The Fourth Sunday
in Lent
11 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.
God of grace,
you know our struggle to serve you:
when sin spoils our lives
and overshadows our hearts,
come to our aid
and turn us back to you again;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. [3]
The Proclamation of
the Word
The First Reading: Numbers
21.4-9
A reading from Numbers.
21.4 From Mount Hor they
set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; but the
people became impatient on the way. 5
The people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out
of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For
there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food.” 6 Then the Lord sent poisonous serpents among the people, and they bit
the people, so that many Israelites died. 7 The people came to Moses and
said, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord
and against you; pray to the Lord to
take away the serpents from us.” So
Moses prayed for the people. 8
And the Lord said to Moses, “Make
a poisonous serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall
look at it and live.” 9 So
Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole; and whenever a serpent
bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live.
Hear what the
Spirit is saying to the church.
Thanks be to God.
The Psalm: Psalm
107.1-3, 17-22
Psalm 107.1-3, 17-22 from Songs for the
Holy One
Refrain (sung twice): Let us
praise the Holy One for faithful love.
Praise the Holy
One,
who is so
wonderful,
whose faithful
love endures forever.
Those whom the Holy One saved,
tell the story!
How God rescued
them from enemy powers,
gathering them
from al lands,
from East and West,
from North and South.
Refrain:
Let us praise the Holy One for
faithful love.
Some were sick
because of their wicked ways,
afflicted because
of their evils.
All food was loathsome,
they came near the gates of death.
In distress they
screamed to the Holy One,
who saved them
from their misery,
uttered a word and healed them,
rescued them from destruction.
Let them praise
the Holy One for faithful love,
for wonders done
for all.
Offer thanksgiving sacrifice;
proclaim God’s deeds with joyful shouts.
Refrain:
Let us praise the Holy One for
faithful love.
The Second Reading:
Ephesians 2.1-10
A reading from the
letter to the Ephesians.
2.1 You were dead through the trespasses and sins 2 in which
you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the
power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are
disobedient. 3 All of us once
lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh
and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy,
out of the great love with which he loved us 5 even when we were
dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ — by grace you
have been saved — 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him
in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to
come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us
in Christ Jesus. 8 For by
grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is
the gift of God — 9 not the result of works, so that no one may
boast. 10 For we are what he
has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared
beforehand to be our way of life.
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. 4
The Gospel: John
3.14-21
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.
3.14 [Jesus said,] “And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the
wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in
him may have eternal life.
16 “For God so loved the world
that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish
but may have eternal life.
17 “Indeed, God did not
send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world
might be saved through him. 18
Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are
condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son
of God. 19 And this is the
judgement, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness
rather than light because their deeds were evil. 20 For all who do evil hate the
light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. 21 But those who do what is true
come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been
done in God.”
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. 6e
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
‘Tell Out, My Soul’ Common
Praise #362
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
‘God, Whose Giving
Knows No Ending’ Common Praise #601 (sung to #482)
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 down in
mercy, gracious God, on your people;
and grant those
whom you have nourished by your Word and Sacraments
may bring forth
fruit worthy of repentance; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
[11]
The Closing Hymn
‘Amazing Grace’ Common
Praise #352
The Dismissal
Go forth and
proclaim the coming of the Light.
Thanks be to God. [12]
No comments:
Post a Comment