Welcome to You All as We Celebrate Bible Sunday
25th October 2020
The Gathering of the Community
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.
And also, with you.
Dear friends in Christ, we have come together on this Bible Sunday to celebrate in word and song and to affirm our faith in God, the Three in One.
Hymn: Take My Life and Let it Be
Heavenly Father, all hearts are open to you.
No secrets are hidden from you.
Purify us with the love of your Holy Spirit
That we may love and worship you faithfully,
through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen
Lord, have mercy Lord, have Mercy
Christ, have mercy Christ, have mercy
Lord, have mercy Lord, have mercy
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
May God our Father,
who by the Lord Jesus Christ
has reconciled the world to himself
and forgives the sins of all who truly repent,
pardon and deliver us from all our sins,
and grant us the grace and power of the Holy Spirit. AMEN
The Gloria
Glory to God in the highest
and peace to his people on earth.
Lord God, heavenly King,
Almighty God and Father,
we worship you; we give you thanks,
we praise you for your glory.
Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world:
have mercy on us.
you are seated at the right hand of the Father:
receive our prayer,
For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God, the Father. AMEN
The Collect
Blessed Lord, who caused all holy scriptures to be written for our learning: help us so to hear them, to read, mark, learn and inwardly digest them that, through patience and the comfort of your holy word, we may embrace and for ever hold fast the hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Readings
Colossians 3. 12-17
As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Gospel Acclamation
Your words oh lord give Joy to my heart and light to my Soul
Matthew 24. 30-35
Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see “the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven” with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
‘From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
This is the word of the Lord
Thanks be to Christ
Reflection
I had a quick count of the the number of bibles in my house and I suppose as you expect of a Ordinand, I have more than one! In fact at a quick count I had at least 7, probably more. When I looked back at them I realised many had been given as gifts to mark occasions, in my life when it had seemed to someone appropriate to say hey! Here have a Bible! Probably my fondest is the little red one pictured to the left, a Gideon New Testament given to me in school by the Gideon Society, I could only have been 10 years old but I have kept it by me always. It has travelled the world whilst I was in Service in the RAF and I refer to it as my seed bible. As a small child I
remember reading the passages and feeling the truth written within and how it spoke to my life and now I look back and remember the comfort it gave me without really the knowledge or true understanding of what was contained within. Without that gift as a child maybe I wouldn’t have been so blessed as to hear the words of Jesus so young. It has I feel, truly shaped my life. The other picture again was a gift on my confirmation from my Mum and Dad, it’s a King James Bible given to me on the 9th April 1995 and inside my Father wrote a poem he knew and I would like to share it with you.
Guide my footsteps,
As I walk along the path,
Love, protect and comfort me,
As I travel on each day,
And if by chance it seems to be,
That from my path I stray,
Guide my thoughts and footsteps,
Stay with me I pray,
It may be very tempting,
To take the easy road,
But without you near me,
I`ll fall beneath my load,
Father, guide my footsteps,
As I travel on life's way,
Be with me now and always,
Give me strength to face each day.
This Bible Sunday think about who we can give the gift of a Bible too. It might just be a seed in someone's life that you know, a seed you may never see take root, but you will know that that seed is there and that it may provide such comfort in that persons life at same point in their journey. In Paul’s letter to the Colossians we read earlier, Paul said clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. These words in the Bible taught me to see that that in others and to try and be like that in my life with God`s help.
I pray Lord that God’s gift of scripture be made available to all, and that it finds its way to those this day that need to hear your word in their lives this day and always.
Amen
The Creed
I believe and trust in God the father,
who created all that is.
I believe and trust in his Son Jesus Christ,
who redeemed humankind.
I believe and trust in his Holy Spirit,
who gives life to the people of God.
I believe in and trust
father, Son and Holy Spirit. AMEN
Prayers of intercession:
God of the silence, God in the stillness and the calm, Who met Elijah not in the rushing wind but in quietness, who brought peace to a group of fishermen in a raging storm: Be with us, here, and now. Help us to leave behind the busyness of our lives, and listen for your word.
God of relationships, God of compassion and love, Who gave Ruth to Naomi when she had no family, who gave Abraham and Sarah a baby when they had given up hope, who brought together the disciples and other followers of Jesus: We think of our relationships, Our families, our friends and colleagues and our church family here in this Parish We lift them to you now, We bring our thanks, our concerns, our need for forgiveness. Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
God of wisdom, God of the proverbs and the 10 commandments, Who inspired your prophets like Amos, Micah, Isaiah and Jeremiah, to speak your words: We bring before you our country and its political leaders, we pray for wisdom and justice. And we think of situations, people, places around the world that need change. Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
God of creativity, God of beauty and delight, Who gave David the gift of song-writing, who spoke to Joseph in vivid dreams, who inspired the Songs of Solomon: Open our eyes to see you all around us. Help us to find you in nature, in poetry, in song, in conversation, in touch. Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
God of surprises, God of hopes and plans, Who called Samuel in the night, who met Paul in blinding light, Help us to hear your call for our lives, however big or small, Open our eyes to your promptings and guidance, so that we can see the people, places, opportunities that you want us to. Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
God of revelation, who came to us as one of us You call us to be the light of the world, to love our enemies, and treat our neighbours as we would be treated, Who urges us not to worry, who encouraged us to seek and we will find, who told us that we are so loved that if we were 1 of 100 sheep he would leave the other 99 to look for us if we were lost: Help us to take your Gospel words seriously, let them shape our lives and give us courage to take new paths and explore new patterns. Help us to hear their call afresh and let them release us from old routines to try new steps and dance with you in abandoned joy through all our days. Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
The Lord's Prayer
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,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
Hymn: Oh God our Help in Ages Past
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 ever more. AMEN
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
If you would like to donate £5 to the overall work of the 12 churches in the parish, please carefully text: GIVE5 to 70970. Thank you, diolch.
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