The Presbyterian Church, 142 N. 4th St., Coshocton, OH 43812
Pastor Karen Crawford
Mark Wagner, Organist
Debbie Clark, Liturgist
If you would like to print out the bulletin with the hymns, download here:
Feb. 17, 2021 @ 7 p.m
Prelude: Aria, Charles Callahan
Greeting
Opening Sentences: Debbie Clark
God sent Christ into the world not to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.
God’s love endures forever.
God is our refuge and strength,
a present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear
though the earth should change,
though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
though the waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble with its tumult.
God’s love endures forever.
Gathering Prayer: Debbie Clark
Hymn #817 We Walk by Faith and Not by Sight (stanzas 1 and 3)
Prayer for Illumination: Jim Crawford
Reading: 2 Cor. 5:20-6:10: Jim Crawford
20 So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
6 As we work together with him, we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain. 2 For 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! 3 We are putting no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, 4 but as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, 5 beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; 6 by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, 7 truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; 8 in honor and dishonor, in ill repute and good repute. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; 9 as unknown, and yet are well known; as dying, and see—we are alive; as punished, and yet not killed; 10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.
Reading: Matthew 6:1–6, 16–21: Debbie Clark
6 “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 “So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
5 “And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 6 But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
First Reading: Isaiah 58:1-12
Shout out, do not hold back!
Lift up your voice like a trumpet!
Announce to my people their rebellion,
to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 Yet day after day they seek me
and delight to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that practiced righteousness
and did not forsake the ordinance of their God;
they ask of me righteous judgments,
they delight to draw near to God.
3 “Why do we fast, but you do not see?
Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?”
Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day,
and oppress all your workers.
4 Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
and to strike with a wicked fist.
Such fasting as you do today
will not make your voice heard on high.
Is such the fast that I choose,
a day to humble oneself?
Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush,
and to lie in sackcloth and ashes?
Will you call this a fast,
a day acceptable to the Lord?
6 Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them,
and not to hide yourself from your own kin?
8 Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up quickly;
your vindicator shall go before you,
the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.
If you remove the yoke from among you,
the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,
10 if you offer your food to the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,
then your light shall rise in the darkness
and your gloom be like the noonday.
11 The Lord will guide you continually,
and satisfy your needs in parched places,
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters never fail.
12 Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of streets to live in.
Message: Repairers of the Breach
Invitation to Observe a Holy Lent
Beloved people of God: every year at the time of the Christian Passover we celebrate our redemption through the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Lent is a time to prepare for this celebration and to renew our life in the paschal mystery. We begin this holy season by acknowledging our need for repentance, and for the mercy and forgiveness
proclaimed in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
(Hold up ashes) We begin our journey to Easter with the sign of ashes. This ancient sign speaks of the frailty and uncertainty of human life, and marks the penitence of this community. I invite you, therefore, in the name of Christ, to observe a holy Lent by self-examination and penitence, by prayer and fasting, by works of love, and by meditating on God’s word. Now let us bow before God, our creator and redeemer, and confess our sin.
Psalm 51:1–17 (Responsively) Debbie Clark
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; in your great compassion blot out my offenses.
2Wash me through and through from my wickedness, and cleanse me from my sin .
3For I know my offenses, and my sin is ever before me.
4Against you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are justified when you speak and right in your judgment .
5Indeed, I was born steeped in wickedness, a sinner from my mother’s womb.
6Indeed, you delight in truth deep within me, and would have me know wisdom deep within.
7Remove my sins with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be purer than snow.
8Let me hear joy and gladness; that the body you have broken may rejoice .
9Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my wickedness.
10Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me .
11Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
12Restore to me the joy of your salvation and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit .
13Let me teach your ways | to offenders, and sinners shall be restored to you.
14Rescue me from bloodshed, O God of my salvation, and my tongue shall sing | of your righteousness .
15O lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise. 16For you take no delight in sacrifice, or I would give it .
You are not pleased with burnt offering. 17The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit; a troubled and broken heart, O God, you will not despise.
Hymn 227 Jesus, Remember Me
Litany of Penitance
Jim: Holy and merciful God, we confess to you and to one another, and to the whole communion of saints in heaven and on earth, that we have sinned by our own 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 .
Karen: We have not listened 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. We confess to you, O God, all our past unfaithfulness. For the pride, hypocrisy, and impatience in our lives, have mercy on us, O God.
Jim: For our self-indulgent appetites and ways and our exploitation of other people. For our anger at our own frustration and our envy of those more fortunate than ourselves,for our intemperate love of worldly goods and comforts. For our negligence in prayer and worship, and our failure to commend the faith that is in us, have mercy on us, O God.
Karen: Accept our repentance, O God, for the wrongs we have done. For our neglect of human need and suffering and our indifference to injustice and cruelty, for all false judgments, for uncharitable thoughts toward our neighbors, and for our prejudice toward those who differ from us, for our waste and pollution of your creation and our lack of concern for those who come after us, have mercy on us, O God .
Restore us, O God of our salvation, and show us your steadfast love.
Turn to us in your mercy and redeem us.
Accomplish in us, O God, the work of your salvation,
that we may show forth your glory in the world.
By the cross and passion of our Savior,
bring us with all your saints
to the joy of Christ’s resurrection. Amen.
223 When I Survey the Wondrous Cross (stanzas 1 and 4)
Great Thanksgiving
The 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.…
Lord’s Prayer
Communion of the People of God
Prayer After Communion
Charge/Benediction
Postlude: Walk in the Light, arr. Gordon Young
Sharing God's Love and Grace 