OUR CHURCHES
We have begun to re-open our churches for public worship.- for the the pattern of services in April and May see the News page.
Guidance during the lockdown has always been as follows:-
You can attend places of worship for a service.
However, you must not mingle with anyone outside of your household or support bubble. You should maintain strict social distancing at all times.
Although incidence is currently low and more of us are receiving the vaccine, we must continue to be vigilent, and exercise care toward one another.
We will keep the same discipline as before - meaning:-
cleaning hands with the sanitiser provided on arrival and departure;
not handing out books, but showing people where to collect them;
wearing masks, keeping distance, and listening to the music rather than singing.
Please only come if you are apparently fit and well - and don't come "because you ought".
The resources at Daily Hope continue to develop and grow - simply phone 0800 804 8044 and follow the options. It is an automated line of recorded resources. For the Daily Hope prayer phone line click here.
Services by phone at 9.30am on Sundays dial 0333 0110 946 then enter room number 61337190# and PIN 7450#
Sunday 18th April 2021 – Third Sunday of Easter
Opening Sentence
See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; - and that is what we are!
[1 John 3:1]
Opening Responses
O Lord, open our lips
All: and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
In your resurrection, O Christ.
All: Let heaven and earth rejoice! Alleluia!
Blessed are you, Lord God of our salvation,
to you be praise and glory for ever.
As once you ransomed your people from Egypt
and led them to freedom in the promised land,
so now you have delivered us from the dominion of darkness
and brought us into the kingdom of your risen Son.
May we, the first fruits of your new creation,
rejoice in this new day you have made,
and praise you for your mighty acts.
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
All Blessed be God for ever.
The night has passed, and the day lies open before us;
let us pray with one heart and mind.
As we rejoice in the gift of this new day,
so may the light of your presence, O God,
set our hearts on fire with love for you;
now and for ever.
All: Amen.
Hymn (music )
Good Christians all, rejoice and sing!
sung by St Martin’s Voices
1 Good Christians all, rejoice and sing!
Now is the triumph of our King!
To the whole world glad news we bring:
Alleluia!
2 The Lord of life is risen for ay:
bring flowers of song to strew his way;
let everyone rejoice and say:
Alleluia!
3 Praise we in songs of victory
that love, that life which cannot die,
and sing with hearts uplifted high:
Alleluia!
4 Thy name we bless, O risen Lord,
and sing today with one accord
the life laid down, the life restored:
Alleluia!
Cyril A Alington (1872-1955)
© Sir Richard Mynors
Invitation to Confession
Christ died to sin once for all, and now he lives to God. Let us renew our resolve to have done with all that is evil and confess our sins in penitence and faith.
cf Romans 6.10
Confession
Jesus Christ, risen Master and triumphant Lord,
we come to you in sorrow for our sins,
and confess to you our weakness and unbelief.
We have lived by our own strength,
and not by the power of your resurrection.
In your mercy, forgive us.
All: Lord, hear us and help us.
We have lived by the light of our own eyes,
as faithless and not believing.
In your mercy, forgive us.
All: Lord, hear us and help us.
We have lived for this world alone,
and doubted our home in heaven.
In your mercy, forgive us.
All: Lord, hear us and help us.
God’s forgiveness
May the God of love and power forgive you and free you from your sins, heal and strengthen you by his Spirit, and raise you to new life in Christ our Lord.
All Amen.
The Word of God
Acts 3 v. 12-19
Peter addressed the people, “You Israelites, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we had made him walk? 13 The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected in the presence of Pilate, though he had decided to release him. 14 But you rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked to have a murderer given to you, 15 and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. 16 And by faith in his name, his name itself has made this man strong, whom you see and know; and the faith that is through Jesus has given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you.
17 “And now, friends, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 In this way God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, that his Messiah would suffer. 19 Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out.
Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus said, ‘I am the resurrection and the life.
Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live,
and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.’
All Alleluia.
John 11.25,26
Luke 24 v. 36-48
While the eleven and their companions were talking about what they had heard, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 37 They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. 38 He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41 While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate in their presence.
44 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46 and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things.
Sermon - Penny Yeadon
Confession of Faith
Let us declare our faith in God.
We believe in God the Father,
from whom every family
in heaven and on earth is named.
We believe in God the Son,
who lives in our hearts through faith,
and fills us with his love.
We believe in God the Holy Spirit,
who strengthens us with power from on high.
We believe in one God;
Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
A Litany of Thanksgiving
As we mourn the death of Prince Philip, let us give thanks to God in faith and trust.
For the gift of Christ Jesus and for all whose devotion to him has sustained the
life of our Church and nation:
Let us bless the Lord.
All Thanks be to God.
For our Sovereign Lady Queen Elizabeth, His Late Royal Highness the Duke of
Edinburgh, and all the Royal Family; for the ministers of the Crown and all who
bear the privilege and burden of government:
Let us bless the Lord.
All Thanks be to God.
For all people touched by the Duke of Edinburgh’s devotion to public service:
Let us bless the Lord.
All Thanks be to God.
For our own lives, giving thanks for all who have gone before, and asking that we
might go forward with confidence and hope:
Let us bless the Lord.
All Thanks be to God.
O God, in whom we live and move and have our being,
grant that your goodness and mercy shall follow us
all the days of our lives,
that we may ever trust in your unfailing love;
through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen
Prayers of Intercession [led on zoom by Gill Forrest]
The Collect
Almighty Father,
who in your great mercy gladdened the disciples
with the sight of the risen Lord:
give us such knowledge of his presence with us,
that we may be strengthened and sustained by his risen life
and serve you continually in righteousness and truth;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
All: Amen
The Lord’s Prayer
Rejoicing in God’s new creation, as our Saviour taught us, so we pray
All: 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.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen.
Hymn ( music )
The day of resurrection
sung by St Martin’s Voices
1 The day of resurrection,
Earth, tell it out abroad!
the passover of gladness,
the passover of God!
From death to life eternal,
from earth up to the sky,
our God has brought us over
with hymns of victory.
2 Our hearts be pure from evil,
that we may see aright
the Lord in rays eternal
of resurrection light;
and, listening to his accents,
may hear, so calm and plain,
his own 'All hail!' and, hearing
may raise the victor strain.
3 Now let the heavens be joyful,
and earth her song begin,
the round world keep high triumph,
and all that is therein;
let all things seen and unseen
their notes of gladness blend,
for Christ the Lord is risen,
our joy that has no end.
Anastaseos hemera
John of Damascus (c.675-749) translated John Mason Neale (1818-1866)
Sharing Peace
The risen Christ came and stood among his disciples and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then were they glad when they saw the Lord. Alleluia. [John 20:19-20]
The peace of the Lord be always with you.
All And also with you!
The Blessing
God, who through the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ
has given us the victory,
give you joy and peace in your faith;
and the blessing of God Almighty,
the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
be with us, now and always.
All: Amen
The National Anthem ( music )
God save our gracious Queen.
Long live our noble Queen.
God save the Queen.
Send her victorious,
Happy and glorious,
Long to reign over us,
God save the Queen.