This Week's Bulletins and Announcements
MADISON, SOUTH DAKOTA
Rev. Dirk Hagmaier & Rev. Constanze Hagmaier
Ash Wednesday March 6, 2019
Silence for Meditation
PSALM 51 (Psalms begin on p. 338 of Red Book.)
THE EXHORTATION
Silence for Reflection and Self-Examination
THE CONFESSION
P: Merciful God,
C: we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, and are not worthy to be called your children. Have mercy on us and turn us from our sinful ways. Bring us back to you as those who once were dead but now have life, through our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
P: The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Through the Holy Spirit, God gives life, freedom from the power of sin, and resurrection from the dead. In the name of Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven. Live in newness of life.
C: Amen.
HYMN “Our Father, We Have Wandered” #606
IMPOSITION OF ASHES
All who desire to receive ashes on their forehead please come forward. The pastor will make the sign of the cross on your forehead with ashes. Upon receiving the ashes and hearing the words, “Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return,” you may return to your seat.
P: Accomplish in us, O God, the work of your salvation,
C: That we may show forth your glory in the world.
P: By the cross and Passion of your Son, our Lord,
C: Bring us with all your saints to the joy of his resurrection.
P: Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, does not desire the death of sinners, but rather that they may turn from their wickedness and live. Therefore, we implore him to grant us true repentance and his Holy Spirit, that those things may please him which we do on this day, that the rest of our life may be pure and holy, and that at the last we may come to his eternal joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
C: Amen.
P: The Lord be with you.
C: And also with you.
P: Let us pray. Almighty and ever-living God, you hate nothing you have made and you forgive the sins of all who are penitent. Create in us new and honest hearts, so that truly repenting of our sins, we may obtain from you, the God of all mercy, full pardon and forgiveness, through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C: Amen.
HYMN “Savior, When in Dust to You” #601
READING Psalm 96:1–6
1 O sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.
3 Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples.
4 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
he is to be revered above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.
6 Honor and majesty are before him;
strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
KIDS’ TALK
SERMON Pastor Constanze
HYMN “The Glory of These Forty Days” #320
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
P: Gathered by the Spirit, let us return to the Lord our God and pray for the church, the world, and all who yearn for new life.
A Brief Silence
Merciful God, lead your church to true repentance, restore all that is broken, and reconcile all people to you. Lord, in your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: Guard us from careless disregard of the earth and its treasures. Guide us in faithful stewardship of the soil, the water, the air, and all living things. Lord in your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: Instill within the leaders of all nations a passion for peace and justice, and be with those who live or work in harm’s way (especially). Lord, in your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: Have mercy on those who suffer in mind, body, or spirit (especially). Sustain them with your healing presence and give them the joy of your salvation. Lord, in your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: Bless those preparing for baptism and those who guide their way. Grant that in all things we bear witness to your abiding love. Lord, in your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: We give thanks for the communion of saints who lived and died in you. Give us grace to trust in your promise of eternal life with those who have gone before us. Lord, in your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: Almighty God, you have commanded us to pray, and you promise to hear us. Hear the prayers of your people and grant us all that we need, for the sake of the one in whose name we pray, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
C: Amen.
OFFERING “Children of the Heavenly Father” arr. Dan Forrest
Adult Choir
OFFERTORY “Create in Me a Clean Heart” #188
WORDS OF INSTITUTION
THE LORD’S PRAYER
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.
COMMUNION DISTRIBUTION
COMMUNION HYMNS “Just As I Am, Without One Plea” #592
“Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling” #608
“Beneath the Cross of Jesus” #338
P: Let us pray…Lamb of God, in this sacrament you assure us of forgiveness of sin, life, and salvation. Help us to practice our Lenten discipline, and to abstain from the sins of which we have repented. We bless you now and evermore.
C: Amen.
P: Marked with the cross of Christ, go forth to love and serve the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
ROMANS 6:1–4 (Spoken in unison)
What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore, we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
When you are ready, please leave quietly.
Understanding Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday through Maundy Thursday is the ancient time of Lenten penitential discipline. The extended CONFESSION along with the Imposition of Ashes is the beginning of our Lenten discipline. It concludes on Maundy Thursday with an extended rite of FORGIVENESS with “Individual Absolution.”
The IMPOSITION OF ASHES is a sign of human frailty. It is also an act of repentance, and renewal. The ashes are applied to our foreheads tracing the sign of the cross (first made in our Baptism) as the pastor repeats the words of God to Adam, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” These words also remind us of the Committal in the Burial Service: “Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.” They remind us of our total dependence upon God for repentance and life because one day those words will be said over us!
Moreover, ashes suggest cleansing and renewal. They were once used as a cleansing agent in the absence of soap. When we wash off the ashes with water from the baptismal font, we remind ourselves of God’s baptismal promise to forgive our sins and give us new life when we turn to him in sincere repentance.
Lenten discipline, by its focus on the mystery of God’s redemption in the cross and resurrection of Jesus, will strengthen our faith by bringing us anew to the gift of our Baptism. Luther explained the significance of this sacrament in our daily lives by recalling Romans 6:1–4. We die to sin by confessing it, and we are raised to new life in the absolution promise of resurrection with Christ.
The palm branches left over from last year’s Palm Sunday Procession often make the ashes of Ash Wednesday.
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Reprinted from Evangelical Lutheran Worship copyright ©2006 Augsburg Fortress.
Used by permission of Augsburg Fortress License #1643-L.
We wish to thank everyone who assisted in our worship.
Dirk Hagmaier and Rev. Constanze Hagmaier
Church Office: (605) 256-2771
203 N. Harth Ave, Madison, South Dakota 57042