Lent 2013

Fast·Pray·Give
Week 1

Pastor's Peace

Grace to you and peace, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Welcome to Lent!  Lent is an opportunity for reflection, prayer and action centered in the life, death and resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ!  Each week during Lent, we will publish this newsletter.  The Newsletter will include prayers and liturgy based upon the current week's lectionary reading. The source for this liturgy is Feasting On The Word: Liturgies for Year C, Worship Companion.

What is offered here are resources for you and your family as you make your walk where Jesus walked.  Receive this as "bread for the journey." 

How will you "Fast·Pray·Give" this week?

Blessing for the Way,

Rev. Tracy L. MacKenzie, Pastor
Horseshoe Drive United Methodist Church

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Invitation to Lenten Discipline

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

The early Christians observed with great devotion the days of our Lord’s passion and resurrection.

It became the custom of the Church that before the Easter celebration, there should be a forty-day season of spiritual preparation.

During this season, converts to the faith were prepared for Holy Baptism.

It was also a time when persons who had committed sins and had separated themselves from the community of faith were reconciled by penitence and forgiveness, and restored to participation in the life of the Church.

In this way, the whole congregation was reminded of the mercy and forgiveness proclaimed in the gospel of Jesus Christ and the need we all have to renew our faith.

I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to observe a Holy Lent:

            By self-examination and repentance,

            By prayer, fasting, and self-denial

            And, by reading and meditating on God’s Holy Word, to make a

            right beginning of repentance

            And as a mark of our mortal nature.

Let us now bow before God our Creator and Redeemer.  (The United Methodist Book of Worship)

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Texts for Lent Week 1:

Deuteronomy 26:1-11                          Romans 10:8b-13

Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16                              Luke 4:1-13

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Prayers
The season of Lent sets us on a journey.

The journey begins in the wilderness.

We follow the way of Jesus,

who faced trials, trouble, temptation, and testing.

Like Jesus, we are not alone.

The Holy Spirit is with us. God’s Word is on our lips.

Our call is to trust in God alone,

to do God’s will in all things.

For God leads us not only into the wilderness,

but also through the wilderness.

Prayer of the Day

God Most High, thank you for signs of your power and grace, shown to us even in the wilderness.

Give us courage to stand firm in your Word in every time of trial and testing,
that we may enter the land of your freedom and receive the salvation you so generously give; 
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.  Amen.

Prayers of Intercession

Almighty God, we pray for all who live in places of threat and danger.

We trust in you , for you are able to make peace in the midst of warfare and turn rough places into level ground. Teach us to prepare a table where enemies may feast instead of fight.

Hear our prayer, O God, our refuge and fortress, our shelter and shade.  

We pray for those who do not have enough— enough to eat, enough to wear, or enough justice. We trust in you, for you fill the empty with good things and lift up the lowly. Help us to share the abundance we enjoy and to work for the freedom and dignity of all your children.

Hear our prayer, O God, our refuge and fortress, our shelter and shade.

We pray for all who are chronically homeless, wandering our streets and sleeping unprotected; and for 

those who are homeless for a season because of natural disaster or economic trouble.

Hear our prayer, O God, our refuge and fortress, our shelter and shade.

We trust in you, for you give even to the sparrow a nest where she may lay her young. Make us more determined to assist those who need a place to live.

Hear our prayer, O God, our refuge and fortress, our shelter and shade.

We pray for those who suffer in body, mind, or heart.  We trust in you, for you are able to heal and to make whole in this life and the next. Make us tender caregivers, that your healing power may be at work in us and through us.

Hear our prayer, O God, our refuge and fortress, our shelter and shade.

We pray for the church, dividing and uniting, wavering and witnessing.  We trust in you, for you called the church into being and have made us your body in and for the world. Keep your church from being both uncertain and too certain.  Help us to joyfully trust that the Spirit is leading us into new opportunities of faith and service.

O God, our refuge and fortress, our shelter and shade, we pray these things in the name of Jesus Christ, who is generous to all who call upon him. Amen.

For your Reflection

In Luke 4:1–13, the devil tempted Jesus to turn stones into bread, to take control of the kingdoms of the world, and to perform a spectacular stunt that would “wow the crowd.” Jesus refused to take control in these ways. Instead, Jesus chose another way to feed hungry people, to demonstrate what the kingdom of God looks like, and to enter Jerusalem humbly. Why do you think Jesus chose another way to “do justice” and what are some ways that you and your faith community practice justice in his name?