THE SERVICE FOR THE LORD’S DAY
Second Sunday in Lent
February 28, 2021
First Presbyterian Church, Fargo
February 28, 2021
First Presbyterian Church, Fargo
The Session and members of First Presbyterian Church, extend a sincere welcome to you! We welcome all persons regardless of race, nationality, disability, gender, or sexual orientation. This includes an open invitation to membership, the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, marriage, funerals, memorial services, and to serve as an officer of the church.
Prelude and Preparation for Worship
Prayer of the Day
Almighty and eternal God, by your grace you have called us to this time and place to be your servant people as we follow our servant Lord. Make your Holy Spirit move within and among us, that together we may live a new life in the crucified and risen Christ. Bind us together in faith,
so that as we receive all spiritual gifts needed to fulfill our calling, we may support one another in common ministry; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Almighty and eternal God, by your grace you have called us to this time and place to be your servant people as we follow our servant Lord. Make your Holy Spirit move within and among us, that together we may live a new life in the crucified and risen Christ. Bind us together in faith,
so that as we receive all spiritual gifts needed to fulfill our calling, we may support one another in common ministry; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Gathering in Christ’s Presence
Welcome and Concerns of the Church
Opening Sentences
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit
be with you all.
As many of you as were baptized into Christ
have clothed yourselves with Christ.
There is one body and one Spirit,
just as we were called to the one hope of our calling.
Let us worship God.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit
be with you all.
As many of you as were baptized into Christ
have clothed yourselves with Christ.
There is one body and one Spirit,
just as we were called to the one hope of our calling.
Let us worship God.
Hymn — Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above
Accompanist: Dillon Swanson
1 Sing praise to God who reigns above,
the God of all creation,
the God of power, the God of love,
the God of our salvation.
With healing balm my soul is filled,
and every faithless murmur stilled:
to God all praise and glory!
2 What God’s almighty power has made
God's gracious mercy keepeth;
by morning glow or evening shade
God's watchful eye ne'er sleepeth.
Within the kingdom of God's might,
lo! all is just and all is right:
to God all praise and glory!
3 The Lord is never far away,
but, through all grief distressing,
an ever-present help and stay,
our peace and joy and blessing,
as with a mother's tender hand
God gently leads the chosen band:
to God all praise and glory!
4 Thus all my toilsome way along
I sing aloud thy praises,
that all may hear the grateful song
my voice unwearied raises.
Be joyful in the Lord, my heart;
both soul and body, take your part:
to God all praise and glory!
the God of all creation,
the God of power, the God of love,
the God of our salvation.
With healing balm my soul is filled,
and every faithless murmur stilled:
to God all praise and glory!
2 What God’s almighty power has made
God's gracious mercy keepeth;
by morning glow or evening shade
God's watchful eye ne'er sleepeth.
Within the kingdom of God's might,
lo! all is just and all is right:
to God all praise and glory!
3 The Lord is never far away,
but, through all grief distressing,
an ever-present help and stay,
our peace and joy and blessing,
as with a mother's tender hand
God gently leads the chosen band:
to God all praise and glory!
4 Thus all my toilsome way along
I sing aloud thy praises,
that all may hear the grateful song
my voice unwearied raises.
Be joyful in the Lord, my heart;
both soul and body, take your part:
to God all praise and glory!
Call to Confession
Even when we were dead through our sin, our merciful and loving God made us alive together with Christ and raised us up through him. In humility and faith let us confess our sin to God.
Prayer of Confession
Merciful and loving God, you have called us to be your people and claimed us for the service of Jesus Christ. We confess that we have not lived up to our calling to proclaim the good news in word and deed. We are quick to speak when we ought to listen and remain silent when it is time to speak. We put too much faith in our own actions and fail to trust the strength of your Spirit. O God, forgive our foolish and sinful ways. Strengthen us anew to follow Christ’s way in the world. By your Holy Spirit, give us the grace we need to be faithful disciples and fulfill our common calling; through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.
Assurance of God’s Forgiveness
Even when we were dead through our sin, our merciful and loving God made us alive together with Christ and raised us up through him. In humility and faith let us confess our sin to God.
Prayer of Confession
Merciful and loving God, you have called us to be your people and claimed us for the service of Jesus Christ. We confess that we have not lived up to our calling to proclaim the good news in word and deed. We are quick to speak when we ought to listen and remain silent when it is time to speak. We put too much faith in our own actions and fail to trust the strength of your Spirit. O God, forgive our foolish and sinful ways. Strengthen us anew to follow Christ’s way in the world. By your Holy Spirit, give us the grace we need to be faithful disciples and fulfill our common calling; through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.
Assurance of God’s Forgiveness
Hearing God’s Word
Prayer for Illumination
Lesson Romans 4:13-25
For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation.
For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, as it is written, ‘I have made you the father of many nations’)—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become ‘the father of many nations’, according to what was said, ‘So numerous shall your descendants be.’ He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. Therefore his faith ‘was reckoned to him as righteousness.’ Now the words, ‘it was reckoned to him’, were written not for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.
Lesson Mark 8:31-38
Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, ‘Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.’
He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.’
Sermon Take Up Your Cross
Lesson Romans 4:13-25
For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation.
For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, as it is written, ‘I have made you the father of many nations’)—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become ‘the father of many nations’, according to what was said, ‘So numerous shall your descendants be.’ He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. Therefore his faith ‘was reckoned to him as righteousness.’ Now the words, ‘it was reckoned to him’, were written not for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.
Lesson Mark 8:31-38
Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, ‘Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.’
He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.’
Sermon Take Up Your Cross
Hymn — Take Up Your Cross
1 Take up your cross, the Savior said,
if you would my disciple be;
take up your cross with willing heart,
and humbly follow after me.
2 Take up your cross; let not its weight
fill your weak spirit with alarm;
Christ's strength shall bear your spirit up
and brace your heart and nerve your arm.
3 Take up your cross; heed not the shame,
and let your foolish pride be still;
the Lord for you accepted death
upon a cross, on Calvary's hill.
4 Take up your cross, then, in Christ's strength,
and calmly every danger brave:
it guides you to abundant life
and leads to victory o'er the grave.
if you would my disciple be;
take up your cross with willing heart,
and humbly follow after me.
2 Take up your cross; let not its weight
fill your weak spirit with alarm;
Christ's strength shall bear your spirit up
and brace your heart and nerve your arm.
3 Take up your cross; heed not the shame,
and let your foolish pride be still;
the Lord for you accepted death
upon a cross, on Calvary's hill.
4 Take up your cross, then, in Christ's strength,
and calmly every danger brave:
it guides you to abundant life
and leads to victory o'er the grave.
Responding to God’s Word
Ordination and Installation
Prayers of the People and 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 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.
Call for the Offering, ending with the Prayer of Dedication
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 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.
Call for the Offering, ending with the Prayer of Dedication
Bearing the Word into the World
Hymn — The Church of Christ is Every Age
1 The church of Christ in every age,
beset by change but Spirit-led,
must claim and test its heritage
and keep on rising from the dead.
2 Across the world, across the street,
the victims of injustice cry
for shelter and for bread to eat,
and never live before they die.
3 Then let the servant church arise,
a caring church that longs to be
a partner in Christ's sacrifice,
and clothed in Christ's humanity.
4 For Christ alone, whose blood was shed,
can cure the fever in our blood,
and teach us how to share our bread
and feed the starving multitude.
5 We have no mission but to serve
in full obedience to our Lord:
to care for all, without reserve,
and spread Christ's liberating word.
Charge and Benediction
beset by change but Spirit-led,
must claim and test its heritage
and keep on rising from the dead.
2 Across the world, across the street,
the victims of injustice cry
for shelter and for bread to eat,
and never live before they die.
3 Then let the servant church arise,
a caring church that longs to be
a partner in Christ's sacrifice,
and clothed in Christ's humanity.
4 For Christ alone, whose blood was shed,
can cure the fever in our blood,
and teach us how to share our bread
and feed the starving multitude.
5 We have no mission but to serve
in full obedience to our Lord:
to care for all, without reserve,
and spread Christ's liberating word.
Charge and Benediction
Postlude
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