Spy WednesdayWelcome & Opening Prayer Today is Spy Wednesday when we remember that Jesus knew that he was being plotted against and going to be betrayed by one of His own disciples.Let’s hear about this from Scripture John 13 v 1-2(NRSVA) Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. & at his last meal with his disciples said in John 13v21 – 27(NRSVA) Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me.’ The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he was speaking. One of his disciples—the one whom Jesus loved—was reclining next to him; Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. So while reclining next to Jesus, he asked him, ‘Lord, who is it?’ Jesus answered, ‘It is the one to whom I give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.’ So when he had dipped the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot. After Judas received the piece of bread, Satan entered into him and Jesus said to him, ‘Do quickly what you are going to do.’ ‘SilenceLet us pray: Almighty Father, look with mercy upon us your creation, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was content to be betrayed, and given up into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the cross; for we are all sinners in need of your mercy and forgiveness. AmenLords’ prayer 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. AmenThe Grace May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all, now and evermore. AMENThank you for joining us today. I hope you can join us again on Thursday as we continue our Holy Week journey.
Holy Week TuesdayWelcome & Opening Prayer On Tuesday of Holy Week when we remember that Jesus continued to gather in all who would listen to Him – even though He knew He was going to die.Let’s hear about this from Scripture After some Greeks came by asking to speak to Jesus – Jesus said to His disciples: John 12v23 – 26: ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honour. Then after speaking about His death Jesus said to the crowds: John 12 v35-36 ‘The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.’ SilenceLet us pray: Lord Jesus Christ, you humbled yourself in taking the form of a servant, and in obedience died on the cross for our salvation: give us the mind to follow you and to proclaim you as Lord and King, to the glory of God the Father. AmenLords’ prayer 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. AmenThe Grace May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all, now and evermore. AMENThank you for joining us today. I hope you can join us again on Wednesday as we continue our Holy Week journey.
Holy Week MondayWelcome & Opening Prayer On the Monday of Holy Week we remember that before Jesus died that his body was anointed in readiness for His death by his friend’s sister.Let’s hear about Mary anointing Jesus from John’s gospel 12v1-8(NRSVA: Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany to the home of Lazarus, the one who Jesus had raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, ‘Why was this perfume not sold and the money given to the poor?’ (Judas said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) Jesus said, ‘Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.’ SilenceLet us pray: Almighty and everlasting God, who in your tender love towards the human race sent your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ to take upon him our flesh and to suffer death upon the cross: grant that we may follow the example of his patience and humility, and also be made partakers of his resurrection; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. AmenLords’ prayer 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. AmenThe Grace May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all, now and evermore. AMENThank you for joining us today. I hope you can join us on Tuesday as we continue our Holy Week journey.
Palm Sunday Readings: Luke 19v28-40; Psalm 118v1-2&19-end; Isaiah 50v4-9a; Psalm 31v9-16; Philippians 2v5-11; Luke 22v14 – end of 23. Let us pray: May the words of my mouth and the thoughts and meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. A Word: Psalm 118 tells us that: the Lord is good and ever merciful; the one who has promised to send us a saviour; the saviour sent in the name of the Lord to give us the light we need to be saved; the one who we are called to give thanks to and praise forever. In Isaiah we hear a prophetic word about the Lord’s servant, the one who listens to and obeys God, the one who knows that terrible things are going to happen, the one who will face horrors still to come, the one who puts his trust in the Lord God who will help him. In Psalm 31, we hear another prophetic word in which the Lord’s servant is suffering because pf the schemes being plotted against him, because of the persecution he is facing, and the way he is going to die. Yet in spite of the Lord’s servant’s torment, he completely trusts in the Lord’s plans and purposes. In the 1st reading from Luke, we hear that Jesus made preparations for his final journey into Jerusalem. For it had been foretold long ago that the promised Messiah would arrive riding on the colt of a donkey. So it is no surprise that as Jesus rode into Jerusalem riding on a donkey, that people who saw him cheered him because they were convinced that this was the Messiah. However, we also heard that not everyone in the crowd was as convinced because they told Jesus to order the crowd to stop calling him the King who comes in the name of the Lord. In Philippians we hear that Paul, the former persecutor of the Christians, who met with the risen Lord on the Road to Damascus, believes that Jesus is the not only the Messiah but also God. God who was born and lived a human life. God who became humble and obedient like a slave. God who allowed humankind to murder him so that we could see how much he cares for us. God who is highly exalted in heaven and to whom everyone will one day bend the knee. This is the Jesus we heard about in the 2nd reading from Luke who faced all the terrible things that happened to him so that we can be saved. Let us Pray: Almighty and everlasting God, who loves the human race so much that you sent your son Jesus as a servant into our world to save us. Prompt us to proclaim Jesus as Lord and King and give us minds to follow his example of obedience, patience and humility. We pray that we will be resurrected to the place where Jesus is alive and reigning with you. Amen Thanks for joining us today.
