Lenten Evening Prayer: Fast, Pray, Love

Wednesday, March 8, 2023
6:15 PM 7:15 PM 18:15 19:15

Union Presbyterian Church 200 E Main St Endicott, NY, 13760 United States (map)

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Join us each Wednesday in Lent as we gather for a simple supper at 5:30 pm (in our Fellowship Hall) followed by Evening Prayer in our sanctuary. Throughout this season we will be exploring Jesus’ sermon on the Mount, filled with beautiful words for faithful living. This week’s theme: Fast, pray, love.

Wednesday Evening Prayer  

Union Presbyterian Church, Endicott, NY 

The Sermon on the Mount: Fast, Pray, Love 

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

March 8, 2023 

Preacher: Rev. Pat Raube 

Prelude Chris Bartlette 

“Day By Day and With Each Passing Moment,” Lloyd Larson

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.    

Call to Worship Rev. Pat Raube 

Stay with us, Lord, for it is evening, 

and the day is almost over. 

Turn us again, O God of our salvation,

that the light of your face may shine on us.

Hymn  #198 PH

“O God, You Are My God,” Christopher L. Webber

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.    

O God, You are my God;

I seek you eagerly;

My soul and body thirst for You

In barren lands and dry.

Therefore I gazed on You

Within Your holy place,

That I might look upon Your power,

The glory of Your face.

Your love is more than life;

My lips shall give You praise;

I lift my hands up in Your name

And bless You all my days.

My soul is well content,

My mouth shall give You praise

When I remember You at night

And ponder all Your ways.

Your wings have sheltered me,

My helper in the past;

My soul, Lord, clings to You alone,

Your right hand holds me fast.

Scripture Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before others in order to be seen by them, for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.

“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. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

“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. But 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.

And whenever you fast, do not look somber, like the hypocrites, for they mark their faces to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so 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.

Response We live not by bread alone, 

but by every word that comes from the mouth of God: 

Thanks be to God! 

Meditation “Fast, Pray, Love”

Music Meditation Chris Bartlette 

“People Need the Lord,” Mark Hayes

Used by permission, CCLI License #CSPL068847

Prayers  

Let my prayer rise before you as incense, O Lord, 

and the lifting of my hands as the evening sacrifice. 

The Lord’s Prayer (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 debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.  

Hymn  #542 PH

“All Praise to Thee, My God, This Night”

(Public Domain)

All praise to Thee, my God, this night,

For all the blessings of the light!

Keep me, O keep me, safe from harm

Within the shelter of Thine arm!

Forgive me, Lord, through Christ, I pray,

The wrong that I have done this day,

That I, before I sleep, may be

At peace with neighbor, self, and Thee.

O may my soul on Thee repose,

And with sweet sleep mine eyelids close,

Sleep that shall me more vigorous make

To serve Thee, God, when I awake.

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;

Praise God, all creatures here below;

Praise God above, ye heavenly host;

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Blessing    

Bless the Lord.  

God’s name be praised!  

May God bless us in our sleep with rest,  

in our dreams with vision,  

in our waking with a calm mind,  

and in our souls with the friendship of the Holy Spirit,  

this night and every night.   

Amen!  

Postlude Chris Bartlette

“Jesus Is All the World to Me,” Mark Hayes

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.    