Pocketful of Grace
Join the pastors of Grace Lutheran Church in State College as we try to make sense of faith and life, featuring Bible lessons and prayer and time to grow and be transformed by God's word for us. Hungry for more? Visit our website, www.glcpa.org for sermons and worship resources.
Pocketful of Grace
In Your Presence Lenten Series: Ash Wednesday
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Welcome to Pocketful of Grace, a podcast of Grace Lutheran Church as we begin our Lenten podcast, “In Your Presence” which comes to us from Psalm 51. We say that in Lent we journey to return to God. Our returning is a lifelong ebb and flow in faith. As we travel, do we pause to remember that we are in God’s presence? Can we linger to receive the closeness of God’s love and mercy? In God’s presence we are renewed and empowered to walk with Jesus for our own wholeness and for the sake of God’s world.
This podcast will work as a worship companion to the Year A gospels, our “All In” devotion and our Midweek worship series on trust. Each week we will offer breath prayer, Scripture, music and reflection to support your awareness of God’s presence, almost like a mini worship break whenever you listen.
This week's music:
Psalm 51: This setting of Psalm 51 (Tune: Tonus peregrinus (Gregorian chant; public domain) Setting: Laurel Sanders, 2015. Text: NRSV from Sundays and Seasons.com. Copyright 2023 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. Used with permission; Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #20807.
Jesus Walked This Lonesome Valley: Thomas Keesecker's Jesus Walked This Lonesome Valley, from The Quiet Journey, was recorded by pianist Adam H. Smith for use in worship at Grace Lutheran Church, State College, PA. Copyright (c) 2018 Birnamwood Publications (ASCAP), a division of MorningStar Music Publishers. Tune: LONESOME VALLEY and SOJOURNER. Non-commercial recording made available with permission from MorningStar, March, 2022. Streamed with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-700989.
Prayers Reprinted by permission of Westminster John Knox Press from Feasting on the Word® Worship Companion. Copyright 2012.
To learn more about our ministries at Grace Lutheran Church, visit glcpa.org.
“In Your Presence”
Welcome to Pocketful of Grace, a podcast of Grace Lutheran Church as we begin our Lenten podcast, “In Your Presence” which comes to us from Psalm 51. We say that in Lent we journey to return to God. Our returning is a lifelong ebb and flow in faith. As we travel, do we pause to remember that we are in God’s presence? Can we linger to receive the closeness of God’s love and mercy? In God’s presence we are renewed and empowered to walk with Jesus for our own wholeness and for the sake of God’s world.
This podcast will work as a worship companion to the Year A gospels, our “All In” devotion and our Midweek worship series on trust. Each week we will offer breath prayer, Scripture, music and reflection to support your awareness of God’s presence, almost like a mini worship break whenever you listen.
Week 1: This week, we begin Lent on Ash Wednesday where you can join us for worship at 12:15 or 6:15 pm in person or livestreamed at 6:15 pm.
In quiet trust, in simple words we enter a space for prayer. God desires truth in our inmost being and receives our broken spirits and contrite hearts. Breathe in: I return to you. Breathe out: Keep me in your presence. Let’ s do that 3x.
As we begin Lent this week with Ash Wednesday, we hear Psalm 51:
Have mercy, O God, have mercy on us. We have many treasures on earth that we hold too dearly; that we withhold from others in need. When we sin against our neighbors, condone injustice, quarrel with one another we sin against you. Forgive us, we pray, for we are broken in spirit. Do not see us for our faults and do not go away from us. Keep us always in your presence so that we may be restored to the joy of your salvation. Sustain in us a willing spirit to treasure what you desire, then our hearts will be opened with joy and gladness.
God creates in us clean hearts and gives a new and right spirit. In the grace of Jesus Christ, we return to God forgiven!
What might you take on this Lent over the next 40 days, as a way of deepening your faithfulness to God?
Music for reflection
Prayer: Lord, we pray that you will guide us in the days ahead. As we journey with Jesus Christ, give us an abiding sense of your presence, an unguarded sense of ourselves, and an awareness of the needs of this world.
Music for reflection
Thank you for the gift of this day, of this life among family, friends, this beautiful earth. Show me how I can serve you today by serving someone else. Help me to see evidence of your grace and remove any obstacle that causes me to stumble in faithfulness or prevents me from receiving the joy and gladness you offer. In Christ’s name I pray. Amen.
Breathe in: I return to you. Breathe out: Keep me in your presence 3x.
OUTRO: Our Wednesday Mid-Week Lenten worship is at 12:15 or 6:15 pm in person.