Lent | 2nd Sunday 13 Mar 2022
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Opening:
Almighty God, you know that we have no power in ourselves
to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and
inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all
adversities that may happen to the body, and from all evil
thoughts that may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus
Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy
Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Someone asked Jesus,
“Lord, will only a few be saved?” He replied,
“Work hard to enter the narrow door to God’s Kingdom,
for many will try to enter but will fail.”
(Luke 13: 23-24)
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The God of Abraham Praise –
Music Ministry
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OT Reading: Gen 15:1-18 (NLT)
The Lord’s Covenant Promise to Abram
15:1 Some time later, the Lord spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great.”
But Abram replied, “O Sovereign Lord, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since you’ve given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth. You have given me no descendants of my own, so one of my servants will be my heir.”
Then the Lord said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir.” Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!”
And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith.
Then the Lord told him, “I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as your possession.”
But Abram replied, “O Sovereign Lord, how can I be sure that I will actually possess it?”
The Lord told him, “Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” So Abram presented all these to him and killed them. Then he cut each animal down the middle and laid the halves side by side; he did not, however, cut the birds in half. Some vultures swooped down to eat the carcasses, but Abram chased them away.
As the sun was going down, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a terrifying darkness came down over him. Then the Lord said to Abram, “You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they will be oppressed as slaves for 400 years. But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they will come away with great wealth. (As for you, you will die in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.) After four generations your descendants will return here to this land, for the sins of the Amorites do not yet warrant their destruction.”
After the sun went down and darkness fell, Abram saw a smoking firepot and a flaming torch pass between the halves of the carcasses. So the Lord made a covenant with Abram that day and said, “I have given this land to your descendants, all the way from the border of Egypt to the great Euphrates River—
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Psalms: Psalm 27 One Thing (Hillsong)
Ian Ver
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NT Reading: Phil 3:17—4:1 (NLT)
3:17 Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example. I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth. But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.
Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stay true to the Lord. I love you and long to see you, dear friends, for you are my joy and the crown I receive for my work.
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I Would Be True – Rutter
Tewkesbury Abbey
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Gospel Reading: Luke 13:22-30 (NLT)
The Narrow Door
13:22 Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he went, always pressing on toward Jerusalem. Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few be saved?”
He replied, “Work hard to enter the narrow door to God’s Kingdom, for many will try to enter but will fail. When the master of the house has locked the door, it will be too late. You will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Lord, open the door for us!’ But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ Then you will say, ‘But we ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ And he will reply, ‘I tell you, I don’t know you or where you come from. Get away from me, all you who do evil.’
“There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, for you will see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God, but you will be thrown out. And people will come from all over the world—from east and west, north and south—to take their places in the Kingdom of God. And note this: Some who seem least important now will be the greatest then, and some who are the greatest now will be least important then.”
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“The Narrow Gate” – Kyle Sigmon
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Heavenly Father: we pray for the peace of the whole world, and for the well-being and unity of the your people; Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayers…
+ For all the clergy and people who selflessly serve you in congregations throughout the world, especially in difficult circumstances.
+ For all those who proclaim the Gospel at home and abroad; and for all who teach and disciple others, especially under duress.
+ For our brothers and sisters in Christ who are persecuted for their faith, especially women and children and the elderly.
+ For our nation, for those in authority, and for all in public service; may we all live, govern and serve as unto you.
+ For all those who are in trouble, sorrow, need, sickness, or any other adversity, especially in the Ukraine.
+ For all those who have departed this life in the certain hope of the resurrection, and those who mourn their loss.
Heavenly Father, grant these our prayers for the sake of Jesus Christ, our only Mediator and Advocate, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Closing: faith and worship | John Birch
May the peace of God enfold us,
The love of God uphold us,
The wisdom of God control us.
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Peanut Gallery 