ASH WEDNESDAY WORSHIP

Grace Lutheran Church • Tucson, Arizona

February 22, 2023

Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent. Ashes were used by God’s people to show repentance. The day derives its name from the practice of repentant people receiving ashes on their forehead. This practice goes back to at least the 8th century A.D.

Responsive Sentences

Minister: In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit.

Congregation: Amen.

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.

If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

Confession Of Sin

We confess together:

1 John 1:5-8

Father, I have sinned against you and am no longer worthy to be called your child. Yet in mercy you sacrificed your only Son to purge away my guilt. For his sake, O God, be merciful to me, a sinner, and in the joy of your Holy Spirit let me serve you all my days.

Declaration Of Forgiveness

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. Upon this, your confession, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. 1 John 1:9 Thanks be to God. Amen.

Prayer

Lord God, you are compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in love. Fill us with the peace of your forgiveness so that our hearts may be set to obey your commandments; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

12 Yes, our rebellious deeds are many before you, and our sins testify against us. Our rebellious deeds are with us, and as for our guilty deeds, we are aware of them.

13 Those deeds are rebellion and treachery against the L . We turn back from following our God. We incite oppression and apostasy. We conceive and mutter deceitful words from our hearts.

14 Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands far away, for truth stumbles in the city square, and honesty cannot enter it.

15 The truth is missing, and anyone who turns from evil makes himself prey. The L looked and saw something evil there was no justice.

16 He saw that there was no one. He was appalled that there was no one who could intervene. So his own arm worked salvation for him, and his own righteousness supported him.

17 He clothed himself with righteousness like armor and wore a helmet of salvation on his head. He dressed in garments for vengeance, and he wrapped himself with zeal like a cloak.

18 He will repay in full what they have earned, namely, wrath to his foes and full payment to his enemies. He will repay even the distant coastlands.

From the west they will fear the L ’ s name, and from the rising of the sun they will fear his glory, for he will come like a raging river, driven by the Spirit of the L . 20 Then a redeemer will come for Zion and for those in Jacob who turn from rebellion. This is the declaration of the L

8 For even if I caused you sorrow with my letter, I do not regret it (even though I did regret it, for I see that my letter caused you sorrow yet only for a little while). 9 Now I rejoice, not because you were made to feel sorrow, but because this sorrow resulted in repentance. Yes, you were made sorry in a godly way. So you were not harmed in any way by us. 10 In fact, godly sorrow produces repentance, which leads to salvation, leaving no regret. On the other hand, worldly sorrow produces death.

11 Yes, look what godly sorrow produced in you: what diligence, what eagerness to clear yourself, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what zeal, what correction! In every way you proved yourselves to be pure in this matter. 12 So although I wrote to you, it was not because of the one who did what was wrong, or because of the one who was harmed by it. I wrote instead so that your genuine concern for us would be revealed to you in the sight of God. 13 For that reason we have been comforted.

PSALM 30 (The choir will sing the psalm in the 7:00PM service)

I will exalt you, Lord, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me.

Lord my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me.

You, Lord, brought me up from the realm of the dead; you spared me from going down to the pit.

Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people; praise his holy name.

For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Psalm Prayer

When I was in the pit of despair, Lord, you lifted me out. Though your anger blazed down on me because of my sin, you sent your Son to take the brunt of your anger so that I might be spared. Now I rejoice in the splendor of your grace and proclaim your saving deeds to those who will yet praise you as their only Savior. Amen.

1 Now a certain man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 This Mary, whose brother Lazarus was sick, was the same Mary who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair.

3 So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, saying, “Lord, the one you love is sick!”

4 When Jesus heard it, he said, “This sickness is not going to result in death, but it is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

5 Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed in the place where he was two more days.

7 Then afterwards he said to his disciples, “Let’s go back to Judea.”

8 The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, recently the Jews were trying to stone you. And you are going back there again?”

9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? If anyone walks around during the day, he does not stumble because he sees this world’s light. 10 But if anyone walks around at night, he stumbles because there is no light on him.”

11 He said this and then told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to wake him up.”

12 Then the disciples said, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will get well.”

13 Jesus had been speaking about his death, but they thought he was merely talking about ordinary sleep. 14 So Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. 15 And I am glad for your sake that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

16 Then Thomas (called the Twin) said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s go too, so that we may die with him.”

17 When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.

18 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away. 19 Many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them concerning their brother.

20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him, while Mary was sitting in the house.

21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.”

23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

24 Martha replied, “I know that he will rise in the resurrection on the Last Day.”

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me will live, even if he dies. 26 And whoever lives and believes in me will never perish. Do you believe this?”

27 “Yes, Lord,” she told him. “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”

28 After she said this, Martha went back to call her sister Mary. She whispered, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.”

29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet gone into the village, but was still where Martha met him. 31 The Jews who were with Mary in the house consoling her saw that she got up quickly and left. So they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to weep there. 32 When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and troubled.

34 He asked, “Where have you laid him?” They told him, “Lord, come and see.”

35 Jesus wept.

36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

38 Jesus was deeply moved again as he came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said.

Martha, the dead man’s sister, told him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, because it has been four days.”

40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”

41 So they took away the stone.

Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 After he said this, he shouted with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”

44 The man who had died came out with his feet and his hands bound with strips of linen and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus told them, “Loose him and let him go.”

45 Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary and saw what Jesus did believed in him.

46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. They asked, “What are we going to do, because this man is doing many miraculous signs? 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him. Then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”

49 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. 50 You do not even consider that it is better for us that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.” 51 He did not say this on his own, but, as high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, 52 and not only for that nation, but also in order to gather into one the scattered children of God.

53 So from that day on they plotted to kill him.

Please stand

CONFESSION OF FAITH Luther's Explanation to the Second Article of the Apostles' Creed

I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord.

He has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil, not with gold or silver but with his holy, precious blood, and with his innocent suffering and death.

All this he did that I should be his own, and live under him in his kingdom, and serve him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as he has risen from death and lives and rules eternally. This is most certainly true.

Please be seated

CHOIR ANTHEM (7:00 PM) Lamb of God

Lamb of God, Lamb of God, you take away the world’s sin, Lamb of God, Lamb of God, have mercy upon us.

As high as the heav’ns are over the earth, so great is your love for us. As far as the east is from the west, so far have you removed our sin.

Lamb of God, Lamb of God, you take away the world’s sin, Lamb of God, Lamb of God, have mercy upon us.

A Father's heart you turn to us; you hear us when we call. Now, Lord, in compassion, lend your ear; you know our needs, O hear our prayer.

Lamb of God, Lamb of God, you take away the world's sin, Lamb of God, Lamb of God, give to us your peace.

THE LORD'S SUPPER

Today we celebrate the Lord's Supper. Jesus urges all who receive it to do so in a worthy manner in order to receive the blessings he promises. He also gives warning that no one receive it to their judgment. If you are a guest at Grace today and not a member of another Wisconsin Synod congregation, we would ask that you speak with one of the pastors about a time to discuss what exactly God says about Holy Communion before you come to the Lord's table. We look forward to that opportunity!

Words Of Institution

Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night he was betrayed, took bread; and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my (+) body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

Then he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; this is my (+) blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for you for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

The peace of the Lord be with you always. Amen.

Distribution

Please stand

Communion Prayer

O God the Father, source of all goodness, in your loving kindness you sent your Son to share our humanity. We thank you that through him you have given us pardon and peace in this sacrament. We also pray that you will not forsake us but will rule our hearts and minds by your Holy Spirit so that we willingly serve you day after day, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.

Prayer Of The Day

Almighty and merciful God, you never despise what you have made and always forgive those who turn to you. Create in us such new and contrite hearts that we may truly repent of our sins and obtain your full and gracious pardon; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen.