GATHERING THE COMMUNITY

PRELUDE a selection of Music will be played.

THE GREETING

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit,
be with you all.
And also with you.

COLLECT OF THE DAY

Almighty and everliving God,
increase in us your gift of faith,
that forsaking what lies behind
and reaching out to what is before,
we may run the way of your commandments
and win the crown of everlasting joy;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

THE LITURGY OF THE WORD

Let us prepare ourselves for the Word of God
as it comes to us in the reading of Holy Scriptures.
Our hearts and minds are open.

FIRST READING ROYAL GARREN

Reader  Our first reading is from the Book of Exodus.

Moses said to the Lord, "See, you have said to me, 'Bring up this people'; but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, 'I know you by name, and you have also found favour in my sight.' Now if I have found favour in your sight, show me your ways, so that I may know you and find favour in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people." He said, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." And he said to him, "If your presence will not go, do not carry us up from here. For how shall it be known that I have found favour in your sight, I and your people, unless you go with us? In this way, we shall be distinct, I and your people, from every people on the face of the earth."

The Lord said to Moses, "I will do the very thing that you have asked; for you have found favour in my sight, and I know you by name." Moses said, "Show me your glory, I pray." And he said, "I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you the name, 'The Lord'; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But," he said, "you cannot see my face; for no one shall see me and live." And the Lord continued, "See, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock; and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by; then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back; but my face shall not be seen." EXODUS 33:12-23

Reader   Hear what the Spirit is saying to God’s people.
Thanks be to God.

Musical interlude

SECOND READING ROYAL GARREN

Reader   A reading from the Second Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians.

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace. We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labour of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers and sisters beloved by God, that he has chosen you, because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of persons we proved to be among you for your sake.

And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak about it. For the people of those regions report about us what kind of welcome we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming.  1 THESSALONIANS 1:1-10

Reader   Hear what the Spirit is saying to God’s people.
Thanks be to God.

Musical interlude

THE GOSPEL 
Reader   The Lord be with you.
And also with you.

Reader   +The Holy Gospel of Jesus the Christ according to Matthew.
Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?"

But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, "Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin used for the tax." And they brought him a denarius. Then he said to them, "Whose head is this, and whose title?" They answered, "The emperor's." Then he said to them, "Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's." When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away. MATTHEW 22:15-22

Reader   The Gospel of Christ.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ

SERMON

AFFIRMING OUR FAITH (Apostles’ Creed)

Let us give voice to our convictions and substance to our hopes.
I believe in God,
the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again
to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE MARIA DENHOLME

CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION

My friends, not out of dread and fear
but believing that God is faithful to forgive,
let us rid ourselves of what we need to carry no longer.

Silence is kept.

Most merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbours as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us,
that we may delight in your will,
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your name. Amen.

Almighty God have mercy upon you,
+pardon and deliver you from all your sins,
confirm and strengthen you in all goodness,
and keep you in eternal life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

THE PEACE

The Celebrant may use some appropriate introductory words.

The peace of Christ be always with you.
And also with you.

CELEBRATION OF THE EUCHARIST

The Celebrant prepares the Table while Music is played.

PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS

Let us pray

The community prays in silence.

Eternal God,
your word inspires our faith.
May we who offer you our praise
trust you in all things.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord.
 Amen.

THE GREAT THANKSGIVING

May God be with you.
And also with you.

Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to God.

Let us give thanks to God our Creator.
It is right to give our thanks and praise

We give you thanks and praise, almighty God,
for the gift of a world full of wonder,
and for our life which comes from you.
By your power you sustain the universe.
Glory to you for ever and ever.

You created us to love you with all our heart,
and to love each other as ourselves,
but we rebel against you by the evil that we do.
In Jesus, your Son,
you bring healing to our world
and gather us into one great family.

Therefore, with all who serve you on earth and in heaven,
we praise your wonderful name, as we say,
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.

We give you thanks and praise, loving Father,
because in sending Jesus, your Son, to us
you showed us how much you love us.
He cares for the poor and the hungry.
He suffers with the sick and the rejected.
Betrayed and forsaken, he did not strike back
but overcame hatred with love.
On the cross
he defeated the power of sin and death.
By raising him from the dead
you show us the power of your love to bring new life to all your people.
Glory to you for ever and ever.

On the night before he gave up his life for us,
Jesus, at supper with his friends,
took bread, gave thanks to you, broke it, and gave it to them,
saying, “Take this, all of you, and eat it:
this is my body which is given for you.”

After supper, Jesus took the cup of wine, said the blessing,
gave it to his friends, and said, “Drink this, all of you:
this is the cup of my blood,
the blood of the new and eternal covenant,
which is shed for you and for many,
so that sins may be forgiven.
Do this in memory of me.”
Glory to you for ever and ever.

Gracious God,
with this bread and wine
we celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus,
and we offer ourselves to you in him.

Send your Holy Spirit on us and on these gifts,
that we may know the presence of Jesus
in the breaking of bread, and share in the life
of the family of your children.
Glory to you for ever and ever.

Father, you call us to be your servants;
fill us with the courage and love of Jesus,
that all the world may gather in joy
at the table of your kingdom.

We sing your praise, almighty Father, through Jesus, our Lord,
in the power of the Holy Spirit, now and for ever.
Glory to you for ever and ever. Amen.

As our Saviour taught us, let us pray.
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 for ever. Amen.

THE BREAKING OF THE BREAD

The Celebrant breaks the consecrated bread.

Be present, be present, Lord Jesus Christ, crucified and risen;
make yourself known in the breaking of bread.

THE INVITATION

This is the table, not of the righteous, but of the poor in spirit.
It is made ready for those who love God and who want to love God more.

So come, you who have much faith and you who have little,
You who have been here often
and you who have not been for a long time or ever before,
You who have tried to follow and all of us who have failed.
Come, not because the Church invites you;
It is Christ who invites you to be known and fed here.

The gifts of God for the people of God
Thanks be to God.

THE COMMUNION

Music will be played during the distribution.

THE CONCLUDING RITE

POST COMMUNION PRAYER

Let us pray.

The community prays in silence.

God of peace,
you have nourished us in this sacrament
with the body and blood of Christ.
May we who have taken holy things
keep faith in our hearts and lives,
in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen.

Glory to God,
whose power, working in us,
can do infinitely more
than we can ask or imagine.
Glory to God from generation to generation,
in the Church and in Christ Jesus
for ever and ever. Amen.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

THE BLESSING

Now go in peace do what God wills,
follow where Christ calls pray; for the gifts of the Spirit;
and may the blessing of God the Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer
rest on and remain with you now and always.
Amen.

THE DISMISSAL

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

If you would like to join us for a virtual coffee hour on Zoom, please go to
https://bit.ly/2Sj3gZ4 Meeting ID: 240 454 925
Passcode: 153936

Musical voluntary