LITURGY OF THE WORD FOR THE FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT

 February 21, 2021

Pre-service Music

Welcome and Announcements

Opening Hymn          Lord, who throughout these forty days              HYMNAL 1982 #142

A PENITENTIAL ORDER            

Officiant       Blessed the Lord who forgives all our sins.

People His mercy endures for ever.

The Officiant says

Hear the commandments of God to his people: I am the Lord your God who brought you out of bondage. You shall have no other gods but me. Amen. Lord have mercy.

You shall not make for yourself any idol. Amen. Lord have mercy.

You shall not invoke with malice the Name of the Lord your God. Amen. Lord have mercy.

Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Amen. Lord have mercy.

Honor your father and your mother. Amen. Lord have mercy.

You shall not commit murder. Amen. Lord have mercy.

You shall not commit adultery. Amen. Lord have mercy.

You shall not steal. Amen. Lord have mercy.

You shall not be a false witness. Amen. Lord have mercy.

You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor. Amen. Lord have mercy.

The Officiant says:

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.   (1 John 1:8, 9)

The Deacon or Officiant then says

Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.

Minister and People

Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, 
by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.

The Bishop when present, or the Priest, stands and says

Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins 
through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all 
goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you 
in eternal life. Amen.

Kyrie LEVAS II #236

Lord, have mercy, Lord, have mercy, Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ, have mercy, Christ, have mercy, Christ, have mercy on us.

Lord, have mercy, Lord, have mercy, Lord, have mercy on us.

Collect of the Day

The officiant says to the people

The Lord be with you.

People And also with you.

Officiant       Let us pray.

Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan: Come quickly to help us who are assaulted by many temptations; and, as you know the weaknesses of each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.


First Reading             Genesis 9:8-17
Reader            A reading from Genesis

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.”

Reader            The Word of the Lord

People Thanks be to God

Psalm  25:1-9

1 To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul;
my God, I put my trust in you; *
let me not be humiliated,
nor let my enemies triumph over me.

2 Let none who look to you be put to shame; *
let the treacherous be disappointed in their schemes.

3 Show me your ways, O Lord, *
and teach me your paths.

4 Lead me in your truth and teach me, *
for you are the God of my salvation;
in you have I trusted all the day long.

5 Remember, O Lord, your compassion and love, *
for they are from everlasting.

6 Remember not the sins of my youth and my transgressions; *
remember me according to your love
and for the sake of your goodness, O Lord.

7 Gracious and upright is the Lord; *
therefore he teaches sinners in his way.

8 He guides the humble in doing right *
and teaches his way to the lowly.

9 All the paths of the Lord are love and faithfulness *
to those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.

Second Reading         1 Peter 3:18-22                      

Reader            A reading from 1 Peter

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.

Reader            The Word of the Lord

People Thanks be to God

Sequence Hymn   I want Jesus to walk with me       LEVAS II #70

Gospel    Mark 1:9-15                       

The deacon says

            The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark. 

People Glory to you, Lord Christ. 

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.”

After the Gospel the deacon says

The Gospel of the Lord

People Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon                                    The Rev. Dr. Harmon L. Smith

Music Meditation       The Glory of These Forty Days, tune: Erhalt uns

The Nicene Creed   

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty,

maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God,

eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light,

true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father.

Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation

he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit

he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;

he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again

in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven

and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,

and his kingdom will have no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit,

the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son.

With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.

He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one holy catholic

and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Prayers of the People

I ask your prayers for God’s people throughout the world;

for our Bishops Sam and Anne; for this gathering; and for all

ministers and people. Pray for the Church.

Silence

I ask your prayers for peace; for goodwill among nations;

and for the well-being of all people. Pray for justice and peace.

Silence

I ask your prayers for the poor, the sick, the hungry, the oppressed, and those in prison.

Pray for those in any need or trouble.

Silence

I ask your prayers for all who seek God, or a deeper

knowledge of him. Pray that they may find and be found by him.

Silence

I ask your prayers for the departed. Pray for those who have died.

Silence

(Additional petitions and thanksgivings may be included here.)

Silence

Praise God for those in every generation in whom Christ has been honored. Pray that we may have grace to glorify Christ in our own day.

In the communion of blessed Titus and of all the saints, let us commend ourselves, and one another, and all our life, to Christ our God.

To thee, O Lord our God.

The officiant adds a concluding collect.

Lord’s Prayer the officiant says,

As our Savior Christ has taught us we now pray

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, for ever and ever. Amen.

Seasonal Collect

The officiant says

Grant, Almighty God, that your people may recognize their weakness and put their whole trust in your strength, so that they may rejoice for ever in the protection of your loving providence; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Peace

Officiant        The peace of the Lord be always with you.

People And also with you.

Closing Hymn:       Guide me, O thou great Jehovah            Hymnal 1982 #690

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