Lord, direct our thoughts, and teach us to pray. Lift up our hearts to worship you in spirit and in truth, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.‘Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, you his servants; praise the name of the Lord. Let the name of the Lord be praised, both now and forevermore. From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised.’ (Psalm 113:1-3)Hymn: Tell out my soul, the greatness of the Lord...Isaiah 61:10-endWe have done what was wrong in the Lord’s sight and chosen what displeased him. Yet as a mother comforts her child, so shall the Lord himself comfort us. So let us come to him who knows our every deed and thought, and confess our disobedience to him: Most merciful God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we confess that we have sinned in thought, word and deed. We have not loved you with our whole heart. We have not loved our neighbours as ourselves. In your mercy forgive what we have been, help us to amend what we are, and direct what we shall be; that we may do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with you, our God. Amen.May the God of love bring us back to himself, forgive us our sins, and assure us of his eternal love in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Prayer for the day: Almighty God, who looked upon the lowliness of the Blessed Virgin Mary and chose her to be the mother of your only Son: grant that we who are redeemed by his blood may share with her in the glory of your eternal kingdom; 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.Alleluia, alleluia. My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour. Luke 1:46-55Please see the Message from the Minister.Let us pray:We pray for St Peter’s Church and the Church throughout the world: for the strength and courage to share God’s love;We pray for the world: for reconciliation where there is conflict, for justice and peace;We pray for our communities, families and friends: for relationships to flourish;We pray for all who are sick or suffering: for healing in mind, body and spirit;We pray for people who have been bereaved: for comfort in their grief.Let us pray the prayer that Jesus taught us: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, the power, and the glory for ever and ever. Amen.Hymn: Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart...May the love of the Lord Jesus draw us to himself, the power of the Lord Jesus strengthen us in his service, the joy of the Lord Jesus fill our hearts, and may the blessing of God Almighty who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit rest upon us and and be with us always. Amen.Let us go in peace to love and serve the Lord, in the name of Christ. Amen.
Bread is a staple food in many parts of the world. Today we are less aware of this because we have access to so many foods from all around the world. My experience of staple foods goes back to my childhood and more recently to working in Lebanon at the end of the civil war. At the school for the deaf where I was staying you knew that the lunch meal and the evening meal was always rice. You could have as much rice as you wanted so you wouldn’t be hungry but then a few vegetables and a little meat was added. Take away the rice or limit the rice then many of us would be hungry. If Christ had been with us in Beirut he would have said, “I am the rice of life”.Jesus is saying to us, ‘without me you will be hungry’. You can only live a full life if you take me within you. Here at the Eucharist we have the chance to receive the bread which has been set aside for us by being blessed and consecrated by God and which becomes the body of Christ. Jesus, at the last supper, took the bread gave thanks to God saying, “take eat this is my body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” That is precisely what we are doing at St Peter’s this morning.At the invitation to Communion it says, “ Receive the body of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he gave for you . . . in remembrance that he died for you and feed on him in your hearts by faith with thanksgiving.” During the pandemic this has not always been a physical reality but has had to take place within our hearts as we have not always been able to be with one another in person in our church building. Whether we are together physically or in spirit we join together in heart and mind and become the body of Christ, the Church. In heart and mind we are also connected to other churches and christians wherever they may be.To use some ancient words we are also connected both to the church militant and the church Triumphant, and therefore to all Christians who have gone before us, to those alive now and to those who will follow in our footsteps.As our Gospel tells us if we receive Christ, the bread of life we will live for ever, death is no longer the end but the beginning of a new life with God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.The Reverend Father Andrew Lane, Society of St Luke.
Lord, direct our thoughts, and teach us to pray. Lift up our hearts to worship you in spirit and in truth, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.‘I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.’ (Psalm 34:1-3)Hymn: Just as I am, without one plea...1 Kings 19:4-8The gospel calls us to turn away from sin and be faithful to Christ. As we offer ourselves to him in penitence and faith, we renew our confidence and trust in his mercy. Let us confess our sins: Most merciful God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we confess that we have sinned in thought, word and deed. We have not loved you with our whole heart. We have not loved our neighbours as ourselves. In your mercy forgive what we have been, help us to amend what we are, and direct what we shall be; that we may do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with you, our God. Amen.May the God of love bring us back to himself, forgive us our sins, and assure us of his eternal love in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Prayer for the day: Lord of heaven and earth, as Jesus taught his disciples to be persistent in prayer, give us patience and courage never to lose hope, but always to bring our prayers before you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.John 6: 35, 41-51Please see the Message from the Minister.Let us pray:We pray for St Peter’s Church and the Church throughout the world: for the strength and courage to share God’s love;We pray for the world: for reconciliation where there is conflict, for justice and peace;We pray for our communities, families and friends: for relationships to flourish;We pray for all who are sick or suffering: for healing in mind, body and spirit;We pray for people who have been bereaved: for comfort in their grief.Let us pray the prayer that Jesus taught us: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, the power, and the glory for ever and ever. Amen.Hymn: Guide me, O Thou Great Redeemer...May the love of the Lord Jesus draw us to himself, the power of the Lord Jesus strengthen us in his service, the joy of the Lord Jesus fill our hearts, and may the blessing of God Almighty who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit rest upon us and and be with us always. Amen.Let us go in peace to love and serve the Lord, in the name of Christ. Amen.
Lord, direct our thoughts, and teach us to pray. Lift up our hearts to worship you in spirit and in truth, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.‘Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth.’ (Psalm 78:1)Hymn: Christ is the King! O friends rejoice...Ephesians 4:1-16The gospel calls us to turn away from sin and be faithful to Christ. As we offer ourselves to him in penitence and faith, we renew our confidence and trust in his mercy. Let us confess our sins: Most merciful God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we confess that we have sinned in thought, word and deed. We have not loved you with our whole heart. We have not loved our neighbours as ourselves. In your mercy forgive what we have been, help us to amend what we are, and direct what we shall be; that we may do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with you, our God. Amen.May the God of love bring us back to himself, forgive us our sins, and assure us of his eternal love in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Prayer for the day: Almighty God, who sent your Holy Spirit to be the life and light of your Church: open our hearts to the riches of your grace, that we may bring forth the fruit of the Spirit in love and joy and peace; 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.John 6:24-35Please see the Message from the Minister.Let us pray:We pray for St Peter’s Church and the Church throughout the world: for the strength and courage to share God’s love;We pray for the world: for reconciliation where there is conflict, for justice and peace;We pray for our communities, families and friends: for relationships to flourish;We pray for all who are sick or suffering: for healing in mind, body and spirit;We pray for people who have been bereaved: for comfort in their grief.Let us pray the prayer that Jesus taught us: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, the power, and the glory for ever and ever. Amen.Hymn: I, the Lord of sea and sky...May the love of the Lord Jesus draw us to himself, the power of the Lord Jesus strengthen us in his service, the joy of the Lord Jesus fill our hearts, and may the blessing of God Almighty who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit rest upon us and and be with us always. Amen.Let us go in peace to love and serve the Lord, in the name of Christ. Amen.
