Watchword for the Week
Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to
what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the
prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.
(Philippians 3:13-14)
(Moravian Daily Texts 2016)
ORGAN PRELUDE
WELCOME and OPENING RESPONSES
(Psalm 126)
When the LORD brought us back to Jerusalem,
it was like a dream!
How we laughed, how we sang for joy!
Then the other nations said about us,
“The LORD did great things for them.”
Indeed he did great things for us;
how happy we were!
LORD, make us prosperous again, just as
the rain brings water back to dry riverbeds.
Let those who wept as they sowed their seed
gather the harvest with joy! Those who wept
as they went out carrying the seed
will come back singing for joy
as they bring in the harvest!
Hymn 157 * Sing of the Lord’s goodness
People’s Choice Hymns are marked with an asterisk (*)
PRAYER of APPROACH (The Coventry Litany)
The Coventry Litany of Reconciliation we have been using in
Lent centres on the words “Father, forgive”, written in chalk
by Provost Howard of Coventry, England, on the walls of the
ruined Cathedral after the German Luftwaffe had bombed
and destroyed the city on 14 November 1940. Even amidst
the shock, Provost Howard insisted that Christ’s command
to love our enemies and to forgive one another remains of
prime importance for Christian reconciliation and community.
CALL to PRAYER (Romans 3:23)
All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of
God, and so, together, we pray:
LITANY of RECONCILIATION
The hatred which divides nation from nation,
race from race, class from class,
Father, forgive.
The covetous desires of people and nations to
possess what is not their own, Father, forgive.
The greed which exploits the work of human
hands and lays waste the earth,
Father, forgive.
Our envy of the welfare and happiness of
others, Father, forgive.
Our indifference to the plight of the imprisoned,
the homeless, the refugee, Father, forgive.
The lust which dishonours the bodies of men,
women and children, Father, forgive.
The pride which leads us to trust in ourselves
and not in God, Father, forgive.
WORDS of ASSURANCE (Ephesians 4:32)
In Christ, God has shown us the way out of our
sin and our division: “Be kind to one another,
tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in
Christ forgave you.” Thanks be to God. Amen.
CHILDREN’S TIME
SHARING GOD’S PEACE
Hymn 204 * I am the Church!
(Children may go to join the Kids’ Church programme)
I am the Church! You are the Church!
We are the Church together!
All who follow Jesus, all around the world,
yes, we’re the Church together.
The Church is not a building;
the Church is not a steeple;
the Church is not a resting-place;
the Church is a people!
SCRIPTURE READINGS
Isaiah 43:16-21 OT p. 707
St. John 12:1-8 NT p. 134
People may stand for the Gospel reading.
The word of God: Thanks be to God!
Hymn 502 * Take my life, Lord, let it be
SERMON Geeske Brinkmann
(Faculty of Theology, Humboldt University Berlin)
Hymn 354 O Love, how deep, how broad
(Hymn of the Month, February 2016)
(Offerings are gathered and brought forward)
DEDICATION PRAYER (Iona Community)
We affirm a faith that takes us into action
and into the streets, and so we commit
ourselves to work for change and put
ourselves on the line; to bear responsibility,
take risks, live powerfully and face
humiliation; to stand with those on the edge;
to choose life and be used by the Spirit for
God’s new community of hope. Amen.
NOTICES and PRAYERS for OTHERS
Response: Lord, in your mercy,
hear our 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 685 For everyone born, a place…
(Hymn of the Month, March 2016)
BLESSING and Threefold Amen (No. 819)
ORGAN POSTLUDE
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