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Worship
Service for February 26, 2023
Prelude
Announcements:
Call to Worship
L: The Lord is my light and my salvation.
P: We will not be afraid.
L: The Lord is the stronghold of my life.
P: We will not be afraid.
L: Even when our adversaries and foes seek to
destroy us,
P: We will not be afraid.
L: Come to the house of the Lord and behold
God’s beauty.
P: We will sing to the Lord and trust God!
L: We will see the goodness of the Lord.
P: We will be strong and place our trust in
God!
Opening Hymn – Near the Cross Hymn #319 Brown
Prayer of Confession
We confess to You, O God, that
we are often afraid. The criticism of
others, the uncertainty of our own time, the hardships that veil our eyes from
Your loving purpose, our own failure, and the evils of terror and war threaten
to undo us. Too often we despair and act
as if You have abandoned us. We give in
to fear and retreat into self-preservation at the expense of others. Forgive us, God. By the power of Your Holy Spirit, renew our
faith and courage so that we may find in our Lord Jesus Christ Your sure
promise of love and salvation. Lead us
along Your way and help us to face each challenge in our lives. Give us strong hearts and clear vision to
resist evil and trust in You until we are finally at the table with You in our
eternal home in heaven. (Silent
prayers are offered) AMEN.
Assurance of Pardon
L: God does not give us in to the temptations
and ways of the world, but shelters us with love, with hope, with grace.
P: We are forgiven people. Our songs of joy are lifted to the One who
forgives.
Gloria Patri
Affirmation of Faith/Apostles’
Creed
I believe in God the Father
Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth; And in Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord;
who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under
Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell; the
third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on
the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge
the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost,
the holy catholic Church; the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins; the
resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. AMEN
Pastoral Prayer and Lord’s
Prayer
Jesus Christ, light of
the world, we dare to bring our whole selves before you this morning, asking
that you shine your purifying light on us once again. Illumine the dark corners no one else sees –
the shadows of doubt, the pockets of loneliness, the specters of fear, the
gloom of discouragement. Lift our face
to behold you in the full radiance of your light, that something of your
perfect love, truth, and peace may radiate into our lives and awaken us to the
full truth of who we are, by your grace and in your mercy.
Gracious Lord, shine your healing light into every place of
darkness and despair, we especially think of those living under threat of
violence – like those in the Ukraine, and in so many other places in the world,
too, Lord.
We also lift up to you our friends and loved ones…
As we open our hearts, souls, and minds to you in this holy
hour, hear the deepest movement of our inner selves – listen to our silent
prayers this day….
Help us Lord, hear your challenge anew for us to be the
light of the world, and to let our light so shine that it brings thankful
praise to You, the source of all light in heaven and earth as we pray together
saying;
...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. Forgive us our debts as we forgive our
debtors. And lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. AMEN.
Hymn – What
Wondrous Love Is This Hymn #85/314
Scripture Reading(s):
First Scripture Reading – Psalm
32
Second Scripture Reading – Matthew
4:1-11
Sermon – “Temptation”
A
little boy named Bobby desperately wanted a new bicycle. His plan was to save his nickels, dimes and
quarters until he finally had enough to buy a new 10-speed. Each night, he asked God to help him save his
money. Kneeling beside his bed, he
prayed, “Dear Lord, please help me save my money for a new bike; and please,
Lord, don’t let the ice cream man come down the street again tomorrow.”
We have
all been there, haven’t we? Unfortunately,
we don’t take temptation seriously enough. Many people think of ‘temptation’ as wanting
to indulge in something that’s naughty but nice: like being tempted to have
another chocolate or piece of cake; or being tempted to stay up and watch the
late film; or have another half hour in bed… naughty, but pretty nice really! However, that’s not the biblical view of
temptation. Temptation, if left
unchecked, leads to sin, and sin is serious. Sin affects our relationship with God,
ourselves, and others. Sin always has consequences,
and it separates us from God… until it has been dealt with.
Today’s gospel reading begins by
telling us that “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and
was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted
by the devil.”
Our
Lenten journey always begins with the story of Jesus in the wilderness and with
temptation. Temptation is part of the
human experience. It’s not foreign to
any of us and we shouldn’t minimize the draw or pull that it has on all of us.
Temptation
is like a wedge. In the world of
physics, there is no more powerful application than the wedge. Once you get its thin edge in, it’s only a
matter of time before it can split things apart. The hardest stone, the toughest wood – no
matter what it is – nothing is able to resist the power of the wedge to drive
it apart.
The remedy for temptation is more
than just willpower. The key to overcoming
it is more than to “just say no.” As
much as I liked that slogan years ago for kids and drugs; it’s actually not
that easy. It would be so simple if that
were the case, but it’s not as simple as that.
It isn’t that easy to just have enough willpower and to “just say
no.” Believe me, I’ve tried. Luckily, I was never put in a position to be
tempted by drugs, but there have been other temptations in my life and it’s
simply not that easy to “just say no”; to have that willpower. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I
need more help than that. Perhaps Mark
Twain said it best, “I can resist anything except temptation.”
As the Union Pacific Railroad was being constructed, an elaborate
trestle bridge was built across a large canyon in the West.
Wanting
to test the bridge, the builder loaded a train with enough extra cars and
equipment to double its normal payload. The train then was driven to the middle
of the bridge, where it stayed an entire day.
One
worker asked, “Are you trying to break this bridge?”
“No,”
the builder replied, “I’m trying to prove the bridge won’t break.”
In
the same way, the temptations Jesus faced weren’t designed to see if He would
sin, but to prove He couldn’t.
Jesus knew the power of temptation, but
he also knew how to draw from the strength of God and to resist it. He knew its allure for us, and he knew that
the solution wasn’t as simple as plain willpower. We need divine intervention from it. And that’s where the power of prayer comes
in. That’s how we draw from the power of
God.
The
key to temptation is not found within ourselves. If it were, the apostle Paul would have found
it, himself. Instead he wrote, “Woe is
me. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do. But only what I hate, I do…wretched man that
I am. Who will rescue me from this
sinful nature? Thanks be to God who
gives us the victory through Jesus Christ my Lord.”
The
key to overcoming temptation is found only in God. It’s found only in allowing God’s Spirit to
fill that void that temptation finds as a wedge to get in. It’s found in allowing God’s power to empower
us.
There
are two stories from Greek mythology that I’m reminded of here. One is about Odysseus, the other is about
Orpheus. They both encountered mythical
creatures called the Sirens, but they approached them from two different points
of view. The Sirens were evil creatures,
half-bird and half-human who lived on an island surrounded by jagged
rocks. As ships approached the island,
the sirens would sing a beautiful, seductive song that would lure the sailors
to their death on the rocks. When
Odysseus approached the island he ordered the crew to fill their ears with wax
to escape the tempter’s songs. This
done, he then commanded his men to bind him to the mast of the ship as they
passed the island so that he could not change his orders.
That
is one way to resist temptation; to bind yourself up, put wax in your ears,
close your eyes and cut yourself off from the world around you, but to go
full-steam forward, hoping for the best.
Many have tried this method and have failed. For many, this method doesn’t work because
few people can really live that way and in fact, God doesn’t expect us to.
The
other story from ancient Greek mythology may be able to help us understand God
a little bit more, though. Orpheus, the
Muse of Song, also came across this island and the terrible temptations of the
sirens’ song. Instead of putting wax in
his sailor’s ears and binding himself to the mast, Orpheus sang a song of his
own – a song so beautiful and divine that his sailors couldn’t hear the siren’s
song and be lured to their death. So,
they passed by safely.
And
that, I think, is the clue for us in resisting temptation. We need to fill our lives with a song so
beautiful and divine, so much more alluring, that we won’t hear the voice of
the tempter as he whispers his evil words in our ears and upon our hearts. We need to fill our hearts and lives with God’s
voice, with the Word of God, with the Spirit of God, with the ways and
understandings of Christ, which is so much stronger than the tempter’s shallow
words of quick gratification.
That’s
exactly what Jesus did in the wilderness, isn’t it? To each of the tempter’s provocations, Jesus
relied on the Word of God to guide him.
He centered his heart and life in God.
We
can overcome temptation, too. We can
overcome the tempter’s testing. We can
confront temptation face to face and survive.
But it starts with the heart, having our heart in the right place and
filling our heart with the presence and power of God.
So let me give you some practical
advice about temptation, because “just saying no” doesn’t work and simply
telling you to fill yourself up with the Word of God, is almost as ineffectual. So, let’s get practical.
First
of all, never deal with temptation alone.
As embarrassing as it might be to tell another person, just remember -
we are all tempted. Being alone in the
wilderness is exactly where the tempter wants us. So, don’t be alone in facing it. When you begin to think that you don’t need
others, cast aside those thoughts. They
are the tempters’ words. We aren’t
strong enough to handle it alone. Find
someone you can trust to be accountable to, a spouse, a friend, a colleague.
Secondly,
don’t play with temptation. It’s real. I think we often fool ourselves in thinking
that temptation sneaks up on us, surprising us when we’re weak. It can do that, but it usually doesn’t. Most often, temptation comes right to the
front door and rings the bell. We know
that it’s wrong and we know we shouldn’t be doing it, but we tell ourselves it
doesn’t matter or that we can resist at the last moment. Worse yet, we often rationalize our temptations,
trying to convince ourselves that it really isn’t wrong. Don’t play with temptation, recognize it for
what it is and refuse to have anything to do with it.
Most of you know, by now, that I
struggle with my weight and staying healthy.
A few years ago I lost 70 lbs, but unfortunately during the pandemic
when I didn’t focus properly or have my normal saints around me to hold me
accountable, I have regained nearly 40 lbs of those that I’d lost. So, I’m back at it again.
Third
and finally, lean on God’s help to deal with temptation. There is nothing more powerful than
prayer. It is our link to God. It is our way of asking for divine
intervention. It is God’s way of
communicating with us. Remember God
wants us to live good lives, productive lives and abundant lives. God wants us to experience the fullness of
life – not the tempter’s empty promises.
Because of that, God stands ready to help in resisting temptation and in
returning to God once we’ve fallen away.
At
the end of today’s gospel reading, the Bible tells us that God sent angels to
minister to Jesus. They were there to
help Him, and they are here for us as well.
They may not come directly descending out of heaven, but rather in the
guise of your neighbor next door, or your friends down the street or in those
faces you love the most.
Let this be the beginning of our
Lenten journey, to resist temptation and be rewarded with the ministry of our
own present-day angels that surround us.
Thanks be to God.
AMEN.
Offertory –
Doxology –
Prayer of Dedication –
We
dedicate, O God, our lives and all that we have to the work of life, of love,
of peace. Receive our gifts this day and
lead us, not into temptation, but in wisdom and courage. AMEN.
Sacrament
of the Lord’s Supper
Invitation - Through the waters of baptism, we are born into Christ’s family.
That family is nourished and sustained
at this table. Though we are baptized
but once, in the Lord’s Supper we reaffirm our commitment to Christ, and God
renews us with grace. You are part of the family of
God, join us now at His table. Let us give
thanks to the Lord.
Prayer of
Thanksgiving
L: The Lord be with
you.
P: And also with you.
L: Lift up your
hearts.
P: We lift them up to the Lord.
L: Let us give
thanks to the Lord our God.
Breaking of the Bread and Sharing the
Cup
Prayer
Let us pray.
Merciful Jesus,
We cry for our world. We cry over broken bodies and broken homes and
broken hearts. We cry over violence and
exclusion and indifference. We cry most
of all over the children! Through my
body and breath, we pray for Your kingdom …For all to have nourishing food and
nurturing homes, edifying work and safe, skilled schools, compassionate
healthcare and dignified wages, soft beds to fall into at the day’s close … for
the children to be protected, the elderly honored, and both hugged every single
day … for reparative justice, cherished
diversity, and peaceful purity in what’s breathed, eaten, and drunk. We cry and we pray, O Lord, confessing the
many times we’ve declared what we deserve rather than asked what we could give. We cry and we pray, Precious Savior, knowing that
we’re complicit in the pain but also essential to the healing. We cry and we pray, Gracious God, trusting our
tears mingle with Your own, hoping this tearful river softens and shapes the
hardest canyons of injustice — or at least lays the groundwork. We pray and in so doing, we act, moving our
bodies and resources toward Your kingdom vision, trusting our skills and gifts carry
forward the new, just world you imagine and are always bringing.
Holy Lord, we remember
this work is ours to do in whatever ways are helping and edifying to You, and
whatever ways we are capable and able to do.
O Jesus, have mercy on us and help us.
Your Son has no body
now but ours, no hands, no feet on earth but ours,
Ours are the eyes with
which he looks compassion on this world,
Ours are the feet with
which He walks to do good,
Ours are the hands with
which You bless all the world. Let us
cheerfully, eagerly, and boldly take up the task.
Amen.
Closing
Hymn – O Sacred Head Now Wounded Hymn
#98/316
Benediction –
Friends,
go out into the world with confidence and strength in the Lord. May you always be at peace with Him. AMEN.
Postlude
