Topic: Epiphany 3 Service of the Word
Time: Jan 24, 2021 11:00 AM
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Killiskey Parish
Sunday 24th January 2021 @ 11.00am
Christian Unity Week
SERVICE OF THE WORD
Preparation
GREETING
Grace, mercy and peace
from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
be with you all
and also with you.
OPENING PRAYER
Lord, you invite us to abide in you who are the vinedresser who cares for us with love.
You call on us to see the beauty of each branch united to the vine,
the beauty of each person.
And yet, too often the differences in others make us afraid.
We withdraw into ourselves. Our trust in you and one another is lost.
Come and direct our hearts toward you once again.
That as one family we may praise your name.
A LITANY OF PRAISE
You who call us to be praise in the midst of the earth: glory to you!
We sing your praise in the midst of the world and among all peoples,
We sing your praise in the midst of creation and among all creatures.
You who call us to be praise in the midst of the earth: glory to you!
We sing your praise among suffering and tears,
We sing your praise among promises and achievements.
You who call us to be praise in the midst of the earth: glory to you!
We sing your praise in the places of conflict and misunderstanding;
We sing your praise in the places of encounter and reconciliation.
You who call us to be praise in the midst of the earth: glory to you!
We sing your praise in the midst of rifts and divisions,
We sing your praise in the midst of life and death,
the birth of a new heaven and a new earth.
You who call us to be praise in the midst of the earth: glory to you! Amen.
Opening Hymn: 381 “God has spoken – by his prophets”
God has spoken – by his prophets,
spoken his unchanging word;
each from age to age proclaiming
God the one, the righteous Lord;
in the world’s despair and turmoil
one firm anchor still holds fast:
God is King, his throne eternal,
God the first and God the last.
God has spoken – by Christ Jesus,
Christ, the everlasting Son,
brightness of the Father’s glory,
with the Father, ever one:
spoken by the Word incarnate,
Life, before all time began,
Light of light to earth descending,
God revealed as Son of man.
God is speaking – by his Spirit
speaking to our hearts again;
in the age-long word declaring
God’s own message, now as then.
Through the rise and fall of nations
one sure faith is standing fast:
God abides, his word unchanging,
God the first and God the last.
George W Briggs (1875-1959)
based on Hebrews 1: 1-2
PENITENCE
We acknowledge before God that we have failed to be his living stones
and have built walls of division.
Silence
Gracious God,
the love of Christ compels us to seek forgiveness
for whenever we have failed to love,
for denouncing and falsely accusing one another,
for all forms of prejudice and discrimination against one another,
for perpetuating broken communion among our churches.,
for acts of religious intolerance in history and today,
for the times when we have isolated ourselves from our Christian sisters and brothers
and from the communities in which we live.
Lord, our God,
look upon this wall that we have built,
which separates us from you and from one another.
Forgive us our sins and heal us.
Help us to overcome all walls of division
and make us one in you. Amen.
THE COLLECT OF THE DAY
Almighty God,
whose Son revealed in signs and miracles
the wonder of your saving presence:
Renew your people with your heavenly grace,
and in all our weakness
sustain us by your mighty power;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
A COLLECT FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY
Creator of the universe,
who made us different from one another in myriad ways we can see
and in more ways we shall never know,
yet made us all in your image;
fill our hearts with your love and our minds with your wisdom,
that we may truly become brothers and sisters of your only Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ our Lord;
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Ministry of the Word
Old Testament Reading: Jonah 3: 1-5, 10
The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, ‘Get up, go to Nineveh, that great
city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.’ So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh,
according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days’
walk across. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk. And he cried out, ‘Forty days
more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!’ And the people of Nineveh believed God; they
proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth.
When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind
about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it.
The Psalm: Psalm 6: 5-12
5 Wait on God alone in stillness, O my soul; ♦︎
for in him is my hope.
6 He alone is my rock and my salvation, ♦︎
my stronghold, so that I shall not be shaken.
7 In God is my strength and my glory; ♦︎
God is my strong rock; in him is my refuge.
8 Put your trust in him always, my people; ♦︎
pour out your hearts before him, for God is our refuge.
9 The peoples are but a breath,
the whole human race a deceit; ♦︎
on the scales they are altogether lighter than air.
10 Put no trust in oppression; in robbery take no empty pride; ♦︎
though wealth increase, set not your heart upon it.
11 God spoke once, and twice have I heard the same, ♦︎
that power belongs to God.
12 Steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord, ♦︎
for you repay everyone according to their deeds.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be for ever. Amen.
The Epistle: 1 Corinthians 7: 29-31
I mean, brothers and sisters, the appointed time has grown short; from now on, let even those
who have wives be as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not
mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though
they had no possessions, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with
it. For the present form of this world is passing away.
Hymn before the Gospel: 528 “The Church’s one foundation”(vs 1, 2, 4 and 5)
The church’s one foundation
is Jesus Christ her Lord;
she is his new creation
by water and the word:
from heaven he came and sought her
to be his holy bride;
with his own blood he brought her,
and for her life he died.
Elect from every nation
Yet one o’er all the earth;
her charter of salvation,
one Lord, one faith, one birth;
one holy name she blesses,
partakes one holy food,
and to one hope she presses,
with every grace endued.
‘Mid toil and tribulation,
and tumult of her war,
she waits the consummation
of peace for evermore;
till with the vision glorious
her longing eyes are blessed,
and the great Church victorious
shall be the Church at rest.
Yet she on earth has union
with God the Three-in-One,
and mystic sweet communion
with those whose rest is won:
O happy ones and holy!
Lord, give us grace that we,
like them the meek and lowly,
on high may dwell with thee.
Samuel J Stone (1839-1900) altd.
based on 1 Corinthians 3: 11 7 Ephesians 5: 25-27
The Gospel: Mark 1: 14-20
Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and
saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the
good news.’
As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net
into the lake—for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you
fish for people.’ And immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went a little
farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the
nets. Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired
men, and followed him.
SERMON
COLLECT OF THE WORD
Bountiful God,
through your Son you have called us to repent of our sin,
to believe the good news,
and to celebrate the coming of your kingdom:
teach us, like Christ’s first apostles,
to hear the call to discipleship,
and, forsaking old ways,
to proclaim the gospel of new life to a broken world;
through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Response
SCRIPTURAL AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
Do you believe and trust in God the Father?
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
Do you believe and trust in his Son Jesus Christ?
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
Do you believe and trust in the Holy Spirit?
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
God of life,
you have created everyone in your image and likeness.
We sing your praise for the gift of our many cultures and traditions.
Grant us the courage to stand against injustice and prejudice.
God of peace, God of love, in you is our hope!
Merciful God,
you have shown us in Christ that we are one in you.
Teach us to use this gift in the world
so that believers of all faiths in every country may be able
to listen to each other and live in peace
God of peace, God of love, in you is our hope!
O Jesus,
you came into the world and shared fully in our humanity.
You know the hardships of life for people who suffer in so many different ways.
May the Spirit of compassion move us to share our time,
gifts and resources with all those in need.
God of peace, God of love, in you is our hope!
Holy Spirit,
you hear the fury of your wounded creation
and the cries of those already suffering from climate change.
Guide us toward new ways of living that are in harmony with all creation.
God of peace, God of love, in you is our hope!
Closing Hymn: 549 “Dear Lord and Father of mankind”
Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
forgive our foolish ways;
re-clothe us in our rightful mind,
in purer lives thy service find,
in deeper reverence, praise.
In simple trust like theirs who heard,
beside the Syrian sea,
the gracious calling of the Lord,
let us, like them, without a word
rise up and follow thee.
O Sabbath rest by Galilee,
O calm of hills above,
where Jesus knelt to share with thee
the silence of eternity,
interpreted by love.
Drop thy still dews of quietness,
till all our strivings cease;
take from our souls the strain and stress,
and let our ordered lives confess
the beauty of thy peace.
Breathe through the heats of our desire
thy coolness and thy balm;
let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire,
O still, small voice of calm!
John G Whittier (1807-92)
Going out as God’s People
THE LORD’S PRAYER
Let us sum up all our prayers and praises
in the words our Saviour Christ has taught us, saying:
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.
DISMISSAL
At the centre of the world is God,
in whom all our desires and longings find their meeting place.
As we move closer to God, so we draw closer to one another.
And the closer we come to one another . . .
the closer we come to God.
Will you pray and work that God may reign?
With God’s help, we will.
Throughout your day will you let the Word of God
breathe life into your work and play and rest?
With God’s help, we will.
Will you maintain inner silence in all things so as to dwell in Christ?
With God’s help, we will. Amen.
BLESSING
Be one, so that the world may believe!
Abide in God’s love, go into the world and bear the fruits of this love.
May the God of all creation,
fill us with all joy and all peace in faith,
so that we may abound in hope
by the power of the Holy Spirit.
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.