Prelude
Announcements
Duet “Who am I?” by Casting Crowns
Played by Gloria Peetz Sung by Jordan Devine and Aaron Brewer
CCLI Song # 4196651 Mark Hall © 2003 Be Essential Songs (Admin. by Essential Music Publishing LLC) My Refuge Music (Admin. by Essential Music Publishing LLC) For use solely with the SongSelect® Terms of Use. All rights reserved. www.ccli.com CCLI License # 1956535
The Invitation to Lent
We begin our worship in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, our God who makes a way in the wilderness, who walks with us, and who guides us in our pilgrimage.
People of God: Amen.
Friends in Christ, on Wednesday with the whole church, we entered the time of remembering Jesus’ Passover from death to life, and our life in Christ is renewed.
We begin this holy season on Ash Wednesday by acknowledging our need for repentance and for God’s mercy. We are created to experience joy in communion with God, to love one another, and to live in harmony with creation. But our sinful rebellion separates us from God, our neighbors, and creation, so that we do not enjoy the life our creator intended.
As disciples of Jesus, we are called to a discipline that fights against evil and resists whatever leads us away from love of God and neighbor. I invite you, therefore, strengthened by the gifts of word and sacrament, to the discipline of Lent: self-examination and repentance, prayer and fasting, sacrificial giving and works of love. Let us continue our journey through these forty days to the great Three Days of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
Confession
And now let us confess our sin in the presence of God and of one another.
Silence is kept for reflection.
Let us pray. Holy One,
All: we confess that we have wandered far from you:
Right: we have not trusted your promises,
Left: we have ignored your prophets in our own day,
Right: we have squandered our inheritance of grace,
Left: we have failed to recognize you in our midst.
All: Have mercy on us! Forgive us and turn us again to you. Teach us to follow in your ways, assure us again of your love, and help us to love our neighbor. Amen.
Imposition of Ashes
Ashes are used as a sign of mourning, but they can also be used to make soap, to make something that cleanses. And so we impose ashes both to show that we are sorry for all that keeps us from God and to show that despite our sin, God always washes us clean. You are invited forward to receive this sign of our repentance and God’s love.
We begin by blessing the ashes. Let us pray. Almighty God, you have created us out of the dust of the earth. May these ashes be a sign of our mortality and penitence, reminding us that only by the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ are we given eternal life; through the same Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. People of God: Amen.
All are invited forward to receive ashes in the form of a cross on the forehead.
Forgiveness
Accomplish in us, O God, the work of your salvation,
People of God: that we may show forth your glory in the world.
By the cross and passion of your Son, our Savior,
People of God: bring us with all your saints to the joy of his resurrection.
Beloved in Christ, the Word draws near to you, and all who call out to God shall be saved. In Jesus, God comes to you again and again and gathers you under wings of love. In ☩ Jesus’ name, your sins are forgiven. God journeys with you and teaches you how to live in love. People of God: Amen.
Prayer of the Day
Assisting Minister: Let us pray. Forgiving God, as you encouraged your people to forgive, you modeled forgiveness by releasing us from our bondage to sin. Help us to forgive others, so that we might live in harmony with all your children. We pray these things in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. People of God: Amen
Reading Matthew 18:15-22
Assisting Minister: [Jesus taught his disciples,] “If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.” The word of the Lord. People of God: Thanks be to God
Sermon Rev. Sarah Wilson
Holy Baptism
In baptism our gracious heavenly Father frees us from sin and death by joining us to the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are born children of a fallen humanity; by water and the Holy Spirit we are reborn children of God and made members of the church, the body of Christ. Living with Christ and in the communion of saints, we grow in faith, love, and obedience to the will of God.
Sponsors: We present Joanna Mae Wendt for baptism.
Steven and Carey, called by the Holy Spirit, trusting in the grace and love of God, do you desire to have Joanna baptized into Christ?
Parents: We do.
Steven and Carey, as you bring Joanna to receive the gift of baptism, you are entrusted with responsibilities: to live with her among God’s faithful people, bring her to the word of God and the Holy Supper, teach her the Lord’s Prayer, the Creed, and the Ten Commandments, place in her hands the holy scriptures, and nurture her in faith and prayer, so that she may learn to trust God, proclaim Christ through word and deed, care for others and the world God made, and work for justice and peace. Do you promise to help her grow in the Christian faith and life?
Parents: We do.
Mike and Elaine, as Joanna’s sponsors, do you promise to nurture her in the Christian faith as you are empowered by God’s Spirit, and to help her live in the covenant of baptism and in communion with the church?
Sponsors: We do.
People of God, do you promise to support Joanna and pray for her in her new life in Christ?
People of God: We do.
Profession of Faith
People of God, I ask you to profess your faith in Christ Jesus, reject sin, and confess the faith of the church. Do you renounce evil and all the forces that defy God?
People of God: I renounce them.
Do you renounce the powers of this world that rebel against God?
People of God: I renounce them.
Do you renounce the ways of sin that draw you away from God?
People of God: I renounce them.
Do you believe in God the Father?
People of God: I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
Do you believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God?
People of God: I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
Do you believe in God the Holy Spirit?
People of God: I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the dead, and the life everlasting. Amen.
Thanksgiving at the Font
The Lord be with you.
People of God: And also with you.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People of God: It is right to give our thanks and praise.
Let us pray. We give you thanks, O God, for in the beginning your Spirit moved over the waters and by your Word you created the world, calling forth life in which you took delight. Through the waters of the flood you delivered Noah and his family, and through the sea you led your people Israel from slavery into freedom. At the river your Son was baptized by John and anointed with the Holy Spirit. By the baptism of Jesus’ death and resurrection you set us free from the power of sin and death and raise us up to live in you. Pour out your Holy Spirit, the power of your living Word, that those who are washed in the waters of baptism may be given new life. To you be given honor and praise through Jesus Christ our Lord, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, now and forever.
People of God: Amen.
Baptism
Joanna Mae, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
People of God: Amen.
Let us pray. We give you thanks, O God, that through water and the Holy Spirit you give your daughter new birth, cleanse her from sin, and raise her to eternal life. Sustain Joanna with the gift of your Holy Spirit: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, the spirit of joy in your presence, both now and forever.
People of God: Amen. You belong to Christ, in whom you have been baptized.
Joanna Mae, you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever. People of God: Amen.
Welcome
Assisting Minister: Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Let us welcome the newly baptized.
People of God: We welcome you, Joanna, into the body of Christ and into the mission we share: join us in giving thanks and praise to God and in bearing God’s creative and redeeming word to all the world.
Hymn ELW #596 My Hope is Built on Nothing Less Played by Gloria Peetz Sung by Lorena Skelley
Prayers of the People
Assisting Minister: Beloved friends, in this season of repentance and healing, we accept God’s invitation to be ever-mindful of the needs of others, offering our prayers on behalf of God’s community in the church and the world.
A brief silence.
Assisting Minister: Forgive the church, O God. Where it is in error, bring repentance and reformation. Lord, in your mercy, People of God: hear our prayer.
Assisting Minister: Forgive us, O God, for being poor stewards of the earth. Make us mindful of the ways in which we harm your beautiful creation. Lord, in your mercy, People of God: hear our prayer.
Assisting Minister: Forgive the nations, O God, and our corrupt systems of power. Bring equality and equity to all people. Lord, in your mercy, People of God: hear our prayer.
Assisting Minister: Forgive us, O God, when we do not reach out in love and kindness to those in need. Grant us the strength, wisdom, and courage to live out your gospel. Lord, in your mercy, People of God: hear our prayer.
Assisting Minister: Forgive our broken systems of healing, O God, and help us to better care for all who suffer, especially Denise, Leslie, Norma, Brian, Scott, Jessica, Alicia, Jeanne, Barb, Cecil (See-sil), Stan, Marlene, Ryleigh, Dylan, Sandy, Hopie (Hope-y), the Bredemus (bread-a-mus) family, Allen, Bunny, the Vogt (vote) family, Patricia, Michael, Nicholas and his family, Beth, Betty, Tom, Lorie and her family, Kara (car-a) and those we name silently or aloud (<pause>). Lord, in your mercy, People of God: hear our prayer.
Assisting Minister: Forgive this congregation, O God, and move us to be better at forgiving others and seeking reconciliation. Lord, in your mercy, People of God: hear our prayer.
Please offer your own prayers of joy or concern, ending with “Lord, in your mercy,”
We respond with “hear our prayer.”
Assisting Minister: Thank you for the gift of baptism and for the gift of marking Joanna as your own beloved daughter in her baptism. May she always know your presence in her life. Strengthen Elaine and Mike as they live into their roles as her godparents. Give patience and wisdom to Carey and Steven as they parent Joanna. Thank you for godparents and siblings, parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles, friends and others who surround the Wendt family with love and support. Lord, in your mercy, People of God: hear our prayer.
Fill us with your strength to resist the seductions of our foolish desires and the tempter’s vain delights, that we may walk in obedience and righteousness, rejoicing in you with an upright heart. People of God: Amen
Children’s Sermon Rev. Sarah Wilson
The Peace (Please share peace by waving or showing the peace sign.)
The peace of Christ be with you always. People of God: And also with you.
Offering
Let us pray. God of good gifts, receive these and all our offerings as we present them in faithful service for the sake of your gospel. Prepare our hearts to receive you in this meal as you pour out your very presence through Christ Jesus, the wellspring of eternal life. People of God: Amen.
Communion
The Lord be with you.
People of God: And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
People of God: We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People of God: It is right to give our thanks and praise.
In the night in which he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took bread and gave thanks; he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take and eat; this is my body, given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me. Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it for all to drink, saying: This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin. Do this for the remembrance of me.
And now let us pray with confidence in the words that Jesus taught us:
People of God: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
Invitation to Communion
Assisting Minister: Come and receive Jesus, our strength in the wilderness.
For our at-home worshippers, you may take communion using these words:
The body of Christ, given for you.
The blood of Christ, shed for you.
Table Blessing
And now may the body and blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ, strengthen you and keep you in his grace. People of God: Amen.
Prayer after Communion
Assisting Minister: Let us pray. Embodied God, at your table, we have tasted the goodness of Jesus. With the eyes of our hearts open to your promise, empower us to hear the needs of our neighbors and touch the world with your love. People of God: Amen.
Blessing
God, the giver of love, ☩ Christ, the resurrection and the life, and the Holy Spirit of rebirth bless you in this Lenten journey. People of God: Amen
Sending Hymn ELW#608 Softly and Tenderly Played by Gloria Peetz Sung by Lorena Skelley
Dismissal
Assisting Minister: Go in peace. Serve by forgiving. People of God: Thanks be to God.
Thank you to those serving us today
Pastor: Rev. Sarah Wilson
Worship Assistant: Brenda Kolak
Acolyte: Kyle Drews
Music: Gloria Peetz ~ Song Leader: Lorena Skelley
Altar Guild: Sally Skalany
Usher/Greeter: Danielle Proebsting and Bob Eccker
Sound Board: Nancy Rochford
Producer: Mark Gates Graphics: Dawna Gates
Counters: Marianne Barstow, Jeanne Soberg, and Nancy Rochford
Altar Flowers: Steven and Carey Wendt
In Celebration of Joanna’s Baptism
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