St Ansgar Lutheran Church, London

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Sunday Morning

We invite you to join us for the following worship services:

Sundays
10:30 a.m. Worship service

Hand sanitizer will be available at the entrance and other locations in the church for
your use.

Washrooms will be available for use.

In the service: The service will be shown on the screen. The offering will not be gathered and presented, but there will be an offering plate at the back of the sanctuary where you can put your offering as you enter or leave. Pastor David distributes the communion wafers and an Assisting Minister distributes wine or grape juice in individual glasses.

We have coffee and fellowship time available again in Luther Hall after the service.

We will continue to evaluate our worship service procedures on a monthly basis.

LENT 1, FEBRUARY 22, 2026

St. Ansgar Lutheran Church, Outline for Worship (with Sermon)
Sunday, February 22, 2026 – First Sunday in Lent
ELW Holy Communion Setting 5

GATHERING

WELCOME & ANNOUNCEMENTS

BRIEF ORDER FOR CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS
P: Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God, who forgives all our sin,
whose mercy endures forever.
C: Amen.

P: Let us confess our sin before God, who removes our guilt and
blots out all offenses.

Silence is kept for reflection.

P: Gracious God,
C: have mercy on us according to your steadfast love.

P: For seeking worldly delights that deceive us and dishonour you:
Gracious God,
C: have mercy on us according to your steadfast love.

P: For desiring self-reliance instead of hungering for your word:
Gracious God,
C: have mercy on us according to your steadfast love.

P: For failing to recognize your coming reign, and for hindering
the work of the Spirit: Gracious God,
C: have mercy on us according to your steadfast love.

P: For drawing from the well of self-serving ambition, and for
disdaining the living water Christ offers: Gracious God,
C: have mercy on us according to your steadfast love.

P: For disregarding voices from the margin, and for distrusting signs
of your healing and hope in the world: Gracious God,
C: have mercy on us according to your steadfast love.

P: For dwelling in tombs of self-pity and discontent, and for disregarding
Christ’s call to come forth to life: Gracious God,
C: have mercy on us according to your steadfast love.

P: God’s steadfast love, grace, and forgiveness abound.
Through faith, the free gift of God, you have been clothed in the
righteousness of Christ.
In the name of ☩ Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven. The Spirit of
the One who raised Christ from the dead dwells in you, pours God’s
love into your hearts, and gives you life and peace.
C: Amen.

ENTRANCE HYMN – Bless Now, O God, the Journey (ELW #326)

GREETING
P: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion
of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
C: And also with you

KYRIE
A: In peace, let us pray to the Lord.
C: Lord, have mercy.

A: For the peace from above, and for our salvation, let us pray to the Lord.
C: Lord, have mercy.

A: For the peace of the whole world, for the well-being of the Church of God,
and for the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord.
C: Lord, have mercy.

A: For this holy house, and for all who offer here their worship and praise,
let us pray to the Lord.
C: Lord, have mercy.

A: Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord.
C: Amen.

PRAYER OF THE DAY
P: Let us pray.
P: Lord God, our strength, the struggle between good and evil rages within
and around us, and the devil and all the forces that defy you tempt us with
empty promises. Keep us steadfast in your word, and when we fall, raise us
again and restore us through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C: Amen.

WORD

FIRST READING: Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7
15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it
and keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, "You may freely
eat of every tree of the garden; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good
and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die."
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the LORD
God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God say, 'You shall not eat from
any tree in the garden'?" 2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of
the fruit of the trees in the garden; 3 but God said, 'You shall not eat of the
fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it,
or you shall die.'" 4 But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not die;
5 for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you
will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6 So when the woman saw that
the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that
the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate;
and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate.
7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked;
and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

A: The word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.

Psalm 32
1 Happy are they whose transgressions are forgiven,
and whose sin is put away!
2 Happy are they to whom the Lord imputes no guilt,
and in whose spirit there is no guile!
3 While I held my tongue, my bones withered away,
because of my groaning all day long.
4 For your hand was heavy upon me day and night;
my moisture was dried up as in the heat of summer.
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and did not conceal my guilt.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” Then you forgave me the
guilt of my sin.
6 Therefore all the faithful will make their prayers to you in time of trouble;
when the great waters overflow, they shall not reach them.
7 You are my hiding-place; you preserve me from trouble;
you surround me with shouts of deliverance.
8 “I will instruct you and teach you in the way that you should go;
I will guide you with my eye.
9 Do not be like horse or mule, which have no understanding;
who must be fitted with bit and bridle, or else they will not stay near you.
10 Great are the tribulations of the wicked;
but mercy embraces those who trust in the Lord.
11 Be glad, you righteous, and rejoice in the Lord;
shout for joy, all who are true in heart.

SECOND READING: Romans 5:12-19
12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death
came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned-
13 sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned
when there is no law. 14 Yet death exercised dominion from Adam
to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression
of Adam, who is a type of the one who was to come. 15 But the free gift is
not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man's trespass,
much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of
the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. 16 And the free gift
is not like the effect of the one man's sin. For the judgment following
one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many
trespasses brings justification. 17 If, because of the one man's trespass,
death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those
who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness
exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. 18 Therefore just
as one man's trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man's act of
righteousness leads to justification and life for all. 19 For just as by the
one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one
man's obedience the many will be made righteous.

A: The word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
C: Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.

GOSPEL
P: The Holy Gospel according to Matthew 4:1-11
C: Glory to you, O Lord.

1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by
the devil. 2 He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was
famished. 3 The tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God,
command these stones to become loaves of bread." 4 But he answered,
"It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that
comes from the mouth of God.'" 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city
and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 saying to him, "If you are
the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, 'He will command his
angels concerning you,' and 'On their hands they will bear you up, so that
you will not dash your foot against a stone.'" 7 Jesus said to him, "Again it
is written, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" 8 Again, the devil took
him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world
and their splendour; 9 and he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you
will fall down and worship me." 10 Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan!
for it is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'"11 Then the
devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

P: The Gospel of the Lord.
C: Praise to you, O Christ.

SERMON
Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7
Let us pray: May the words of my mouth, and the prayers of our hearts,
always be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, our Strength, and our Redeemer.
AMEN

Our Scripture lesson this morning from the Book of Genesis tells us about
the first man and the first woman, Adam and Eve, who unintentionally
traded away their lives in paradise. I use the word unintentionally because,
as I have read their story many times over the years, I am not sure they
truly understood what it was that was going to happen.
I am sure when most people read this Biblical story, they immediately assume
that it is about the Christian doctrine of original sin. That sin, according to people
like John Wesley, and this is where my Methodist upbringing comes through,
was about “unbelief that begot pride.” Wesley said it was pride that led Adam
and Eve to seek their own will rather than God’s will. From the moment they
made the choice to act on their own, they began to experience a separation
from God. God’s extreme joy departed and they became dead to God.
God told them they would die if they ate the fruit from the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, but as far as we know nothing in the garden
had died up to this time, so Adam and Eve would not have known what
death was. Death in this context does not mean a physical death, but it
means an all-encompassing breakdown in relationships, such as the
breakdown in the relationship between God and Adam and Eve. They simply
saw the fruit, thought it looked good, so they ate it, even though they had
been warned not to eat it.
What we hear in their story is the story of our lives, the story of our tendency to
act on impulse, the tendency to seek immediate gratification without considering
the cost. Think about it. How many times in the past year have we heard the
statistical evidence that as a nation we have become increasingly overweight?
Approximately 30% to 33% of Canadian adults are classified as overweight,
up from 25% pre-pandemic. Being overweight can be traced directly to our
desire for immediate gratification. Fast food, snack food, and processed food
have made it easier to grab something quick and easy, and in the process our
health is suffering. Marketing also influences our desire for certain foods that are
personally appealing. We want it when it is suggested, not next week because
by then we would have forgotten all about it.

Our entire financial system has also been compromised by a desire for short-
term gains, even if it yields long term losses. Quarterly earning reports are
issued rather than just issuing annual reports, for example. Daily reporting of
the stock market values put enormous pressure on business leaders to make
short-term decisions, to act on impulse as they respond to the daily reports
rather than sound business practices.
There are people who borrow money beyond their budget. They want to have
a bigger house and an expensive car, as well as expensive toys like boats
and snowmobiles. And they want it now. They borrow on the future to have
their immediate desires met now. Mortgage balances in Canada grew by
Credit card balances rose by $44 billion and stood at $1.28 trillion during this
same period.
And while it is easy to point at “them,” the people who act on impulse,
the reality is that we are no different. Each of us, in our own ways, has been
tempted to act on impulse. None of us are exempt. It is as if we are learning
the lesson of the Garden of Eden all over again. Adam and Eve ate the fruit
and paid the price. And generations later we continue to do the same thing.
We find our own fruit that looks good, so we eat, and we pay the price.
Several years ago, a study was conducted in the field of “Emotional Intelligence.”
They brought four- and five-year-olds into a room that had a table and a chair
for each child. On the table was a marshmallow on a plate. The children
were told they could eat the marshmallow, but if they waited until the adult
returned, they could have two marshmallows. The adult left the room while
the children were watched through a one-way mirror.
Some of the children couldn’t wait until the door was closed to eat
their marshmallow. Others sat on their hands and worked hard at resisting
eating the marshmallow. Some licked the marshmallow but did not eat it.
One boy took a tiny bite but left the rest. One girl turned her chair around
so she could not see the marshmallow.
What is amazing about the study is how the children who were able to wait
became the ones who graduated highest in their class twelve and thirteen
years later. They were the ones who learned to delay their gratification for
a larger reward.
I do not know how you teach this, but I think the study provides a powerful
reminder for us to learn to wait. It is part of what I hope to learn or gain from
fasting during Lent. In some ways, fasting is nothing more than practising
delayed gratification.
Delayed gratification is also what Jesus does in the wilderness when Satan
tempts him. Rather than bowing down to Satan, he waits until after his
resurrection to have the world see who he is.
Rather than turning stones to bread to feed himself, he waits until there
is a hungry crowd before Jesus feeds them with just a few loaves and fish.
Rather than tempting God, Jesus waits for God to act when he is on the
cross, even if it means God’s response will take place three days later.
Delayed gratification is also what people who work hard at saving and
investing have learned. There are very few people who will get rich quick.
But everyone who sets aside money now, who lives on less than they earn,
will have wealth later. Over the long term, they learn that there are incredible
riches to be gained.
It is what has been referred to as the law of the harvest. You cannot rush the
corn out of the field and into the grain bin. You must wait for it to grow before
you can harvest it. And you cannot harvest it until it is ready. The things God
has created take time to mature.
We all fall into the temptation of seeking immediate gratification. The only
way to avoid it is to have a clear sense of our purpose, a well-articulated
set of values and principles. Every time we make a choice, it is a decision.
It is either done intentionally or unintentionally. And often the choice before
us involves trading something. Adam and Eve may not have been intentional,
but the consequences of their trade were eternal. They traded God’s love for
their own pleasure.
One thing I think we do not hear often enough in our text today is the gracious
gifts that God has given to us. Adam is given the garden in which to live.
He is given a task or purpose in the garden. He is given permission to eat
the fruit of his labours. He is given a boundary in which to live. The serpent
framed the question in a way that suggested there was no gift, only a warning:
“Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” And too often,
the warning is all we hear. But that isn’t the whole truth, and we have not let
ourselves hear the whole truth.
I want to suggest that there are many good things God has given to us.
These gifts are to be kept in balance with the limitations God has set,
including the limitation of time. Some things we must wait for. We can
make choices based on God’s grace, God’s love, God’s timing. And in
doing so, we will find joy in abundance.
AMEN

Silence is kept for reflection.

HYMN OF THE DAY – A Mighty Fortress Is Our God (ELW #505)

APOSTLES’ CREED
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.*
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
A: Reconciled by God’s mercy and sustained by God’s presence, let us pray for
the world and its needs.
A: God of our church, send forth your Spirit as we pray for our Bishops Larry
and Carla. Empower them with your wisdom to lead the church. We also pray
for the Thames Ministry area, especially our Pastor David and the people of
our St. Ansgar congregation. Hear us, O God.
C: Your mercy is great.

A: God of all grace, grant faith to your church. Give to all the baptized the
will to resist temptation and to worship and serve you alone. Hear us, O God.
C: Your mercy is great.

A: God of all creation, tend this earth. When human greed and disobedience
threaten this planet and the life it contains, lead us by your Spirit into ways
of reverence, awe, and gentleness. Hear us, O God.
C: Your mercy is great.

A: God of all nations, preserve us from trouble. Surround all living in places of
violence with your steadfast love and give resilience to all who work for peace.
Grant courage to those who challenge, especially around issues of racism and
systemic oppression. Hear us, O God.
C: Your mercy is great.

A: God of all healing, mend our wounds. Bring wholeness to all who are sick,
give peace to all who groan in grief, and send companions to all who are lonely
or isolated. We pray especially for Beth, Jean, Mary Margaret, Kristine, Karen,
Emma, Cathy, Lene, Grethe, Lyra, Bud, and those others who are in our hearts.
Hear us, O God.
C: Your mercy is great.

A: God of all people, provide for your community. For any among us who hunger
for bread, bring nourishment. For any among us who hunger for truth, speak
your life-giving word. Hear us, O God.
C: Your mercy is great.

A: Merciful God, we pray for peace as war continues to rage in Ukraine and
in Israel and Gaza. Shelter all living in fear; protect those seeking refuge in
neighbouring countries; sustain families separated by the horrors of war;
tend to those who are injured; comfort all who mourn their dead. Direct your
people into the way of peace. Hear us, O God.
C: Your mercy is great.

A: God of all life, bring us to you. We thank you for your free and abounding
grace, and for those who, by that same grace, now rest eternally in you.
Hear us, O God.

C: Your mercy is great.
A: Receive our prayers, O God, through Jesus Christ, our strength and salvation.
C: Amen.

PEACE
P: The peace of Christ be with you always.
C: And also with you.

OFFERING PRAYER
A: O God, maker of heaven and earth, your steadfast love embraces
all creation. You send rain and sunshine to nourish the earth and bring
forth its bounty. Through these gifts of bread and wine, draw us into the
death and life of your Son, who calls us to bear witness to his saving work.
We ask this in Jesus’ name.
C: Amen.

LORD’S PRAYER
P: Lord, remember us in your kingdom and teach us to pray.
C: 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 trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
forever and ever. Amen.

BLESSING
P: Receive the blessing of the holy Trinity: God, who calls all things into
existence; Jesus Christ, who redeems us; and the Holy Spirit, whose breath
sustains creation, ☩ bless you now and always.
C: Amen.

SENDING HYMN - Guide Me Ever, Great Redeemer (ELW #618)

DISMISSAL
A: Go in peace. Believe the good news.
C: Thanks be to God.

DISMISSAL HYMN – Go Now in Peace
Go now in peace, never be afraid.
God will go with you each hour of every day.
Go now in faith, steadfast, strong and true.
Know He will guide you in all you do.
Go now in love, and show you believe.
Reach out to others, so all the world can see.
God will be there, watching from above.
Go now in peace, in faith, and in love.