Hymn 6 – Immortal, invisible, God only wise Tune St Denio

Penitence

Jesus said, Before you offer your gift, go and be reconciled. As members of God’s family, we come together to ask our Father for forgiveness.

O taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are those who trust in him. Lord, have mercy.

Lord, have mercy.

The Lord ransoms the lives of his servants and none who trust in him will be destroyed. Christ, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy.

Come my children, listen to me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Lord, have mercy.

Lord, have mercy.

Forgiveness

May the God of love and power forgive us, lift our burdens from us, heal and strengthen us by his spirit and raise us to new life in Jesus Christ, our risen and ascended Lord. Amen.

Collect

O Lord Jesus Christ, who at your first coming sent your messenger to prepare your way before you: Grant that the ministers and stewards of your mysteries may likewise so prepare and make ready your way by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, that at your second coming to judge the world we may be found an acceptable people in your sight; for you are alive and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.

Proclaiming and Receiving the Word

A reading from the book of the Prophet Zephaniah.

Sing aloud, O daughter Zion;

   shout, O Israel!

Rejoice and exult with all your heart,

   O daughter Jerusalem!

The LORD has taken away the judgements against you,

   he has turned away your enemies.

The king of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst;

   you shall fear disaster no more.

On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:

Do not fear, O Zion;

   do not let your hands grow weak.

The LORD, your God, is in your midst,

   a warrior who gives victory;

he will rejoice over you with gladness,

   he will renew you in his love;

he will exult over you with loud singing

   as on a day of festival.

I will remove disaster from you,

   so that you will not bear reproach for it.

I will deal with all your oppressors at that time.

And I will save the lame and gather the outcast,

and I will change their shame into praise

   and renown in all the earth.

At that time I will bring you home,

   at the time when I gather you;

for I will make you renowned and praised

   among all the peoples of the earth,

when I restore your fortunes

   before your eyes, says the LORD.

This is the Word of the Lord.      Zephaniah 3: 14-20

Thanks be to God.

Psalm, Lauda, anima mea. (146)

1  Alleluia. Praise the Lord, O my soul:

while I live will I praise the Lord; •

1a  as long as I have any being,

I will sing praises to my God.

2  Put not your trust in princes,

nor in any human power, •

for there is no help in them.

3  When their breath goes forth, they return to the earth; •

on that day all their thoughts perish.

4  Happy are those who have the God of Jacob for their help, •whose hope is in the Lord their God;

5  Who made heaven and earth,

the sea and all that is in them; •

who keeps his promise for ever;

6† Who gives justice to those that suffer wrong •

and bread to those who hunger.

7  The Lord looses those that are bound; •

the Lord opens the eyes of the blind;

8  The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; •

the Lord loves the righteous;

9  The Lord watches over the stranger in the land;

he upholds the orphan and widow; •

but the way of the wicked he turns upside down.

10 The Lord shall reign for ever, •

your God, O Zion, throughout all generations. Alleluia.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;

as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Philippians.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near!

Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God. Philippians 4.4-7

566 – Fight the good fight with all thy might! Duke Street

Hear the Gospel of our Saviour Christ, according to St Luke.

Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.   John the Baptist

John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our ancestor”; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.’

And the crowds asked him, ‘What then should we do?’ In reply he said to them, ‘Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.’ Even tax-collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, ‘Teacher, what should we do?’ He said to them, ‘Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.’

Soldiers also asked him, ‘And we, what should we do?’ He said to them, ‘Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.’ As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, ‘I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’

So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.

This is the Gospel of the Lord.     Luke 3.7-18

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Affirmation of faith (we say together)

We believe in God the Father, the source of all life, by whom every family in heaven and earth has been created.

We believe in God the Son, our friend and brother Jesus, who lives in our hearts through faith and fills us with his love.

We believe in God the Holy Spirit, who strengthens us with his power, and makes Jesus known in the world.

We believe and trust in one God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

584 – Jesus calls us! O’er the tumult Tune St Andrew

Prayers of Intercession (from the Orthodox Church)

For the peace that comes from above, and for the salvation of our souls, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

For the peace of the world and for the unity of all Christian people, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

For Michael our Archbishop, and all other clergy and lay ministers, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

For our President, Michael D. Higgins, and for all the leaders of the nations, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

For this city, for the communities of which we are a part, and for all who live in them, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

For the good earth which God has given us, and for the wisdom and will to conserve it, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

For those who travel, on land, on water, or in the air, let us pray to the Lord. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

For the aged and infirm, for the widowed and orphans, and for the sick and the suffering, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

For all those who have asked us to remember them in prayer, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

For the poor and the oppressed, for the unemployed and the destitute, for prisoners and captives, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

For those who have died in hope of resurrection, and all who have died recently, suddenly or violently, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

In communion with all the saints, we commend ourselves, and one another, and our whole life, to you, Lord God.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

The Lord’s 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. Amen.

Hymn 492 (and collection) – Tune Paderborn

Lord God, the source of truth and love,

keep us faithful to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, united in prayer and the breaking of bread,

and one in joy and simplicity of heart,

in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

The Blessing

God, who in days of old gave to this land the benediction of his holy Church, fill you with his grace to walk faithfully in the steps of the saints and to bring forth fruit to his glory: and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be with you and remain with you always. Amen.