Topic: Mothering Sunday Service
Time: Mar 14, 2021 11:00 AM
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Killiskey Parish
Sunday 14th March 2021 @ 11.00am
The Fourth Sunday in Lent
(Mothering Sunday)
SERVICE OF THE WORD
Preparation
GREETING
Grace, mercy and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
be with you all
and also with you.
SENTENCE OF SCRIPTURE
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
INVITATION TO WORSHIP
On Mothering Sunday, many of us thank God for the women who have had the greatest impact on our
lives, and celebrate their unconditional love and sacrifice.
For others, however, Mothering Sunday brings mixed emotions, and it can take real tenacity and trust in
the Holy Spirit to give love and to feel loved.
So, in this service we remember before God families of all kinds, as they navigate the joys and challenges
of family life, and ask for his blessing upon them.
We draw near in worship to our heavenly Father, with full and thankful hearts, that we belong to his
family and are all equally loved by him. Amen.
Hymn of Praise: Thanks & Praise 28 “Come, thou fount of every blessing”
Come, thou fount of every blessing,
tune my heart to sing thy grace;
streams of mercy never ceasing,
call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious measure
sung by flaming tongues above;
O the vast, the boundless treasure
of my Lord’s unchanging love.
Here I find my greatest treasure;
‘Hither by thy help I’ve come’,
and I hope, by thy good pleasure,
safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
wandering from the fold of God;
he, to save my soul from danger,
interposed his precious blood.
O to grace how great a debtor
daily I’m constrained to be!
Let that grace, Lord, like a fetter,
bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
prone to leave the God I love;
take my heart, O take and seal it,
seal it for thy courts above.
Robert Robinson (1735-90), altd.
OPENING PRAYERS
Wherever we are, we live in God’s family.
When our families are broken by circumstance and pain,
He reaches out to hold us in His arms, piece by piece
He makes us whole again,
and in His love-filled hands we are transformed.
So Lord, help us to build relationships
in all the corners of our hearts.
To be like you, to love like you,
to heal brokenness and restore wholeness
in families worldwide. Amen
THE COLLECT OF THE DAY
God of compassion,
whose Son Jesus Christ, the child of Mary,
shared the life of a home in Nazareth,
and on the cross, drew the whole human family to himself:
strengthen us in our daily living
that in joy and in sorrow
we may know the power of your presence to bind together and to heal;
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 forever. Amen.
Ministry of the Word
The First Reading: 1 Samuel 1: 20-28
In due time Hannah conceived and bore a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, ‘I have asked him of
the Lord.’
The man Elkanah and all his household went up to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice, and to pay his
vow. But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, ‘As soon as the child is weaned, I will bring
him, that he may appear in the presence of the Lord, and remain there for ever; I will offer him as a
nazirite for all time.’ Her husband Elkanah said to her, ‘Do what seems best to you, wait until you have
weaned him; only—may the Lord establish his word.’ So the woman remained and nursed her son, until
she weaned him. When she had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull,
an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine. She brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh; and the child
was young. Then they slaughtered the bull, and they brought the child to Eli. And she said, ‘Oh, my lord!
As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the Lord. For
this child I prayed; and the Lord has granted me the petition that I made to him. Therefore I have lent him
to the Lord; as long as he lives, he is given to the Lord.’
She left him there for the Lord.
Psalm: Psalm 127: 1-4
Unless the Lord builds the house, ♦︎
those who build it labour in vain.
Unless the Lord keeps the city, ♦︎
the guard keeps watch in vain.
It is in vain that you hasten to rise up early
and go so late to rest, eating the bread of toil, ♦︎
for he gives his beloved sleep.
Children are a heritage from the Lord ♦︎
and the fruit of the womb is his gift.
The Second Reading: 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.
Hymn before the Gospel: Thanks & Praise 13 “Beneath the cross of Jesus”
Beneath the cross of Jesus
I find a place to stand;
and wonder at such mercy
that calls me as I am.
For hands that should discard me,
hold wounds which tell me ‘Come’.
Beneath the cross of Jesus,
my unworthy soul is won.
Beneath the cross of Jesus
his family is my own;
once strangers chasing selfish dreams,
now one through grace alone.
How could I now dishonour
the ones that you have loved?
Beneath the cross of Jesus
see the children called by God.
Beneath the cross of Jesus
the path before the crown,
we follow in his footsteps
where promised hope is found.
How great the joy before us –
to be his perfect bride.
Beneath the cross of Jesus,
we will gladly live our lives.
Keith Getty (b. 1974)
and Kristyn Getty (b. 1980)
The Gospel: John 19: 25-27
Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of
Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing
beside her, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Here is your
mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.
SERMON
THE COLLECT OF THE WORD
God of mercies,
your only Son, while hanging on the cross,
appointed Mary, his mother,
to be his beloved disciple’s mother.
May we follow her good example
and always care for others
for the sake of Jesus Christ
our Saviour through whose name we pray. Amen.
Hymn: CH472 “Sing we of the blessèd mother”
Sing we of the blessèd mother who received the angel’s word,
and obedient to his summons bore in love the infant Lord;
Sing we of the joys of Mary at whose breast that child was fed
who is Son of God eternal and the everlasting Bread.
Sing we, too, of Mary’s sorrows, of the sword that pierced her through,
when beneath the cross of Jesus she his weight of suffering knew,
looked upon her Son and Saviour reigning high on Calvary’s tree,
saw the price of our redemption paid to set the sinner free.
Sing again the joys of Mary when she saw the risen Lord,
and in prayer with Christ’s apostles, waited on his promised word;
from on high the blazing glory of the Spirit’s presence came,
heavenly breath of God’s own being, manifest through wind and flame.
Sing the chiefest joy of Mary when on earth her work was done,
and the Lord of all creation brought her to his heavenly home:
where raised high with saints and angels, in Jerusalem above,
she beholds her Son and Saviour reigning as the Lord of love.
George Timms (1910-97) altd.
Response
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
Do you believe in God the Father?
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
Do you believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God?
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s 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 to 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 in God 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.
THE MOTHERS’ UNION
Jessica Clarke and Sally Smith tell us about some Mothers’ Union projects.
MOTHERS’ UNION PRAYER
Loving Lord, we thank you for your love so freely given to us all.
We pray for families around the world.
Bless the work of the Mothers’ Union as it seeks to share your love
through the encouragement, strengthening and support of marriage and family life.
Empowered by your Spirit, may we be united in prayer and worship,
and in love and service reach out as your hands across the world.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.
PRAISING AND THANKING GOD
We praise you, our God, for all mothers who have loved and laughed and laboured as they cared for their
children.
Blessed be God for ever.
We praise you, our God, for all mothers who have wept in sorrow and joy for their children.
Blessed be God for ever.
We praise you, our God, for Jesus, born of a woman and nurtured in her love, and for Mary, a reminder of
your patient, waiting love.
Blessed be God for ever.
REFLECTIVE PRAYER
We take a moment after every section to bring our own response to God and to remember those we know
for whom it is particularly relevant.
God of celebration, who rejoices with those who rejoice,
we pray for those for whom Mothering Sunday
is a time of thanksgiving and joy.
Silence
God of compassion, who weeps with those who weep,
we pray for those for whom Mothering Sunday
is a time of heartache and pain.
Silence
God of community, who calls the children to come to him,
we thank you that your love abounds
for families of every kind.
Silence
God of comfort, who gathers us as a hen gather its chicks,
we thank you that your love surrounds
the disappointed and hurt.
Silence
God of every circumstance, we bring our thanks and praise
that we belong to your family
as your beloved children. Amen.
PENITENCE
Remember that our Lord Jesus Christ is able
to sympathize with us in our weaknesses.
In every respect he was tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness,
so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Let us confess our sins to Almighty God.
Holy and merciful God,
we confess to you and to one another,
and to the whole communion of saints in heaven and on earth,
that we have sinned by our own fault
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart and mind and strength.
We have not loved our neighbours as ourselves.
We have not forgiven others as we have been forgiven.
Have mercy on us, O God.
We have not listened to your call to serve as Christ served us.
We have not been true to the mind of Christ.
We have grieved your Holy Spirit.
Have mercy on us, O God.
For our neglect of human need and suffering
and our indifference to injustice and cruelty,
accept our repentance, O God.
For all false judgments,
for uncharitable thoughts toward our neighbours,
and for our prejudice and contempt toward those who differ from us,
accept our repentance, O God.
For our waste and pollution of your creation
and our lack of concern for those who come after us,
accept our repentance, O God.
Merciful Lord,
you know our struggle to serve you:
when sin spoils our lives and overshadows our hearts,
come to our aid and turn us back to you again;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Closing Hymn: 543 “Lord of the home”
Lord of the home, your only Son
received a mother’s tender care,
and from an earthly father won
his vision of your home above.
Help us, O Lord, our homes to make
your Holy Spirit’s dwelling-place;
our hands and hearts’ devotion take
to be the servants of your grace.
May we with joy our homes prepare
that, were our Lord a child once more,
he might be glad our hearth to share,
and find a welcome at our door.
Lord, may your Spirit sanctify
each household duty we fulfil;
may we our Master glorify
in glad obedience to your will.
Albert F Bayly (1901-84) altd.
Going Out as God’s People
PRAYERS FOR MOTHERS
For the care of mothers;
Thanks be to God.
For their patience when tested;
Thanks be to God.
For their love when tired;
Thanks be to God.
For their hope when despairing;
Thanks be to God.
For their service without limit;
Thanks be to God.
BLESSING
May the love of the Father fill our hearts;
may the love of the Lord Jesus fill our homes;
and may the grace of the Holy Spirit
bind us together in love in our families and communities.
And may the blessing of God be with you,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
SALUTATION
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
In the name of Christ. Amen.