The Greeting
The light and peace of Jesus Christ be with you
and also with you.
The glory of the Lord has risen upon us.
Let us rejoice and sing God’s praise for ever.
Alleluia. Christ is risen.
He is risen indeed. Alleluia.
Words of Welcome and Introduction
Hymn
The head that once was crowned with thorns
is crowned with glory now:
a royal diadem adorns
the mighty victor’s brow.
The highest place that heav’n affords
is his, is his by right.
The King of kings and Lord of lords,
and heav’n’s eternal light.
The joy of all who dwell above,
the joy of all below,
to whom he manifests his love,
and grants his name to know.
To them the cross, with all its shame,
with all its grace is giv’n;
their name an everlasting name,
their joy the joy of heav’n.
They suffer with their Lord below,
they reign with him above,
their profit and their joy to know
the myst’ry of his love.
The cross he bore is life and health,
though shame and death to him;
his people’s hope, his people’s wealth,
their everlasting theme.
Prayers of Penitence
Christ died to sin once for all, and now he lives to God.
Let us renew our resolve to have done with all that is evil
and confess our sins in penitence and faith.
cf Romans 6.10
Like Mary at the empty tomb,
we fail to grasp the wonder of your presence.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Like the disciples behind locked doors,
we are afraid to be seen as your followers.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Like Thomas in the upper room,
we are slow to believe.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
May the Father of all mercies
cleanse us from our sins,
and restore us in his image
to the praise and glory of his name,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Collect
for The Fourth Sunday of Easter
Let us pray.
Risen Christ,
faithful shepherd of your Father’s sheep:
teach us to hear your voice
and to follow your command,
that all your people may be gathered into one flock,
to the glory of God the Father.
Amen.
Reading(s) from the Bible
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles.
Many were baptised and were added to the community. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles.
All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.
Acts 2: 42-end
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Hymn
I heard the voice of Jesus say,
‘Come unto me and rest;
lay down, thou weary one, lay down
thy head upon my breast.’
I came to Jesus as I was,
so weary, worn and sad;
I found in him a resting place,
and he has made me glad.
I heard the voice of Jesus say,
‘Behold, I freely give
the living water, thirsty one;
stoop down and drink and live.’
I came to Jesus, and I drank
of that life-giving stream;
my thirst was quenched, my soul revived,
and now I live in him.
I heard the voice of Jesus say,
‘I am this dark world’s light;
look unto me, thy morn shall rise,
and all thy day be bright.’
I looked to Jesus, and I found
in him my star, my sun;
and in that light of life I’ll walk,
till trav’lling days are done.
Gospel
Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.’
John 6.40
Alleluia.
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.
Glory to you, O Lord.
Jesus said to the Pharisees:
‘Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.’
Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So again Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.’
John 10.1-10
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.
Sermon
An Easter Acclamation
Our Lord Jesus Christ, risen from death,
we praise you for changed lives and new hopes at Easter.
You come to Mary in the garden,
and turn her tears into joy.
For your love and mercy we give you thanks:
we praise your holy name.
You come to the disciples in the upper room,
and turn their fear into courage.
For your love and mercy we give you thanks:
we praise your holy name.
You come to the disciples by the lakeside,
and turn their failure into faith.
For your love and mercy we give you thanks:
we praise your holy name.
You come to the disciples on the Emmaus road,
and turn their despair into hope.
For your love and mercy we give you thanks:
we praise your holy name.
You come to your people now,
and turn our weakness into triumph.
For your love and mercy we give you thanks:
we praise your holy name.
Alleluia. Christ has been raised from the dead.
1 Corinthians 15.20
The peace of the risen Lord be always with you.
And also with you.
Hymn
Loving Shepherd, of thy sheep,
keep thy lamb, in safety keep;
nothing can thy pow’r withstand,
none can pluck me from thy hand.
Loving Shepherd, thou didst give
thine own life that we might live;
and the hands outstretched to bless
bear the cruel nails’ impress.
I would praise thee ev’ry day,
gladly all thy will obey,
like thy blessèd ones above
happy in thy precious love.
Where thou leadest I would go,
walking in thy steps below;
then, before my Father’s throne,
I shall know as I am known.
Prayers of intercession
Written by Tony Bond
To the bidding: Loving Lord the response is:
Hear the prayers we bring
As we battle with the corvid-19 virus we pray for and give thanks to all the frontline workers.
The doctors, nurses and other hospital staff
The care home workers
The paramedics midwives and ambulance workers
Loving Lord
Hear the prayers we bring
With our lives being completely changed we give thanks to those providing our food and essential services.
The farmers, delivery workers, shop assistants, post men and women and those who empty our bins
Loving Lord
Hear the prayers we bring
As the virus continues to spread throughout the world, we pray for all leaders of nations to cooperate together to overcome the threat of the pandemic
We especially pray for the refugees many of them living in poor hygienic conditions and with little food
Loving Lord
Hear the prayers we bring
We pray for families, friends, neighbours and St Mary’s community
At this time of high anxiety, we pray that the lockdown we find ourselves in will help stop the spread of covid-19 virus
Keep us safe O Lord that we may come through this pandemic with a greater understanding that we are not an island in ourselves but we depend on so many others to live the lives that we do
Loving Lord
Hear the prayers we bring
We pray for all who are sick in mind body or spirit and those who are finding it difficult to cope with the lockdown
Our prayers are asked for:
Ginny Camponi, Tom Heaphy, Edward Fryer, Geoffrey Rinder, Jennifer Moad together with any others known to us for whom we pray in a moment of silence.
Loving Lord
Hear the prayers we bring
As we try to understand the grief and pain inflicted by losing so many loved ones, we pray for all who have died recently and those who mourn them
Paul David Ward, Marjorie Young and George Abdy
And for the anniversary of death
John Rhodes
Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord and let light perpetual shine upon them
Loving Lord
Hear the prayers we bring
United with the whole Church across the world, let us pray with confidence using the words our Saviour 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
The King of love my shepherd is,
whose goodness faileth never;
I nothing lack if I am his
and he is mine for ever.
Where streams of living waters flow
my ransomed soul he leadeth,
and where the verdant pastures grow,
with food celestial feedeth.
Perverse and foolish oft I strayed,
but yet in love he sought me,
and on his shoulder gently laid,
and home, rejoicing, brought me.
In death’s dark vale I fear no ill
with thee, dear Lord, beside me;
thy rod and staff my comfort still,
thy cross before to guide me.
Thou spread’st a table in my sight,
thy unction grace bestoweth:
and O what transport of delight
from thy pure chalice floweth!
And so through all the length of days
thy goodness faileth never;
good Shepherd, may I sing thy praise
within thy house for ever.
Closing Prayer, Responses and Blessing
Merciful Father, you gave your Son Jesus Christ to be the good shepherd, and in his love for us to lay down his life and rise again: keep us always under his protection, and give us grace to follow in his steps; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Alleluia. Christ is risen.
He is risen indeed. Alleluia.
Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He has given us new life and hope.
He has raised Jesus from the dead.
God has claimed us as his own.
He has brought us out of darkness.
He has made us light to the world.
Alleluia. Christ is risen.
He is risen indeed. Alleluia.
The Blessing
May Christ,
who out of defeat brings new hope and a new future,
fill you with his new life;
and the blessing of God Almighty
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
rest upon you, your homes and those whom you love
this day and always.
Amen.
With the power that raised Jesus from the dead at work within you,
go in the peace of Christ. Alleluia, alleluia.
Thanks be to God. Alleluia, alleluia.
Please join us for a drink and a chat after the service in our virtual meeting space.
whitkirkchurch.org.uk/meet/coffee
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