GATHERING
The assembly gathers in silence.
READING: PSALM 51:1-17
GATHERING HYMN: 336 Lamb of God
GREETING
P: The Lord be with you.
C: And also with you.
WORD
Joel 2:1-2, 12-17
1Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming, it is near— 2a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness spread upon the mountains a great and powerful army comes; their like has never been from of old, nor will be again after them in ages to come. 12Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; 13rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing. 14Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the Lord, your God? 15Blow the trumpet in Zion; sanctify a fast; call a solemn assembly; 16gather the people. Sanctify the congregation; assemble the aged; gather the children, even infants at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room, and the bride her canopy. 17Between the vestibule and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep. Let them say, “Spare your people, O Lord, and do not make your heritage a mockery, a byword among the nations. Why should it be said among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’ ”
Psalm 103:8-14 (Read responsively)
8The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 9He will not always accuse, nor will he keep his anger forever. 10He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. 11For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; 12as far as the east is from the west, so far he removes our transgressions from us. 13As a father has compassion for his children, so the LORD has compassion for those who fear him. 14For he knows how we were made; he remembers that we are dust.
2 Corinthians 5:20b--6:10
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.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
P: Return to the Lord, your God, who is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.
C: Glory to you, O Lord.
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
[Jesus said to the disciples:] 1“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. 3But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so 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. 6But 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. 16“And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 17But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 19“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; 20but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
P: The Gospel of the Lord.
C: Praise to You, O Christ.
SERMON
HYMN OF THE DAY: 328 Restore in Us, O God
CONFESSION OF SIN
P: Let us confess our sin the presence of God and of one another,
Silence is kept for reflection
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.
P: 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.
C: Have mercy on us, O God.
P: 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.
C: Have mercy on us, O God.
P: Our past unfaithfulness, the pride, envy, hypocrisy, and apathy that have infected our lives, we confess to you.
C: Have mercy on us, O God.
P: Our self-indulgent appetites and ways, and our exploitation of other people, we confess to you.
C: Have mercy on us, O God.
P: Our negligence in prayer and worship, and our failure to share the faith that is in us, we confess to you.
C: Have mercy on us, O God.
P: Our neglect of human need and suffering, and indifference to injustice and cruelty, we confess to you.
C: Have mercy on us, O God.
P: Our false judgments, our uncharitable thoughts toward our neighbors, and our prejudice and contempt toward those who differ from us, we confess to you.
C: Have mercy on us, O God.
P: Our waste and pollution of your creation, and our lack of concern for those who come after us, we confess to you.
C: Have mercy on us, O God.
P: Restore us, O God, and let your angry depart from us.
C: Hear us, O God, for your mercy is great.
IMPOSITION OF ASHES
People will come forward to receive the ashes. As ashes are received, the following will be said, Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
P: Accomplish in us, O God, the work of your salvation,
C: That we may show forth your glory in the world.
P: By the cross and passion of your Son, our Savior,
C: bring us with all your saints to the joy of his resurrection.
P: Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all good ness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life.
C: Amen.
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
P: Merciful God,
C: receive our prayer.
LORD’S PRAYER (Read in unison)
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.
BLESSING
P: Almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, bless you now and forever.
C: Amen.
SENDING HYMN: 337 Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed
BENEDICTION
L: Go in peace. Jesus meets you on the way.
C: Thanks be to God.
THIS WEEK IN THE PARISH. Thursday: 9 am 1 pm Regular Food Pantry Distribution at Grace; Sunday, March 6: NO 8:30 am Worship; 8:45 am Sunday School at Grace; 10:15 Worship at Grace; 11:30 Joint Annual Meeting in basement at Grace followed by a light lunch and individual congregational meetings.
WE PRAY FOR: Andy Helmann, Lola Frye, Holly and Harry Hinzpeter, Shirley Hyer, Calvin Nelson, Kandy Hagen, Mariam Burdick, Kathy Haske, Suzanne Soltvedt, Lola St. Clair, John Thompson, Clarence Johnson, Carol Leopold, Alan Leopold, Pete Nelson, Pat Nelson, Donnie Benson, Barney Johnson, Everett Burdick, Bob Brod, LouAnn Bever, Sue Ann Preuss, Norm Hyer, Barb Nofsinger
SCHEDULE OF MID-WEEK LENTEN SERVICES
All services begin at 6:30 pm.
March 9 Fountain
March 16 Trinity
March 23 Grace
March 30 Fountain
April 6 Trinity
Annual meetings for all congregations in the parish will be March 6 at Grace Lutheran Church beginning at 11:30 am. Plan to attend and see what has been happening and how you can contribute your talents to your congregation and parish.
Our Youth Group will be having a Rock-A-Thon Saturday, March 27 through Sunday, March 28. They are dong this to raise funds for youth group activities including the National Youth Gathering in 2024. Ways you can help: sponsor/provide a meal or sponsor one of the rockers a flat or hourly rate—please be encouraging when youth ask you to sponsor them. Any questions can be directed to Kelly Green 608-547-9025 or eashdayisagift@hotmail.com.
+ Together In Mission +
WELCOME! If you are a visitor please fill out a “Welcome Card” and drop it in the offering plate. Fountain Grace Trinity Lutheran Parish is a congregation of the ELCA in the La Crosse Area Synod. We invite you to participate with us in following Christ as he leads.
Parish Office: 226 Erickson Street, Elroy WI 53929 Parish E-mail: fgtlpadmin@centurytel.net Phone: (608)462-5398 Sunday Organist: Heather Vlasak Sunday Pianist: Bev Rood
Parish Secretary: Kris Stauffacher; Grace Custodian: Dave Clark
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