Choral Eucharist for 22nd March, will be livestreamed and available online at Holy Trinity’s YouTube site from 10.55am on Sunday at https://www.youtube.com/live/gu--ydrRqcE
Prelude:
WELCOME
Grace and peace to you from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
OPENING HYMN (NEH 393 Lead us, heavenly Father, lead us (Mannheim)
1 Lead us, heavenly Father, lead us
o'er the world's tempestuous sea;
guard us, guide us, keep us, feed us
for we have no help but thee;
yet possessing every blessing,
if our God our Father be.
2 Saviour, breathe forgiveness o'er us;
all our weakness thou dost know;
thou didst tread this earth before us,
thou didst feel its keenest woe;
self denying, death defying,
thou to Calvary didst go.
3 Spirit of our God, descending,
fill our hearts with heavenly joy,
love with every passion blending,
pleasure that can never cloy:
thus provided, pardoned, guided,
nothing can our peace destroy.
APPROACH TO GOD
Call to remembrance your compassion and mercy, O Lord;
your loving kindness, which you gave us of old.
To you O Lord I lift up my soul;
my God I trust in you; do not let me be confounded.
The sacrifice of God is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Be strong and do not fear;
for God is our refuge and strength.
INVITATION TO CONFESSION
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son Jesus Christ
to save us from our sin, to be our advocate in heaven,
and to bring us to eternal life.
So let us confess our sins in penitence and faith.
Silence
Almighty and merciful God,
we have strayed from your ways like lost sheep.
We have followed too much the desires of our own hearts.
We have left undone what we ought to have done;
we have done what we ought not to have done.
We are in need of health and restoration.
But you, O Lord, are merciful to sinners.
Restore us, and grant that we may live in peace and love
to the glory of your holy name. Amen.
KYRIE
THE ABSOLUTION
May God, who is the strength of love,
through the gift of Christ his son,
heal and strengthen us by his spirit,
that, being crucified with Christ in his death,
we may rise with him to new life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
COLLECTS:
THE LITURGY OF THE WORD
FIRST READING Romans 8:6-11
A reading from the Letter of Paul to the Romans
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.
ends with:
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
GRADUAL HYMN (NEH 92 There is a green hill far away (Horsley) (omit verse 2)
1 There is a green hill far away,
without a city wall,
where the dear Lord was crucified,
who died to save us all.
3 He died that we might be forgiven,
he died to make us good,
that we might go at last to heaven,
saved by his precious blood.
4 There was no other good enough
to pay the price of sin;
he only could unlock the gate
of heaven, and let us in.
5 O dearly, dearly has he loved,
and we must love him too,
and trust in his redeeming blood,
and try his works to do.
GOSPEL John 11:1-45
When the Gospel is announced:
Glory to Christ our Saviour.
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 for 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 for 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 upwards 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. John 11:1-45
At the end:
Give thanks to the Lord for his glorious Gospel
Praise to Christ our Lord.
SERMON
THE NICENE CREED
We believe in one God,
the Father, the almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one substance with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary
and was made human.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father,
who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
INTERCESSIONS
PEACE
Christ is our peace.
He has reconciled us to God in one body by the cross.
We meet in Christ’s name.
Let us share his peace.
OFFERTORY HYMN (NEH 84 It is a thing most wonderful (Herongate)
1 It is a thing most wonderful,
Almost too wonderful to be,
That God's own Son should come from heaven,
And die to save a child like me.
2 And yet I know that it is true;
He chose a poor and humble lot,
And wept and toiled and mourned and died,
For love of those who loved him not.
3 But even could I see him die,
I could but see a little part
Of that great love which, like a fire,
Is always burning in his heart.
4 It is most wonderful to know
His love for me so free and sure;
But 'tis more wonderful to see
My love for him so faint and poor.
5 And yet I want to love thee, Lord;
O light the flame within my heart,
And I will love thee more and more,
Until I see thee as thou art.
PRAYERS OF OFFERING
Unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies,
it remains alone.
But if it dies, it bears much fruit.
Almighty God, as these gifts of bread and wine
were once scattered over the hills as wheat and grape,
but gathered together became one mass,
so let your people, scattered and divided by sin,
be one in your eternal Kingdom.
Blessed be God for ever.
THE EUCHARISTIC PRAYER
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give God thanks and praise.
Worship and praise belong to you,
maker of light and darkness.
Your wisdom draws beauty from chaos,
brings a harvest out of sorrow
and leads the exiles home.
In Christ your Son enemies are reconciled,
debts forgiven
and strangers made welcome.
Your Spirit frees us
to live as sons and daughters
in our Father's house.
We who by Christ's power follow the way of the Cross,
sharing the joy of his obedience,
now offer you our praise,
with angels and archangels
and the whole company of heaven
singing the hymn of your unending glory:
SANTCUS
Glory and thanksgiving be to you, most loving Father,
for Christ in whom the world is reconciled.
Lifted on the Cross,
his suffering and forgiveness
spanned the gulf our sins had made.
Through that dark struggle
death was swallowed up in victory,
that life and light might reign.
Before he was given up to suffering and death,
recalling the night of Israel's release,
the night in which the sons of Egypt died,
your Chosen One, himself the First-Born,
freely offered his life.
At supper with his disciples he took bread
and offered you thanks.
He broke the bread, and gave it to them, saying:
“Take, eat. This is my Body: it is broken for you.”
After supper, he took the cup, he offered you thanks,
and gave it to them saying:
“Drink this, all of you.
This is my Blood of the new covenant;
it is poured out for you, and for all,
that sins may be forgiven.
Do this in remembrance of me.”
We now obey your Son's command.
We recall his blessed passion and death,
his glorious resurrection and ascension;
and we look for the coming of his Kingdom.
Made one with him, we offer you these gifts
and with them ourselves,
a single, holy, living sacrifice.
Hear us, most merciful Father,
and send your Holy Spirit upon us
and upon this bread and this wine,
that, overshadowed by your Spirit’s life-giving power,
they may be the Body and Blood of your Son,
and we may be kindled with the fire of your love
and renewed for the service of your Kingdom.
Help us, who are baptised into the
fellowship of Christ's Body
to live and work to your praise and glory;
may we grow together in unity and love
until at last, in your new creation,
we enter into our heritage
in the company of the Virgin Mary,
the apostles, and prophets,
and of all our brothers and sisters
living and departed.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord,
with whom, and in whom,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
all honour and glory be to you,
Lord of all ages,
world without end. Amen.
THE FRACTION
The living bread is broken for the life of the world.
Lord, unite us in this sign.
As our Saviour Christ has commanded and taught us,
we are bold to say;
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.
AGNUS DEI
INVITATION
We do not presume to come to this your holy table merciful God,
because we are strong, but because we are weak.
Nor because we are good, but because we need mercy and help.
We come because we love you and seek to love you more.
We come because you love us, and Christ gave himself for us.
Holy things for holy people. Broken bread for broken people. Amen.
Post Communion hymn: (NEH 294 Just as I am, without one plea (Saffron Walden) (omit verse 2)
1 Just as I am, without one plea
but that thy blood was shed for me,
and that thou bidst me come to thee,
O Lamb of God, I come.
3 Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind;
sight, riches, healing of the mind,
Yea, all I need, in thee to find,
O Lamb of God, I come.
4 Just as I am, thou wilt receive,
wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve:
because thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come.
5 Just as I am (thy love unknown
has broken every barrier down),
now to be thine, yea, thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come.
6 Just as I am, of that free love
the breadth, length, depth, and height to prove,
here for a season, then above,
O Lamb of God, I come.
THANKSGIVING AND SENDING OUT
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is gracious.
And his mercy endures for ever.
POST-COMMUNION PRAYER
Almighty God, by the cross and passion of your Son, Jesus Christ,
you saved and redeemed your people.
May we, who have shared this day in holy things,
find within ourselves the grace
to take up our cross and follow him.
This we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
BLESSING: From Ash Wednesday
Now may Christ give us grace to grow in holiness,
deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow him;
and the blessing of God Almighty,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
be with you, and those for whom you pray,
now and Always. Amen.
BLESSING: During Passiontide
Now may Christ Crucified draw you to Himself,
that you may find in him a sure ground for faith,
a firm support for hope,
and the assurance of sins forgiven;
and the blessing of God Almighty,
the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit,
be with you and remain with you always. Amen.
DISMISSAL
Let us go in peace, to love and serve the Lord.
In the Name of Christ. Amen.
FINAL HYMN (NEH 95 When I survey the wondrous cross (Rockingham)
1 When I survey the wondrous cross
on which the prince of glory died,
my richest gain I count but loss,
and pour contempt on all my pride.
2 Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast
save in the cross of Christ my God;
the very things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to his blood.
3 See from his head, his hands, his feet,
sorrow and love flow mingled down:
did e'er such love and sorrow meet,
or thorns compose so rich a crown?
4 His dying crimson, like a robe,
spreads o'er his body on the tree;
then am I dead to all the globe,
and all the globe is dead to me.
5 Were the whole realm of nature mine,
that were a present far too small;
love so amazing, so divine,
demands my soul, my life, my all.
ORGAN VOLUNTARY