This week’s Readings and Sermon for the Eleventh Sunday After Trinity
The Collect for This Week
Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray and to give more than either we desire or deserve: pour down upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid and giving us those good things which we are not worthy to ask but through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen
The Post Communion Prayer for this week
God of all mercy, in this eucharist you have set aside our sins and given us your healing: grant that we who are made whole in Christ may bring that healing to this broken world, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.. Amen
The Psalm for this Sunday is Psalm 124
If it had not been the Lord who was on our side- Let Israel now say- if it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when our enemies attacked us, then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their anger was kindled against us;then the flood would have swept us away, the torrent would have gone over us; then over us would have gone the raging waters. Blessed be the Lord, who has not given us as prey to their teeth. We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning is now and shall be forever. Amen
The Old Testament reading for this Sunday is taken from the Book of Exodus 1:8- 2: 10
8 Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. 9 He said to his people, ‘Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and more powerful than we. 10 Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase and, in the event of war, join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.’ 11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to oppress them with forced labour. They built supply cities, Pithom and Rameses, for Pharaoh. 12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread, so that the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites. 13 The Egyptians became ruthless in imposing tasks on the Israelites, 14 and made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar and brick and in every kind of field labour. They were ruthless in all the tasks that they imposed on them.
15 The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, 16 ‘When you act as midwives to the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, she shall live.’ 17 But the midwives feared God; they did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but they let the boys live. 18 So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, ‘Why have you done this, and allowed the boys to live?’ 19 The midwives said to Pharaoh, ‘Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.’ 20 So God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and became very strong. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. 22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, ‘Every boy that is born to the Hebrews[a] you shall throw into the Nile, but you shall let every girl live.’
Ch 2. Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman. 2 The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a fine baby, she hid him for three months. 3 When she could hide him no longer she got a papyrus basket for him, and plastered it with bitumen and pitch; she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the river. 4 His sister stood at a distance, to see what would happen to him.
5 The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her attendants walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to bring it. 6 When she opened it, she saw the child. He was crying, and she took pity on him. ‘Thismust be one of the Hebrews’ children,’ she said. 7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, ‘Shall I go and get you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?’ 8 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Yes.’ So the girl went and called the child’s mother. 9 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages.’ So the woman took the child and nursed it. 10 When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and she took him as her son. She named him Moses, ‘because’, she said, ‘I drew him out of the water.
This is the Word of the Lord Thanks be to God
The second reading for this Sunday is taken from the Letter of St Paul to the Romans, Chapter 12: 1-8
1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.
3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgement, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. 6 We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; 7 ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; 8 the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.
This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
The Gospel reading for this Sunday is taken from the Gospel of St Matthew, Chapter 16: 13-20
Hear the Gospel of our Lord, Jesus Christ, according to Matthew Glory to You, o Lord
13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ 14 And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ 15 He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ 16 Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’ 17 And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’ 20 Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to You, o Christ
Note :All readings are shared from the Church of England Lectionary App and are subject to copyright . © The Archbishop’s Council
The talk this week is from Lorraine Ashworth
I am really sorry ladies and gents, but today, you're going to have to do some work. St Paul says that we all have different gifts. Well we all have different opinions as well. So a few questions for you – and for me and Chich at the front here as well.
I'm going to start by asking you to consider the questions that Jesus put to his disciples.
Firstly, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And I don't mean the people who lived in Bible times, but your friends, neighbours, TV personalities, politicians. Who do people say that Jesus is? Maybe you want to turn to the person sitting nearest to you and have a quick chat... You may need – horror of horrors – to move.
Do any of you want to share what you said?
[ People say that Jesus didn't exist, that he is a character in a story made up to keep people in their places. Others say that he is a holy prophet second only to Mohammed, some say he was a radical and still others say he was one of many rebellious Jews in Roman times, claiming to be the Messiah. ]
And now for the second much more difficult question.
Who do you say that I am?
Have a think for a moment and then discuss it with those sitting near you.
Again, Do any of you want to share what you said?
[ The Son of God, the fulfilment of the old testament prophecies, the son of Mary and Joseph, the Light of the World, the Sacrifice, the Saviour, God in human form ]
Peter answered ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’ and because of this answer, Jesus tells him that the information was revealed to him by God – Jesus' Father in Heaven and goes on to tell Peter that he is the rock on which he will build his Church. As Jane Williams says, “how odd that Peter's sole qualification for the job – apart from a big mouth – is that he can recognise the activity of God when he sees it”.
Now that we have done plenty of talking between each other. I want you to sit still for a moment. Think about the answers you have heard to the questions I have asked. Think about Peter's response and how, in turn, Jesus replies to him and what it might mean for each one of us if we are given understanding of who Jesus is by God revealing this to us, God actively working in us.
[ Thinking time ]
So Peter is the Rock on which the church was built but now, we are the church. In our reading from Romans, Paul describes various gifts or qualifications that the church – the body of Christ – you and me - should exhibit. Things like prophecy, teaching, exhortation, generosity, leading, compassion, cheerfulness. We can't all have everything, some people may have different gifts that separately reflect the activity of God. Think of a mirror, and how turning it one way or another catches the light and reflects different objects and colours.
Over to you again. What gifts from God do we recognise in members of this church family? Think bigger than the obvious.
Once again, Do any of you want to share what you said?
[ Sharing knowledge about disability and how to overcome the problems disability imposes, allows others to worship fully. Distributing notices helps those who can't get to church in person feel part of the body of Christ. Leading in prayers, welcoming the strangers that might walk through our doors, planning for events large and small, keeping the building and its surroundings places where Jesus can be encountered. ]
Today we have done a lot of thinking and discussing. And I want all of us to think deeply about the opening words of our reading from Paul's letter to the Romans... “I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
In your hearts and minds consider: How can each one of us, who sit here in this church building every week be transformed? What can each one of us do that will help us to discern the will of God?
I'll leave you to ponder that - and perhaps keep on pondering - all through the coming week. Amen.
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