The First
Sunday in Lent
9 March
2014
The
Gathering of the Community
Gathering
Music
Opening
Litany
At the door to the Nave, the
Presider, assisted by other Ministers, begins the Litany.
Blessed be the holy Trinity, one
God,
the fountain of living water,
the rock who gave us birth,
our light and our salvation.
God of our ancestors, you raise
the dead to life in the Spirit:
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
You bring pardon and peace to the
broken in heart:
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
You make one by your Spirit the
torn and divided:
Lord, have mercy.
God of the prophets, may your
loving mercy come to us
and your salvation according to
your word:
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Your word is a lantern to our feet
and a light to our path:
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Let your mercy come to us so that
we may life,
for your ways are our delight:
Christ, have mercy.
Lenten
Hymn of Praise
‘Tree of Life and Awesome
Mystery’ Common Praise #179 vv. 1, 6b
Collect
of the Day
Let us pray.
Spirit of the desert,
you drove Jesus to the edge of the world
to find his truth and calling:
scour our hearts and awaken our hunger
so that freed from empty clinging
we might find ourselves in you;
The
Proclamation of the Word of God
The First Reading
A
Reading from Genesis (2.15-17; 3.1-7).
The Lord
God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the Lord
God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; 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.”
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’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of
the fruit of the trees in the garden; 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.’” But the serpent said
to the woman, “You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your
eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 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.
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.
Hear
what the Spirit is saying to the church.
Thanks be to God.
The Psalm
Psalm 32
with the refrain from Songs for the Holy One
Refrain
(sung twice): Holy One, show us the way we must go.
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.
Refrain: Holy
One, show us the way we must go.
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.
Refrain: Holy
One, show us the way we must go.
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; *
Refrain: Holy
One, show us the way we must go.
The
Second Reading
A Reading from Paul’s Letter to
the Romans (5.12-19).
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 — sin was indeed in the
world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law. 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.
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. 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. 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.
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. 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.
Hear what the Spirit is saying to
the church.
Thanks be to God.
Gradual
Hymn
‘Forty Days and Forty Nights’ Common Praise #175
The
Gospel
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ according to Matthew (4.1-11).
Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Then
Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the
devil. He fasted forty days and forty
nights, and afterwards he was famished.
The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command
these stones to become loaves of bread.”
But [Jesus] answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Then
the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the
temple, 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.’” Jesus said to him, “Again it is
written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Again,
the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of
the world and their splendour; and he said to him, “All these I will give you,
if you will fall down and worship me.”
Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship
the Lord your God, and serve only him.’”
Then
the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.
The Gospel of Christ.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
The
Sermon
A
Lenten Affirmation of Faith
The Deacon invites the Community
to affirm its faith.
Let us affirm our faith.
Sisters and brothers, let us love one another,
because love is from God;
everyone who loves is born of God
and knows God.
Whoever does not love does not know God,
for God is love.
God’s love was revealed among us in this way:
God sent the Word, the Beloved, into the world
so that we might live through Christ.
Sisters and brothers, since God loved us so much,
we also ought to love one another.
God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God.
The
Prayers of the Community
Intercessions,
Thanksgivings and Petitions
The
Exchange of the Peace
May the peace of Christ be always
with you.
And also with you.
The Holy
Communion
The
Offertory Hymn
‘Just As I Am’ Common Praise #615
Lenten
Prayer over the Gifts
The Deacon leads the Community in the Prayer
over the Gifts.
God our provider,
you have fed us not
with bread alone,
but with words of
grace and life.
Bless us and these
your gifts,
which we receive
from your bounty,
The Thanksgiving at the Table
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our
God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
It is right to give you thanks and
praise,
O Lord, our God, sustainer of the
universe,
you are worthy of glory and
praise.
Glory to you for ever and ever.
At your command all things came to
be:
the vast expanse of interstellar
space,
galaxies, suns, the planets in
their courses,
and this fragile earth, our island
home;
by your will they were created and
have their being.
Glory to you for ever and ever.
From the primal elements
you brought forth the human race,
and blessed us with memory, reason
and skill;
you made us the stewards of
creation.
Glory to you for ever and ever.
But we turn against you and betray
your trust,
and we turn against one another.
Again and again you call us to
return.
Through the prophets and sages
you reveal your righteous law.
In the fullness of time you sent
your Son,
born of woman, to be our Saviour.
He was wounded for our
transgressions
and bruised for our iniquities.
By his death he opened to us
the way of freedom and peace.
Glory to you for ever and ever.
Therefore we praise you,
joining with the heavenly chorus,
with prophets, apostles and martyrs,
and with those in every generation
who have looked to you in hope,
to proclaim with them your glory,
in their unending hymn:
Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Blessed are you, Lord our God,
for sending us Jesus, the Christ,
who on the night he was handed
over
to suffering and death,
took bread, said the blessing,
broke the bread, gave it to his
friends,
and said, “Take this, and eat it:
this is my body which is given for
you.
Do this for the remembrance of
me.”
In the same way, after supper,
he took the cup of wine;
he gave you thanks,
and said, “Drink this, all of you:
this is my blood of the new covenant,
which is shed for you and for all
people
for the forgiveness of sins.
Whenever you drink it,
do this for the remembrance of
me.”
Glory to you for ever and ever.
Gracious God,
we recall the death of your Son
Jesus Christ,
we proclaim his resurrection and
ascension,
and we look with expectation for
his coming
as Lord of all the nations.
We who have been redeemed by him
and made a new people by water and
the Spirit,
now bring you these gifts.
Send your Holy Spirit upon us
and upon this offering of your
Church,
so that we who eat and drink at
this holy table
may share the divine life of
Christ our Lord.
Glory to you for ever and ever.
Pour out your Spirit upon the
whole earth
and make it your new creation.
Gather your Church together
from the ends of the earth into
your kingdom,
where peace and justice are
revealed,
so that we, with all your people,
of every language, race and
nation,
may share the banquet you have
promised;
through Christ, with Christ and in
Christ,
all honour and glory are yours,
Creator of all.
The
Lord’s Prayer
As our Saviour taught us, let us
pray,
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial,
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours,
The
Breaking of the Bread
We break this bread,
communion in Christ’s body once broken.
Let your Church be the wheat
which bears its fruit in dying.
If we have died with him,
we shall live with him;
if we hold firm,
we shall reign with him.
The gifts of God for the people of
God.
Thanks be to God.
The
Communion
Communion
Hymn
‘In God Alone My Soul Can Find
Rest and Peace’ Common Praise #563 (sung
three times)
The Sending Forth of the Community
Lenten
Prayer after Communion
Compassionate God,
you have fed us with the bread of heaven.
Sustain us in our Lenten pilgrimage:
may our fasting be hunger for justice;
our alms, a making of peace;
and our prayer, the song of grateful hearts,
Glory to God,
whose power, working in us,
can do infinitely more
than we can ask or imagine.
Glory to God from generation to generation,
in the Church and in Christ Jesus,
for ever and ever. Amen.
Closing
Hymn
‘The Love of Jesus Calls Us’ Common Praise #434
Dismissal
The Deacon or Assisting Minister
sends the Community forth with an appropriate Dismissal.
Concluding
Music
No comments:
Post a Comment