Call to Worship

Lenten travelers, when you feel the security of God’s love, affirmation of God’s call, and covered in God’s grace…

God comes near.

When you feel deserted and alone, starving and parched for a caring hand or an encouraging word, troubled and uncertain as the ground under you shifts like sand…

God comes near.

When you feel emboldened to act, inspired to speak, energized to live as bearers of the good news that the Kingdom of God is here…

God comes near.

In all seasons of our lives, God comes near to us and does not forsake us.

We gather to come near to God whose ever-present love remains near no matter where our journey takes us. Amen.

Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, September 2023.

Prayer for the Day

Oración de Cuaresma
(Prayer for Desert Times)

Señor y Pastor de nuestras jornadas en el desierto, venimos a ti durante esta Estación de Cuaresma como siervos de Jesucristo. Recordamos la manera en que liberaste a Moises y a los Israelitas durante su jornada en el desierto, y también al profeta Elías, en su jornada escapando la sentencia de un rey corrupto.

Ahora, en esta jornada de Cuaresma, rogamos tu dirección, tu paciencia, y tu sostén espíritual. Como enviaste a tus ángeles para cuidar a tu pueblo Israelita, a Elías en su desierto, y a Jesús en sus cuarenta días de tentación, así envíales a nosotros en nuestras jornadas terrenales. Rogamos esto en el nombre de tu obediente hijo, Cristo Jesús. Amén.

Lord and Shepherd of our journeys in the desert, we come to you during this Lenten season as servants of Jesus Christ. We remember how you liberated Moses and the Israelites; we remember also how you liberated the prophet Elijah in his journey to escape from a corrupt king.

Now, in our Lenten journey, we implore your direction, your patience, and your spiritual support. As you sent your angels to care for the Israelites, to the prophet Elijah in his journey, and to Jesus during his forty days in the desert, send them also to us in our earthly journeys. We ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Written by Joel N. Martínez, in Fiesta Jubilosa, ed. Raquel Mora Martínez (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2022), 119.

Prayer of Confession

Jesus says:
“The time is ready, the kingdom of God is at hand,
repent and believe the Gospel.”
O come, let us return unto our God,
Who will have mercy and abundantly pardon.

Let us pray.

Most holy God,
we admit to you and each other
that we are so dazzled by the false gods of this age,
that we find it hard to recognise who we are,
where we came from, or where we are going.

We easily become caught up in selfishness,
seduced by cynicism,
waylaid by glittering consumerism,
and led by the nose along the highways and byways
created by powerful, vested interests.

Please open our hearts that we may know ourselves more clearly,
and seek you more diligently.

Most loving God,
arrest the false god’s that have diverted us,
show us the deceits that have blurred our vision,
unmask the poverty of our goals and longings,
expose the cheap values that parade as virtues,
save us from permitting a rift between Christ and us,
and deliver is from cheap guilt and trivial remorse.

Please bring us
to an honest repentance, the forgiveness of sins,
and the renewal of our faith and love.
Through Christ Jesus our Saviour, Amen!

Words of Assurance

Fellow travellers on the road to Easter,
always remember that there is much more forgiveness in God
than we could ever exhaust.
Receive from God, through the grace of Christ,
the blessing of sins forgiven and a right relationship restored.

Adapted from a prayer of confession by Bruce Prewer, and posted on Bruce Prewer’s Homepage, http://www.bruceprewer.com/. Re-posted on the re:Worship blog at https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2012/02/prayer-of-confession-for-lent-1-b.html.

Benediction

Beloved, God comes near and proclaims the good news all around us. Go, now, in the blessed company of the Triune God to discover the inbreaking of the good news wherever you may go! Amen.

Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, September 2023.