The Sixth
Sunday after Epiphany
16
February 2014
The
Gathering of the Community
Gathering
Music
Opening
Hymn
‘O Praise the Gracious Power’ Common Praise #396
Greeting
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
and the love of God
and the communion of the Holy
Spirit be with you all.
And also with you.
Almighty God,
to you all hearts are open,
all desires known
and from you no secrets are hidden.
Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts
by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love you
and worthily magnify your holy name;
through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hymn
of Praise
‘Glory, in the Highest Glory’ Common Praise #366
Collect
of the Day
Let us pray.
Divine Gardener,
you give growth to our seeds
and to the towering forest trees;
you raise to abundant life that which seems dead.
Teach us to choose blessing and life rather than
death,
so that we may walk blamelessly,
seeking your through reconciliation
with all of your children;
The
Proclamation of the Word of God
The First Reading
A
Reading from Sirach (15.15-20).
If you choose, you can keep the
commandments, and to act faithfully is a matter of your own choice. He has placed before you fire and water; stretch
out your hand for whichever you choose. Before
each person are life and death, and whichever one chooses will be given. For great is the wisdom of the Lord; he is
mighty in power and sees everything; his eyes are on those who fear him, and he
knows every human action. He has not
commanded anyone to be wicked, and he has not given anyone permission to sin.
Hear
what the Spirit is saying to the church.
Thanks be to God.
The Psalm
Psalm 119.1-8
with the refrain from Songs for the Holy One
Refrain
(sung twice): Holy One, teach us your way, and help us walk in it.
1 Happy are they whose way is blameless, *
who walk in the law of the Lord!
2 Happy are they who observe
your decrees *
and seek you with
all their hearts;
3 who never do any wrong, *
but always walk in your ways.
4 You laid down your
commandments, *
that we should
fully keep them.
Refrain: Holy
One, teach us your way, and help us walk in it.
5 Oh, that my ways were made so direct *
that I might keep your statutes!
6 Then I should not be put
to shame, *
when I regard all
your commandments.
7 I will thank you with an unfeigned heart, *
when I have learned your righteous judgements.
8 I will keep your statutes;
*
do not utterly
forsake me.
Refrain: Holy
One, teach us your way, and help us walk in it.
The
Second Reading
A Reading from Paul’s First Letter
to the Corinthians (3.1-9).
And
so, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather
as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you
were not ready for solid food. Even now
you are still not ready, for you are still of the flesh. For as long as there is jealousy and quarrelling
among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human
inclinations? For when one says, “I belong
to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,” are you not merely human?
What
then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as
the Lord assigned to each. I planted,
Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who
waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. The one who plants and the one who waters have
a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labour of each. For we are God’s servants, working together;
you are God’s field, God’s building.
Hear what the Spirit is saying to
the church.
Thanks be to God.
Gradual
Hymn
‘Let All the World in Every Corner
Sing’ Common Praise #357
The
Gospel
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ according to Matthew (5.13-20).
Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
[Jesus
said,] “You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall
not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that if you are angry with a
brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother
or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you
will be liable to the hell of fire. So
when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother
or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and
go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your
gift. Come to terms quickly with your
accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand
you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into
prison. Truly I tell you, you will never
get out until you have paid the last penny.
“You
have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a
woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it
out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than
for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut
it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than
for your whole body to go into hell. “It
was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of
divorce.’ But I say to you that anyone
who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit
adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
“Again,
you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not swear
falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.’ But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either
by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his
footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot
make one hair white or black. Let your
word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one.”
The Gospel of Christ.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
The
Sermon
An
Affirmation of Faith
The Deacon or an Assisting Minister leads the Community in
the affirmation of faith.
Let us affirm our faith.
You, O God, are supreme and holy.
You create our world and give us life.
Your purpose overarches everything we do.
You have always been with us.
You are God.
You, O God, are infinitely generous,
good beyond all measure.
You came to us before we came to you.
You have revealed and proved
your love for us in Jesus Christ,
who lived and died and rose again.
You are with us now.
You are God.
You, O God, are Holy Spirit.
You empower us to be your gospel in the world.
You reconcile and heal; you overcome death.
The
Prayers of the Community
Intercessions,
Petitions and Thanksgivings
The
Exchange of the Peace
May the peace of Christ be always
with you.
And also with you.
The Holy
Communion
The
Offertory Hymn
‘We Plough the Fields and
Scatter’ Common Praise #258
The
Prayer over the Gifts
Holy God,
gracious and
merciful,
you bring forth food
from the earth
and nourish your
whole creation.
Turn our hearts
toward those
who hunger in any
way,
so that all may know
your care;
and prepare us now
to feast on the bread of life,
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.
Blessed are you, gracious God,
creator of heaven and earth;
you are the source of light and
life for all your creation,
you made us in your own image,
and call us to new life in Jesus
Christ our Saviour.
Therefore we praise you,
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.
You re indeed holy, almighty and
merciful God.
You are most holy and great is the
majesty of your glory.
You loved the world so much that
you gave your only Son,
so that everyone who believes in
him may not perish
but have eternal life.
We give you thanks for his coming
into the world
to fulfill for us your holy will
and to accomplish all things for
our salvation.
In the night in which he was
betrayed,
our Lord Jesus took bread, and
gave thanks;
broke it, and gave it to his
disciples, saying:
Take and eat; this is my body,
given for you.
Do this for the remembrance of me.
Again, after supper, he took the
cup, gave thanks,
and gave it for all to drink,
saying:
This cup is the new covenant in my
blood,
shed for you and for all people
for the forgiveness of sin.
Do this for the remembrance of me.
For as often as we eat of this
bread and drink from this cup,
we proclaim the Lord’s death until
he comes.
Christ has died. Christ is
risen. Christ will come again.
Remembering , therefore, his
salutary command,
his life-giving passion and death,
his glorious resurrection and ascension,
and the promise of his coming
again,
we give thanks to you, O Lord God
almighty,
not as we ought but as we are
able;
we ask you mercifully to accept
our praise and thanksgiving
and with your Word and Holy Spirit
to bless us, your servants,
and these your own gifts of bread
and wine,
so that we and all who share in
the body and blood of Christ
may be filled with heavenly
blessing and grace,
and, receiving the forgiveness of
sin,
may be formed to live as your holy
people
and be given our inheritance with
all your saints.
To you, O God, Source of all
being, eternal Word and Holy Spirit,
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
“I am the bread which has come
down from heaven,”
says the Lord.
Give us this bread for ever.
“I am the vine, you are the
branches.”
The gifts of God for the people of
God.
Thanks be to God.
The
Communion
Communion
Hymn
‘Jesus, Joy of Our Desiring’ Common Praise #514
The Sending Forth of the Community
Prayer
after Communion
Almighty
God,
we give you thanks
that you have refreshed us
through the healing power of this gift of life.
In your mercy, strengthen us through this gift
in faith toward you and in fervent love toward one another;
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
‘God Whose Giving Knows No
Ending’ Common Praise #601 (sung to
#331)
Dismissal
The Deacon or an Assisting Minister
sends the Community forth with an appropriate Dismissal.
Concluding
Music
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