Join us online for worship on Sunday, February 28, 2021. The service will have magnificent music provided by Penna Rose, Director of Chapel Music and Eric Plutz, University Organist and with Isabel Kasdin ’14, soloist

The recorded service is available Sunday at 8am here Chapel Service . This service will remain archived after the premiere (along with concerts and other amazing programs), and we encourage you to return to them whenever you might find that to be helpful.

Please note this is a fully virtual event.

Preaching today is Rev. Alison L. Boden, Ph.D., Dean of Religious Life and of the Chapel, Princeton University . This is the second Sunday of the Lenten Season.

The bulletin for this service is below.

Bulletin for Sunday, February 28, 2021 – Second Sunday in Lent

Invitatory: Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring (from Cantata No. 147, BWV 147) by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Welcome and Announcements: Dean Thames

Call to Worship: Alexandra Miller-Knaack

Prayer of Confession:  Let us confess our sins to God. Almighty and everlasting God, always more ready to hear than we are to pray, always willing to give more than we either desire or deserve: pour upon us the abundance of your mercy; forgive what we have been, help us to amend what we are, and direct what we shall be; that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, through Jesus Christ our Savior.  Amen.

Assurance of Forgiveness

Reading: Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 (Read by Phoebe A. Warren ’21)

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, God appeared to Abram, and said to him, ‘I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless. And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you exceedingly numerous.’ Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, ‘As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.

God said to Abraham, ‘As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall give rise to nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.’

Solo: O Rest in the Lord from Elijah byFelix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) and performed by Isabel Kasdin ’14, soloist

Reading: Romans 4:13-25

For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation.

For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, as it is written, ‘I have made you the father of many nations’)—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become ‘the father of many nations’, according to what was said, ‘So numerous shall your descendants be.’ He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, being fully convinced that God was able to do what God had promised. Therefore his faith ‘was reckoned to him as righteousness.’ Now the words, ‘it was reckoned to him’, were written not for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.

Sermon: “Blessed With Faith” by Dean Boden

Hymn: Jesus, Still Lead On (Seelenbräutigam)

Jesus, still lead on, till our rest be won; and although the way be cheerless, we will follow, calm and fearless; guide us by your hand to the promised land.

When we seek relief from a long-felt grief, when temptations come alluring, make us patient and enduring; show us that bright shore where we weep no more.

Jesus, still lead on, till our rest be won; heavenly Leader still direct us, still support, console, protect us, guide us by your hand to the promised land.

Pastoral Prayer: Dean Thames

Lord’s Prayer: 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, for ever and ever. Amen.

Prayer for Princeton: O Eternal God, the source of life and light for all peoples, we pray you would endow this University with your grace and wisdom: give inspiration and understanding to those who teach and to those who learn; grant vision to its trustees and administrators; to all who work here and to all who bear her name give your guiding Spirit of sacrificial courage and loving service.  Amen

Solo: The Gift of Love (American Folk Tune) arranged by Hal Hopson (b.1933) and performed by Isabel Kasdin ’14, soloist

Benediction

Voluntary: Toccata in B Minor by Eugène Gigout (1844-1925)

University Chapel Staff: The Rev. Alison L. Boden, Ph.D., Dean of Religious Life and of the Chapel; The Rev. Dr. Theresa S. Thames, Associate Dean of Religious Life and of the Chapel; Penna Rose, Director of Chapel Music; Eric Plutz, University Organist; Elizabeth Powers, Chapel Administrator; Alexandra Miller-Knaack, Seminarian Intern; Edgar Gomez, Sexton; Lisa McGurr, Sexton

The University Chapel is a welcoming community of faith.  We gather to sing God's praises, to hear God's living Word, to seek justice, and to proclaim God's love for all people.

Calendar: Sunday, March 7, 2021, University Chapel Worship Service.  The preacher will be Dr. Chanequa Walker-Barnes.

For additional information, please visit chapel.princeton.edu or call 609-258-3047.