First Sunday in Lent
**Please note this service is based on the format of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Canada. Unless otherwise indicated, all prayers come from Evangelical Lutheran Worship (ELW). Hymns and other prayers have been sourced to give appropriate credit.
**NRSV translation used for the readings, unless otherwise stated.
**This is for personal use at home as the church is unable to gather in our houses of worship but together we can worship in our own homes.
Introduction to the Day
On Ash Wednesday the church began its journey toward baptismal immersion
in the death and resurrection of Christ. This year, the Sundays in Lent lead us
to focus on five covenants God makes in the Hebrew Scriptures and to use them
as lenses through which to view baptism. First Peter connects the way God saved
Noah’s family in the flood with the way God saves us through the water of
baptism. The baptismal covenant is made with us individually, but the new life
we are given in baptism is for the sake of the whole world.
Confession and Forgiveness
Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God,
the keeper of the covenant,
the source of steadfast love,
our rock and our redeemer.
Amen.
God hears us when we cry, and draws us close in Jesus Christ. Let us return to the one who is full of compassion.
Fountain of living water,
pour out your mercy
over us.
Our sin is heavy, and
we long to be free.
Rebuild what we have
ruined
and mend what we have
torn.
Wash us in your
cleansing flood.
Make us alive in the
Spirit
to follow in the way
of Jesus,
as healers and
restorers of the world you so love.
Amen.
Beloved, God’s word never fails. The promise rests on grace: by the saving love of Jesus Christ, the wisdom and power of God, your sins are ☩ forgiven, and God remembers them no more. Journey in the way of Jesus.
Amen.
Gathering Song – O Lord, Throughout These Forty Days (ELW #319)
Greeting
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.
Canticle of Praise
Prayer of the Day
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray.
Holy God, in the waters of the flood you saved the chosen, and in the wilderness
of temptation you protected your Son from sin. Renew us in the gift of baptism.
May your holy angels be with us, that the wicked foe may have no power over us,
through Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and
the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
Readings
A reading from the Book of Genesis 9:8-17
Then God said to Noah and to his sons
with him, “As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your
descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the
birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as
came out of the ark. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall
all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a
flood to destroy the earth.” God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I
make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all
future generations: I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of
the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and
the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me
and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never
again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I
will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living
creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” God said to Noah, “This is the
sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is
on the earth.”
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Psalm 25:1-10
To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
O my God, in you I trust;
do not let me be put to shame;
do not let my enemies exult
over me.
Do not let those who
wait for you be put to shame;
let them be ashamed who are wantonly
treacherous.
Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
teach me your paths.
Lead me in your
truth, and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all day long.
Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love,
for they have been from of old.
Do not remember the
sins of my youth or my transgressions;
according to your steadfast love remember
me,
for your goodness’ sake, O Lord!
Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore he instructs sinners
in the way.
He leads the humble
in what is right,
and teaches the humble his way.
All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness,
for those who keep his
covenant and his decrees.
A reading from the First Letter of Peter 3:18-22
For Christ also suffered for sins once
for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He
was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which also he
went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, who in former times did
not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of
the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. And
baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you – not as a removal of dirt from
the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand
of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Children’s Message
Everything on
earth was covered with floodwaters. Everything died – people, plants, and
animals.
God meant it
when everything would be destroyed!
The water
covered the earth for 150 days. The ark floated safely around all that time.
Finally the
rain stopped. Noah waited for God to tell him when it would be safe to leave
the ark.
God sent a
strong wind to dry up the floodwaters.
Noah kept
waiting, sending birds out to see if they could find a dry place to land. They
could not so they came back.
One time, when
Noah sent out birds, they did not return and this made Noah very happy.
As the
floodwaters went down, the boat came to rest on the top of a mountain. Noah
kept everyone inside a few more days.
God told Noah
when it was safe to leave the ark, and when it was safe to let all the animals
out, too.
Everyone was
very happy to come out of the boat. They celebrate the new world God had given
them.
“Be fertile, increase
in number, and fill the earth,” God said. God wanted the earth to be filled
with people and animals once again.
Then God
promised to never again destroy the world with a flood. A beautiful rainbow
appeared in the sky as a sign and a reminder of God’s promise.
We all make
promises, like when we promise our parents we’ll clean up our toys after we
play or that we will do our chores. Promises are important, but sometimes we
don’t keep them.
But God always
keeps God’s promises. So the next time you see a rainbow, remember the promise
God made to Noah, and remember that just as God has kept that promise, God
keeps all of God’s promises to you, too.
Gospel Acclamation
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark 1:9-15
Glory to you, O Lord.
In those days Jesus came from Nazareth
of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up
out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like
a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with
you I am well pleased.”
And the Spirit immediately drove him
out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan;
and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.
Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O
Christ.
Sermon
May only truth be spoken and truth
received. Amen.
A year ago, we were preparing for Lent when the government asked businesses and schools and churches to close their doors and for everyone to stay home. Just for a few days, maybe a few weeks.
The news said that there was a virus going around that the health care system was trying to get under control. Scientists with the World Health Organization had no idea how it was spreading so the safest thing to do was ask everyone to just stay home.
#stayhome #staysafe #inthistogether
These were hashtags that started popping up on the internet.
It was just for a few weeks, so clergy unified (mostly) and said, “Ok let’s have the Lentiest Lent ever” and we fasted from church services thinking that there would be a grand celebration on Easter Sunday.
We were asking our parishes to do their part, as Christians, to set the example and to do what was being asked of us.
It was only going to be a few weeks.
Ok maybe a few more weeks, just until after spring break.
Just a few more weeks. Be patient and we will get through this.
Lent, Easter, spring break – they came and went.
Graduations were cancelled as we went into summer, still fasting.
Birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, funerals – all cancelled or postponed.
Summer and fall….now it’s Advent. And we are still fasting. Is this Lent ever going to end?
We found new ways to celebrate because our fast was turning into a famine. We needed a reason and a way to celebrate. So we did it – we found new ways. Online worship, drive-through harvest dinners, drive-in church with drive-by communion.
Just a few more weeks. Be patient. Stay home. Stay safe. We are in this together.
We made it through an odd sort of Christmas. Quiet, with no family celebrations. No carols and lessons where we all get to come together and sing joyously. No solemn Christmas Eve where we have a special birthday party.
Just a few more weeks. Be patient. Stay home. Stay safe. We are in this together.
The Lentiest Lent ever. We gave up so much.
And here we are, back at Lent. A 365-day long Lent. What’s another 40 days?
Lent always begins with Jesus begin sent out into the wilderness. That’s what these last 365 days have been for us. It has been our wilderness.
We have felt loss. And grief. And confusion. And despair. And anger. And frustration.
And we have been tempted. Tempted by the fear that God is not with us.
Just a few more weeks.
Be patient. Stay home. Stay safe. We are in this together.
But we did this last year already. When will this Lent ever end?
It is easy to be angry at God, and to demand God to be revealed. Our temptation lies in assuming that God has abandoned us, that God is no longer present because our 365-days of Lent continues to march on.
But there is something we need to remember, something we can hold onto.
The same Spirit of God that descended upon Jesus at Baptism and drove Jesus out into the wilderness also accompanied him during that time and brought him back again.
So also, God will not abandon us during our sojourns in the wilderness. God is, after all, in the business of taking that which seems only to cause death and somehow wring from it resurrection life.
Just a few more weeks. Be patient. Stay home. Stay safe. We are in this together.
Jesus accepted his wilderness. He entered the wilderness only with the promise of God’s presence. Not with fighting skills, not with self-help strategies, not with techniques for passing the tests, but only his personal knowledge that God will be there.
Do not be tempted to think that God is not present.
Without doubt, God has been with us every step of the way, mourning and grieving right alongside us.
Without doubt, God continues and will continue to be present.
As we head into a new season of Lent, hear the promise of God’s presence with you, and feel the power of God’s love for us all.
Our time in the wilderness will come to an end and, with God’s help, we will pass the test.
Amen.
Hymn of the Day – Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Your Word (ELW #517)
Creed
Let us confess
the faith of our baptism, as we say the Apostles’ Creed:
Prayers of Intercession
Relying on the promises of God, we pray boldly for the church, the
world, and all in need.
Silence
In Jesus your realm has come near to us in every place and time. Give your church throughout the world a spirit of humility and repentance; teach us to trust always in the good news of your salvation.
Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
You have made a covenant of mercy with every living creature. Protect all the earth’s creatures from destruction. Empower the work of biologists, conservationists, and science educators.
Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
All your paths are steadfast love and faithfulness. Direct the words and actions of leaders in our community and throughout the world, that they may maintain justice for the lowly.
Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
Even in the wilderness you are with us. Walk alongside migrants and refugees crossing dangerous lands. Tend to those whose lives feel desolate. Give healing and strength to all who suffer (especially Pastor Mark Koenker, Debbie Mathers, Donald McKenzie, Darcy Oliver, Louis-Paul Poirier, Pastor Stan Richards, Ron Snider, and for all those we name aloud or in our hearts).
Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
In the covenant of baptism you claim us as beloved children. Nurture us in our baptismal identity and teach us to live within it for the sake of others. Strengthen this congregation’s ministries of care and concern.
Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
In baptism you join us to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We praise you for all those who have died trusting in your faithfulness. Bring us with them to the fullness of your reign.
Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
Please take time to offer your own intercessions or to pray in silence.
We entrust ourselves and all our prayers to you, O faithful God, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Peace
The peace of Christ be with you always.
And also with you.
Hymn of Thanksgiving – Lamb of God: Your Only Son (ELW #336)
**Although not physically at our church buildings to share our offering together I would encourage you to set your offering of money aside so that it can be dropped off or placed in the church once services resume, to mail your offering to the church, or to make donations online. Please remember ministry is still taking place.
Thanksgiving for the Word
Let us pray.
O God of justice and love, we give thanks to you that you illumine 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 Saviour and Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy
Spirit, be honor and glory forever.
Amen.
Lord’s Prayer
Gathered into one by the Holy Spirit, let us pray as Jesus taught us.
Blessing
You are what God made you to be: created in
Christ Jesus for good works, chosen as holy and beloved, freed to serve your
neighbor.
God bless you ☩
that you may be a blessing, in the name of the holy and life-giving Trinity.
Amen.
Sending Song – I Want Jesus to Walk with Me (ELW #325)
Dismissal
Go in peace. Share the good news.
Thanks be to God.
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