GREETING

The Lord be with you.And also with you.

PRAYER OF THE DAYLet us pray.

Almighty and ever-living God, you hate nothing you have made, and you

forgive the sins of all who are penitent.

C: Create in us new and honest hearts, so that, truly repenting of our sins, we may receive from you, the God of all mercy, full pardon and forgiveness through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Amen.

FIRST READING: Genesis 27:1-4, 15-23; 28:10-17

Chapter 271When Isaac was old and his

eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called his elder son Esau and said to him, "My son"; and he answered, "Here I am." 2He said, "See, I am old; I do not know the day of my death.

• 3Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field, and hunt game for me. 4Then prepare for me savory food, such as I like, and bring it to me to eat, so that I may bless you before I die."15Then Rebekah took the best garments of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob;

16and she put the skins of the kids on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. 17Then she handed the savory food, and the bread that she had prepared, to her son Jacob.18So he went in to his father, and said, "My father"; and he said, "Here I am; who are you, my son?" 19Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau your firstborn.

• I have done as you told me; now sit up and eat of my game, so that you may bless me." 20But Isaac said to his son, "How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?" He answered, "Because the LORD your God granted me success." 21Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Come near, that I may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not."

22So Jacob went up to his father Isaac, who felt him and said, "The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau." 23He did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau's hands; so he blessed him.

Chapter 2810Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran.

• 11He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. 12And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

• 13And the LORD stood beside him and said, "I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; 14and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring.

• 15Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." 16Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, "Surely the LORD is in this place — and I did not know it!" 17And he was afraid, and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."

The word of the Lord.Thanks be to God.

PSALM: Psalm 32:1-51Happy are they whose transgressions are

forgiven, and whose sin is put away! c: Happy are they to whom the Lord imputes no guilt,  and in whose spirit there is no guile!

3While I held my tongue, my bones withered away,  because of my groaning all day long.

 C: For your hand was heavy upon me day and night;  my moisture was dried up as in the heat of summer.

 5Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and did not conceal my guilt.  I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” Then you forgave me the guilt of my sin.

C: Therefore all the faithful will make their prayers to you in time of trouble;  when the great waters overflow, they shall not reach them. 7You are my hiding-place; you preserve me from trouble;  you surround me with shouts of deliverance. C: “I will instruct you and teach you in the way that you should go;  I will guide you with my eye.

Do not be like horse or mule, which have no understanding;  who must be fitted with bit and bridle, or else they will not stay near you.” 1C: Great are the tribulations of the wicked; but mercy embraces those who trust in the Lord. 11Be glad, you righteous, and rejoice in the Lord;  shout for joy, all who are true of heart. 

•

SECOND READING: 2 Corinthians 5:20b--6:10A reading from 2 Corinthians.20bWe entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled

to God. 21For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 6:1As we work together with him, we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain. 2For he says,  “At an acceptable time I have listened to you,  and on a day of salvation I have helped you.”

See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation! 3We are putting no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, 4but as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, 5beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger;

6by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, 7truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; 8in honor and dishonor, in ill repute and good repute. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true;

9as unknown, and yet are well known; as dying, and see—we are alive; as punished, and yet not killed; 10as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

The word of the Lord.Thanks be to God.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (Red Hymnal p. 252)

Return to the Lord, your God,

for he is gracious and merciful,

slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.

GOSPEL: Mark 9:30-37The holy gospel according to Mark.Glory to you, O Lord. 30They went on from there and passed through

Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; 31for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, "

The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again." 32But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.33Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the way?" 34But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest. 35He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them,

"Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all." 36Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, 37Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.

The gospel of the Lord.Praise to you, O Christ.

SERMON

HYMN OF THE DAY: Chief of Sinners Though I Be (Red Hymnal # 609)

1 Chief of sinners though I be,

Jesus shed his blood for me,died that I might live on high,lives that I might never die.As the branch is to the vine,I am his, and he is mine.

2 Oh, the height of Jesus' love!Higher than the heav'ns above,deeper than the depths of sea,lasting as eternity.Love that found me--wondrous thought-found me when I sought him not.

3 Only Jesus can impartbalm to heal the wounded heart,peace that flows from sin forgiv'n,

joy that lifts the soul to heav'n,faith and hope to walk with God

in the way that Enoch trod.

4 Chief of sinners though I be,Christ is all in all to me;

all my wants to him are known,all my sorrows are his own.He sustains the hidden life

safe with him from earthly strife.

5 O my Savior, help affordby your Spirit and your word!When my wayward heart would stray,keep me in the narrow way;grace in time of need supplywhile I live and when I die.

INVITATION TO LENTFriends in Christ, today with the whole

church we enter the time of remembering Jesus’ passover from death to life, and our

life in Christ is renewed.•

We begin this holy season by acknowledging our need for repentance and for God’s

mercy. We are created to experience joy in communion with God, to love one another,

and to live in harmony with creation. But our sinful rebellion separates us from God,

our neighbors, and creation, so that we do not enjoy the life our creator intended.

As disciples of Jesus, we are called to a discipline that

contends against evil and resists whatever leads us away from love of God and neighbor. I invite you,

therefore, to the discipline of Lent—self-examination and repentance, prayer and fasting,

sacrificial giving and works of love—strengthened by the gifts of word and sacrament. Let us continue

our journey through these forty days to the great Three Days of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

CONFESSION OF SINLet us confess our sin in the presence of God and

of one another.Most holy and merciful God, C: we confess to you and to one another, and

before the whole company of heaven, that we have sinned by our fault, by our own fault, by our own most grievous fault, in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone.

We have not loved you with our whole heart, and mind, and strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not forgiven others as we have been forgiven.

Have mercy on us, O God. We have shut our ears to your call to serve as Christ

served us. We have not been true to the mind of Christ. We have grieved your Holy Spirit.

Have mercy on us, O God.

Our past unfaithfulness, the pride, envy, hypocrisy, and apathy that have infected our lives, we confess to you.

Have mercy on us, O God. Our self-indulgent appetites and ways, and our

exploitation of other people, we confess to you.Have mercy on us, O God. Our negligence in prayer and worship, and our failure to

share the faith that is in us, we confess to you.Have mercy on us, O God.

Our neglect of human need and suffering, and our indifference to injustice and cruelty, we confess to you.

Have mercy on us, O God. Our false judgments, our uncharitable thoughts toward

our neighbors, and our prejudice and contempt toward those who differ from us, we confess to you.

Have mercy on us, O God. Our waste and pollution of your creation, and our lack of

concern for those who come after us, we confess to you.

Have mercy on us, O God.

Restore us, O God, and let your anger depart from us.Hear us, O God, for your mercy is great.

IMPOSITION OF ASHES

Almighty God, you have created us out of the dust of the earth. May these ashes be a sign of our mortality and penitence, reminding us that only by the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ are we given eternal life; through the same Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. C: Amen.

Accomplish in us, O God, the work of your salvation,C: that we may show forth your glory in the world. By the cross and passion of your Son, our Savior,C: bring us with all your saints to the joy of his resurrection. Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins

through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life.

C: Amen.

INTERCESSORY RESPONSE O Lord, Hear My    Prayer     (Red Hymnal # 751)

O Lord, hear my prayer,

O Lord, hear my prayer:when I call, answer me.O Lord, hear my prayer,O Lord, hear my prayer:come and listen to me.

OFFERING

Create in me a clean heart, O God,and renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from your presence,

and take not your Holy Spirit from me.Restore unto me the joy of your

salvation,and uphold me with your free Spirit.

OFFERING PRAYERGod our provider,C: you have not fed us with bread alone, but

with words of grace and life.Bless us and these your gifts, which we receive

from your bounty, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

DIALOGUEThe Lord be with you.

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts.We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

It is right to give our thanks and praise.

PREFACE It is indeed right, our duty and our joy, that we should at all

times and in all places give thanks and praise to you, almighty and merciful God, through our Savior Jesus Christ.

You call your people to cleanse their hearts and prepare with joy for the paschal feast, that, renewed in the gift of baptism, we may come to the fullness of your grace.

And so, with all the choirs of angels, with the church on earth and the hosts of heaven, we praise your name and join their unending hymn:

HOLY, HOLY, HOLYHoly, holy, holy Lord,Lord God of pow’r and might:Heav’n and earth are full of your glory.Hosanna in the highest.Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.Hosanna in the highest.

THANKSGIVING AT THE TABLEYou are indeed holy, almighty and merciful God.You are most holy, and great is the majesty of your

glory. You so loved the world that you gave your only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life.

We give you thanks for his coming into the world to fulfill for us your holy will

and to accomplish all things for our salvation.

In the night in which he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks;

broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take and eat; this is my body, given for you. Do this for the

remembrance of me. Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it for

all to drink, saying:This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for

all people for the forgiveness of sin. Do this for the remembrance of me.

For as often as we eat of this bread and drink from this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. Remembering, therefore, his salutary command, his life-giving passion and death, his glorious resurrection and ascension, and the promise of his coming again, we give thanks to you, O Lord God Almighty, not as we ought but as we are able; we ask you mercifully to accept our praise and thanksgiving and with your Word and Holy Spirit to bless us, your servants,

and these your own gifts of bread and wine, so that we and all who share in the body and blood of Christ may be filled with heavenly blessing and grace, and, receiving the forgiveness of sin,

may be formed to live as your holy people and be given our inheritance with all your saints.

To you, O God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be all honor and glory in your holy church, now and forever.

LORD’S PRAYER (Red Hymnal p. 112)Lord, remember us in your kingdom and teach us to

pray.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.

INVITATION TO COMMUNIONAll who thirst, all who hunger, come and be filled

with the goodness of God. COMMUNIONThe body of Christ, given for you.The blood of Christ, shed for you.Amen.

LENTEN PRAYERLet us pray.Merciful God, accompany our journey through these

forty days. Renew us in the gift of baptism, that we may provide for those who are poor, pray for those in need, fast from self-indulgence, and above all that we may find our treasure in the life of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Amen.

BLESSING The blessing of God Almighty, the

wisdom and power of Christ Jesus, ☩and the light of the Holy Spirit be among you and remain with you always.

Amen.

SENDING SONG The Church of Christ, in Every Age (Red Hymnal # 729)

1 The church of Christ, in ev'ry age

beset by change, but Spirit-led,must claim and test its heritageand keep on rising from the dead.

2 Across the world, across the street,the victims of injustice cryfor 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 bea partner in Christ's sacrifice,and clothed in Christ's humanity.

4 For he alone, whose blood was shed,can cure the fever in our blood,and teach us how to share our breadand feed the starving multitude.

5 We have no mission but to servein full obedience to our Lord;to care for all, without reserve,and spread his liberating word.

DISMISSAL

Go in peace. Remember the poor. Thanks be to God.

Copyright © 2016 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #SAS005422.New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.