Sunday Service of the Word
Fourth Sunday of Advent December 20th 2020
We continue to invite everyone who is not attending our Sunday Eucharist to join together in a Service of the Word at the same time of 9:30 am, though you are welcome to pray this service at whatever time suits you.
To worship with us, please listen to the audio file and join in the responses in bold.
Anthem
The choir sing the anthem Gabriel's Message
O Lord open our lips
And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
In the name of the Father,
and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Almighty God,
to whom all hearts are open,
all desires known,
and from whom no secrets are hidden:
cleanse the thoughts of our hearts
by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love you,
and worthily magnify your holy name;
through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Prayers of Penitence
A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.
Jesus says, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.’
So let us turn away from sin and turn to Christ, confessing our sins in penitence and faith.
Almighty God, our heavenly Father, we have sinned against you
and against our neighbour
in thought and word and deed,
through negligence, through weakness,
through our own deliberate fault.
We are truly sorry
and repent of all our sins.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
who died for us,
forgive us all that is past
and grant that we may serve you in newness of life
to the glory of your name.
Amen.
May Almighty God have mercy on us,
forgive us our sins and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
The Collect
God our redeemer,
who prepared the Blessed Virgin Mary
to be the mother of your Son:
grant that, as she looked for his coming as our saviour,
so we may be ready to greet him
when he comes again as our judge;
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
Readings
A reading from the first letter of St Paul to the Romans
Now to God who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but is now disclosed, and through the prophetic writings is made known to all the Gentiles, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith-- to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever! Amen.
This is the word of the Lord
Thanks be to God.
The Gospel
Alleluia, alleluia.
Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
Alleluia
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke
Glory to you, O Lord.
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.
Sermon
You can listen to the sermon on the audio file.
The Apostles Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
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.
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.
Intercessions
These responses are used
Lord in your mercy
hear our prayer
Prayers for the departed include:
Years Mind: Michael Rowe, Penelope Naime, James Enwright, Ken Simmons, Thomas Barton, Sheelagh Willis, Gordon Offord, Ida Masters, Jack Macey
And at the end:
Merciful Father,
accept these prayers,
for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Amen.
The Benedictus
Like the sun in the morning sky,
the Saviour of the world will dawn;
like rain upon the meadows,
the Christ will come down upon us.
Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, who has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty Saviour,
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets God promised of old
to save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all that hate us,
To show mercy to our ancestors,
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath God swore to our father Abraham: to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
Free to worship him without fear, holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.
And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
To give his people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of all their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
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.
Like the sun in the morning sky,
the Saviour of the world will dawn;
like rain upon the meadows,
the Christ will come down upon us.
The Lord’s Prayer
As our Saviour taught us, so we pray:
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
Hills of the north, rejoice,
echoing songs arise,
hail with united voice
him who made earth and skies:
he comes in righteousness and love,
he brings salvation from above.
Isles of the southern seas,
sing to the list'ning earth,
carry on ev'ry breeze
hope of a world's new birth:
in Christ shall all be made anew,
his word is sure, his promise true.
Lands of the east, arise,
he is your brightest morn,
greet him with joyous eyes,
praise shall his path adorn:
the God whom you have longed to know
in Christ draws near, and calls you now.
Shores of the utmost west,
lands of the setting sun,
welcome the heav'nly guest
in whom the dawn has come:
he brings a never-ending light
who triumphed o'er our darkest night.
Shout, as you journey on,
songs be in ev'ry mouth,
lo, from the north they come,
from east and west and south:
in Jesus all shall find their rest,
in him the longing earth be blest!
Christ the Sun of Righteousness shine upon you, scatter the darkness from before your path,
and make you ready to meet him when he comes in glory;
And the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be with you and remain with you, today and always.
All : Amen.
Voluntary
The organ voluntary is Fantasia in D by Weckmann
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