Preview of Ash Wednesday Services at 4:30 and 7:00 p.m.

ASH WEDNESDAY February 22, 2012

Taking On Something for Lent:

Luther’s Catechisms

The Greatest of These Is Love:

The Ten Commandments

As We Gather

Our Lenten midweek services this year are focusing on the Catechisms of Luther. His Small and Large Catechisms were published in 1529. The material in the Large Catechism originated as sermons by Martin Luther on the basic texts of Christian teaching. In his Preface to the Large Catechism Luther writes, “But for myself I say this: I am also a doctor and preacher…Yet I act as a child who is being taught the catechism. Every morning—and whenever I have time—I read and say, word for word, the Ten Commandments, the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, the Psalms, and such. I must still read and study them daily. Yet I cannot master the catechism as I wish.”

Catechism comes from the Greek word katecho, which literally means to “sound back and forth” or “from above”. It was used already by St. Paul in Galatians 6:6 to denote Christian instruction. (The word echo also comes from this Greek word.) By the second century, it had come to designate the pre-baptismal instruction of catechumens. St. Augustine first used this word to designate basic Christian instruction. Luther used the word in this way throughout his life.

(McCain, Concordia, 309; Kolb, Wengert, The Book of Concord, 345)

Prelude (4:30) “On My Heart Imprint Your Image” 5th – 8th grade

Hymn 422

Hymn ~ “From Depths of Woe I Cry to Thee” Page 607

Service of Corporate Confession and Absolution

Stand

The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their Baptism.

Invocation Page 290

Psalm 51:1-13 and The Ten Commandments

P Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.

C Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

P For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.

C Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.

P Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

C Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.

P You shall have no other gods. What does this mean?

C We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things.

P You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God. What does this mean?

C We should fear and love God so that we do not curse, swear, use satanic arts, lie, or deceive by His name, but call upon it in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks.

P Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. What does this mean?

C We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.

P Honor your father and your mother. What does this mean?

C We should fear and love God so that we do not despise or anger our parents and other authorities, but honor them, serve and obey them, love and cherish them.

P You shall not murder. What does this mean?

C We should fear and love God so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body, but help and support him in every physical need.

P You shall not commit adultery. What does this mean?

C We should fear and love God so that we lead a sexually pure and decent life in what we say and do, and husband and wife love and honor each other.

P You shall not steal. What does this mean?

C We should fear and love God so that we do not take our neighbor’s money or possessions, or get them in any dishonest way, but help him to improve and protect his possessions and income.

P You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. What does this mean?

C What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not tell lies about our neighbor, betray him, slander him, or hurt his reputation, but defend him, speak well of him, and explain everything in the kindest way.

P You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. What does this mean?

C We should fear and love God so that we do not scheme to get our neighbor’s inheritance or house, or get it in a way which only appears right, but help and be of service to him in keeping it.

P You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. What does this mean?

C We should fear and love God so that we do not entice or force away our neighbor’s wife, workers, or animals, or turn them against him, but urge them to stay and do their duty. (The text of the commandments is from Ex. 20:3, 7, 8, 12–17.)

P What does God say about all these commandments? He says: “I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.” (Ex. 20:5-6) What does this mean?

C What does this mean? God threatens to punish all who break these commandments. Therefore, we should fear His wrath and not do anything against them. But He promises grace and every blessing to all who keep these commandments. Therefore, we should also love and trust in Him and gladly do what He commands.

P Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

C Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

P Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.

C Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

P Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.

C Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

P Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.

C Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

P Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love;

according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.

C Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,

and cleanse me from my sin!

P For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.

C Against you, you only, have I sinned

and done what is evil in your sight,

so that you may be justified in your words

and blameless in your judgment.

P Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,

and in sin did my mother conceive me.

C Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,

and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

P Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;

wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

C Let me hear joy and gladness;

let the bones that you have broken rejoice.

P Hide your face from my sins,

and blot out all my iniquities.

C Create in me a clean heart, O God,

and renew a right spirit within me.

P Cast me not away from your presence,

and take not your Holy Spirit from me.

C Restore to me the joy of your salvation,

and uphold me with a willing spirit.

Sit

Confessional Address Page 290

Stand

Confession and Absolution Page 291

Litany Page 249

(Note: “Thanks be to God.” Replaces the “alleluia” on page 250. It is sung following the word “Lord” rather than at the same time)

Ash Wednesday Collect

P Almighty and everlasting God, You despise nothing You have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent. Create in us new and contrite hearts that lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness we may receive from You full pardon and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C Amen

Sit

HYMN ~ “These Are the Holy Ten Commands” Page 581

Stanzas 1-6

Note adapted from comments in Luther’s Works:

Luther considered it very important for the church to have hymns on the Ten Commandments. This attitude requires a word of explanation, for to the modern mind the whole idea of writing a hymn on the Ten Commandments seems preposterous. We have become so accustomed to think of poetry as an expression of the personal feelings and emotions of the writer that we cannot conceive of a merely “practical” use of poetry. Hymnody in our own age has been defined as “lyrical religion.” We find it difficult to think of a merely educational hymn without sentimental overtones.

But Luther proceeded from different premises. Very soberly he thought of the hymn as a means of instilling the Word of God in the people. While some of his hymns were born out of his most personal experience and reflected the struggles and victories of his own faith, others were simple versifications of the Catechism. And it is hardly surprising that the demands of the law in the Ten Commandments did not inspire him to such lofty joy as the message of the gospel and justification by faith. Nevertheless, he wanted both law and gospel to be expressed in verse to instruct the people and firmly ground them in the whole plan of salvation. As early as 1525 these hymns were sung in the weekday services during Lent when the sermons were on the Catechism. According to the Wittenberg church order of 1533, the choir boys were supposed to sing this hymn before catechism sermons and the other hymn on the Ten Commandments afterward (AE 53:277).

Old Testament Lesson Joel 2:12–19

¹²“Yet even now,” declares the Lord,

“return to me with all your heart,

with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;

¹³and rend your hearts and not your garments.”

Return to the Lord, your God,

for he is gracious and merciful,

slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;

and he relents over disaster.

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;

consecrate a fast;

call a solemn assembly;

¹⁶gather the people.

Consecrate the congregation;

assemble the elders;

gather the children,

even nursing infants.

Let the bridegroom leave his room,

and the bride her chamber.

¹⁷Between the vestibule and the altar

let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep

and say, “Spare your people, O Lord,

and make not your heritage a reproach,

a byword among the nations.

Why should they say among the peoples,

‘Where is their God?’”

¹⁸Then the Lord became jealous for his land

and had pity on his people.

¹⁹The Lord answered and said to his people,

“Behold, I am sending to you

grain, wine, and oil,

and you will be satisfied;

and I will no more make you

a reproach among the nations.”

P This is the Word of the Lord

C Thanks be to God.

Gradual

(4:30) “Savior When in Dust to Thee” Hymn 419 5^th – 8^th Grade

(7:00) “Have Mercy in Your Goodness, Lord” – Psalm 51 Christus

Epistle Reading 2 Corinthians 5:20b—6:10

^20bWe implore 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.

^6:1Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. ²For he says,

“In a favorable time I listened to you,

and in a day of salvation I have helped you.”

Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. ³We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, ⁴but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, ⁵beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; ⁶by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; ⁷by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; ⁸through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; ⁹as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; ¹⁰as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.

P This is the Word of the Lord

C Thanks be to God.

Stand

Verse

(4:30) “Return to the Lord...” Page 157

(7:00) “Return to the Lord, Your God” Christus

Holy Gospel Matthew 6:1–6, 16–21

P The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the 6^th chapter

C Glory to You, O Lord.

¹[Jesus said:] “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

²“Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. ³But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

⁵“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. ⁶But when 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 when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. ¹⁷But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, ¹⁸that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

¹⁹“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, ²⁰but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

P This is the Gospel of the Lord.

C Praise to You, O Christ.

Sit

HYMN ~ “These Are the Holy Ten Commands” Page 581

Stanzas 7-12

Note adapted from comments in Luther’s Works:

Luther assured the immediate reception of this hymn by assigning to it the melody of the pre-Reformation pilgrims’ hymn “In Gottes Namen fahren wir” (“We Journey in the Name of God”), sung since the thirteenth century.

(AE 53:277)

Sermon

The Greatest of These Is Love:

The Ten Commandments

Exodus 20:1–17

Stand

Nicene Creed Page 158

Sit

Gathering of Our Tithes and Sacrificial Offerings

(We request all who are present to legibly sign the attendance book that is at the end of your row. Please pass this on to the person next to you.)

Stand

Offertory (7:00) “Lord, You I Love with All my Heart” Christus

Celebration of Holy Communion

Preface Page 160

It is truly good, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who overcame the assaults of the devil and gave His life as a ransom for many that with cleansed hearts we might be prepared joyfully to celebrate the paschal feast in sincerity and truth. Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and saying:

Sanctus ~ Holy, Holy, Holy Page 161

Prayer of Thanksgiving Page 161

Lord’s Prayer Page 162

Words Of Institution Page 162

Pax Domini ~ The Peace Of The Lord Page 163

Agnus Dei ~ Lamb Of God Page 163

Sit

Distribution Hymn:

“Draw Near and Take the Body of the Lord” Page 637

Post-Communion Canticle - Nunc Dimittis:

“Lord, Now Lettest Thou Thy servant” Page 199

Post-Communion Collect Page 166

Benediction Page 166

Closing Hymn ~ “Abide With Me” Page 878

(Stanzas 1 & 6)

+ Silent Prayer +

Acknowledgments

all scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Printed liturgical portions from Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House. Reprinted with permission.

Using Luther’s Catechisms

for Lent

The concept for this midweek Lenten series was inspired by the Book of Concord:

Such matters also concern the laity and the salvation of their souls. Therefore we also confess Dr. Luther’s Small and Large Catechisms as they are included in Luther’s works. They are “the layman’s Bible” because everything necessary for a Christian to know for salvation is included in them, which is handled more extensively in the Holy Scriptures. (FC Ep I 5)

As part of your Lenten emphasis on Luther’s catechisms, you may wish to make the catechism a part of your daily Lenten routine. Each of the Six Chief Parts of Christian Doctrine could be read through each week in Lent, and the Large Catechism could be read once in its entirety during the Lenten season.

Spiritual Growth in Lent: Many people choose to give up something for Lent. Instead, you may want to take on something for your Lenten discipline. You may want to read the Six Chief Parts of Christian Doctrine from Luther’s Small Catechism each day according to the following schedule:

Monday—The Ten Commandments

Tuesday—The Apostles’ Creed

Wednesday—The Lord’s Prayer

Thursday—The Sacrament of Holy Baptism

Friday—Confession

Saturday—The Sacrament of the Altar

Sunday—Daily Prayers, Table of Duties, or

Christian Questions with Their Answers

The Small Catechism is found on page 321 in Lutheran Service Book. You may also choose to read Luther’s Large Catechism during Lent, focusing on one chief part each week. If you choose to read through the Large Catechism, there is an interesting note about the Exhortation to Confession. The Large Catechism, first published in 1529, did not originally contain this exhortation, but before 1529 ended, a revised edition came out that did include it. Nevertheless, the original 1580 German and 1584 Latin editions of the Book of Concord do not include the Exhortation to Confession. So if you have Concordia: Book of Concord, you will find the exhortation instead in Appendix B.