Lent | Wednesday 23 March 2022
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Opening:
Heavenly Father, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts
are restless until they rest in you: Look with compassion upon
the heartfelt desires of your servants, and purify our disordered
affections, that we may behold your eternal glory in the face of
Christ Jesus; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
“What is the Kingdom of God like?
How can I illustrate it?
It is like a tiny mustard seed that a man planted in a garden;
it grows and becomes a tree,
and the birds make nests in its branches.”
(Luke 13:18)
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Psalms: Psalm 39 – Poor Bishop Hooper
god remind me just how brief
my time on this shallow earth will be
god remind me that every single morning
my days are numbered and they’re not that many
how fleeting this life is
how fleeting this life is
my entire life is but a moment to you
at very best a breath in the way you see it see it see it
heaping mounds of wealth are merely shadows on the move
all our busy rushing ends in nothing nothing nothing nothing
so where can my hope go
where can my hope go
my hope is in you
in you alone
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OT Reading: Numbers 13:17-27 (NLT)
13:17 Moses gave the men these instructions as he sent them out to explore the land: “Go north through the Negev into the hill country. See what the land is like, and find out whether the people living there are strong or weak, few or many. See what kind of land they live in. Is it good or bad? Do their towns have walls, or are they unprotected like open camps? Is the soil fertile or poor? Are there many trees? Do your best to bring back samples of the crops you see.” (It happened to be the season for harvesting the first ripe grapes.)
So they went up and explored the land from the wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, near Lebo-hamath. Going north, they passed through the Negev and arrived at Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai—all descendants of Anak—lived. (The ancient town of Hebron was founded seven years before the Egyptian city of Zoan.) When they came to the valley of Eshcol, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes so large that it took two of them to carry it on a pole between them! They also brought back samples of the pomegranates and figs. That place was called the valley of Eshcol (which means “cluster”), because of the cluster of grapes the Israelite men cut there.
The Scouting Report
After exploring the land for forty days, the men returned to Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of Israel at Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran. They reported to the whole community what they had seen and showed them the fruit they had taken from the land. This was their report to Moses: “We entered the land you sent us to explore, and it is indeed a bountiful country—a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind of fruit it produces.
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Mustard Seed – David Ashley Trent
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NT Reading: Luke 13:18-21 (NLT)
Parable of the Mustard Seed
13:18 Then Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like? How can I illustrate it? It is like a tiny mustard seed that a man planted in a garden; it grows and becomes a tree, and the birds make nests in its branches.”
Parable of the Yeast
13:20 He also asked, “What else is the Kingdom of God like? It is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.”
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The Kingdom of God – Taize
Johan ter Beek
The kingdom of God is justice and peace
and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Come, Lord, and open in us
the gates of your kingdom.
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+ O God, you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth, and sent your blessed Son to preach peace to those who are far off and to those who are near: Grant that people everywhere may seek after you and find you; bring the nations into your fold; pour out your Spirit upon all flesh; and hasten the coming of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
+ O God, by whom the meek are guided in judgment, and light rises up in darkness for the godly: Grant us, in all our doubts and uncertainties, the grace to ask what you would have us do, that the Spirit of wisdom may save us from all false choices; that in your light we may see light, and in your straight path we may not stumble; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Closing: faith and worship | John Birch
God bless the steps you take
and the path you tread.
May they bring you safely
to where God needs you
at the start of this new day
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Peanut Gallery 