Croeso, Welcome to our Sunday service of Praise, Prayer and a couple of rousing hymns to set you up for the week ahead. Let me know what you think. [Revd Jude Peters]
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Grace and Peace be with you and keep you in the love of Christ.
Heavenly Father, we acknowledge that during these strange and challenging times, we’ve learnt new skills, we have worshipped in new and different ways, we’ve considered our well-being, we’ve heard the birds sing and allowed creation to speak to us. We give thanks for blessings received! Amen.
We still ourselves and take a moment of quiet to bring to God those things which may be weighing heavily on our hearts and souls...
Heavenly Father,
All hearts are open to you,
no secrets are hidden from you.
Purify us with the fire of your Holy Spirit that we may love and worship you faithfully,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Heavenly Father,
we have sinned in thought, word and deed,
and have failed to do
what we ought to have done.
We are sorry and truly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ
who died for us, forgive us all that is past,
and lead us in his way
to walk as children of light. Amen.
Almighty God,
who forgives all who truly repent,
have mercy on us and set us free from sin,
strengthen us in goodness
and keep us in eternal life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Gloria is an ancient hymn of praise to the glory of God.
GLORIA:
We praise you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit
with all the saints and angels
in heaven and on earth,
and we worship you in sincerity and truth
for you are the Holy One,
the Lord, the Most High. Amen.
READINGS FROM THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT:
A reading from the Old Testament book of Exodus, Chapter 12, v1-14
The Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread
12 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, 2 “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. 3 Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb[a] for his family, one for each household. 4 If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. 5 The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. 6 Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. 7 Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. 8 That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. 9 Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire—with the head, legs and internal organs. 10 Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it. 11 This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s Passover.
12 “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. 13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.
14 “This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance.
Psalm 149
Praise the Lord.
Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of his faithful people.
2 Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the people of Zion be glad in their King. 3 Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with timbrel and harp. 4 For the Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory. 5 Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor and sing for joy on their beds.
6 May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands, 7 to inflict vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples, 8 to bind their kings with fetters, their nobles with shackles of iron, 9 to carry out the sentence written against them— this is the glory of all his faithful people.
Praise the Lord.
A Reading from the Gospel according to St Matthew, chapter 18, v 15-20
15 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
18 “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
19 “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
Thought for the Day [The Revd Jude Peters, Glamorgan Heritage Coast Parish]:
The Old Testament story of Moses leading the Hebrew slaves out of Egypt following the plagues visited upon that country by Yaweh (by the God of Israel) is a popular one for Sunday Schools and for the big screen of cinemas.
You may remember Charlton Heston playing Moses in the 1956 film The Ten Commandments.
There is at Universal Studios California a ride where you cross the Red Sea in a little tram as the water is held back by some kind of hydraulic curtain! It’s all very dramatic.
No less dramatic is the story of Passover. In an effort to persuade Pharaoh to let the Hebrew slaves go free, the Tenth Plague against Egypt – the death of every firstborn in the land – including animals and foreigners – is about to happen and Moses instructs his people to set aside an unblemished lamb or kid goat for sacrifice.
The animal is to be killed, roasted whole and eaten but the blood of the animal is to be daubed over the lintel of each doorway as a sign to God that his people live in that place. Therefore the angel of death passes over each household where the sign is painted over the door.
Passover, is a central ritual in Judaism to this day. As Christians, we remember from New Testament scripture that it was during the Passover celebration in Jerusalem that Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper – the Holy Eucharist of the Church. This meal too means liberation for all who come to Christ’s table – and we are all invited. We must remember that it is Christ's call, not the Priest's, not ours - Christ's.
The allegory of a banquet or wedding feast features often in the Parables of Jesus - you may remember from scripture the story of the Prodigal Son returning home and his father giving a huge celebration in the form of a feast; or the Master of the house instructing his servant to invite anyone from the highways and byeways to a great banquet. Whatever we have done, whoever we are, if we respond to Christ’s call to come to him, we are welcome.
The Liturgy of our service reminds us ‘As often as we eat this bread and drink this cup we proclaim the Lord's death until he comes’. The infinite One meets us in the finite elements of bread and wine. At the Eucharist, we remember that Christ is our Passover Lamb who sacrificed himself for us.
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH:
We believe and trust in one God.
We believe and trust in God, the Father, the Creator.
We believe and trust in God, the Son, the Saviour.
We believe and trust in God, the Holy Spirit,
the Sanctifier.
We believe and trust in one God.
We believe.
We trust.
Amen.
PRAYERS:
Gracious God, we pray for your Church in all its many forms and manifestations: for the churches in the Glamorgan Heritage Coast Parish; We pray for our leaders and inspirers, for discerners and listeners, those who are learners and workers. Weave us together to strengthen your Kingdom.
Spirit of unity, hear our prayer.
Lord we pray for those who lead communities: leaders of nations, cities and those who lead hamlets; those who elect and those elected. Call us together to strengthen our solidarity.
Spirit of unity, hear our prayer.
Loving Lord, we pray for our own community: for people we know and those who are strangers; for those who call the shots and those who feel powerless, for the young and energetic, for the old and wise, for the weak and needy. Bring us together to serve one another.
Spirit of unity, hear our prayer.
Eternal God, we pray for the suffering: for those who are poorly in body, mind or spirit,
and we bring to mind those known to us - may they find
and peace of mind.
We pray for our brothers and sisters who have died
recently - may they rest in your love - and for those who mourn
- may they find comfort in their good memories. For those who are homeless and alienated, for those who are stateless or seeking a livelihood far from home, for those who are afraid and without hope. May they know your love through us, and the actions we take.
Spirit of unity, hear our prayer.
Spirit of unity, mystery of wholeness, To your strength, to your love, to your insight, we offer our prayers. Amen.
Fel y dysgodd ein Hiachawdwr ni, gweddïwn yn hyderus:
Ein Tad,
yr hwn wyt yn y nefoedd,
sancteiddier dy enw,
deled dy deyrnas,
gwneler dy ewyllys;
megis yn y nef, felly ar y ddaear hefyd.
Dyro i ni heddiw ein bara beunyddiol
a maddau i ni ein dyledion,
fel y maddeuwn ninnau i’n dyledwyr.
Ac nac arwain ni i brofedigaeth;
eithr gwared ni rhag drwg.
Canys eiddot ti yw’r deyrnas,
a’r gallu, a’r gogoniant,
yn oes oesoedd.
Amen.
As our Saviour taught us, we
boldly pray:
Our Father
who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily
bread.
And forgive us our
trespasses
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into
temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
We bless one another as we go in peace to love and serve the Lord
In the name of Christ. Amen.