The Third Sunday in
Lent
4 March 2018
The Gathering of
the Community
Gathering Music
Announcements
Greeting
Blessed be the
Lord day by day,
the God of our salvation,
who bears our burdens.
Confession
Before I take the body of my Lord,
before I share his life in bread and wine,
I recognise the sorry things within ---
these I lay down.
The words of hope I often failed to give,
the prayers of kindness buried by my pride,
the signs of care I argued out of sight,
these I lay down.
The narrowness of vision and of mind,
the need for other folk to serve my will,
and every word and silence meant to hurt,
these I lay down.
Of those around in whom I meet my Lord,
I ask their pardon and I grant them mine
that every contradiction to Christ’s peace
might be laid down.
Lord Jesus Christ, companion at this feast,
I empty now my heart and stretch my hands,
and ask to meet you here in bread and wine ---
which you lay down. [1]
Absolution
May the God of all
mercies
cleanse you from
your sins,
and restore you in
the divine image
to the praise and
glory of God’s holy name,
through Jesus our
Redeemer. Amen.[2]
The Collect of the Day
The Lord be with
you.
And also with you.
Let us pray.
Holy God,
through your Son you have called us
to live faithfully and act courageously.
Keep us steadfast in your covenant of grace,
and teach us the wisdom
that comes only through Jesus Christ, our Saviour and
Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen. [3]
The Proclamation of
the Word
The First Reading: Exodus
20.1-17
A reading from Exodus.
20.1 Then God spoke all these words:
2 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of
the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; 3 you shall have no
other gods before me.
4 You shall not make for
yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or
that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or
worship them; for I the Lord your
God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the
third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, 6 but
showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and
keep my commandments.
7 You shall not make
wrongful use of the name of the Lord
your God, for the Lord will not
acquit anyone who misuses his name.
8 Remember the sabbath
day, and keep it holy. 9 Six
days you shall labour and do all your work. 10 But the seventh day is a sabbath
to the Lord your God; you shall
not do any work — you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave,
your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and
all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and
consecrated it.
12 Honour your father and
your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
13 You shall not murder.
14 You shall not commit
adultery.
15 You shall not steal.
16 You shall not bear
false witness against your neighbour.
17 You shall not covet
your neighbour’s house; you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, or male or
female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour.
Hear what the
Spirit is saying to the church.
Thanks be to God.
The Psalm: Psalm 19
Psalm 19 from Songs for the Holy One
Refrain (sung twice): The
heavens are telling the Holy One’s glory.
The heavens are
telling the Holy One’s glory;
heaven’s arches proclaim God’s handiwork.
Day to day pours
forth speech,
night to night declares knowledge.
There is no
speech, there are no words;
no sound can be heard.
Their call goes
out to all the world,
to the ends of the earth their message.
Refrain:
The heavens are telling the Holy
One’s glory.
In the heavens God
pitched a tent for the sun,
which comes forth as a bridegroom from his wedding
canopy,
like a strong man running his course.
From the uttermost
edge of the heavens it goes
and runs about the
end of them again;
nothing is hid from its burning heat.
Refrain:
The heavens are telling the Holy
One’s glory.
The Holy One’s
teaching is perfect,
restoring my soul.
God’s decrees are sure, making wise the simple.
The Holy One’s
precepts are right,
rejoicing my
heart.
God’s commandments are pure,
giving light to my eyes.
Refrain:
The heavens are telling the Holy
One’s glory.
Reverence for God
is clean,
enduring for ever.
The Holy One’s judgements are true,
altogether just.
More to be desired
are they than gold,
more than much fine gold,
sweeter far than honey in the comb.
By them is your
servant warned,
for in keeping them there is great reward.
Refrain:
The heavens are telling the Holy
One’s glory.
Who can discern
unwitting sins?
O cleanse me from my secret faults.
Above all, keep
your servant from arrogant sins;
let them not control me.
Then shall I be
whole and sound,
and innocent of grave offense.
May the words of
my mouth
and the
meditations of my heart
be always acceptable in your sight,
O God, my strength and my redeemer.
Refrain:
The heavens are telling the Holy
One’s glory.
The Second Reading:
1 Corinthians 1.18-25
A reading from
Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians.
1.18 For the message
about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are
being saved it is the power of God.
19 For it is written, “I
will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I
will thwart.”
20 Where is the one who
is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the
world? 21 For since, in the
wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through
the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks
desire wisdom, 23 but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling
block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are
the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
25 For God’s foolishness is
wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.
Hear what the
Spirit is saying to the Church.
Thanks be to God.
Hymn before the Gospel
‘Tree of Life and
Awesome Mystery’ Common Praise #179 v. 3
The Gospel: John
2.13-22
The Lord be with
you.
And also with you.
The Holy Gospel of
our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.
Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
2.13 The Passover of the
Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple he found people
selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their
tables. 15 Making a whip of
cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money
changers and overturned their tables. 16 He told those who were
selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s
house a marketplace!” 17 His
disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume
me.” 18 The [Jews who did not
believe in him] then said to him, “What
sign can you show us for doing this?” 19
Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it
up.” 20 [They] then said,
“This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you
raise it up in three days?” 21
But he was speaking of the temple of his body. 22 After he was raised from the
dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the
scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
The Gospel of
Christ.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
The Hymn after the Gospel
‘Tree of Life and
Awesome Mystery’ Common Praise #179 v. 6d
The Sermon
The Affirmation of Faith
Let us affirm our
faith.
We believe and trust in God the Author of creation,
source of all being and life, the one for whom we exist.
We believe and trust in God the Word of redemption,
who took our human nature, died for us and rose again.
We believe and trust in God the Spirit of wisdom,
who gives life to all people and makes Christ known in
the world.
We believe and trust in one God:
The Prayers of the
Community
Intercessions, Petitions and Thanksgivings
The Exchange of the Peace
The peace of the
Lord be always with you.
And also with you.
The Holy Communion
The Offertory Hymn
‘Let Us with a
Gladsome Mind’ Common Praise #398
Prayer over the Gifts
Let us pray.
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 through your bounty,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. [5]
The Great Thanksgiving
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;
because you bid
your faithful people to cleanse their hearts
and to prepare
with joy for the paschal feast;
so that reborn
through the waters of baptism
and renewed in the
eucharistic mystery,
we may be more
fervent in prayer
and more generous
in the works of love.
Therefore we raise
our voices to you in praise
to proclaim the
glory of your name. [6]
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,
gracious God,
creator of the
universe and giver of life.
You formed us in
your own image
and called us to
dwell in your infinite love.
You gave the world
into our care
so that we might
be your faithful stewards
and show forth
your bountiful grace.
But we failed to
honour your image in one another and in ourselves;
we would not see
your goodness in the world around us;
and so we violated
your creation,
abused one another
and rejected your love.
Yet you never
ceased to care for us
and prepared a way
of salvation for all people.
Through Abraham
and Sarah you called us into covenant with you.
You delivered us
from slavery,
sustained us in
the wilderness
and raised up
prophets to renew your promise of salvation.
Then, in the
fullness of time,
you sent your
eternal Word, made mortal flesh in Jesus.
Born into a human
family and dwelling among us,
he revealed your
glory.
Giving himself
freely to death on the cross,
he triumphed over
evil, opening the way of freedom and life.
On the night
before he died for us,
our Saviour Jesus
Christ took bread,
and when he had
given thanks to you,
he broke it, and
gave it to his friends, and said:
‘Take, eat: this is my body which is given for you.
Do this for the
remembrance of me.’
As supper was
ending, Jesus took the cup of wine,
and when he had
given thanks, he gave it to them, and said:
‘Drink this all of
you: this is my blood of the new
covenant,
which is poured
out for you and for all for the forgiveness of sins.
Whenever you drink
it, do this for the remembrance of me.’
Therefore we
proclaim the mystery of faith:
Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.
Remembering his
death and resurrection,
we now present to
you from your creation this bread and this wine.
By your Holy
Spirit may they be for us the body and blood of our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Grant that we who
share these gifts may be filled with the Holy Spirit
and live as
Christ’s body in the world.
Bring us into the
everlasting heritage of your daughters and sons,
so that with all
your saints, past, present and yet to come,
we may praise your
name for ever.
Through Christ and
with Christ and in Christ,
in the unity of
the Holy Spirit,
to you be honour,
glory and praise,
for ever and
ever. Amen. [8]
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,
now and for ever.
Amen.
The Breaking of the Bread
Jesus, Lamb of
God,
have mercy on us.
Jesus, bearer of
our sins,
have mercy on us.
Jesus, redeemer of
the world,
give us your peace. [9]
The Communion of the Community
The Hymn after Communion
‘Here, Lord, We
Take the Broken Bread’ Common Praise #65
The Sending Forth
of the Community
Prayer after Communion
Let us pray.
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. [10]
The Prayer over the People
Look mercifully on
this your family,
God of the
covenant,
so that by your
great goodness
they may be
governed and preserved evermore;
through Jesus our
Redeemer. Amen. [11]
The Closing Hymn
‘Lift High the
Cross’ Common Praise #602
The Dismissal
Go forth in the
zeal of Christ.
Thanks be to God. [12]
