Welcome to our service - 12 March
This service sheet can be used individually or with households.
We would encourage you to say (or even sing) hymns and songs out loud.
Prayers, other liturgy or readings can be said out loud or silently, corporately or individually.
Opening
Praise to you, O Christ, King of eternal glory.
Blessed are those who have endured temptation;
they have stood the test and will receive the crown of life.
Praise to you, O Christ, King of eternal glory
SING: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xp2qNGx2tlE
Sing to God new songs of worship –
all his deeds are marvellous;
He has brought salvation to us
with his hand and holy arm:
He has shown to all the nations
righteousness and saving power;
He recalled his truth and mercy
to his people Israel.
2. Sing to God new songs of worship –
earth has seen his victory;
let the lands of earth be joyful
praising him with thankfulness:
sound upon the harp his praises,
play to him with melody;
let the trumpets sound his triumph,
show your joy to God the king!
3. Sing to God new songs of worship –
let the sea now make a noise;
all on earth and in the waters
sound your praises to the Lord:
let the hills rejoice together,
let the rivers clap their hands,
for with righteousness and justice
He will come to judge the earth.
From Psalm 98
© Michael Baughen/Jubilate Hymns
Music: L Van Beethoven
EXHORTATION
Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we gather to hear God’s word we must recall the promises and warnings given to us in the Scriptures. Let us therefore examine ourselves and repent of our sins. Let us give thanks to God for his redemption of the word through his Son Jesus Christ, and as we remember Christ’s death for us, and receive this pledge of his love, let us resolve to serve him in holiness and righteousness all the days of our life.
CONFESSION
Man born of woman has but a short time to live. We have our fill of sorrow.
We blossom like a flower and wither away.
We slip away like a shadow and do not stay.
Holy God,
holy and strong,
holy and immortal,
have mercy upon us.
In the midst of life we are in death;
where can we turn for help?
Only to you, Lord,
Who are justly angered by our sins.
Holy God,
holy and strong,
holy and immortal,
have mercy upon us.
Shut not your ears to our prayers,
but spare us, O Lord.
Holy God,
holy and strong,
holy and immortal,
have mercy upon us.
You know the secrets of our hearts;
Forgive us our sins.
Holy God,
holy and strong,
holy and immortal,
have mercy upon us.
Eternal and merciful judge,
both in life and when we come to die,
let us not fall away from you.
Holy God,
holy and mighty,
holy and merciful Saviour,
do not abandon us to the bitterness of eternal death.
ABSOLUTION
May the father of all mercies
cleanse you from your sins, and restore you in his image
to the praise and glory of his name, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
COLLECT
Gracious Father,
you gave up your Son
out of love for the world:
lead us to ponder the mysteries of his passion,
that we may know eternal peace
through the shedding of our Saviour’s blood,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
SING: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84YASWe3_2Q
Abide with me; fast falls the eventide:
the darkness deepens;
Lord, with me abide:
when other helpers fail,
and comforts flee,
help of the helpless, O abide with me.
Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day;
earth's joys grow dim,
its glories pass away;
change and decay in all around I see;
O thou who changest not,
abide with me.
I need thy presence every passing hour;
what but thy grace
can foil the tempter's power?
Who like thyself my guide
and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.
I fear no foe, with thee at hand to bless;
ills have no weight,
and tears no bitterness.
Where is death's sting?
Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if thou abide with me.
Hold thou thy cross
before my closing eyes;
shine through the gloom,
and point me to the skies:
heaven's morning breaks,
and earth's vain shadows flee;
in life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.
H.F. Lyte (c) public domain
READINGS
READINGS (taken from New Living Translation)
Psalm 95
Come, let us sing to the LORD!
Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come to him with thanksgiving.
Let us sing psalms of praise to him.
For the LORD is a great God,
a great King above all gods.
He holds in his hands the depths of the earth
and the mightiest mountains.
The sea belongs to him, for he made it.
His hands formed the dry land, too.
Come, let us worship and bow down.
Let us kneel before the LORD our maker,
for he is our God.
We are the people he watches over,
the flock under his care.
If only you would listen to his voice today!
The LORD says, “Don’t harden your hearts as Israel did at Meribah,
as they did at Massah in the wilderness.
For there your ancestors tested and tried my patience,
even though they saw everything I did.
For forty years I was angry with them, and I said,
‘They are a people whose hearts turn away from me.
They refuse to do what I tell them.’
So in my anger I took an oath:
‘They will never enter my place of rest.’”
John 4. 5 – 42
Eventually, he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about midday. Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.
The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”
Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”
“But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?”
Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”
“Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.”
“Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her.
“I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied.
Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband— for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!”
“Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet. So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshipped?”
Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”
The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
Then Jesus told her, “I AM the Messiah!”
Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked to find him talking to a woman, but none of them had the nerve to ask, “What do you want with her?” or “Why are you talking to her?” The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?” So the people came streaming from the village to see him.
Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Jesus, “Rabbi, eat something.”
But Jesus replied, “I have a kind of food you know nothing about.”
“Did someone bring him food while we were gone?” the disciples asked each other.
Then Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work. You know the saying, ‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest. The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike! You know the saying, ‘One plants and another harvests.’ And it’s true. I sent you to harvest where you didn’t plant; others had already done the work, and now you will get to gather the harvest.”
Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, “He told me everything I ever did!” When they came out to see him, they begged him to stay in their village. So he stayed for two days, long enough for many more to hear his message and believe. Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not just because of what you told us, but because we have heard him ourselves. Now we know that he is indeed the Saviour of the world.”
This is the word of the Lord, Thanks be to God.
Instead of a talk this morning we would invite you to consider these questions for reflection.
I would invite you to re-read the reading from John’s gospel. As you do, imagine you are the woman at the well meeting Jesus. Focus on what she must has been feeling throughout her conversation with Jesus and at the end of the story.
· What do you know about the Samaritans?
· Why do you think it is significant that Jesus is speaking to this woman, at this time of the day, on her own?
· What is the ‘living water’ that Jesus is talking about (v. 10 – 14)?
· What do you think it means to worship the Father ‘in spirit and in truth’ (v. 23 – 24).
· Through the testimony of the Samaritan women ‘people came streaming from the village’ to see Jesus (v. 30). What is your testimony and how do you share it with others?
· Reflect on the final few sentences of the passage. What does this tell us about the mission of the church?
Let us affirm our faith in Jesus Christ the Son of God:
Though he was divine,
he did not cling to equality with God,
but made himself nothing.
Taking the form of a slave,
he was born in human likeness.
He humbled himself
and was obedient to death,
even the death of the cross.
Therefore God has raised him on high,
and given him the name above every name:
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow,
and every voice proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Amen.
O LORD, HEAR MY PRAYER,
O Lord, hear my prayer:
When I call answer me.
O Lord, hear my prayer,
O Lord, hear my prayer:
Come and listen to me.
Jacques Berthier/Taizé.
Copyright © 1982 Ateliers et Presses de Taize (France).
PRAYERS
We pray to the Lord for courage to give up other things
and to give ourselves to him this Lent.
Give your Church the courage
to give up her preoccupation with herself
and to give more time to your mission in the world.
[We pray for …]
May the blood and water flowing from the side of Jesus
bring forgiveness to your people
and help us to face the cost of proclaiming salvation.
Lord, meet us in the silence,
give us strength and hear our prayer.
Give your world the courage
to give up war, bitterness and hatred,
and to seek peace.
[We pray for …]
May the shoulders of the risen Jesus,
once scourged by soldiers,
bear the burden of political and military conflict in our world.
Lord, meet us in the silence,
give us strength and hear our prayer.
Give us the courage to give up quarrels, strife and jealousy
in our families, neighbourhoods and communities.
[We pray for …]
May the presence of the risen Jesus,
his body once broken and now made whole,
bring peace and direction as we live with one another.
Lord, meet us in the silence,
give us strength and hear our prayer.
Give us the courage
to give up our selfishness as we live for others,
and to give time, care and comfort to the sick.
[We pray for …]
May the wounded hands of Jesus bring his healing touch,
and the light of his presence fill their rooms.
Lord, meet us in the silence,
give us strength and hear our prayer.
Give us the courage to give up our fear of death
and to rejoice with those who have died in faith.
[Especially we hold … in our minds.]
May the feet of the risen Lord Jesus, once nailed to the cross,
walk alongside the dying and bereaved in their agony,
and walk with us and all your Church
through death to the gate of glory.
Lord, meet us in the silence,
give us strength and hear our prayer,
here and in eternity. Amen.
LORD’S PRAYER
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
SING: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czxd5oa-gi0
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
look full in His wonderful face;
and the things of earth
will grow strangely dim
in the light of His glory and grace.
Keep your eyes upon Jesus,
let nobody else take the place;
and hour by hour
He will give you His power
till at last you have won the great race.
© 1950 Singspiration/MPI Ltd
OFFERTORY - Take a moment to consider how you are going to continue to give to the life of the church and support other aid agencies and mission organisations.
Yours, Lord, is the greatness, the power,
the glory, the splendour, and the majesty;
for everything in heaven and on earth is yours.
All things come from you, and of your own do we give you.
SING: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jOyaGULqzU
Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father,
there is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
as Thou hast been Thou for ever wilt be.
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
all I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
2 Summer and winter, and spring-time and harvest,
sun, moon and stars in their courses above,
join with all nature in manifold witness
to Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.
Great is Thy faithfulness...
3 Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!
Great is Thy faithfulness...
Words: Thomas O Chisholm (1866-1960)
Music: William M Runyan (1870-1957)
Copyright © (1923) 1951 Hope Publishing Co.
FINAL PRAYER:
God of compassion, through your Son Jesus Christ
you have reconciled your people to yourself.
As we follow his example of prayer and fasting, may we obey you with willing hearts and serve one another in holy love;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. And the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always.
Amen