Worship for the Second Sunday in Lent

February 28, 2021

Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, we continue to worship physically apart and spiritually together through Zoom and livestreaming on Facebook and YouTube. Prepare for worship with a small bowl of water, bread, and wine.

Gathering

Welcome to Worship

We hear the Lenten Acclamation on the chimes as we prepare for worship.

Confession and Forgiveness

Have some water handy and dip your hand in the water as you make the sign of the cross, recalling that you are joined to Christ in baptism, sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever.

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.

Silence is kept for reflection.

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 – ACS 1075– “O God, We Call”

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.

Prayer of the Day

Let us pray,

Silent prayer.

O God, by the passion of your blessed Son you made an instrument of shameful death to be for us the means of life. Grant us so to glory in the cross of Christ that we may gladly suffer shame and loss for the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Amen

Word

First Reading – Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16

A reading from Genesis.

¹When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless. ²And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you exceedingly numerous.” ³Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, ⁴“As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. ⁵No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations. ⁶I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. ⁷I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.”
  ¹⁵God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. ¹⁶I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall give rise to nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.”

Word of God, word of life.
Thanks be to God.

Psalm 22:23-31

Refrain – Sing twice at the beginning and once at the ℟

All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord.

²³You who fear the Lord, give praise! All you of Jacob’s | line, give glory.
 Stand in awe of the Lord, all you off- | spring of Israel.
²⁴For the Lord does not despise nor abhor the poor in their poverty; neither  is the Lord‘s face hid- | den from them;
 but when they cry out, | the Lord hears them.
²⁵From you comes my praise in the | great assembly;
 I will perform my vows in the sight of those who | fear the Lord.
²⁶The poor shall eat | and be satisfied,
 Let those who seek the Lord give praise! May your hearts | live forever! ℟

²⁷All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn | to the Lord;
 all the families of nations shall bow | before God.
²⁸For dominion belongs | to the Lord,
 who rules o- | ver the nations.
²⁹Indeed, all who sleep in the earth shall bow | down in worship;
 all who go down to the dust, though they be dead, shall kneel be- | fore the Lord.
³⁰Their descendants shall | serve the Lord,
 whom they shall proclaim to genera- | tions to come.
³¹They shall proclaim God’s deliverance to a people | yet unborn,
 saying to them, “The | Lord has acted!” ℟

Second Reading – Romans 4:13-25

A reading from Romans.

¹³For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. ¹⁴If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. ¹⁵For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation.
  ¹⁶For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, ¹⁷as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”)—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. ¹⁸Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become “the father of many nations,” according to what was said, “So numerous shall your descendants be.” ¹⁹He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. ²⁰No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, ²¹being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. ²²Therefore his faith “was reckoned to him as righteousness.” ²³Now the words, “it was reckoned to him,” were written not for his sake alone, ²⁴but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, ²⁵who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.

Word of God, word of life.
Thanks be to God.

Lenten Acclamation

We welcome the Gospel with the Lenten Accalmation

Let your steadfast love come to us, O Lord.
Save us as you promised; we will trust your word.

Gospel – Mark 8:31-38

The holy gospel according to St. Mark.
Glory to you, O Lord.

³¹Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. ³²He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ³³But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
  ³⁴He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. ³⁵For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. ³⁶For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? ³⁷Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? ³⁸Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

The gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.

Homily

Hymn of the Day –ELW 667 – “Take Up Your Cross the Savior Said”

Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
          creator of heaven and earth.

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 into hell.
          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.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
          the holy catholic church,
          the communion of saints,
          the forgiveness of sins,
          the resurrection of the body,
          and the life everlasting. Amen.

Prayers of Intercession

All are invited to unmute your Zoom and join in the prayers. Please respond to each petition with “Your mercy is great.”

Peace

The peace of Christ be with you always.
And also with you.

Meal

Announcements

Offertory –ELW 186 – “Create in Me a Clean Heart”

Offering Prayer

Faithful God,
you walk beside us in desert places,
and you meet us in our hunger with bread from heaven.
Accompany us in this meal,
that we may pass over from death to life
with Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.

Great Thanksgiving

All are encouraged to turn off mute on Zoom so that we all hear the responses.

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.

Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.

It is indeed right, our duty and our joy,
that we should at all times and in all places
give thanks and praise to you, almighty and merciful God,
through our Savior Jesus Christ.
You call your people to cleanse their hearts
and prepare with joy for the paschal feast,
that, renewed in the gift of baptism,
we may come to the fullness of your grace.
And so, with all the choirs of angels,
with the church on earth and the hosts of heaven,
we praise your name and join their unending hymn:

Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

Holy God,
         our living Water and our merciful Guide,
         together with rivers and seas, wells and springs
         we bless and magnify you.
You led your people Israel through the desert,
         and provided them water from the rock.
We praise you for Christ, our Rock and our Water,
         who joined us in our desert,
         pouring out his life for the world.

In the night in which he was betrayed,
         our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks;
         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.
Remembering, therefore,
         his life, death, and resurrection,
         we await your salvation for all this thirsty world,
         as we proclaim the mystery of faith:
Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.

Pour out your Spirit on this holy food
and on all the baptized gathered for this feast:
wash away our sin,
that we may be revived for our journey by the love of Christ.
Through him all glory and honor is yours,
Almighty Father, with the Holy Spirit,
in your holy Church,
both now and forever.
Amen

Lord’s Prayer

Gathered into one by the Holy Spirit, let us pray as Jesus taught us.

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 the Table

These are indeed the gifts of God for you, the very much beloved people of God. Taste and see that God is good.

Communion

All distribute to one another saying:

The body of Christ, given for you.
The blood of Christ, shed for you.

Blessing at the Table

May the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ strengthen you and keep you in eternal life.

Prayer after communion

God of steadfast love,
at this table you gather your people
into one body for the sake of the world.
Send us in the power of your Spirit,
that our lives bear witness to the love that has made us new
in Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen

Sending

Sending of Communion

Gracious God, as we gather as one body this day and feast at your table, our assembly is incomplete for there are many unable to join us today. We long for the day when we are reunited as one body around a common table and we pray that you extend our gathering into homes and campsites, yards and porches, and strengthen all who hear your Word and feast at your table with the abiding presence of your son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Amen

Blessing

The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord’s face shine on you with grace and mercy.
The Lord look upon you with favor and ☩ give you peace.

Amen.

Sending Song – ELW 802
“Let Us Ever Walk with Jesus”

Dismissal

Go in peace. Share the good news.
Thanks be to God.

We hear “When it seems the day will end” on the chimes as we depart, recalling God’s presence in our lives.

Join us on Zoom for Coffee Hour and Storytime.

Liturgy from Evangelical Lutheran Worship and Sundays and Seasons © Augsburg Fortress. Used by permission under Augsburg Fortress Annual Liturgies License SBT002156. Music is used by permission under OneLicense.net # A-715196.