother conceived me.

Men:    You desire truth in the inward being;

Women:    therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.

Men:    Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;

Women:    wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Men:    Let me hear joy and gladness;

Women:    let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.

Men:    Hide your face from my sins,

Women:    and blot out all my iniquities.

Men:    Create in me a clean heart, O God,

Women:    and put a new and right spirit within me.

Men:    Do not cast me away from your presence,

Women:    and do not take your holy spirit from me.

Men:    Restore to me the joy of your salvation,

Women:    and sustain in me a willing spirit.

Men:    Then I will teach transgressors your ways,

Women:    and sinners will return to you.

Men:    Deliver me from bloodshed, O God,

Women:    O God of my salvation,

Men:    and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.

Women:    O Lord, open my lips,

Men:    and my mouth will declare your praise.

Women:    For you have no delight in sacrifice;

Men:    if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased.

All:    The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit;

          a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. -New Revised Standard Version

P:  The peace of the Lord be with you always!

C: And also with you!

Cycle A Transfiguration

3/2/2014 Confession

Sunday Title:  Transfiguration Sunday

Sermon Title: “Between two Mountains”

Previously:  

Sunday Title:  Transfiguration Sunday

                  Last? Epiphany Sunday

Sermon Title: “Get It?”

Sunday Title: Who You Gonna Believe?

Sermon Title: The Mountain Top

Scripture Cuttings:

Exodus 24:12-18 So Moses set out with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God.

Psalm 2 “I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.” I will tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have begotten you.”

2 Peter 1:16-21 For he received honor and glory from God the Father when that voice was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven, while we were with him on the holy mountain.

Matthew 17:1-9 …suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!”

Confession:

All may make the sign of the cross in remembrance of baptism

as the presiding minister begins:

P:  In the Name of the Father, and the Son, + and the Holy Spirit.

C: Amen

P:  Our God is a lover of justice,

  let us draw near with our confession. (pause)

  Lord...

C: we know it is You who give the commandments

  and the law for our instruction,

    yet we interpret for ourselves what is right.

We say we long to hear your voice,

  but we know we would be overcome with fear

    in your presence.

We seek glory without seeing your glory,

  we long for the mountain top

    without bearing your light in the long valley.

Forgive us Lord the sins we know in our heart.

Save us Lord from the sins we hide.

    (pause for reflection and self-examination)

P:  We are blessed that God, the giver of the law, and a lover of justice, is also a God of mercy. Jesus Christ, God’s own beloved, is sent to us. It is for Christ’s sake that our sins are forgiven. We are called by God to listen to Christ, that as men and women moved by the Holy Spirit we may live without fear and be as lamps shining in a dark place. In the name of the Father, and the Son, + and the Holy Spirit.

C: Amen -wjw

P:  The peace of the Lord be with you always!

C: And also with you!

Cycle A Epiphany 7 Lectionary 7

February 23, 2013 Confession

Sunday Title:  Perfect Sunday 

Sermon Title: “Really”

Previously:

Scripture Cuttings:

Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18 You shall be holy,

for I the Lord your God am holy.

Psalm 119:33-40 Give me understanding, that I may observe Your teaching and keep it wholeheartedly.

1 Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23 Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?

Matthew 5:38-48 But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well.

P:  In the Name of the Father, and the Son, + and the Holy Spirit.

C: Amen

P:  As God is holy, we are to be holy. (pause to remember Jesus began his ministry proclaiming: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.-Matthew 4:17)

  You are the Lord our God...

C: and you call us to be your peoples.

  You provide instruction for the living of life in you.

    But we see only restriction of our freedom.

You teach us how to be your children,

  yet as disciples we still act like spoiled children.

You ask us to make sacrifices as your witness,

  to humanize our enemies: to pray for them,

    not to hoard the gifts you give.

But we are schooled in self-reliance and fairness,

  so the kingdom of heaven is diluted by our self-interest,

    and our witness is deleted by petty self-right-ness.

Save, O Lord, your people.

Save us from our unrighteousness: what we see

and what we evade.  (pause for reflection and self-examination)

P:  Lord...

C: strengthen our faithfulness. Amen.

P:  The Lord our God is holy, complete, perfect. Now God provides a foundation for our faithfulness: Jesus Christ. For Christ’s sake our sins are forgiven. We may come to know we are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in us. To the glory of the Father, and the Son, + and the Holy Spirit.

C: Amen. -wjw

P:  The peace of the Lord be with you always!

C: And also with you!

Cycle A Epiphany 6 Lectionary 6

February 16, 2014 Confession

Sunday Title:  Excess Sunday 

Sermon Title: “Excelling Righteousness”

Previously:

Scripture Cuttings:

Deuteronomy 30:15-20 See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity.

Psalm 119:1-8 You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently. O that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes!    

1 Corinthians 3:1-9 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. 

I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.

Matthew 5:21-37 You have heard that it was said…. But I say to you….

P:  In the Name of the Father, and the Son, + and the Holy Spirit.

C: Amen

P:  As God’s people, we know God calls us to live faithfully. (pause to remember Jesus began his ministry proclaiming: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.-Matthew 4:17)

  Lord, your faithfulness rises before us...

C: yet we are slow to walk in your ways.

  We consider prosperity our earned reward,

    and forget that all we have is gift from you,

You give our lives order with decrees, statutes and commandments.

  But we choose paths leading to chaotic demise.

We do not study your word,

  and do not understand the letter of the law

    nor encounter the Spirit in which it is given.

Save, O Lord, your people.

Save us from our unrighteousness: what we see

and what we evade.  (pause for reflection and self-examination)

P:  Lord...

C: strengthen our faithfulness. Amen.

P:  God chooses life, God chooses righteousness, God chooses right-relationship. God chooses to reveal salvation to us through his Son Jesus Christ. For Christ’s sake our sins are forgiven. Through the power of the Holy Spirit we may grow out of our infancy in Christ and become servants working together for God’s glory. In the name of the Father, and the Son, + and the Holy Spirit.

C: Amen. -wjw

P:  The peace of the Lord be with you always!

C: And also with you!

Cycle A Epiphany 5 Lectionary 5

February 9, 2014 Confession

Sunday Title:  Fresh Start Sunday 

Sermon Title: “Be the redeemed!”

Previously:

Sunday Title:  Light Sunday 

Sermon Title: “Glorifying God”

Sunday Title:  Light Sunday 

Sermon Title: “You can make a world of Difference”

Scripture Cuttings:

Isaiah 58:1-12 Then 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.

Psalm 112:1-10 They have distributed freely, they have given to the poor; their righteousness endures forever; their horn is exalted in honor.  

1 Corinthians 2:1-16 But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him"

Matthew 5:13-20 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

P:  In the Name of the Father, and the Son, + and the Holy Spirit.

C: Amen

P:  Let us remind ourselves that we are God’s people. Let us call upon the name of the Lord.(pause)

  Lord we come to praise you...

C: yet we are a rebellious people.

  We practice spiritual self discipline in your house,

    without living spiritual lives in your world.

We sing sweet songs to you now,

  and point our finger,

    and speak evil about our brothers and sisters later.

You call us to be your witnesses in this world,

  but we break your commandments and mislead others.

Save, O Lord, your people.

Save us from the sins we know in our heart.

Save us from the sins we hide. (pause for reflection and self-examination)

P:  Lord...

C: hear our prayer. Amen.

P:  God reveals salvation to us, not through anything the human heart could conceive, but through God’s own son: Jesus Christ. It is for Christ’s sake that our sins are forgiven. Through the Holy Spirit we may begin to comprehend this gift God bestows upon us, so that we may let our light shine before others that they may see our good works and give glory to our heavenly Father. In the name of the Father, and the Son, + and the Holy Spirit.

C: Amen. -wjw

P:  The peace of the Lord be with you always!

C: And also with you!