Phoenix Preacher

Liberator, Redeemer, Emancipator (The terms roll easily off our lips.)

For your power that notices,

your passion that descends,

your freedom that liberates,

We thank you.

We hold in your presence all those bondaged,

in fear and despair,

in poverty and weariness,

in crime, war, and violence,

in narcissism and self-indulgence.

Work your wonders among us,

in your strength like war,

in your gentleness like nursing,

in your abiding love like forever.

Work your wonders, we pray in the weak name of Jesus.

Amen.
Walter Brueggemann. Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth: The Prayers of Walter Brueggemann (p. 117). Kindle Edition.

“Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” ” (Matthew 11:2–3 ESV)

John wasn’t sure he’d gotten it right.

This was not what he was expecting, not how he thought it would go down.

He had believed that Jesus was the Messiah, the One who would come to set the captives free.

However, John was in prison.

He was not free.

He was scared and shaken.

He had risked it all on being right and now he wasn’t sure if he had made the right decision.

He had…and he lost it all anyway.

A woman would gladly receive his head on a plate soon thereafter.

I don’t like this story, but I have to learn from it.

Sometimes, Jesus lets the bad guys win.

Sometimes, Jesus lets you lose.

Sometimes, Jesus lets you die.

John was not in prison waiting to be executed because he was out of the favor of God.

“Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist.”(Matthew 11:11 ESV)

John was in prison and would die for the sake of the kingdom.

Somehow, in a way neither John nor we can understand, our suffering can and does further the kingdom and plan of God.

The miracles were for unbelievers, the suffering belongs to us.

We have to be willing to receive both.

The kingdom is worth it.

““Go and tell John what you hear and see:the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.””(Matthew 11:4–6 ESV)

Like I said, I don’t like this story.

Make your own application…

On Wednesdays we remember that a brother languishes in a foreign prison.

We do more than just remember, however…we stand with him by using our social media to advocate for his release.

We ask that you change your Facebook profile picture to his and that you “like”  the “Free Saeed” Facebook page and participate in some of the activities that promote his cause.

On this day, the Celebrant begins the liturgy with the Salutation and the Collect of the Day.

Let us pray.

Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness,may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Old Testament  Joel 2:1-2, 12-17, or Isaiah 58:1-12
Psalm 103, or 103:8-14
Epistle  2 Corinthians 5:20b–6:10
Gospel  Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

After the Sermon, all stand, and the Celebrant or Minister appointed invites the people to the observance of a holy Lent, saying

Dear People of God: The first Christians observed with great devotion the days of our Lord’s passion and resurrection, and it became the custom of the Church to prepare for them by a season of penitence and fasting. This season of Lent provided a time in which converts to the faith were prepared for Holy Baptism. It was also a time when those who, because of notorious sins, had been separated from the body of the faithful were reconciled by penitence and forgiveness, and restored to the fellowship of the Church. Thereby, the whole congregation was put in mind of the message of pardon and absolution set forth in the Gospel of our Savior, and of the need which all Christians continually have to renew their repentance and faith.

I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance;by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word. And, to make a right beginning of repentance, and as a mark of our mortal nature, let us now  kneel before the Lord, our maker and redeemer.

Silence is then kept for a time, all kneeling.

If ashes are to be imposed, the Celebrant says the following prayer

Almighty God, you have created us out of the dust of the earth: Grant that these ashes may be to us a sign of our mortality and penitence, that we may remember that it is only by your gracious gift that we are given everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

The ashes are imposed with the following words

Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.

The following Psalm is then sung or said 

Psalm 51    Miserere mei, Deus

“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!

For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 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. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.

Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”

(Psalms 51:1–17 ESV)

Litany of Penitence

The Celebrant and People together, all kneeling

Most holy and merciful Father: 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.

The Celebrant continues

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, Lord.

We have been deaf 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.
Have mercy on us, Lord.

We confess to you, Lord, all our past unfaithfulness: the pride, hypocrisy, and impatience of our lives,

We confess to you, Lord.

Our self-indulgent appetites and ways, and our exploitation of other people,
We confess to you, Lord.

Our anger at our own frustration, and our envy of those more fortunate than ourselves,
We confess to you, Lord.

Our intemperate love of worldly goods and comforts, and our dishonesty in daily life and work,
We confess to you, Lord.

Our negligence in prayer and worship, and our failure to commend the faith that is in us,
We confess to you, Lord.

Accept our repentance, Lord, for the wrongs we have done: for our blindness to human need and suffering, and our indifference to injustice and cruelty,
Accept our repentance, Lord.

For all false judgments, for uncharitable thoughts toward our neighbors, and for our prejudice and contempt toward those who differ from us,
Accept our repentance, Lord.

For our waste and pollution of your creation, and our lack of concern for those who come after us,
Accept our repentance, Lord.

Restore us, good Lord, and let your anger depart from us;
Favorably hear us, for your mercy is great.

Accomplish in us the work of your salvation,
That we may show forth your glory in the world.

By the cross and passion of your Son our Lord,

Bring us with all your saints to the joy of his resurrection.

The Bishop, if present, or the Priest, stands and, facing the people, says

Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who desires not the death of sinners, but rather that they may turn from their wickedness and live, has given power and commandment to his ministers to declare and pronounce to his people, being penitent, the absolution and remission of their sins. He pardons and absolves all those who truly repent, and with sincere hearts believe his holy Gospel.

Therefore we beseech him to grant us true repentance and his Holy Spirit, that those things may please him which we do on this day, and that the rest of our life hereafter may be pure and holy, so that at the last we may come to his eternal joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A deacon or lay reader leading the service remains kneeling and substitutes the prayer for forgiveness appointed at Morning Prayer.

The Peace is then exchanged.

In the absence of a bishop or priest, all that precedes may be led by a deacon or lay reader.

The Litany of Penitence may be used at other times, and may be preceded by an appropriate invitation and a penitential psalm.

When Communion follows, the service continues with the Offertory.

1. I didn’t watch the Oscars last night because I had no interest at all. This made me feel very holy and separated until the Lord reminded me of all the people who didn’t watch the Super Bowl for the same reason…

2. We had a wonderful time at church last night. We usually do. Most people do. Maybe it’s time to take another view of what we have other than the one overlooking the cesspool.

3. It’s the Lenten season on the church calendar. I wish this meant something to me, but it really doesn’t.

4.  When you preach the law without applying grace, what you have actually accomplished is to excite the sin. The same is true with all “moral” preaching. Guess what graceless preaching about the “gay agenda” is going to accomplish?…“What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.”(Romans 7:7–12 ESV)

5. I taught on Mark 2:1-12 last night about the four friends of the paralytic. When we choose to love someone enough to bring them to Christ despite all the obstacles the world, the flesh, and the devil put in our paths, miracles can happen.  Do you believe that?

6. I rejoice in the reality of the wrath of God. A God who is not just and righteous is unworthy of worship.

7. ““Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.””(Mark 2:17 ESV) The mistake we make is that we don’t understand after the first healing we remain under the Great Physicians care the rest of our lives…

8. I’m waiting eagerly for the flood of prophecy updates that will accompany the current Russian aggression. Hal Lindsey and friends will be able to recycle the books they wrote when Russia was relevant…

9. The sad part about the above is that those speculations will detract from that part of the church actually praying for the people involved in the conflict…and in doing so they will completely miss the point of why the church is here in the first place.

10. I had a bunch of emails last week asking why I’m trying to convert Calvary Chapel to Calvinism. Seriously. For the record, I’m not. We’ve actually had more folks convert to Lutheranism…