A Service of Morning Prayer for Wednesday May 3rd, 2020

https://www.holyart.com/religious-items/sacred-icons/rumanian-hand-painted-icons/icon-christ-the-good-shepherd

All Creatures of our God and King

All creatures of our God and King, lift up your voices let us sing alleluia, alleluia! Bright burning sun with golden beams, pale silver moon that gently gleams, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

Great rushing winds and breezes soft, you clouds that ride the heavens aloft, O sing now, alleluia! Fair rising morn, with praise rejoice,

stars nightly shining, find a voice, alleluia, alleluia alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

Swift flowing water, pure and clear, make music for your Lord to hear, alleluia, alleluia!Fire so intense and fiercely bright, you give to us both warmth and light, alleluia, alleluia alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

Earth ever fertile, day by day Unfold your blessings on our way, O sing now, alleluia!All flowers and fruit that in you grow, God’s glory let them also show; Alleluia, alleluiaAlleluia, alleluia, alleluia

All you with mercy in your heart, Forgiving others, take your part, alleluia, alleluia, All you that pain and sorrow bear, Sing praise and cast on God your care: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

And even you, most gentle death, Waiting to hush our final breath, O sing now, alleluia!You lead back home the child of God, For Christ our Lord that way has trod; Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

Let all things their Creator bless,

and worship God in humbleness,Alleluia, alleluia!Praise, God the Father, praise the Son,and praise the Spirit, Three in one, Alleluia, alleluia alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

Alleluia! Christ is risen. The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!

May his grace and peace be with you. May he fill our hearts with joy.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia!

O Come, let us worship.

Psalm 23

Response: The Lord is risen Indeed, alleluia!

1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters;

3 he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name's sake.

4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff-- they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD my whole life long.

A reading from Acts 2:42-47

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

43 Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles.

44 All who believed were together and had all things in common;

45 they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.

46 Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts,

47 praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

The word of the Lord

Thanks be to God

I Come With Joy

I come with joy a child of God, forgiven, loved, and free, the life of Jesus to recall, in love laid down for me

I come with Christians, far and near, to find, as all are fed, the new community of love in Christ’s communion bread.

As Christ breaks bread and bids us share, each proud division ends. The love that made us makes us one, and strangers now are friends.

The spirit of the risen Christ, unseen, but ever near, is in such friendship better known, alive among us here.

Together met, together bound, by all that God has done, we’ll go with joy, to give the world the love that makes us one.

A reading from 1 Peter 2:19-25

19 For it is a credit to you if, being aware of God, you endure pain while suffering unjustly.

20 If you endure when you are beaten for doing wrong, what credit is that? But if you endure when you do right and suffer for it, you have God's approval.

21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps.

22 "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth."

23 When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.

24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.

25 For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.

The word of the Lord

Thanks be to God

Breathe on Me, Breath of God

Breathe on me, breath of God; fill me with life a-new, that I may love what thou dost love, and do what thou wouldst do.

Breathe on me, breath of God, until my heart is pure, until my will is one with thine to do and to endure

Breathe on me, breath of God, till I am wholly thine, until this earthly part of me glows with thy fire divine.

Breathe on me, breath of God: so shall I never die, but live with thee the perfect life of thine eternity.

The Lord be with you.And also with you.

The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to JohnGlory to you, Lord Jesus Christ

John 10:1-10

1 Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit.

2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.

3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.

5 They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers."

6 Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

7 So again Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.

8 All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them.

9 I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.

10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly."

The Gospel of Christ.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ

Sermon

Go Light Your World- Kathy Troccoli

There is a candle in every soul

Some brightly burning, some dark and cold

There is a Spirit who brings fire

Ignites a candle and makes His home

Carry your candle, run to the darknessSeek out the hopeless, confused and tornHold out your candle for all to see itTake your candle, and go light your worldTake your candle, and go light your world

Frustrated brother, see how he's tried to

Light his own candle some other way

See now your sister, she's been robbed and lied to

Still holds a candle without a flame

We are a family whose hearts are blazing

So let's raise our candles and light up the sky

Praying to our Father, in the name of Jesus

Make us a beacon in darkest times

Affirmation of Faith (The Apostle’s Creed)

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.

Prayers

In joy and hope let us pray to the source of all life, saying, “Hear us, Lord of glory!”

That our risen Saviour may fill us with the joy of his holy and life-giving resurrection, let us pray to the Lord.

Hear us, Lord of glory!

That isolated and persecuted churches may find fresh strength in the Easter gospel, let us pray to the Lord.

Hear us, Lord of glory!

That he may grant us humility to be subject to one another in Christian love, let us pray to the Lord.

Hear us, Lord of glory!

That he may provide for those who lack food, work, or shelter, let us pray to the Lord.

Hear us, Lord of glory!

That by his power wars and famine may cease through all the earth, let us pray to the Lord.

Hear us, Lord of glory!

That he may reveal the light of his presence to the sick, the weak, and the dying, that they may be comforted and strengthened, let us pray to the Lord.

Hear us, Lord of glory!

That he may send the fire of the Holy Spirit upon his people, that we may bear faithful witness to his resurrection, let us pray to the Lord.

Hear us, Lord of glory!

Collect

O God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, that great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, make us perfect in every good work to do your will, and work in us that which is well-pleasing in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

And now, as our Saviour Christ has 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.

Praise the One Who Breaks the Darkness

Praise the one who breaks the darkness with a liberating light.

Praise the one who frees the prisoners, turning blindness into sight.

Praise the one who preached the gospel, healing every dread disease,

Calming storms and feeding thousands with the very bread of peace.

Praise the one who blessed the children with a strong yet gentle word.

Praise the one who drove out demons with a piercing two-edged sword.

Praise the one who brings cool water to the dessert’s burning sand.

From this well comes living water quenching thirst in every land.

Praise the one true love incarnate: Christ who suffered in our place.

Jesus died and rose for many that we may know God by grace.

Let us sing for joy and gladness, seeing what our God has done.

Praise the one redeeming glory, praise the One who makes us one.

The Dismissal

Let us bless the Lord.

Thanks be to God. Alleluia

May the God of peace enable us to do his will in every kind of goodness, working in us what pleases him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Alleluia!