Service of the Word
Third Sunday of Epiphany January 24th 2021
To worship with us, please listen to the audio file and join in the responses in bold.
Hymn
The race that long in darkness pined
Have seen a glorious light;
The people dwell in day, who dwelt
In death's surrounding night.
To hail thy rise, thou better Sun,
The gathering nations come,
Joyous as when the reapers bear
The harvest-treasures home.
To us a Child of hope is born,
To us a Son is given;
Him shall the tribes of earth obey,
Him all the hosts of heaven.
His name shall be the Prince of Peace,
For evermore adored;
The Wonderful, the Counsellor,
The great and mighty Lord.
His power increasing still shall spread;
His reign no end shall know:
Justice shall guard his throne above,
And peace abound below.
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.
When the Lord comes,
he will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness,
and will disclose the purposes of the heart.
Therefore in the light of Christ let us confess our sins.
God be gracious to us and bless us, and make your face shine upon us:
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
May your ways be known on the earth, your saving power among the nations: Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
You, Lord, have made known your salvation,
and reveal your justice in the sight of the nations:
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
May Almighty God have mercy on us,
forgive us our sins and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
The Collect
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 your Son our Lord, 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 book of Revelation
I, John, heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty thunderpeals, crying out, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready; to her it has been granted to be clothed with fine linen, bright and pure"-- for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb." And he said to me, "These are true words of God." Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, "You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your comrades who hold the testimony of Jesus.Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."
This is the word of the Lord
Thanks be to God.
The Gospel
Alleluia, alleluia.
Christ was revealed in flesh, proclaimed among the nations and believed in throughout the world.
Alleluia
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John
Glory to you, O Lord.
On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come." His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, "Fill the jars with water." And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, "Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward." So they took it. When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, "Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now." Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
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:
Recently Departed:Fr Allan Scott
Years Mind:Natalie Naylor, Arthur Saw, Alexander Rule, Adeline Seymour
And at the end:
Merciful Father,
accept these prayers,
for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Amen.
The Benedictus
This is the Christ, the Chosen of God,
the one who will bring healing to the nations.
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.
This is the Christ, the Chosen of God,
the one who will bring healing to the nations.
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.
Anthem
The choir sing the anthem O Taste and See by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Christ the Son of God perfect in you the image of his glory and gladden your hearts with the good news of his kingdom;
And the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be among you and remain with always.
All : Amen.
Voluntary
The organ voluntary is Chorale Fantasia on 'Wie schon leuchtet der Morgenstern' BuxWV223 by Buxtehude
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