FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT
YEAR A
Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7
Psalm 32
Romans 5:12-19
Matthew 4:1-11
Prayer of Preparation
Holy Spirit, lead me
where creation is unformed into dust,
where soul-breath trembles into stillness,
where word waits unspoken into utter silence.
Lead me from the temptation
to avoid the time of trial,
to stand silent in the time of injustice,
to forget the sacrifice of mercy.
Holy Spirit, lead.
Call to Worship
Right Side: We have eaten the fruit of knowledge.
Left Side: We know what is good and what is evil.
Right Side: Knowing good, let us do it.
Left Side: Knowing evil, let us renounce it.
Opening Collect
You who create all beings in the beauty of holiness,
without any sin or brokenness,
free of all evil and shame,
clean and shining:
Grant us such integrity of soul
that we may follow the example of your Son
in resisting all temptation
and standing firm in the time of trial,
thereby revealing the glory of your image in us. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
We confess that we listen to voices
that are not your voice, Holy God,
especially when they tell us what we want to hear.
We confess that we prefer to trust our own wishes
rather than your wisdom.
We confess that we are so out of control
we eat fruit that is not intended for us.
Forgive us our immaturity and our pride and our greed.
Teach us (again!) to allow your Spirit within us
to guide us in wise decisions and faithful behavior. Amen.
Pastoral Prayer
Guiding God, you lead us into the wilderness
where the noise and clutter of the world
can whisper into silence behind us,
where we can be alone with you.
In the quiet, tune our souls to your wisdom
so the temptations which surround us will clamor in vain.
In the emptiness, fill us with your holy presence,
bread for our hunger and living water for our thirst.
In the barrenness, moisten us to life
with your evergreen love and hope for us.
Guiding God, lead us apart
as your Son was led apart,
that we may be transformed by your Spirit
and commissioned to your work. Amen.
Prayer of Dedication
We know what is good:
to share all that you have entrusted to us, Generous Creator.
Receive these offerings and receive our hearts and souls.
May your blessing transform all that we are
and all that we bring
into all that you need. Amen.
Dismissal
May you find a hiding place in God
where deep silence will birth words of grace,
nagging discomfort will birth deeds of justice,
startling questions will birth journeys of discovery,
wrenching grief will birth reconciliation,
and trembling stillness will birth glory.