The Third Sunday in Lent
28 February 2016
The Gathering of the Community
Gathering Music
Greeting and Litany
The Presider
greets the Community from the door to the Nave.
Bless the Lord who
forgives all our sins,
whose mercy endures for ever. [i]
The Community then
sings the following hymn.
‘Before I Take the
Body of My Lord’ Common Praise #610
The Presider then
says the following,
May the God of
love and power
forgive you and
free you from your sins,
heal and
strengthen you by the Spirit,
and raise you to
new life in Christ our Lord. Amen. [ii]
The Collect of the Day
Let us pray.
Eternal God,
give us
insight to discern your will for us,
to give up
what harms us,
and to seek
the perfection we are promised;
through Jesus
Christ our Saviour. Amen. [iii]
The Proclamation of the Word
The First Reading
A reading from Isaiah
(55.1-9).
55.1 Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no
money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine
and milk without money and without
price. 2 Why do you spend
your money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which does not
satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat
what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. 3 Incline your ear, and come to
me; listen, so that you may live. I will
make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David. 4 See, I made him a witness to the
peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. 5 See, you shall call nations that
you do not know, and nations that do not know you shall run to you, because of
the Lord your God, the Holy One of
Israel,
for he has
glorified you.
6 Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon
him while he is near; 7 let the wicked forsake their way, and the
unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them, and to our God, for he
will abundantly pardon. 8 For
my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my
ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Hear what the
Spirit is saying to the Church.
Thanks be to God.
The Psalm
Psalm 63.1-8 with
refrain from Songs for the Holy One
Refrain (sung
twice): To you we lift our hearts in prayer and praise.
1 O God, you are my God; eagerly I seek you; *
my soul thirsts
for you, my flesh faints for you,
as in a barren
and dry land where there is no water.
2 Therefore I have gazed
upon you in your holy place, *
that I might behold your power and
your glory.
Refrain: To you
we lift our hearts in prayer and praise.
3 For your loving-kindness is better than life itself; *
my lips shall
give you praise.
4 So will I bless you as
long as I live *
and lift up my hands in your name.
5 My soul is content, as with marrow and fatness, *
and my mouth
praises you with joyful lips,
6 when I remember you upon
my bed, *
and meditate on you in the night
watches.
Refrain: To you
we lift our hearts in prayer and praise.
7 For you have been my helper, *
and under the
shadow of your wings I will rejoice.
8 My soul clings to you; *
your mighty hand holds me fast.
Refrain: To you
we lift our hearts in prayer and praise.
The Second Reading
A reading from Paul’s
first letter to the Corinthians (10.1-13).
10.1 I do not want you to
be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud,
and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses
in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4
and all drank the same spiritual drink. For
they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.
5 Nevertheless, God was not
pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness.
6 Now these things
occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did. 7 Do not become idolaters as some of
them did; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and they
rose up to play.” 8 We must
not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand
fell in a single day. 9 We
must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by
serpents. 10 And do not
complain as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 11 These things happened to them to
serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the
ends of the ages have come. 12
So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall. 13 No testing has overtaken you
that is not common to everyone. God is
faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the
testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.
Hear what the
Spirit is saying to the Church.
Thanks be to God.
The Hymn before the Gospel
‘Eternal Lord of
Love, Behold Your Church’ Common Praise
#174
The Gospel
The Lord be with
you.
And also with you.
The Holy Gospel of
our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke (13.1-9).
Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
13.1 At that very time
there were some present who told [Jesus] about the Galileans whose blood Pilate
had mingled with their sacrifices. 2
[Jesus] asked them, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this
way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you
repent, you will all perish as they did. 4 Or those eighteen who were killed
when the tower of Siloam fell on them — do you think that they were worse
offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you
repent, you will all perish just as they did.”
6 Then [Jesus] told this
parable: “A man had a fig tree planted
in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. 7 So he said to the gardener, ‘See
here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still
I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?’ 8 [The gardener] replied, ‘Sir, let it alone
for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, well
and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”
The Gospel of
Christ.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
The Sermon
The Affirmation of Faith
Let us declare our
faith in God.
We believe in God the Creator of all,
from whom every family
in heaven and on earth is named.
We believe in God the Word of redemption,
who lives in our hearts through faith
and fills us with love and compassion.
We believe in God the Spirit of wisdom,
who strengthens us with power from on high.
We believe in one God:
The Prayers of the Community
Intercessions, Thanksgivings and Petitions
The Exchange of the Peace
The peace of
Christ be with you all.
And also with you.
The Holy Communion
The Offertory Hymn
‘From All the
Wind’s Wide Quarters’ Common Praise #43
The Prayer over the Gifts
God our provider,
you have not fed us 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 a 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.
Glory to you for ever and
ever. Amen.
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 of the Community
Communion Hymn
‘How Lovely Is Thy
Dwelling Place’ Common Praise #498
The Sending Forth of the Community
The 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;
through Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord. Amen. [viii]
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
‘Come Down, O Love
Divine’ Common Praise #645
The Dismissal
The Deacon sends
the Community forth with an appropriate Dismissal.
Sending Music
[i] The
Book of Alternative Services (1985), 216 alt.
[ii] Common
Worship (2000), 135.
[iii]
The Liturgy Task Force, ‘Trial Use Collects and Prayers over the Gifts and
after Communion for Year C: The First
Sunday in Lent through the Fifth Sunday in Lent’, 2.
[iv] Common
Worship (2000), 148 alt.
[v] The
Liturgy Task Force, ‘Trial Use Collects and Prayers over the Gifts and after
Communion for Year C: The First Sunday
in Lent through the Fifth Sunday in Lent’, 4.
[vi]
‘Sanctus’ by George Black in The Book of Alternative Services Altar Book.
[vii] The
Book of Alternative Services (1985), 918.
[viii] The
Liturgy Task Force, ‘Trial Use Collects and Prayers over the Gifts and after
Communion for Year C: The First Sunday
in Lent through the Fifth Sunday in Lent’, 4.
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