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Order of Service
SUNDAY 23rd FEBRUARY 2025 11.00 a.m.
MORNING WORSHIP, ST COLUMBA’S, PONT STREET
(7th SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY)
Welcome
Call to Worship
Hymn 268 O God of Bethel! (Paraphrase 2) (Salzburg (Haydn))
O God of Bethel! by whose hand
thy people still are fed,
who through this earthly pilgrimage
hast all our fathers led:
Our vows, our prayers, we now present
before thy throne of grace:
God of our fathers! be the God
of their succeeding race.
Through each perplexing path of life
our wandering footsteps guide;
give us each day our daily bread,
and raiment fit provide.
O spread thy covering wings around,
till all our wanderings cease,
and at our Father’s loved abode
our souls arrive in peace.
Such blessings from thy gracious hand
our humble prayers implore;
and thou shalt be our chosen God,
and portion evermore.
Prayers of Approach & Lord’s Prayer
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 debts,
as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power and the glory for ever, Amen.
Theme for the day for our young people
(Our young people are invited to join the minister at the front of the church)
Hymn 198 Let us build a house where love can dwell (Two Oaks)
Let Us Build A House where love can dwell
and all can safely live,
a place where saints and children tell
how hearts learn to forgive.
built of hopes and dreams and visions,
rock of faith and vault of grace;
here the love of Christ shall end divisions;
All are welcome,
all are welcome,
all are welcome in this place.
Let us build a house where prophets speak,
and words are strong and true,
where all God’s children dare to seek
to dream God’s reign anew.
Here the cross shall stand as witness
and a symbol of God’s grace;
here as one we claim the faith of Jesus:
Let us build a house where love is found
in water, wine and wheat:
a banquet hall on holy ground,
where peace and justice meet.
here the love of God, through Jesus,
is revealed in time and space;
as we share in Christ the feast that frees us:
Let us build a house where hands will reach
beyond the wood and stone
to heal and strengthen, serve and teach,
and live the Word they’ve known.
Here the outcast and the stranger
bear the image of God’s face;
let us bring an end to fear and danger.
Let us build a house where all are named,
their songs and visions heard
and loved and treasured, taught and claimed
as words within the Word.
Built of tears and cries and laughter,
prayers of faith and songs of grace,
let this house proclaim from floor to rafter.
Old Testament Reading: Genesis 45: 3-11, 15
Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence.
Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come closer to me.” And they came closer. He said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. You shall settle in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children, as well as your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. I will provide for you there—since there are five more years of famine to come—so that you and your household, and all that you have, will not come to poverty.’
And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him.
New Testament Reading: 1 Corinthians 15: 35-38, 42-50
But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” Fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And as for what you sow, you do not sow the body that is to be, but a bare seed, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body.
So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body. Thus it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first, but the physical, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; and as is the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven.
What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
Anthem: Blessed City, heavenly Salem – E.C. Bairstow (1874-1946)
Blessed City, heavenly Salem,
Vision dear of peace and love,
Who of living stones art builded,
In the height of heaven above,
And, by angel hands apparelled,
As a bride doth earthward move.
Out of heaven from God descending
Now, and ready to be wed
To thy Lord Whose love espoused thee
Fair adorn’d shalt thou be led;
And thy gates and all thy bulwarks
Of pure gold are fashionèd.
Bright thy gates of pearl are shining,
They are open evermore;
And, their well earned rest attaining,
Thither faithful souls do soar,
Who for Christ’s dear name in this world
Pain and tribulation bore.
Many a blow and biting sculpture
Polished well those stones elect,
In their places now compacted
By the heavenly Architect.
Never more to leave the Temple,
Which with them the Lord hath decked.
To this Temple, where we call Thee,
Come, O Lord of Hosts, today;
With Thy wonted loving-kindness
Hear Thy servants as they pray,
And Thy fullest benediction
Shed within its walls alway.
Gospel Reading: Luke 6: 27-38
“But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you. “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the
measure you get back.”
Hymn 527 Lord, make us servants of your peace (O Waly Waly)
Lord, make us servants of your peace:
where there is hate, may we sow love;
where there is hurt, may we forgive;
where there is strife, may we make one.
Where all is doubt, may we sow faith;
where all is gloom, may we sow hope;
where all is night, may we sow light;
where all is tears, may we sow joy.
Jesus, our Lord, may we not seek
to be consoled, but to console,
nor look to understanding hearts,
but look for hearts to understand.
May we not look for love’s return,
but seek to love unselfishly,
for in our giving we receive,
and in forgiving are forgiven.
Dying, we live, and are reborn
through death’s dark night to endless day;
Lord, make us servants of your peace,
to wake at last in heaven’s light.
Sermon
Musical Interlude: Faire is the heaven – W.H.Harris (1883-1973)
Faire is the heaven where happy soules have place
In full enjoyment of felicitie;
Whence they doe still behold the glorious face
Of the Divine, Eternall Majestie;
Yet farre more faire be those bright Cherubins
Which all with golden wings are overdight,
And those eternall burning Seraphins
Which from their faces dart out fierie light;
Yet fairer than they both, and much more bright
Be th’Angels and Archangels, which attend
On God’s owne person, without rest or end.
These thus in faire each other farre excelling
As to the Highest they approach more neare,
Yet is that Highest farre beyond all telling,
Fairer than all the rest which there appeare,
Though all their beauties joynd together were;
How then can mortal tongue hope to expresse
The image of such endlesse perfectnesse?
Dedication of our Offerings
{If able, please stand as the offering is brought forward and the congregation sings}
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
praise him, all creatures here below;
praise him above, ye heavenly host;
praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. (CH4 807, Old 100th)
Prayer of Dedication:
Minister: Father, Son, and Spirit Holy,
we give you thanks and praise:
Congregation: We dedicate to you
our thoughts, our words,
our gifts, our deeds,
the working of our hands,
the thinking of our minds,
the loving of our hearts. Amen.
Prayers of Thanksgiving & Intercession
Intimations
Hymn 513 Courage, brother! do not stumble (Courage Brother)
Courage, brother! do not stumble,
though your path be dark as night;
there’s a star to guide the humble:
trust in God, and do the right.
Let the road be rough and dreary,
and its end far out of sight;
foot it bravely; strong or weary,
trust in God, trust in God,
trust in God, and do the right.
Perish policy and cunning,
perish all that fears the light!
Whether losing, whether winning,
trust in God, and do the right.
Some will hate you, some will love you,
some will flatter, some will slight;
heed them not, and look above you:
trust in God, trust in God,
trust in God, and do the right.
Simple rule and safest guiding,
inward peace and inward might,
star upon our path abiding,
trust in God and do the right.
Courage, sister! do not stumble,
though your path be dark as night;
there’s a star to guide the humble:
trust in God, trust in God,
trust in God, and do the right.
Benediction & Choral Amen
Organ Postlude: Organ Sonata in G opus 28 – E. Elgar (1857-1934)
Retiring Offering for the continuing life and ministry of St Columba’s. It is possible to donate via the website. We are most grateful for all that we receive.
