Alleluia. Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed. Alleluia!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.Hymn: Thine be the glory, risen, conqu’ring Son...Isaiah 65: 17 - 25; Acts 10: 34 - 43Let us pray: 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: God of glory, by the raising of your Son you have broken the chains of death and hell: fill your Church with faith and hope; for a new day has dawned and the way to life stands open in our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.John 20: 1 - 18Please see the Message from the Minister.Hymn: Now the green blade riseth...Let us kneel before God in prayer, asking for his cleansing love to be known to all people.We pray for St Peter’s Church, that your love will be seen in all we do, to your glory; We pray for our world, that all of its creatures will thrive, and for peace for all people; We pray for our friends, families and community, that we may share in the love of Christ; We pray for people who are sick or suffering, that they will know healing and strength; We remember the departed, and pray for all who mourn.Let us join in the words of the Lord’s prayer, whoever and wherever we are: 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.The Hallelujah ChorusMay 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.A very Happy Easter from all at St Peter’s Church!
Come, Lord Jesus, meet us your friends here in joy as the shouts of the crowds still ring in our ears: ‘Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!’ Come, Lord Jesus, meet us here.Come, Lord Jesus, stay with us. It is the evening of the day. We will spend time together. We will look ahead to what is about to take place. Come, Lord Jesus, stay with us.Come, Lord Jesus, live in our hearts forever, as the Father intended. Nothing can separate us from your love. Come, Lord Jesus, live in our hearts forever.Hymn: Brother, sister, let me serve you...Reading: 1 Corinthians 11: 23-26Our Lord, Jesus Christ said: If you love me, you will keep my commandments.’ and ‘Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.’ Let us pray:Lord Jesus, you were willing to lay down your life for us. You knew that the time was near. You spent your last days continuing to teach, to serve, to say and to do what was right and good. You washed the disciples’ feet. You humble us.Forgive us for the times when we have denied you. Lord, have mercy.Forgive us for failing to pass on your teaching. Christ, have mercy.Forgive us for failing to serve you or to be ready to wash each others’ feet; Forgive us for neglecting to say or do what is right and good. Lord, have mercy.May the Almighty and merciful Lord grant us pardon and forgiveness of all our sins, time for amendment of life, and the grace and strength of the Holy Spirit. Amen.Prayer for the Day: God our Father, you have invited us to share in the supper which your Son gave to his Church to proclaim his death until he comes: may he nourish us by his presence, and unite us in his love; who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.Gospel reading: John 13:1-17, 31b-35‘I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.’Lord, help us to follow you, and to keep this commandment.Hymn: A new commandment I give unto you...As we leave the room and walk toward the garden of Gethsemane, be with us as we are with you.Please see the Message from the Minister.Our vigil begins.
At our service on Maundy Thursday, bread and wine will be taken and blessed by the Celebrant to be for us the body and blood of Christ. We sinners though we are, are invited to receive the bread and wine. When we put our hands out to receive the bread and take the cup to sip the wine, we have to make a decision. Am I just eating a piece of bread and sipping some wine or am I taking the Lord Jesus into my life?At the time that Jesus lived bread was a basic food and wine was a basic drink. Wine was safer to drink than water which might be contaminated. The equivalent today might be tea or coffee and a biscuit. We are alive because we drink and eat food to keep our physical bodies alive. To keep our spiritual bodies alive we are invited to eat the spiritual food of bread and wine. The receiving of spiritual food begins with our personal response to God, but it is more than this because we receive this spiritual food with others, it is also a corporate act. Many of our activities in a church are about sharing food and drink together. So coffee and biscuits after our service on a Sunday; Monday Cuppa, Suppers Together, refreshments at Book Sales, Artisan Markets, Concerts and at numerous other meetings: this sharing of food and drink mirrors our central service of the Eucharist. As Jesus said, when 2 or 3 are gathered together, “I will be with you.”Do you have to pass an exam before you can do this? No: all you have to do is to want Jesus to enter your life, so that sinner that you are you may want to be him and walk with him in your life. Why do we need to receive communion regularly? Because we are sinners and we lose sight of Jesus being with us. As human beings we need the constant reminder that God loves us so much that he gave himself in the person of Jesus to show us the way of true love, when he died for us and so it is with this service that we walk the way of the Cross as once more we begin our journey with Jesus to his death on Good Friday and then to God’s greatest gift, the Resurrection of Jesus on Easter Day.Andrew SSL
We keep a few moments of silence as we prepare ourselves to stand before Almighty God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.‘At the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ (Philippians 2:10-11)Hymn: All glory, laud and honour to thee, Redeemer King...Luke 19:28-40‘Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord.’ (Ps. 31:24)Let us open our palms and hearts to the Lord: Father eternal, giver of light and grace, we have sinned against you and against our neighbour, in what we have thought, in what we have said and done: through ignorance, through weakness, through our own deliberate fault. We have wounded your love, and marred your image in us. We are sorry and ashamed, 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 lead us out from darkness to walk as children of light. Amen.May Almighty God, who forgives all who truly repent, have mercy upon us, pardon and deliver us from all our sins, confirm and strengthen us in all goodness, and keep us in life eternal: through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Prayer for the day: True and humble king, hailed by the crowd as Messiah: grant us the faith to know you and love you, that we may be found beside you on the way of the cross, which is the path of glory. Amen.Luke 22:14 - 23.56There is no Message from the Minister this week. We face into Holy Week with the gospel reading in our hearts and minds.Let us kneel before God in prayer, asking for his cleansing love to be known to all people. We pray for St Peter’s Church, that your will be done, and for our work to be blessed; We pray for our world, that all of its creatures will thrive, and for peace to reign; We pray for our friends, families and community, that we may share in the love of Christ; We pray for people who are sick or suffering, that they will know healing and strength; We remember the departed, and pray for all who mourn.Let us join in the words of the Lord’s prayer, whoever and wherever we are: 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: At the name of Jesus...May Christ give us grace to grow in holiness, to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow him; and may the blessing of God Almighty who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit rest upon us and remain with us always. Let us go in peace to love and serve the Lord, in the name of Christ. Amen.
