MIXED OUTDOOR BULLETIN (alt .org/QRpage)
Thank you for joining us today with your SmartDevice! We are working hard at continuing to make our services as convenient as possible for you and your family here at Wesley United Methodist Church Bloomington. Scan the QR Code every week in-person, or simply bookmark this page in your device to have all of the information you need for each service. We love hearing from you so please feel free to contact us at the bottom of this page any time with your thoughts. Enjoy your service and thank you for joining us once again!
Wesley United Methodist Church Bloomington
Wednesday, March 2
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday - A Service for the Beginning of Lent
Prelude
Craig Deets, organist
Greeting and Welcome to Ash Wednesday
Grace and peace to you from God.
God fill you with truth and joy.
Let us pray for grace to keep Lent faithfully:
Almighty and merciful God,
you hate nothing that you have made
and forgive the sins of all who are penitent;
create in us new and contrite hearts,
so that when we turn to you and confess our sins
we may receive your full and perfect forgiveness;
through Jesus Christ our Redeemer
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God now and for ever. Amen.
Hymn
UMH #269 Lord, Who Throughout These Forty Days (5 verses)
Special Music
tephanie Kinzinger and Molly Kinzinger
Psalm 51:1-4a, 10-12, 15 as follows: (Create in Me by Keith Green)
Refrain: Create in me a clean heart, O God.
Have mercy on me O God in your great kindness:
in the fullness of your mercy blot out my offences.
Wash away all my guilt:
and cleanse me from my sin.
Create in me a clean heart, O God.
For I acknowledge my faults:
and my sin is always before me.
Against you only have I sinned
and done evil in your sight.
Create in me a clean heart, O God.
Create in me a clean heart O God:
and renew a right spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence:
do not take your holy spirit from me.
Create in me a clean heart, O God.
Give me the joy of your help again:
and strengthen me with a willing spirit.
O Lord open my lips:
and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.
Create in me a clean heart, O God.
(page 256f.)
Scripture
Matthew 6:1-4, 16-18, 5-15
Sermon
Reverend Sara L. Isbell
Prayer of Confession
We have not loved you with all our heart, and soul, and mind, and strength.
We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We have not forgiven others as we have been forgiven.
Lord have mercy.
Lord have mercy.
We have been deaf to your call to serve.
We have been unfaithful, proud, and hypocritical.
Christ have mercy.
Christ have mercy.
We have been self-centered, and have taken advantage of others.
Lord have mercy.
Lord have mercy.
We have been envious of those more fortunate than ourselves.
Christ have mercy.
Christ have mercy.
We have loved worldly goods and comforts too much.
We have been dishonest in daily life and work.
Lord have mercy.
Lord have mercy.
We have neglected prayer and worship, and have failed to commend the faith that is in us.
Christ have mercy.
Christ have mercy.
We have been blind to human need and suffering, and indifferent to injustice and cruelty.
Lord have mercy.
Lord have mercy.
We have thought uncharitably about others, and we have been prejudiced towards those who differ from us.
Christ have mercy.
Christ have mercy.
We have wasted and polluted your creation, and lacked concern for those who come after us.
Lord have mercy.
Lord have mercy.
Then the presider and people say together the following or another confession.
Merciful God,
we have sinned
in what we have thought and said,
in the wrong we have done
and in the good we have not done.
We have sinned in ignorance:
we have sinned in weakness:
we have sinned through our own deliberate fault.
We are truly sorry.
We repent and turn to you.
Forgive us, for our Saviour Christ’s sake,
and renew our lives to the glory of your name. Amen.
Invitation to Holy Communion and Imposition of Ashes
Great Thanksgiving for ASh Wednesday
Thanksgiving over the Ashes
Loving God,
you create us from the dust of the earth;
may these ashes be for us a sign
of our penitence and our mortality,
and a reminder that only by the cross
do we receive eternal life
in Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.
Hymn
UMH #365 Grace Greater Than Our Sin (4 verses)
Closing Prayer
Postlude
Craig Deets, organist
Worship Participants:
Senior Pastor
Reverend Sara L. Isbell
Associate Pastor
Reverend Tanya Edwards-Evans
Piano
Craig Deets
Children’s Time
Kathi Pritts
Hymn Singers
Andy Isbell, Brenna Martin, and Ron Kiesewetter
Wesley Praise Band:
Guitar
Matt Sherrill
Singers
Andy Isbell, Brenna Martin, and Matt Sherrill
Drums
Nate Byrne
Images and editing
Ben Lash and John Perry
Thank you for all you do at Wesley United Methodist Church Bloomington. We love seeing you every week and look forward to joining together again. God Bless!
