Note:
Today the Bible readings are related to the celebration of Bartholemew the Apostle
The Lord our God the Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and exult and give God the glory.
Revelation 19.6-7
Glory to God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
as in the beginning, so now, and for ever. Amen.
A poem: A Song of God’s Grace
We have complete freedom:
to go into the most holy place by means of the death of Jesus.
He opened for us a new way a living way:
through the curtain, through his own body.
Since we have a great high priest
set over the household of God:
let us draw near with a sincere heart and a sure faith,
With hearts that have been made clean
from a guilty conscience:
and bodies washed with pure water.
Hebrews 10.19-22
The opening prayer
By night and by day we worship the Lord; let us pray with one heart and mind.
We remember God’s presence and pause in silence.
Father of lights, receive the prayer and praise we offer you as our daily sacrifice; make us a light for all the world, delivered by your goodness from all the works of darkness; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen.
The readings
Deuteronomy 18.15-18
The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet. This is what you requested of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said: ‘If I hear the voice of the LORD my God any more, or ever again see this great fire, I will die.’ Then the LORD replied to me: ‘They are right in what they have said. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their own people; I will put my words in the mouth of the prophet, who shall speak to them everything that I command.
Psalm 145.10-18
All creation praises you, O Lord:
and your faithful servants bless your name.
They speak of the glory of your kingdom:
and tell of your great might,
That the whole earth may know your mighty acts:
and the glorious splendour of your kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom:
and your dominion endures through all generations.
The Lord upholds all those who stumble:
and raises up those that are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to you in hope:
and you give them their food in due season;
You open wide your hand:
and fill all things living with your bounteous gift.
The Lord is just in all his ways:
and faithful in all his dealings.
The Lord is near to all who call upon him:
to all who call upon him in truth.
Revelation 21.9b-14
Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, ‘Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.’ And in the spirit he carried me away to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. It has the glory of God and a radiance like a very rare jewel, like jasper, clear as crystal. It has a great, high wall with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates are inscribed the names of the twelve tribes of the Israelites; on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city has twelve foundations, and on them are the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
John 1.45-51
Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.’ Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’ When Jesus saw Nathanael coming towards him, he said of him, ‘Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!’ Nathanael asked him, ‘Where did you come to know me?’ Jesus answered, ‘I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.’ Nathanael replied, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’ Jesus answered, ‘Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.’ And he said to him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.’
The Prayers
The Lord’s Prayer
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.
Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever.
Amen.
This week’s prayer:
Almighty and everlasting God,
who gave to your apostle Bartholomew
grace to believe and to preach your word:
grant that your Church may love that word which he believed
and may faithfully receive and boldly preach it;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
We thank God for what we have and pray for what we need.
Today we pray for ourselves, that God would lead us to love our neighbours as much as we care for ourselves. In our local church, we ask God to help families of children baptised here to grow in their faith. In our world, we pray for health professionals and those who act as carers to family and friends. We remember before God those who have asked for our prayers, or who are in need of them.
A prayer for the day
Lighten our darkness, Lord, we pray: and in your great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of our life; for the love of your only Son our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
The Lord be with us
now and forever.
Let us praise the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
May our Lord Jesus Christ, and God our Father, comfort our hearts and establish them in every good work and word. Amen.
2 Thessalonians 2.16-17