CROOK PEAK PARISH Six Buildings – One Church
Below is the order of service, if you scroll down further you will find the readings for Passion Sunday (29th March 2020)
Order of service for HOLY COMMUNION LENT
Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with you:
and also with you.
A Hymn is sung
Prayer of Preparation
Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hidden; cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy name; through Christ our Lord. Amen
Prayers of Penitence {sit or kneel}
The 10 Commandments may be used
Hear these commandments which God has given to his people, and examine your hearts.
I am the Lord your God: you shall have no other gods but me.
All: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.
You shall not make yourself any idol.
All: God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.
You shall not dishonour the name of the Lord your God.
All: You shall worship him with awe and reverence.
Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.
All: Christ is risen from the dead: set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth.
Honour your father and mother.
All: Live as servants of God; let us work for the good of all, especially members of the household of faith.
You shall not commit murder.
All: Live peaceably with all; overcome evil with good.
You shall not commit adultery.
All: Know that your body is a temple of the Holy spirit.
You shall not steal.
All: Be honest in all that you do, and care for those in need.
You shall not be a false witness.
All: Let everyone speak the truth.
You shall not covet anything which belongs to your neighbour.
All: Remember the words of the Lord Jesus: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Love your neighbour as yourself, for love is the fulfilling of the law.
The sacrifice of God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart God will not despise. Let us come to the Lord, who is full of compassion, and acknowledge our transgressions in penitence and faith.
There may be a time of silence and reflection.
All: Lord God, we have sinned against you; we have done evil in your sight. We are sorry and repent. Have mercy on us according to your love. Wash away our wrongdoing and cleanse us from our sin. Renew a right spirit within us and restore to us the joy of your salvation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
The priest will declare the forgiveness of sins.
The Collect
All reply “Amen” at the end.
The Liturgy of the Word
The Epistle
(At the end)
Hear what the Spirit says to the Church
All: Thanks be to God
A hymn is sung
Please remain standing for the Gospel Reading
When the Gospel is announced the reader says:
Praise to you, O Christ, King of eternal glory. The Lord is a great God. O that today you would listen to his voice. Harden not your hearts. Cf Psalm 95.3,7,8
All: Praise to you, O Christ, King of eternal glory
At the end:
This is the Gospel of the Lord
All: Praise to you, O Christ
The Sermon
The Creed (or a Credal Hymn)
All: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.
We believe in God the Father, who created all things: for by his will they were created and have their being.
We believe in God the Son, who was slain: for with his blood, he purchased us for God, from every tribe and language, from every people and nation.
We believe in God the Holy Spirit: the Spirit and the Bride say, “Come!” Even so come, Lord Jesus! Amen
The Intercessions:
We pray for:
The World
The Church
Our Communities
Those we love
All people, especially those in need
The Liturgy of the Sacrament
The Peace
The priest introduces the peace:
The peace of the Lord be always with you
All: and also with you.
All: Look upon us in mercy not in judgement; draw us from hatred to love; make the frailty of our praise a dwelling place for your glory. Amen
The Lord is here.
All: His Spirit is with us.
Lift up your hearts.
All: We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
All: It is right to give thanks and praise.
Father, we give you thanks and praise through your beloved Son Jesus Christ, your living Word, through whom you have created all things; who was sent by you in your great goodness to be our Saviour. By the power of the Holy Spirit he took flesh; as your Son, born of the blessed Virgin, he lived on earth and went about among us; he opened wide his arms for us on the cross; he put an end to death by dying for us; and revealed the resurrection by rising to new life; so he fulfilled your will and won for you a holy people.
Short Proper Preface, when appropriate.
Therefore with angels and archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we proclaim your great and glorious name, for ever praising you and saying;
All: Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
Lord, you are holy indeed, the source of all holiness; grant that by the power of your Holy Spirit, and according to your holy will, these gifts of bread and wine may be to us the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ; who, in the same night that he was betrayed, took bread and gave you thanks; he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying: “Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
In the same way, after supper he took the cup and gave you thanks; he gave it to them saying:
“Drink this, all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.” “Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
All: When we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim your death, until you come in glory.
And so, Father, calling to mind his death on the cross, his perfect sacrifice made once for the sins of the whole world; rejoicing in his mighty resurrection and glorious ascension, and looking for his coming in glory, we celebrate this memorial of our redemption.
As we offer you this our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, we bring before you this bread and this cup and we thank you for counting us worthy to stand in your presence and serve you.
Send the Holy Spirit on your people and gather into one in your kingdom all who share this one bread and one cup, so that we, in the company of all the saints, may praise and glorify you for ever, through Jesus Christ our Lord: by whom, and with whom, and in whom, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all honour and glory be yours, almighty Father, for ever and ever.
All: Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Trusting in the compassion of our God, we say in the words, which Jesus gave us:
All: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and for ever. Amen
Every time we eat this bread and drink this cup,
All: We proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes
The Priest will invite all those who wish to receive Communion to do so.
When all have received Communion, we say:
All: Lord God, you feed us with the living bread from heaven; renew our faith, increase our hope, and strengthen our love. Teach us to hunger for Christ who is the true and living bread, and to live by every word that comes from your mouth, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Final hymn is sung
The priest gives the Blessing:
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
All: In the name of Christ. Amen
Collect and Readings with commentary from Judith for Passion Sunday:
Readings for Sunday 29 March, 2020 The Fifth Sunday in Lent
Collect:
Most merciful God, who by the death and resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ, delivered and saved the world: grant that by faith in him who suffered on the cross we may triumph in the power of his victory through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord who is alive and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one god now and forever Amen
A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Romans 8:6-11
To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law -- indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.
Hear the Word of the Lord, thanks be to God.
The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John, chapter 11, beginning at the 1st verse to verse 45.
Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ
Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, "Lord, he whom you love is ill." But when Jesus heard it, he said, "This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God's glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it." Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.
Then after this he said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again." The disciples said to him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?" Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them." After saying this, he told them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him." The disciples said to him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right." Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead. For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him." Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him."
When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him." Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" She said to him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world." When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, "The Teacher is here and is calling for you." And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see." Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, "See how he loved him!" But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?" Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days." Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, "Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me." When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."
Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.
This is the gospel of the Lord
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ
Reverend Judith Jeffery : (Sunday 29th March during Coronavirus)
Yr A, Lent 5, Passiontide Sunday Romans 8:6-11 John 11:1-45
"What a perfect reading for our present position with the coronavirus lockdown. It is all about resurrection and is a prelude to Jesus’ own crucifixion and resurrection. Jesus had already raised two people from the dead before this event, Jairus’s daughter and the widows Son. In both cases the deceased had not been dead for long and it could have been thought that perhaps they were not really dead, perhaps in a coma or unconscious.
But Lazarus had been dead for four days and would be decomposing in the heat as is recognised by Martha, he was really dead, not just asleep or in a coma, but dead. This is very important not only to us but also to the Jews present at the time, as Jewish belief, was that the soul of the departed stayed near the body for three days, in case the body resuscitated. On the third day changes in the colour of the face would indicate that the body was well and truly dead and the soul would depart permanently. Therefore, to the Jews, as well, Lazarus would now be permanently lost and irretrievable. This is important to this story as it is showing without a doubt to the family, disciples and Jews that Jesus really has the power over death, can conquer death and can raise someone from a decomposing corpse, to life, his power is that great.
Can you imagine the excitement and amazed joy when Lazarus comes out of the tomb? It must have been amazing. What great news--Jesus can restore us physically, spiritually and emotionally to full health, even after death we have a restored recognisable physical body. It is important that this was witnessed and for the disciples to witness this as it is the prelude to the death and resurrection of Jesus.
This is the last trip to Judea that Jesus will make before he is put to death. It is important that the disciples see this before they see Christ himself crucified. Objections will be raised about whether Christ was truly dead after his crucifixion and some people today can not accept the Christian faith as they still object to the resurrection of Jesus, from the dead, suggesting that Jesus was in a coma or unconscious and did not really die. It is not true for several reasons. The Romans would have made sure he was dead, believe me, they could be a cruel race and were experienced in making sure those crucified were dead and under the command of an equally cruel authority they would really make sure to safeguard their own lives. The disciples had nothing to gain from such a story in fact it put them in a frighteningly difficult and dangerous position. And if that was not enough here we have proof of God’s power through Jesus’ over death with Lazarus and proof of the resurrection after death. Proof that Jesus has the power to raise us too from a state of de-composure to full life.
That is the Good news of the Gospel, that we too, through belief in Christ can have an eternal life after death. As Samuel Shoemaker said----Eternal life does not begin with death : it begins with faith. Thinking about the story, it could be thought that Jesus was rather hard hearted not responding to a call for help from Mary and Martha and waiting for Lazarus to die and it was certainly engineered to be a proof of Gods power over death. However if Jesus had left immediately he would have been too late, as it took 2 days, to travel to Bethany, Lazarus must have died almost as Jesus received the message. Jesus already has the intention of raising Lazarus we can see from his conversation with the disciples and Martha on his arrival at Bethany. As with all deaths there is much regret and the common phrase ‘if only’ and Martha says to Jesus ‘if only’ you had been here it would not have happened and Jesus is moved by their plight. Jesus is not emotionally divorced from sadness and grief for he weeps with them at the death of Lazarus. We are not told, what it is, that moves Jesus to tears. It could be the loss of his friend but why weep when he knows that he will restore him to full health. I think it is more likely to be the effect that the loss has on Mary and Martha and all present and the general despair and grief that death causes. Jesus is witnessing and experiencing the heart-rending effects of separation through death knowing that he has been sent to do something about it and conquer death for our sakes. The fact that Jesus weeps and feels great sadness is also important as Christ is made in the image of God and we can understand from this that our physical and emotional state does effect and touch the heart of God, God is not a detached observer looking on--- God has not just created the world, us and all that is in it and then stood back and watched from afar or the sidelines—un-involved -----------but God is emotionally involved with our plight and cares about what happens to each of us----- his children. The fact is, God has cared, ---so much, --about us that he has sent his own Son to die for us---what absolute torture for God to witness his own Son on the Cross, but that is what it cost to retrieve us and God himself expended himself to restore us to himself. That is the measure of how much he loves us and wants to relate to us. So as we approach Easter/Advent let us examine ourselves and prepare ourselves to live as people of the resurrection and be an Easter people, with an eternal dimension. For through belief in Christ we can claim through Christ, as our own, eternal life too. I am the resurrection and the life—says the Lord-- Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. AMEN"
