ASH Wednesday Service | 2nd March 2022

[Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] oh [Music] as the darkness [Music] [Applause] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] we are [Music] a very very good evening to all of you and happy land today when we begin our journey of lent the lord be with you grace mercy and peace be from god our father and our lord jesus christ be with you and also with you please be seated for the introit [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Applause] my [Music] i [Music] let us [Music] [Music] i [Music] kindly stand for the opening him [Music] [Music] then [Music] [Music] please [Music] oh [Music] we [Music] need to see [Music] [Music] lost and [Music] please [Music] r r [Applause] [Music] in [Music] oh [Music] god [Music] is [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] blessed be the lord who forgives all our sins whose mercy endures forever the lord be with you as far as the east is from the west so has god set our sins from us brothers and sisters in christ since early days christians have observed with great devotion the time of our lord's passion and resurrection and prepared for this by a season of penitence and fasting by carefully keeping these days christians take to heart the call to repentance and the assurance of forgiveness proclaimed in the gospel and so grow in faith and in devotion of our lord 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 please be seated for the prayer of purity let us pray together almighty god to whom our hearts are open our desires known and from whom no secrets are hidden cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your holy spirit that we may perfectly love you and work dream and fight in your holy name through christ our lord our lord jesus christ said the fast and great commandment is this hear o israel the lord our god is the only lord you shall love the lord your god with all your heart with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength the second is this love your neighbor as yourself there is no other commandment greater than this amen lord have mercy christ have mercy [Music] lord have mercy the collect let us pray the prayer appointed today the ash wednesday together almighty and everlasting god you hate nothing that you have made and forgive their sins for those who are penitent create and make in us new and contrite hearts that we worthly lamenting of our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness may receive from you the god of all mercy perfect remission and forgiveness through jesus christ our lord your son lord who is alive and reigns with you in the unity of the holy spirit one god now and forever amen we stand for the sum [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Applause] [Music] [Applause] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] wickedness [Music] [Applause] [Music] secretly [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] rejoice is [Music] is [Music] thy presence and take not thy holy spirit from me oh give me the comfort of [Music] [Applause] [Music] and shall i teach thy ways [Music] [Applause] is [Applause] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] the sacrifice of god is [Music] [Music] so so the old testament reading comes from isaiah chapter 58 starting to read at verse 1. shout it aloud do not hold back raise your voice like a trumpet declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of jacob their sins for day after day they seek me out they seem eager to know my ways as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its god they asked me for just decisions and seemed eager for god to come near why have we fasted they say and you have not seen it why have we humbled ourselves and you have not noticed yet on the day of fasting you do as you please and exploit all your workers your fasting ends in quarreling and strife and in striking each other with wicked fists you cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be had on high is this the kind of fast i have chosen only a day for a man to humble himself is it only for bowing one's head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes is that what you call a fast a day acceptable to the lord is this not the kind of fasting i have chosen to lose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke to set the oppressed free and break every yolk is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter when you see the naked to clothe him and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood then your light will break forth like the dawn and your healing will quickly appear then your righteousness will go before you and the glory of the lord will be your rear guard then you will call and the lord will answer you will cry for help and he will say here am i if you do away with the yoke of oppression with a pointing finger and malicious talk and if you spend yourselves on behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed then your light will rise in the darkness and your night will become like the noonday the lord will guide you always he will satisfy your needs in a sunscorched land and will strengthen your frame you will be like a well-watered garden like a spring whose waters never fail your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations you will be called repairer of broken walls restorer of streets of dwellings this is the word of the lord [Music] creating me a clean [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] and [Music] oh [Music] according to [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] me [Music] presence [Music] [Applause] [Music] salvation [Music] i know my [Music] me [Music] [Applause] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] we stand we stand to hear the good news of our salvation as it is written in the gospel according to saint john chapter 8 beginning to read at verse 1. but jesus went to mount olives at dawn he appeared again in the temple courts where all the people gathered around him and he sat down to teach them the teachers of the law and the pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery they made her stand before the group and said to jesus teacher this woman was caught in the act of adultery in the law of moses commanded us to stone such women now what do you say they were using this question as a trap in order to have a basis for accusing him but jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger when they kept on questioning him he straightened up and said to them if any one of you is without sin let him be the first to throw a stone at her again he stood down and wrote on the ground at this those who had begun to go away one at a time the older ones fast until only jesus was left with the woman still standing there jesus straightened up and asked her woman where are they has no one condemned you no one saw she said then neither do i condemn you jesus declared go now and live your life of sin this is the gospel of christ we bring you his grace the archbishop for the evening reflection on the subject of lent and your grace we are happy to have you here today leading us in a time of prayer denial and fasting to prepare i will ask you to join the choir in singing the hymn will you come and follow me [Music] follow [Applause] [Music] [Music] say [Music] will you let my life be grown in [Music] will you leave yourself [Music] will you read [Music] [Applause] [Music] your name [Music] will you please [Music] and you give me [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] around [Music] me [Music] let me turn [Music] [Music] [Applause] let us pray together heavenly father we thank you so much for gathering us this evening to worship and honor you as we celebrate the ushering in of land season and lord we want to thank you that christ our savior came to serve and to die and to rise to forgive us our sins restore us oh god unto the joy of thy salvation even as we reflect your word teach us oh god how to follow you teach us how to renew ourselves through the repentance of our sins and teach us oh god how to follow you faithfully for this our prayer in jesus name we pray amen please let us be seated i take the opportunity to greet all of us this evening in the name of our lord and savior jesus christ good evening praise the lord i also do take this opportunity to welcome all of us to this our ash awareness day service where we all gathered in the cathedral to celebrate and commemorate this important season in the calendar and the life of the church and we do welcome all the visitors and they know we have quite a number from not just kenya from other places i've met one canon march from south africa who came to attend the environmental workshop that is going on in our nation and could be some also in our midst who have come from far and wide so do feel welcome may the lord be with you and bless you as you all share together my name is jackson olessa pete the archbishop of the anglican church of kenya by the grace of god forgiven by jesus and i walk with him in humility and we want to thank god for the opportunity and for our salvation the topic of my sharing tonight as we celebrate this land season and beginning it is taken from the psalm ready to us and those words are repeated severally by the choir as they were singing restore the joy of thy salvation unto me o lord restore the joy of thy salvation unto me o lord the word restoration or renewal depict you know something that has been wasted brought back to life and today we are using the symbol of ashes as a symbol of repentance and ashes it is presented which has been consumed and completely destroyed and this is what david chose to use as a symbol of his repentance mode that i was consumed within me my spirit was completely crushed in sin and i need restoration renewal rejuvenation a new life therefore restoration of our salvation shall be the theme of the entire season of lent where we focus our attention on repentance and prayer and fasting and asking god to accompany us in our spiritual journey individually collectively and as a church and as a people who follow him needing renewal and restoration the season of land originated in the very earliest days of the christian church when the church was preparing for easter and they were asking themselves they're faithful how do we dedicate ourselves to this great mission christ came to do and as we commemorate the work of salvation which culminated in calvary during easter how do we begin to prepare ourselves and prayerfully journey towards that season as you remember him and therefore the church began to gather to observe at a moment of 40 days of self-denial fasting and prayer in preparation for easter time when christ liberated us from our sins as we seek the restoration of our salvation and our souls which are injured or sometimes completely consumed by sin and this is a cry of david lent is a 40 day period before easter it begins on ash wednesday and this year today the 2nd of march 2022 and it will end in the holy saturday the day after good friday on the 16th of april 2022 we skip sundays during this countdown of the 40 days because sundays represent the days of the resurrection of our lord and savior so sundays are taken a celebration mode while the rest of the days are a moment of renewal and the moment of fasting by observing the 40 days of lent we imitate christ withdrawal into the wilderness for 40 days most of the churches that have continuously continuous history extending before ad 1500 and slightly afterwards observe length it is a common practice that during this season christians fast voluntarily they abstain from pleasures of the world and abstain from you know delicacies and foods that you know they are used to they don't do without and mainly meet and other prized commodities that we take and the theme here is to you know exercise self-denial of the things that we pray for and exercise our reliance and trust in god so that it is not what we can provide for ourselves it is what god can provide for us as jesus was for 40 days in the wilderness fasting and praying and you know the devil came and asked him why don't you make bread you are so hungry out of this stone so that you demonstrate you're the son of god and christ said you know man does not live by bread alone so this is a moment where we can demonstrate that you know we don't live by what we eat alone we live by what god provides and we can rely on him completely christian tradition have also used this moment as a moment of in that self-denial of also giving to the church so that what we are saving from those things that we are normally used to we can make a saving for the mission of christ so that we participate with all that we have in extending the gospel ministry and message however the discipline of avoiding pleasantries meat and other animal products during this season has gained popularity over the years it is worth noting that lent and the discipline of fasting should not be observed for a legalistic point from a legalistic point of view it is not something that you feel pushed to it is out of relational and willfully willingly observing it yourself prayerfully not because somebody else is demanding you to do it is not a demand it is a personal choice to vast and to go through this season focusing your attention on god and god alone the perspective of enriching our work with jesus christ should be the focus over the years believers who have focused more intently on this season have experienced spiritual renewal and that is why our theme is the restoration of the joy of our salvation restoration from a consumed you know being which sin has consumed us so that god will renew us and freshers during this land moment during land we decorate the church with color purple while the clergy are done their purple stole and you can see today that is a theme of allah claddy this was a a sign of preparation for the coming of the king the king jesus said you know the entry into jerusalem asking when they sang her son hosanna the king has arrived pastor rick owen of sanderburg church pointed out in his book purpose-driven life that god considered 40 days a spiritually significant time period whenever god wanted to prepare someone for this purpose he took a long period either 40 days and for the children of israel 40 years in the wilderness and it is long time enough to stretch patients to stretch you know a moment of waiting and that we can cite some of the you know moments god used uh 40 days or 40 years to depict you know a moment of renewing a society a moment of renewing an individual a moment of stretching the needs of an individual to rely totally on god and let me just cite a few north life was transformed by 40 days of rain when he prepared the act and you know those 40 days in the act was also 40 days of destruction of that which was sinful in the world so god used 40 days to completely destroy that which was sinful but to renew in those 40 days those those who are faithful and those who are preserved in the in the act moses was transformed by 40 days in mount sinai when he went to get the commandment of the lord he had to spend a moment waiting for god to give him instructions and the commandments on how to lead and guide a newborn nation the nation of israel a nation with a commandment and a commitment to their god elijah was transformed when god gave him 40 days of strengthening by a single meal and he waited and he had no change so that he stretched for 40 days david was transformed by goliath 40 days challenge you know when he came to kill that giant it was at the 40th day when the giant was challenging the children of israel every single morning for 40 days bring your champion to face me and david ended that day by facing the the giant goliath the entire city of nineveh was transformed when gods gave the people 40 days to change they were given 40 days to repent to change or else they are they are destroyed jesus was empowered by 40 days of uh in the wilderness fasting and praying before he began his ministry in galilee the disciples are transformed by 40 days with jesus christ after his resurrection appearing to them ministering to them before he ascended may the next 40 days of lent this year 2022 be your moment of personal self renewal transformation that the lord will bring to your life and that's why the theme you know i cry unto the lord for the restoration of our joy of salvation that may these 40 years be a transformative moment for you and me that the lord will refresh us restore our salvation and forgive us our sins as we seek him in earnest and cry unto him i invite all of us to consider observing lent as a time of renewal a season of growing closer to god a moment of repentance a moment of prayer a moment where we shall also be giving and supporting those who need our support a moment of sharing our life as christ came to share his love with us in the world that was completely lost in sin for the next couple of minutes allow me to draw a few reflections from the scripture read passages that were read to us from the psalms which is psalms 51 david regarding the time this was regarding the time nothing the prophet came to david after sinning and committing adultery with bethsheba and he was told what he has done and you know he was told figuratively he had a moment of repentance going before the lord in sackcloth putting his body on ashes and putting on socks and drugs and repented a whole king humiliating himself before everybody in repentance and saying this is my moment of renewal and he had nothing nothing to fear that moment other than to cry out to god and demonstrate publicly that is repenting of his sins sin affects our lives like the way jiggers affect the human body sin is into our spiritual and emotional health just as jiggers burrow into the person's body it multiplies and causes pain you know when that little thing called a get into the system it goes and multiply and give birth to many you know many many many of more jiggers and if it is not well removed it destroys the body their toes are destroyed and and sometimes you lose even the entire food because of it won't make walking very painful so people drop out of school and they lose their livelihoods and normally are put into great shame and they they reduce themselves to hiding places because they take it as a shameful uh as god likewise sin destroys every part of our lives shame prevent people from admitting that they have jiggers so sin also is shameful and sometimes shame prevent us from repenting the way david came out to repent but this only allows the problem to grow us if we keep it to ourselves what will happen the problem will not diminish it will not go away it will still be with us and until a painful exercise happens in the analogy of jiggers when the skin is completely cut off and removed uh so sin must also be cut off from our very own beings and allow ourselves uh to be removed of it and the only sure way of removing sin from us is through repentance these psalms expresses one of the you know earliest examples of repentance in all of scripture countless broken sinners have found in these words an extreme escalate expression of their deeply felt need for god's mercy and forgiveness we are taught by power by david that you know the need and the quest for forgiveness is for the restoration of our souls the salvation of our souls david confessed has helped many people to examine themselves remove all excuses because if a king can be able to to do that who am i not to do it and we do it not half-heartedly but wholeheartedly sorrowfully and express our seeking to be pardoned by god and they demonstrate that we have turned and completely turned to christ through confession land is a season of repentance and seeking for god's grace and mercy that is what will restore that is what will restore the joy of our salvation and this is until we repent it's until we come to that moment of complete turnaround and turn to us god is when we can experience the joy of our salvation when sin invades invaders our only hope for joy peace and restoration is god unfailing love and his mercy and god provided this avenue through christ our savior that's why we are celebrating this lent because he prayerfully journeyed into jerusalem to surrender himself and you know willingly go to the cross so that we sinners may be forgiven and our sins may be cleansed and washed when you sin do not despair or hide it honestly acknowledge the problem to god sincerely repent and you will be strengthened and the lord will remove your sin and you'll emerge a new creature a new creation that's why paul says those who are in christ jesus those who have repented their sins and turned to god are no longer the old ones they are renewed they are they are new creation the old has gone the new has come restoration is the bringing of the new it is it is it is reforming the new uh the all to become new and we become christ like on a daily basis through dependence of our sin the next lesson is uh we need to re-learn we need to re-learn and re-learn again the prophet isaiah told judah that their sacrifices were worthless because they refused to listen to god proverbs uh there was a prophet from rwanda that says i don't know how to pronounce it properly in kenya rwanda but it goes something like this maybe they are run this year di macio you mumbi which means an evil person an evil person's gifts is worthless when someone gives generously or generous gifts to take advantage of us later we no longer appreciate the gift their dishonest intention ruin the relationship so what does god expect of us it is through dependence that when we offer whatever we offer to god we offer with a clean heart so that our offerings is not in exchange of our sins because they will not remove our sins from us what removes sin from us is repentance and our cry to god for restoration and then our gifts will be acceptable before god the people of judah who are pretending to love worship and to come to worship and to bring their sacrifices before the lord and they thought when they do that legally and they follow it traditionally and make sure that that is what they do and observe every day their religious following will make them whole again and the prophet was reminding them god detest your sacrifices and your gifts because your hearts are not surrendered to the lord so the the single most sacrifice we can give our hearts surrendered to the lord when we surrender them to the lord then the lord provide renewal and restoration of our very beings god is not impressed with our worship tithes of offerings or sacrifices even if we fast in lent and and and then you know we bring the money we have saved from the fasting to the church and we have not repented of our sins it will still amount to nothing it will not earn us the right to become the children of god that's why in the song we were singing in psalms 51 the psalmist david was crying that lord create a new spirit in me a spirit that is willing to repent our sins and then he goes on to say create a right spirit so there is a new spirit but there is also a right spirit the right spirit the spirit of god not just any spirit create the right spirit in me the spirit to focus our attention on renewing our relationship with god through the repentance of our sin if we have seen we cannot win back god's favor by worship prayer fasting or offering in church he does not welcome our gifts if we continue to live in disobedience to his will we must repent and unclean our old habits re-learn the the things that we have learned that are not godly and change our behavior behaviors accordingly after the learning and give ourselves an opportunity to be renewed and to be renewed again a man by the name kat levin developed a change model widely used in organizational development involving three steps one is unfreezing which he also names it and learn so we must unlearn old habits the next one is changing when we unlearn all habits we must change so changing becomes the next step and the third step is now learning the new learning the new so you and i learn the old habits you change then you learn the new habits as god provides for us so it is refreshing reaffirming what uh we have already learned as new so when we find ourselves having developed habits that does not please god what we need is to unpack them you know and re and freeze them and learn them you know remove them from ourselves and then we change from them those ways and we learn the new way the way of god and the land season provide an opportunity for us to learn to relearn new ways and rely on new habits patiently and waiting upon the lord it should be a moment of prayer and fasting but also reading the word of god so that we may learn more about him through his word so i invite you to join all of us in this land season to become our learning moment our moment of rel you know and learning the old habits and changing completely through repentance and then after we repent we learn the new habits the new way god want us to learn god's rule that prophet isaiah was calling his people to repent their sins accept his forgiveness and change their behaviors that was a rallying call of isaiah during this length season god is inviting us you and me to unfreeze all sinful behaviors change and freeze refreeze a good and godly attitude in us the third point i want to make is renewal the lord is calling us to be renewed this land season in the uh jesus forgave and renewed the woman caught in the act of adultery from a condemning crowd and a crowd that brought her not just to condemn her because they would have condemned her and killed her away from jesus but he wanted to use her as a trap to trap jesus to hear what he's going to say whether he will say contrary to the law so that he also accuse him of being a law breaker and they brought this lady before uh before before jesus in luke chapter 15. no no in john chapter 8 and jesus listened to their story he looked at them they asked the question do you approve of this what do you say this is what they love moses say what do you say and he turned down to write and then he wakes up and look at them and say whoever has no sin stone her take the first stone he goes down to write we don't know what he was writing but by the time he was lifting up his eyes it was only him and the lady jesus turned her and said where are they they have left from the eldest to the youngest and he turned to the lady and say go your sins are forgiven time of renewal time of refreshment also in luke chapter 15 we lead we read this beautiful story of the prodigal son this son demanded from his father you know his share of his inheritance he goes out to waste it in lavish life and completely ruined his life and wasted all what his father had kept for him as an inheritance and when all is done and you know his life is not yet ended he found himself in hunger in need and in scarcity he sought a job and the job he could get is to feed pigs in that mode where he was in in desperate need feeding pigs no no enough food no place to to sleep properly you know with a stink of the feed their feedlot and you know how they they get rough reminded him he had a home he had a place to call home and he said it is far much more better for the servants who serve my father i want to go back to him not as a son but first to repent and say i've wronged against you and against god in heaven accept me as one of your servants here i come father i'm coming he listened and he began his journey back home and when he arrived back home repented before the father you know the embrace of the father was totally shocking to him it was different he was not taken back as a servant and as a slave his sins are forgiven restored back as a son restored back as a son the father in this story jesus was telling is our heavenly father that whenever we wander away we waste our lives we stray and we find ourselves totally destroyed and in anguish because of sin god will exchange the consumed of of our beings by sin the ashes he created in our lives when we are totally consumed we are we remain as ashes and god exchanged that ash with the fragrance of his acceptance the oil of his salvation he rejuvenate us and this son was welcomed back he was given new robes new cloth he was taken back as a law son but was found as one who have died and was resurrected and the bible says you know the father said i lost him he died he's now alive he's come back to life we have died to sin god is expecting us to come back to life through the repentance of our sin and there is no two way to it it is going through the way of repentance that's what the son the prodigal son did he went back to his father repenting of his sins acknowledging how wrong he was the wasteful son come back not to be considered by the father as that wasted son but renewed renewed and rejuvenated and taken back as a son in the same way as a son in this parable many people have disowned our heavenly father and wasted their lives but god loves and graciously accept us when we confess and return to him this father lovingly embraced and kissed his repentant son he honored him with robes sandals and a ring the son returned home hoping to be received as a servant his longing father reinstated him not as a servant but as a son he was reinstated in total renewal he was renewed his identity was given back he never lost his identity so friends our god when we turn to him we never lose our identity the original identity when he made us for ourselves he destined us to walk by him not only in this life but in eternity and the only sure way of doing that is to go back to human repentance when we rend our hearts and return to god god will reinstate us and renew our fellowship with him land is a time for repentance relearning and renewal as i conclude a very short illustrative story there is a small town in canada called wembush this remote portion of la brada in canada has only one way into that town and it is only this one way that gets into the town take around and go back the same way so what it does it takes you in and make a total about turn if you have to come back out of town and a total 180 degrees uh turn it is therefore a very isolated town and uh you know recently they created that road that got into this war bush a little town and this road only lead into it and it's the only road that goes in and come out there is no other way out apart from this one road you get in a turn round and you come out of it what do i want to mean in the story there is only one way to god it is total repentance he's getting out of sin and returning back to god there is no two way is only one way you know we wandered away from him we make the about 160 180 degrees back to him is the only way out the only way out is turning to christ the only way out is seeking him independence the only way out is turning away from our sins brothers and sisters land season provide for each one of us such an opportunity let us take it seriously i invite you to make this season a season of prayer a season of renewal a season where we are connected back to god in that one way which is the way of jesus he is the way the truth and the life in the name of god the father and of the son and of the holy spirit amen thank you very much your grace that was a very deep reflection isn't it yeah it will help us during this time of lent to take it seriously let us now in confidence then stand with christians throughout the centuries and throughout the world today to affirm our faith in the words of the nicene creed we believe in one god the father the almighty maker of heaven and earth of all that is seen and unseen we believe in one lord jesus christ the only son of god eternally begotten of the father god from god light from light true god from true god begotten not made of one being with the father through him oath were made for us and for our salvation he came down from heaven by the power of the holy spirit he became incarnate of the virgin mary and was made man for our sake he was crucified and appointed spirit he suffered died and was buried on the third day he rose again in accordance with the scriptures he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the father he'll come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end we believe in the holy spirit the lord the giver of life who proceeds from the father and the son with the father and the son he is worshiped and glorified he has spoken through the prophets who believe in one historic church we acknowledge one baptism for the kingdom kindly be seated for prayers of self-examination and confession let us now called to mind our sin and the infinite mercy of god god the father have mercy on us god the son have mercy on us god the holy spirit have mercy on us trinity of love have mercy on us most merciful god father of our lord jesus christ we confess that we have sinned in thought lord annoy 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 lord have mercy 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 lord have mercy we confess to you lord all our past and faithfulness the pride hypocrisy and impatience of our lives lord help us our self-indulgent appetite and ways and our exploitation of other people our anger to our own frustration and our envy of those more fortunate than ourselves our intemperate love of worldly goods and comforts and our dishonesty in daily life and work our negligence in prayer and worship and our failure to commend the faith that is in us 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 for all false judgments for uncharitable thoughts towards our neighbors and for our prejudice and contempt to us those who differ from us for our waste and pollution of your creation and our lack of concern for those who come after us restore us good lord and let your anger depart from us accomplishing us the work of your salvation by the cross and passion of your son our lord bring us with all your sins to the joy of his resurrection amen [Music] oh [Music] foreign [Music] r [Music] [Music] me [Music] is [Music] let me know in all my sins [Music] rejoice forever [Music] [Applause] [Music] all my seeds [Music] me [Music] [Music] so [Music] almighty god who forgives all who truly repent have mercy upon you pardon and deliver you from all your sins confirm and strengthen you in all goodness and keep you in eternal life through jesus christ our lord dear friends in christ i invite you to receive these ashes a sign of the spirit of penitence with which we shall keep this season of lent god our father you create us from the dust of the earth grant that these ashes may be for us a sign of your penitence and a symbol of our morality for it is by your grace alone that we receive eternal life in jesus christ our savior amen i now invite you to stand so that we may share the peace together the peace of the lord be always with you since we are justified by faith we have peace with god through our lord jesus christ who have given us access to his grace the peace of the lord be always with you to your neighbors and share the peace of christ kindly be seated now we are about to get now to the end of the service with two things only the imposition of ashes and because we are many this is what we will do because we have many clergy those on that row coming kindly go to the lady chapel there will be a clergy who will do the imposition and there will be holy communion there the rest of us including me and the archbishop will come at the transept here and you'll be able to receive from both sides of this aisle this aisle and that air after you have received the imposition of the the ash kindly move to the altar to receive holy communion the small cups after taking the communion drop them on your way out and you wait for the blessing that's what we will do so that we can move faster and be able to serve you in the meantime i will ask you to remain seated if you brought offerings to the house of the lord feel free to give through our pay bill numbers but also there will be a physical offerings for your use let me ask the choir to lead us in that hymn as we give [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] for me [Music] [Music] right [Music] my [Music] by [Music] of god [Music] great right [Music] [Music] let's go all things come from you oh lord father we ask that you may receive our souls and receive our gifts which you bless in the name of god father son and the holy spirit amen we remain standing for thanksgiving and remembrance is the father with us is christ among us is the spirit here this is our god we are his people lift up your hearts let us give thanks to the lord our god [Applause] it is right and i delight to give you thanks and praise great father living god supreme over the world creator provider savior and giver from wandering noble you created your family for a confu for abandoned people you raised up a leader for a confused nation you chose a king for a rebellious crowd you sent your prophets in this last days you have sent your son your perfect image bringing your kingdom revealing your will dying rising reigning remaking your people for yourself through him you have poured out your holy spirit filling us with light and life therefore with angels archangels faithful ancestors and all in heaven we proclaim your great and glorious name forever praising you and saying holy holy holy lord god of father heaven and earth are full of your glory hosanna your host almighty god owner of all things we thank you for giving up your son to die on the cross for us who owe you everything pour your refreshing spirit on us as you remember him in the way he commanded through these gifts of your creation on the night he was betrayed he took bread and gave you thanks he broke it and gave it to them saying this disciples saying take it this is my body which is given for you do this in remembrance of me a man his body was broken in the way in the same way after supper he took the cup and gave you thanks he gave it to his disciples saying bring this all of you this is my blood of the new covenant which is shared for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me we are brothers and sisters through his blood they are for heavenly father hear us as we celebrate this covenant with joy and await the coming of our savior jesus christ he died in our place making a full atonement of the sins of the whole world the perfect sacrifice once and for all you accepted his offering by raising him from death and granting him great honor at your right hand on high amen jesus is lord this is the feast of victory as our savior taught us we are able to pray the lord's prayer together as we it or nil our father in heaven and lord be your name your kingdom come your will be done on others in heaven give us today our daily bread forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for the kingdom the power and the glory are yours now and forever amen we break this bread to share the body of christ the cup of blessings which we bless draw near with faith and receive christ is the host christ is alive forever lamb of god you take away the sin of the world lamb of god you take away the sin of the world lamb of god you take away the sin of the world brethren the body of our lord jesus christ which is broken for you keep your body and soul in eternal life take and eat this in remembrance that christ died for you and feed on him in your hearts by faith with thanksgiving the blood of our lord jesus christ which is shared for you keep your body and soul in eternal life bring this in remembrance that christ blood was shared for you and be thankful of cluster broken [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] so [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] r [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] god [Music] is [Music] just as i am [Music] i [Music] just as i am [Music] i [Music] oh [Applause] [Music] justice [Music] me [Music] is [Music] [Music] know [Music] here [Music] [Music] oh [Music] you see [Music] upon jesus [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Applause] [Music] god [Music] upon jesus [Music] our is please [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] is [Music] is [Music] is is [Music] we now join on page 15 in the prayer after communion almighty god eternal father we have sat at your feet learned from your word and eaten from your table we give you thanks and praise for accepting us into your family send us out with your blessings to live unto witness for you in the power of your spirit through jesus christ the first born from the dead amen we stand for the blessing christ give you grace to grow in holiness to deny yourselves take up your cross and follow him on the blessings of god almighty the father the son and the holy spirit be among us and remain with us always amen [Music] [Music] we wish you god's blessings in your 40 days of working with the lord if you go to our website but also in our cell groups but also on other platforms you'll be able to get a 40 days of prayer but also praying all the way to august as we ask the lord to intervene in our political situations kindly dedicate yourself in prayer we go as we sing 40 days and 40 nights [Music] days [Music] [Applause] [Music] four [Music] is [Music] r [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] may not praise god [Music] [Music] uh [Music] is [Music] [Music] you

Channel: All Saints' Cathedral, Nairobi

Views: 1,999

Keywords: All Saints' Cathedral Nairobi

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Length: 110min 41sec (6641 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 02 2022