Holy Communion for the First Sunday of Lent. Junior Church takes place at the same time in the hall.

First reading: 1 Peter 3: 18-22
Gospel: Mark 1: 9-15

With characteristic brevity, Mark's Gospel takes us directly from the Baptism of Christ to the temptation in the wilderness and then to the beginning of Christ's active ministry, all in seven verses. At first sight, the baptism and the temptation seem contradictory events, but in fact the second follows from the first: the baptism confirms Christ's divine authority and the temptation explores his examination of the way he should use his power. Paolo Veronese's painting of the baptism and temptation shows the two events side by side: significantly, he depicts Satan not as a horned monster but as an outwardly wise and ascetic figure whose arguments could easily have seemed reasonable and persuasive.