Psalms for Lent 2013 (3) - Psalm 130 - Hope in the Lord.

Psalm 130

Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord;

² Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy.

The psalmist feels utter depression and disappointment in himself, because his sins caused him not only to fail God, but to fail himself as well.  His wrong and sinful decisions brought him into deep trouble.

³ If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand?

⁴ But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you.

If God was in the business of keeping record of our sins and weaknesses – or our foolishness, nobody could remain in his presence and community.  But we can grow in reverence for the Lord as we daily experience his forgiveness.  Repentance becomes the foundation of our relationship with the Lord, our spiritual growth and our learning of how to walk with the Lord

⁵ I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope.

⁶ I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, 

more than watchmen wait for the morning.

We are impatient to get out of trouble, the trouble caused by our unrighteous choices and lifestyles. Once we repented we expect everything to be repaired and restored immediately.  But it doesn’t work that way.  As a soldier on night duty waits for the morning to come, getting tired of waiting for the sun to rise, so we wait upon the Lord’s restoration.  God journeys with us and “takes his time” to lead us in the reformation and restoration to a life that is God honouring and enabled to serve him with reverence again. When we consider the Word of God the final rule of faith and life, it keeps our hope to be restored, alive.

⁷ Israel, put your hope in the Lord,

for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.

⁸ He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.

Yet, even if it feels like a lifetime – like a never ending story – to repair whatever have brought our lives into a bad state, God is in the business of reparation, of forgiveness and redemption.

Jesus Christ redeemed us once and for all.

Let’s put our hope in the Lord!

Let’s wait upon his mercies and his grace, in Christ Jesus.

As soldiers guarding a fortress,

wait for the sun to rise,

for countless, endless hours,

through nights with darkest skies.

So I wait on the Lord God,

I’m waiting long, its hard!

But God in grace and mercy,

will not my plea discard. 

Have hope, have faith, God’s people,

and trust in God who saves.

With sunrise comes his mercy!

God rescues from the grave.

His love, his grace, his pity

bring light, create the day.

Absolve my sins, forgive me,

LORD, while I wait, and pray.

Lent 2013: In Gethsemane Jesus submitted to the authority of the Bible.

To understand the message of the suffering of Jesus in the "Garden of Gethsemane," we must see the place of "gardens" in the history of redemption and salvation.

The Bible story of our relationship with God begins with the "Garden of Eden." In this garden, fellowship between God and man was established. In this garden, God was man's friend.

But then came man’s fall into sin. The God/man relationship was ruined. That's why man had to be evicted from the garden. The alienation between God and us had begun.

On the other hand, the Bible story ends with telling us about the garden at the end of time, the garden called “Paradise”. The Book of Revelation tells us that unlike Eden, nothing impure will ever enter this garden, nor anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful. And there will be no more judgment, no more evil temptation and those who share God’s presence forever, will never fall into sin again.  

Between these two gardens lies the "Garden of Gethsemane."  In order to bring God’s people back into fellowship with him, the Lord Jesus had to experience the suffering, temptation and sacrifice of his blood-sweat in Gethsemane. Jesus suffered the hostility between God and man that Eden caused.

In a way, Gethsemane was the second Eden.  Jesus went through the rejection of the Father that the sin in the first Eden caused.

Yet Gethsemane was also the overturning of the outcome of Eden. In the first Eden, Adam was tempted and fell. In the second Eden, Jesus Christ was tempted and remained obedient.

We can say that in this era we still live in the Garden of Gethsemane. Until Jesus returns, we are to keep watch with him and experience the overturning of the Eden events.  Thus we are prepared for the Garden of Paradise in heaven. 

The question remains.  As we linger in this holy place of reconciliation, obedience and sacrifice with Jesus, taking up our cross to follow Christ, are we doing better than the friends of Jesus did 2000 years ago?

Are we as clueless as Peter who draws his sword, picking a fight and more importantly, missing the whole point of the arrest of the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. 

Are we like Judas, ruthless betrayers and malicious enemies, even as we share in this holy space?

Are we like the rest of the disciples - shameless cowards!

As part of his reprimand to Peter, Jesus said: 

 "... how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?" (Mt 26:54). And, "... this has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled" (Mt 26:56).

Jesus was going to do the Father's will.

Jesus did what the Bible told him to do.

Jesus submitted to the authority of the Holy Scriptures!

Nothing on earth or heaven would stop Jesus to accomplish our redemption as revealed through God’s Word in the Scriptures.

This is how we live in Gethsemane - and pass on to Paradise.

To believe what the Bible says.

To do what the Bible says!

To make sure we are not clueless about what the Bible says.

To submit to the authority of Scripture.

And as such, follow our Saviour from Gethsemane, through Calvary and resurrection, to glorious Paradise!

Psalms for Lent 2013 (2)

Psalm 6.

A Psalm for the penitent

Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath.

² Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint;

heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony.

³ My soul is in deep anguish. How long, Lord, how long?

⁴ Turn, Lord, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love.

⁵ Among the dead no one proclaims your name. Who praises you from the grave?

⁶ I am worn out from my groaning. All night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears.

⁷ My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes.

⁸ Away from me, all you who do evil, for the Lord has heard my weeping.

⁹ The Lord has heard my cry for mercy;  the Lord accepts my prayer.

¹⁰ All my enemies will be overwhelmed with shame and anguish; they will turn back and suddenly be put to shame.

Remorse caused the psalmist to become weak in every aspect of his existence.

He complains of physical agony (verse 2)

He asks the question of the saddened and depressed:  How long, Lord, how long... (Verse 3)

He contemplates death and realizes that a corpse is no longer able to bring glory to God. (verse 5)

He is emotionally worn out by depression and sorrowful as a result of self blame and feelings of guilt and shame. (verse 7)

Yet, in spite of his anguish – physically, emotionally and spiritually, he has faith!

He still addresses God with the confidence of someone who expects to be heard.

He believes in God’s mercy. (verse 1 &2)

He believes in God’s power to heal him. (verse 4)

He believes that God is a deliverer. (verse 8 – 10)

He believes in a God who dries our tears, gives us new beginnings, accepts our prayers and conquers our enemies.

Our Lord Jesus Christ experienced the torment described in Psalm 6.

Not because he ever sinned, but because he became a penitent in our place and for the sake of our forgiveness and redemption.

He indeed came to dry our tears and to begin a new relationship with us.

In Jesus, God listens to our prayers and grants us forgiveness.

He prepares a Celebration before us in the face of our enemies!

Our cup will be emptied of God’s wrath and filled with God’s grace and mercy, and our weakness will leave us. We will remain in the house of the Lord, forever!

In Christ we are more than conquerors.

Psalms for Lent 2013 (1)

We observe the Season of Lent in order to prepare our hearts and minds for the Easter celebration of the victory of the risen Lord.   An important part of this preparation is to, through a closer walk with God, renew our relationship with the Lord, for only then will be able to experience the life changing experience which is Easter  and will we be able to proclaim with the world wide church:  The Lord is risen! The Lord is risen indeed.   To encourage our meditation on what it means to have a closer walk with the Lord, we will during this time share in the thoughts of the Psalms, for they are the faith expressions of believers who relied on God’s presence in every kind of circumstance.

Psalms for Lent 2013 (1)

Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16:  You who live in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,   will say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust."

For the people living in the Middle East the idea of a rocky shelter, like a shallow cave or overhang on the mountainside to protect one from the hot sun or from malicious enemies, would have been well known. But unlike a rock shelter that can eventually be overrun if attacked with enough force, the Psalmist declares that God cannot be overtaken by anything we may encounter. The idea of God providing refuge, and of God being our refuge, is a great comfort when his people feel overwhelmed by the challenges of life.

The psalmist shares with us how the life of faith works. Regarding the LORD as your personal refuge is a decision to place your life in the hands of God, because God’s protection cannot be overcome by the stresses and tensions of life.

God’s protection is discovered in relationship. God’s commitment to those who are in relationship with him is certain and he will provide answers when nobody else can. God will be with us when we are in trouble. He may not always make the problem to go away. But he will deliver us as we faithfully put our trust in him.  The refuge that is found in God alone will sustain people even when body, emotions and relationships take strain.  When God is our refuge nothing will harm our relationship with the Lord that provides the support, inner strength and unfailing faith to endure the trials of life.

God’s presence during a challenging hour is a refuge.  God is our rock shelter of hope in the darkest day.  During the Lenten Season we focus on seeking a closer walk with the Lord.  Cynics may ask us – Why and what’s the point of this effort?

The answer to the cynic’s questioning of our disciplined seeking of the face of the Lord, is that those who choose God as their refuge will hear the firm promise of Psalm 91: 15 – 16.

When they call to me, I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble, I will rescue them and honour them.   With long life I will satisfy them, and show them my salvation.

May the Lord be your refuge and your strength! May the Lord be with you in Christ Jesus, through the loving fellowship of the Holy Spirit.

Lent 2013: Gethsemane

Gethsemane

Matt. 26: 38 Then Jesus said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

The original meanings of what is translated as “sorrow to the point of death” are fear, terror, horror, sorrow, grief, distress, anguish, troubled and disturbed.

We know many fears, troubles and distress: Financial, social scandal, terminal illness, violence and crime, war and terrorism, abuse or to be the object of aggression.

But the Bible knows a feeling of horror, anguish and fear that is more distressing than any of these: It is the anguish of being a lost sinner, a lifelong enemy of God, standing before the throne of judgment, realising the consequences of not accepting the Lords invitation to receive his grace, mercy and redemption.

This is the sorrow, the fear and the distress that Jesus experienced in the garden of Gethsemane on our place. He knew that soon the judgment of God for all the sins of the world would be upon Him! – Not because he ever sinned, or disobeyed or transgressed – but because God loves us.

a) In the blood-sweat in Gethsemane – we discover who we really are. Who we are without the grace of God, without the redeeming work of Jesus, without the cross and the salvation and the forgiveness of God.

b) In this narrative about Gethsemane we also discover the depth of the love and the mercy of Christ for sinners, for me and for you. We discover, yes we see, how much he really loves us and what it took for him to be our Saviour and to be our salvation.

It is not without reason that the Bible records that he asked his closest friends – Peter, James and John – to keep watch with him while he prayed. His inner circle of friends has a responsibility in this world, towards the Lord who loves them so much!

On earth we remain the struggling church, caught in a struggle of life and death against the enemies of God, the persecutors of Christ, the hatred of the truth, the trap of false religion, the danger of pride and resistance of Christ’s love and salvation.

We are the friends of Jesus, called to keep watch with him and pray as he continues to minister to a lost world.

As we in Gethsemane see the love of Christ for us, can we rest and can we sleep until everyone heard the good news of salvation and came to the safety found within his flock? 

Today is Ash Wednesday 2013!

Today is Ash Wednesday! 

Everyone recognises the importance of a day of humble repentance, because repentance is the beginning of the journey of forgiveness, growth and eventually victory in Christ! 

Everyone knows that the only response possible to God’s divine love for us is to love the Lord too. And if we in any way shunned God’s love with our choices, our priorities and unfaithfulness, repentance is the beginning of the journey back to the joy in the Lord.

Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, the 40 days before Easter Sunday in which the passion and suffering of Jesus are central to our teaching, worship and prayers.  Remembering the sacrifice of Jesus culminates on Good Friday.

The “ash” of Ash Wednesday reminds us that the wages of sin, is death!  We also remember that in Biblical times people put ashes on their heads as a sign of sorrow and mourning. We do not grieve because Jesus died, but praise God that he, in his love and compassion for us, gave his only begotten Son to make us his own. But we do grieve because our sins caused his torment.

Psalm 51:13 - 17   I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you.

¹⁴Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Saviour, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.

¹⁵Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise. ¹⁶You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

 ¹⁷ My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.

Repentance leads us to a prayer to be delivered from guilt. It brings us to a prayer that comes from a broken heart about our faithlessness and to an assurance that God will not despise a miserable spirit that is the result of our transgressions and unrighteousness.

We need to return to the Lord and we can only do that through repentance.

If we don't talk about repentance, we miss the point of the cross of Jesus. If we don't talk about repentance, we forget the main reason why Jesus came. If we don't talk about repentance, we may miss the point that God in divine love accepts us. If we don't talk about repentance, we may think what is wrong with us requires only a hug and a pat on the back, instead of a bloody cross.

And more importantly, to repent means that we recognize the wonder of God's love. The more we see the depths of our sin, the more we see the heights of God's love.  And when we see the miracle of being so much loved by the Lord that he gave his life that we may live, it will stir in our hearts a life changing love that will help us to make this radical decision: not to live without God, but to repent and experience the joy of salvation.

Ash Wednesday and the Season of Lent are the blessed times of humble repentance and therefore of healing and receiving help and remedy for our natural spiritual status called: sinner!

May the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit bless us on this Ash Wednesday and bring the joy of deliverance and forgiveness to our hearts and lives.

Preaching on Ash Wednesday, 13 February 2013

Preaching on Ash Wednesday, 13 February 2013!

or alternatively on the first Sunday of Lent on 17 February 2013.

1)  Isaiah 58: 1 – 12:

When you cry for help, the Lord will say: Here am I!

When Israel returned to Jerusalem (after their exile) they seem to have believed that they were doing all the right things. Yet they did not see the blessings promised in the law of God for those who keep the periodic fast days and prayer times prescribed in the Torah.

Isaiah 58: 2 – 4: Day after day they seek me (God) out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. ³ ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, and you (God) have not seen it?   Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’   “Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit your workers. ⁴ Your fasting ends in quarrelling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists.  You cannot fast as you do and expect your voice to be heard on high.

They are confused. They thought that keeping days of commemoration and fasting is enough to please God. It must have been a shock to hear the prophet's strong reprimand of what they considered to be acts of faith. How could God not be pleased with them?

The prophet cuts short their claims to godliness by calling for new values and day to day living to accompany their prayers and sacrifices:  to loosen the bonds of injustice, to share what we have with those who have not, to live in peace with family and neighbours and to help the afflicted. These are not periodic actions like the official days of fasting and sacrifice. This is consistent godly living that will reform their relationship with other people and with God.

The fasting acceptable to God is a daily fast from violence, intimidation and abuse, from filthy language and from selfishness and from ungratefulness for God’s blessings.

People that daily walk with God and seek to do his will, shall see God’s response to their fasting and prayer. They will have the blessings of guidance, healing, help, protection, provision of their needs and the presence and guidance of God among them.

God’s people cannot expect to be blessed if their prayers and their fasts, their worship and their sacrifices are disconnected from the way they live the rest of everyday lives. God wants much more than observing the ceremony and customs of worship. No, the Lord invites us to be his partners in achieving justice, holiness and compassion for all people. God never stops calling us into his own ministry to the people who need him so much. 

And when we live in this partnering relationship with God that results in a restored nation and communities, we have an amazing promise from our Lord:

Isaiah 58: 9: “Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and the Lord will say: Here am I.

2)  Psalm 51.  We cannot repair the consequences of being sinners ourselves.

Psalm 51:1-2 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.

Psalm 51 is about the consequences of and remedy for our sinfulness, rather than merely the individual sins that lies heavily on our conscience as well.

Psalm 51 describes the totality and the radical nature of our sinfulness.

Verse 3: For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.

Sin leaves the sinner liable to judgment and punishment.

Verse 4: Against you (God), 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.

Everyone knows that this is true. But what makes the Psalm's inventory of the consequences of sin noteworthy is what comes after these initial general comments.

The Psalmist understands that our sinfulness is much more than a matter of crime and punishment. Instead, he teaches us about the deep-seated and universal nature of our sinfulness that saturates every aspect of human life.

Verse 5: Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me!

He states it clearly that the effects and consequences of our sinfulness are unavoidable through mere human action and initiative.

He therefore goes on to spell out these consequences in intimidating detail.

Verse 8: Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.

Sin, he says, deafens the sinner to the experience of joy and causes physical agony.

Verse 11: Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your Holy Spirit from me.

Our sinfulness creates the feelings of being cast out from God's presence, of being rejected and abandoned – even by the Holy Spirit.

Verse 12. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.

Our sinfulness obstructs the enjoyment of the good news of God's salvation and destroys the willingness to even attempt to follow God's way, thus spreading its own malignant influence across all the boundaries of our lives.

Verses 15 and 16: Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise. ¹⁶You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

The Psalmist comes to the conclusion that our sinfulness even prevents the offering of praise and that it perverts our sacrifices for God.

Verse 17: My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.

We cannot sacrifice our way out of the consequences of sin, because only a heart that has turned to God in repentance and prayer is an acceptable offering. Only God can deal with our sins.

The deadly consequences of being sinners prevent us from repairing our own lives. Any idea that we can do something by ourselves to patch up the results of our evil nature is foolishness. Psalm 51 reminds me that the purpose of repentance is to beg for God’s gracious help to restore our lives and the lives of those we impacted with our evil choices.  Only God can do anything about our sin and our weak and evil human nature.

We need Jesus Christ, our only hope and our only redemption.

Ash Wednesday and the Season of Lent are blessed times of humble repentance and therefore of healing and receiving help and remedy for our natural spiritual status called: sinner!

c)  Matthew 6:1-21

Hypocrisy destroys my walk with the Lord, but humility before God creates true fellowship with God and results in the inheritance of the treasures of heaven!

Hypocrisy is defined as the motivation to help others and reach out to the needy in society in order to be seen by others.

Verses 1, 3 and 4:  Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them.  If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.  When you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Similarly prayers designed to impress people instead of seeking the presence and fellowship of God expose me as a hypocrite. 

Verse 5:  And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others.

The word hypocrite comes from the Greek word for an actor.  Actors play the character of someone else. Hypocrites do not portray themselves, but a pious character they made up in their minds, with the purpose to gain honour and respect from others.

If you go around talking about your fasting, arrogantly bragging about what you have given up for Lent, you may score brownie points with some (shallow) people, but it will have no impact on your relationship with the Lord!

Verse 17 and 18:  When you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face,  so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

There is a reward for giving to the needy, for faithful prayer and fasting.  It is a renewed and blessed relationship with our Father in heaven.

It is spiritual growth, changed hearts, characters and lives and fruitful living for God - even the inheritance of the treasures of heaven itself.

Hypocrisy kills true and faithful worship and a honest relationship with God.

Yet, if we treasure our relationship with the Lord and build up this relationship by disciplined living, praying, giving and fasting, our lives will be transformed.

For where our treasures are, there will our hearts also be.

Hypocrisy boils down to materialism.  To even try to manipulate others through donations, public worship and communal fasting for the sake of earthly prosperity, honour and admiration of others, is hypocrisy.  But it eradicates any possible spiritual blessing we may ever receive from the Lord.

Hypocrisy kills our relationship with God and robs us from the peace, keeping and guidance of the Lord in our lives. 

Ash Wednesday and the Season of Lent can be such blessed times if our repentance is real, our adding to our lives by giving, prayer and fasting is for the sake of God’s glory, his work, his kingdom and the increased intimacy of our walk with the Lord.   

Liturgical Prayers for Ash Wednesday.

Liturgical Prayers for Ash Wednesday.

(Or if Ash Wednesday is not observed, for the first Sunday during the Lenten Season).

Call to worship:

Grace, mercy and peace be with you, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord, through the gracious work of the Holy Spirit.  

From Psalm 24: 

Who may ascend the mountain of the LORD?  Who may stand in his holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god.  They will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from God their Saviour.

Come, let’s worship the God of love and mercy –

Opening Hymn!

Prayer of Worship and Adoration:

We worship you, Almighty God, there is none like you.  We give you praise, for you are our righteousness. We worship you, almighty God, there is none but you!

And now we give you thanks, Father God, because through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour you have given us the spirit of discipline that we may triumph over evil and grow in grace.

You have established for your people a season of grace to renew and purify our hearts and minds;

so that freed from harmful desires we may so live in this passing world, as to set our hearts on the things that are eternal.

So grant, we pray Father God, that the risen Lord Jesus may bring us to true life by the work of the Holy Spirit and make us one body, with him as our only Head.

So may we live in the world to the praise of your glory and at last be raised up from the dust, from the ashes, to celebrate with all your saints in light, the wedding feast of the Lamb with his Bride.

Lord Jesus, tonight we declare our love for you anew. We worship you and stand in awe before you. Glorify your Name, dear Lord, here tonight, and all over the world that every knee will bow before your majesty and grace.  

To you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit we bring our thanks and declare our allegiance – now – and forevermore! 

Through Jesus Christ our Lord, we pray.

Amen.

Two or more hymns and songs of praise and worship are sung.

Prayer for enlightenment

Guide us, O God, by your Word and Spirit, that in your light we may see light, in your truth find freedom, in your will discover our peace and by your grace receive eternal life;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Readings and Sermon.

Joel 2: 1-2, 12-17 or Isaiah 58: 1-12; Psalm 51; 2 Corinthians 5: 20b - 6 :10; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18.

After the sermon: A Litany  (with responses)  for the confession of sins:

Minister   (M):  God spoke these words and said:

I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt,

out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods but me.

Congregation    (C):   Lord, have mercy upon us,

and incline our hearts to keep this law.

M: You shall not make for yourself any idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

You shall not bow down to them or worship them.

C:  Lord, have mercy upon us,

and incline our hearts to keep this law.

M:  You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

C:  Lord, have mercy upon us,

and incline our hearts to keep this law.

M:  Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy. For six days you shall labour and do all your work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.

C:  Lord, have mercy upon us,

and incline our hearts to keep this law.

M:  Honour your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

C:  Lord, have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this law.

M: You shall not murder.

C:  Lord, have mercy upon us,

and incline our hearts to keep this law.

M: You shall not commit adultery.

C:  Lord, have mercy upon us,

and incline our hearts to keep this law.

M: You shall not steal.  

C:  Lord, have mercy upon us,

and incline our hearts to keep this law.

M: You shall not give false testimony against your neighbour. .

C:  Lord, have mercy upon us,

and incline our hearts to keep this law.

M: You shall not covet your neighbour’s house. You shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour.”

C:  Lord, have mercy upon us,

and incline our hearts to keep this law.

M: Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near:

C: Lord have mercy upon us and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us!

OR:

Use this alternative litany for the confession of sins:

Minister   (M):  God spoke these words and said:

I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt,

out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods but me, you shall not make for yourself any idol, you shall not take the Lord’s Name in vain and remember to keep the Lord’s day holy!.

Congregation    (C):   Lord, have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this law.

M:  Honour your father and your mother. You shall not murder, commit adultery, steal, tell lies or covet what belongs to your neighbour!

C:  Lord, have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this law.

M. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength and all your mind.  You shall love your neighbour as yourself.

C:  Lord, have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this law.

M. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.

C. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

M. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.

C. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

M. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.

C. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

M. Lord have mercy on us.

C. Father, have mercy on us.

M. Lord have mercy on us.

C. Jesus, have mercy on us.

M. Lord have mercy on us

C Holy God, have mercy on us.  Amen.

Congregation remorsefully sings a hymn of repentance. 

Minister:  Now in silence we repent because we have sinned against God - and commit ourselves to spiritual growth during the Season of Lent that awaits us!  

Soft music is played for a couple of minutes.

Absolution:

Minister:  

To all those who truly acknowledge that they are sinners, humble themselves before God, and look to Jesus Christ for their salvation, I declare the forgiveness of their sins,

in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Congregation:

Glory to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit!

Amen.

As those who receive forgiveness are called to faith, let us, with the Church of all ages and with the one holy, universal and apostolic church, profess of our Christian faith together:

Congregation recites the Apostle’s or Nicene Creed.

Prayer of thanksgiving and Intercession:

O God of life and mercy.

We thank you for forgiveness, for grace in Jesus Christ and for a new life by the power of your Holy Spirit.

We thank you for your Word and that through this double edged sword our biggest enemy, our weak human nature and sinful hearts, is slain and you, dear Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Word of God, became the king of our lives and the Lord of our destiny.

Remember us Lord, and listen to our prayers, as bring before you all the needs of our lives......

Remember us Lord, and listen to our prayers as we bring before your throne of mercy our brothers and sisters who are ill, afflicted or suffering from sadness, depression and heartache......

Grant us and all your children a blessed Lenten Season. Make it a time of spiritual growth, commitment to you and your Kingdom and a time to strengthen and increase our love for you, our Redeemer and our Saviour.  

Prepare our hearts by remembering what Jesus did for us when he suffered, died and was buried for our sake to, at a time so soon to come, be truly able to celebrate that for our sake and for the glory of your name, you rose from the dead, ascended to heaven and graciously reign over us as exalted Lord and God of your Church and of all creation.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord

Amen.