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In times of prosperity, when success and comfort would draw us away from the way of the cross,
In darker times of trial and worry when we feel alone, abandoned to wander in the valley of the shadow,
In the routine of each day, in the work we do, in our lives with family and friends,
in the light of each day, and in the rest of each night,
Heavenly Father, as a family of believers in this congregation,
we pray that all we do together be governed by your love for us in Christ.
Keep his cross before us, so that we are always ready and eager to follow him!
We pray these things
by the grace of God,
the empathy of the Son,
and the sustaining breath of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Song
Prayer of Confession
In the light of the resurrection we are still troubled by this world.
That even though you have conquered death there is still brokenness around every corner.
(all) May the light of Christ shine in this world.
In the light of the resurrection we have hope for those who are hopeless,
we grieve with those who are grieving in their loss, conflict and pain
(all) May the light of Christ shine upon them.
In the light of the resurrection, we are heartbroken by the reality
that war, poverty and racism still destroys the lives of so many and that we haven’t nearly done enough.
(all) May the light of Christ shine upon them.
In the light of the resurrection we bring the headline news this year.
we are saddened that so many let fear into their hearts and we refuse to be controlled by the lies we hear.
(all) May the light of Christ strengthen us.
In the light of the resurrection we bring ourselves, our struggles, our fears the heart’s yearnings, the hidden dreams,
the unfulfilled potential. and we give those things over to death,
(all) May the light of Christ shine upon us.
Amen.
Responsive Reading: Psalm 19
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.
It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth.
(all) The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring for ever. The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous.
They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb.
By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
But who can discern their own errors?Forgive my hidden faults.
Keep your servant also from wilful sins; may they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression.
(all) May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight,
Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
New Testament :: 1 Corinthians 12:12-31
Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptised by one Spirit so as to form one body – whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free – and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. And so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
Now if the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’ And the head cannot say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you!’ On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honourable we treat with special honour. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honour to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it.
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? Now eagerly desire the greater gifts.
And yet I will show you the most excellent way.
Gospel :: Luke 4:14-21
Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’
Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fa/stened on him. He began by saying to them, ‘Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.’
Discussion of Scripture
Prayers of the People
The Lord’s Supper
The Lord’s Prayer
(Dallas Willard’s Paraphrase)
Dear Father always near us,
may your name be treasured and loved,
may your rule be completed in us-
may your will be done here on earth in
just the way it is done in heaven.
Give us today the things we need today,
and forgive us our sins and impositions on you
as we are forgiving all who in any way offend us.
Please don’t put us through trials,
but deliver us from everything bad.
Because you are the one in charge,
and you have all the power, and the glory too is all yours-forever-
which is just the way we want it!
Doxology
May the grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
be with us all,
now and evermore.
Amen
Benediction
Now may the God of peace himself make you completely holy. May your complete spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus the Messiah. The one who calls you is faithful; he will do it.
(1 Thessalonians 5:23-24)