28th February - Bushey Parish · formed for myself so that they might declare my ... Therefore God...
Transcript of 28th February - Bushey Parish · formed for myself so that they might declare my ... Therefore God...
28th February
Lent 3 Psalm 69 v16-29
First Reading
A reading from the book of Psalms *
Answer me, O LORD, for your steadfast love is good; according to your abundant mercy,
turn to me. Do not hide your face from your servant, for I am in distress—make haste to
answer me. Draw near to me, redeem me, set me free because of my enemies. You know
the insults I receive, and my shame and dishonour; my foes are all known to you. Insults
have broken my heart, so that I am in despair. I looked for pity, but there was none; and for
comforters, but I found none. They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me
vinegar to drink. Let their table be a trap for them, a snare for their allies. Let their eyes be
darkened so that they cannot see, and make their loins tremble continually. Pour out your
indignation upon them, and let your burning anger overtake them. May their camp be a
desolation; let no one live in their tents. For they persecute those whom you have struck
down, and those whom you have wounded, they attack still more Add guilt to their
guilt; may they have no acquittal from you. Let them be blotted out of the book of the living;
let them not be enrolled among the righteous. But I am lowly and in pain; let your salvation,
O God, protect me.
This is the word of the Lord.
28th February
Lent 3 (1 Corinthians 10 : 1 - 13)
Second Reading
A reading from the first letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians
I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under
the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and
in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they
drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless,
God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness.
Now these things occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they
did. Do not become idolaters as some of them did; as it is written, ‘The people sat down to
eat and drink, and they rose up to play.’ We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some
of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the
test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents. And do not complain as some of
them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. These things happened to them to serve as
an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages have
come. So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall. No testing has
overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be
tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that
you may be able to endure it.
This is the word of the Lord.
Sunday
6th March
Mothering Sunday special service order
Sunday 13th March
Passion Sunday (Isaiah 43 : 16 – 21)
First Reading
A reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah
Thus says the LORD, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, who brings
out chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are
extinguished, quenched like a wick:
Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old.
I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
The wild animals will honour me, the jackals and the ostriches; for I give water in the
wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I
formed for myself so that they might declare my praise.
This is the word of the Lord.
Sunday 13th March
Passion Sunday (Revelation 22: 1-5)
Second Reading
A reading from the Revelation to St. John the Divine *
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the
throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. On either side
of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month;
and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. Nothing accursed will be found
there any more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will
worship him; they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And there will
be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light,
and they will reign forever and ever.
This is the word of the Lord.
Sunday
20th March
Palm Sunday
First Reading (please note there is only one reading before the Gospel)
(Philippians 2 : 5 – 11)
A reading from the letter of St. Paul to the Phillipians
Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of
God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, 7 but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of
death – even death on a cross.
Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the
earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
Father.
This is the word of the Lord.
Thursday, 24th March
Maundy Thursday 8.00 pm
FIRST READING
A reading from the book of Exodus.
12.1–4, 11–14
The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: This month shall mark for you the
beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell the whole
congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each
family, a lamb for each household. If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join
its closest neighbour in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number
of people who eat of it. This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your
feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the passover of the
LORD. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every
firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will
execute judgements: I am the LORD. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where
you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I
strike the land of Egypt. This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate
it as a festival to the LORD; throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual
ordinance.
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Maundy Thursday SECOND READING
A reading from the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians.
11.23–26
Beloved: I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the
night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it
and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way
he took the cup also, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do
this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and
drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Friday, 25th March
Good Friday 2 pm in St. Paul’s
FIRST READING (Isaiah 52.13 – 53.12)
A reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah.
See, my servant shall prosper; he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high.
Just as there were many who were astonished at him – so marred was his appearance,
beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of mortals – so he shall startle many
nations;
kings shall shut their mouths because of him; for that which had not been told them they
shall see, and that which they had not heard they shall contemplate.
Who has believed what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been
revealed?
For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no
form or majesty that we should look at him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire
him.
He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity;
and as one from whom others hide their faces he was despised, and we held him of no
account.
Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken,
struck down by God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the
punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the LORD has
laid on him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is
led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his
mouth.
By a perversion of justice he was taken away. Who could have imagined his future?
For he was cut off from the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people.
They made his grave with the wicked and his tomb with the rich, although he had done no
violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him with pain. When you make his life an offering
for sin, he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days; through him the will of the
LORD shall prosper.
Out of his anguish he shall see light; he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge.
The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the
strong;
because he poured out himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he
bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
This is the word of the Lord.
Friday, 25th March
Good Friday 2pm
FIRST READING
A reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah. 52. 13 – 53.12
See, my servant will prosper,
he shall be lifted up, exalted, rise to great heights.
As the crowds were appalled on seeing him
so disfigured did he look
that he seemed no longer human –
so will the crowds be astonished at him,
and kings stand speechless before him;
for they shall see something never told
and witness something never heard before:
'Who could believe what we have heard,
and to whom has the power of the Lord been revealed?'
Like a root in arid ground.
Without majesty (we saw him),
no looks to attract our eyes;
a thing despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrow and familiar with suffering,
a man to make people screen their faces;
he was despised and we took no account of him.
And yet ours were the sufferings he bore,
ours the sorrows he carried.
But we, we thought of him as someone punished, struck by God, and brought low.
Yet he was pierced through for our faults,
crushed for our sins.
On him lies a punishment that brings us peace,
and through him his wounds we are healed.
We had all gone astray like sheep,
each taking his own way,
and the Lord burdened him
with the sins of all of us.
Harshly dealt with, he bore it humbly,
he never opened his mouth,
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter house,
like a sheep that is dumb before its shearers
never opening its mouth.
By force and by law he was taken;
would anyone plead from the land of the living;
for our faults struck down in death.
They gave him a grave with the wicked,
a tomb with the rich, though he had done no wrong and there had been no perjury in his
mouth.
The Lord has been pleased to crush him with suffering. If he offers his life in atonement,
he shall see his heirs, he shall have a long life
and through him what the Lord wishes will be done.
His soul's anguish over he shall see the light and be content.
By his sufferings shall my servant justify many,
taking their faults on himself.
Hence I will grant whole hordes for his tribute,
he shall divide the spoil the mighty,
for surrendering himself to death
and letting himself be taken for a sinner,
while he was bearing the faults of many
and praying all the time for sinners.
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
GOOD FRIDAY SECOND READING
A reading from the letter to the Hebrews.
4:14-16; 5:7-9
Since in Jesus, the Son of God, we have the supreme High Priest who has gone through to
the highest heaven, we must never let go of the faith that we have professed. For it is not as
if we had a high priest who was incapable of feeling our weaknesses with us; but we have
one who has been tempted in every way that we are, though he is without sin. Let us be
confident, then, in approaching the throne of grace, that we shall have mercy from him and find grace when we are in need of help.
During his life on earth, he offered up prayer and entreaty, aloud and in silent tears, to the
one who had the power to save him out of death, and he submitted so humbly that his
prayer was heard. Although he was son, he learnt to obey through suffering; but having been
made perfect, he became for all who obey the source of eternal salvation and was acclaimed
by God with the title of high priest of the order of Melchizedeck.
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Saturday, 26th March
Holy Saturday 8.00 pm
FIRST READING
(Genesis 1 : 1, 26 – 31)
A reading from the book of Genesis
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. God said, 'Let us make man in our
own image, in the likeness of ourselves, and let them be masters of the fish of the sea, the
birds of heaven, the cattle, all the wild beasts and all the reptiles that crawl upon the earth.
'God created man in the image of himself, in the image of God he created him, male and
female he created them. God blessed them, saying to them, 'Be fruitful, multiply, fill the
earth and conquer it. Be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven and all living
animals on the earth.' God said, 'See, I give you all the seed-bearing plants that are upon the whole earth, and all the trees with seed-bearing fruit; this shall be your food. To all wild
beasts, all birds of heaven and all living reptiles on the earth I give all the foliage of plants for
food.' And so it was. God saw all he had made, and indeed it was very good. Evening came
and morning came : the sixth day.
Thus heaven and earth were completed with all their array. On the seventh day God
completed the work he had been doing. He rested on the seventh day after all the work he
had been doing.
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Holy Saturday 8.00 pm
SECOND READING
(Exodus 14 : 15 – 15. 1)
A reading from the book of Exodus
The Lord said to Moses, 'Why do you cry to me so? Tell the sons of Israel to march on. For yourself, raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and part it for the sons of
Israel to walk through the sea on dry ground. I for my part will make the heart of the
Egyptians so stubborn that they will follow them. So shall I win myself glory at the expense
of Pharaoh, of all his army, his chariots, his horsemen. And when I have won glory for myself
at the expense of Pharaoh and his chariots and his army, the Egyptians will learn that I am
the Lord.'
Then the angel of the Lord, who marched at the front of the army of Israel, changed station
and moved to their rear. The pillar of cloud changed station from the front to the rear of
them, and remained there. It came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of
Israel. The cloud was dark, and the night passed without the armies drawing any closer the
whole night long. Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove back the sea
with a strong easterly wind all night, and he made dry the land of the sea. The waters parted
and the sons of Israel went on dry ground right into the sea, walls of water to right and to
left of them. The Egyptians gave chase: after them they went, right into the sea, all Pharaoh's
horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. In the morning watch, the Lord looked down on the
army of the Egyptians from the pillar of fire and of cloud, and threw the army into confusion.
He so clogged their chariot wheels that they could scarcely make headway. 'Let us flee from
the Israelites,' the Egyptians cried 'the Lord is fighting for them against the Egyptians!'
'Stretch out your hand over the sea,' the Lord said to Moses 'that the water may flow back
on the Egyptians and their chariots and their horsemen.' Moses stretched out his hand over
the sea and, as day broke, the sea returned to its bed. The fleeing Egyptians marched right
into it, and the lord overthrew the Egyptians in the very middle of the sea. The returning
waters overwhelmed the chariots and the horsemen of Pharaoh's whole army, which had
followed the Israelites into the sea; not a single one of them was left. But the sons of Israel
had marched through the sea on dry ground, walls of water to right and to the left of them.
That day, the Lord rescued Israel from the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead
on the shore. Israel witnessed the great act that the Lord had performed against the
Egyptians, and the people venerated the Lord; they put their faith in the lord and in Moses,
his servant. It was then that Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song in honour of the
Lord…. (no words to conclude this reading)
Holy Saturday
THIRD READING
(Ezekiel : 36 : 16 – 18)
A reading from the prophet Ezekiel
The word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows: 'Son of man, the members of the
House of Israel used to live in their own land, but they defiled it by their conduct and
actions. I then discharged my fury at them because of the blood they shed in their land and
the idols with which they defiled it. I scattered them among the nations and dispersed them
in foreign countries. I sentenced them as their conduct and actions deserved. And now they
have profaned my Holy name among the nations where they have gone, so that people say
of them, "These are the people of the Lord; they have been exiled from his land." But I have
been concerned about my Holy name, which the House of Israel has profaned among the
nations where they have gone. And so, say to the House of Israel, "The Lord says this: I am
not doing this for your sake, House of Israel, but for the sake of my holy name, which you
have profaned among the nations where you have gone. I mean to display the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned among
them. And the nations will learn that I am Lord - it is the Lord who speaks - when I display
my holiness for your sake before their eyes. Then I am going to take you from among the
nations and gather you together from all the foreign countries, and bring you home to your
own land. I shall pour clean water over you and you will be cleansed; I shall cleanse you of
all your defilement and all idols. I shall give you a new heart, and put a new spirit in you; I
shall remove the heart of stone from your bodies and give you a heart of flesh instead. I
shall put my spirit in you, and make you keep my laws and sincerely respect my observances.
You will live in the land which I gave your ancestors. You shall be my people and I will be
your God." '
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God
Holy Saturday Fourth Reading
A reading from the letter of Paul to the Romans.
6.3–11
You have been taught that when we are baptised in Christ Jesus we were baptised in his
death; in other words, when we were baptised we went into the tomb with him and joined
him in death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the father's glory, we too might
live a new life.
If in union with Christ we have imitated his death, we shall also imitate him in his
resurrection. We must realise that our former selves have been crucified with him to
destroy this sinful body and to free us from slavery of sin. When a man dies, of course, he
has finished with sin.
But we believe that having died in Christ we shall return to life with him: Christ, as we
know, having been raised from the dead will never die again. Death has no power over him any more. When he died, he died, once for all, to sin, so his life now is life with God; and in
that way, you too must consider yourselves to be dead top sin but alive for God in Christ
Jesus.
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Sunday, 27th March
Easter Day
First Reading (Acts 10 : 34 – 43)
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles *
Peter began to speak to them: ‘I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every
nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the
message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of
all. That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John
announced: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how
he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was
with him. We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him
to death by hanging him on a tree; but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to
appear, not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate
and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people
and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. All the
prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins
through his name.’
This is the word of the Lord.
Sunday, 27th March
Easter Day
Second Reading (1 Corinthians 15 : 1 – 11)
A reading from the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians
I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which
you in turn received, in which also you stand, through which also you are being saved, if you
hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in
vain.
For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died
for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was
raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas,
then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one
time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then
to all the apostles. Last of all, as to someone untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I
am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of
God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace towards me has not been in
vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them—though it was not I, but the grace
of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have
come to believe.
This is the word of the Lord.
Sunday
3rd April Special service order
Sunday
10th April
Easter 3 (Acts 9 : 1 - 6)
First Reading
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles *
Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to
the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found
any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to
Jerusalem. Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from
heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul,
why do you persecute me?’ He asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The reply came, ‘I am Jesus,
whom you are persecuting. But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are
to do.’
This is the word of the Lord.
Sunday
10th April
Easter 3 (Revelation 6 : 11 – 14))
Second Reading
A reading from the book of Revelation
Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels surrounding the throne and the living
creatures and the elders; they numbered myriads of myriads and thousands of
thousands, singing with full voice,
‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honour and glory and blessing!’
Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and
all that is in them, singing,
‘To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb
be blessing and honour and glory and might
for ever and ever!’
And the four living creatures said, ‘Amen!’ And the elders fell down and worshipped.
This is the word of the Lord.
Sunday
17th April
Easter 4 (Acts 9 : 36 - end)
First Reading
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles *
Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She
was devoted to good works and acts of charity. At that time she became ill and died. When
they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs. Since Lydda was near Joppa, the
disciples, who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, ‘Please
come to us without delay.’ So Peter got up and went with them; and when he arrived, they
took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing
tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them. Peter put all of
them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, ‘Tabitha,
get up.’ Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up. He gave her his hand and
helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive. This became
known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. Meanwhile he stayed in Joppa for
some time with a certain Simon, a tanner.
This is the word of the Lord.
Sunday
17th April
Easter 4 (Revelation 7 : 9 - end)
Second Reading
A reading from the book of Revelation
Revelation 7:9-17
After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every
nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the
Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice,
saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And
all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures,
and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, singing, “Amen! Blessing
and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and might be to our God
forever and ever! Amen.”
Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, robed in white, and where
have they come from?” I said to him, “Sir, you are the one that knows.” Then he said to me,
“These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and
made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason they are before the throne of
God, and worship him day and night within his temple, and the one who is seated on the
throne will shelter them. They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not
strike them, nor any scorching heat; for the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their
shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away
every tear from their eyes.”
This is the word of the Lord.
Sunday
24th April
Easter 5 (Acts 11 : 1 - 18)
First Reading
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles *
Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also
accepted the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised
believers criticized him, saying, ‘Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with
them?’ Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying, ‘I was in the city of
Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming
down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners; and it came close to me. As I looked
at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air. I also
heard a voice saying to me, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.” But I replied, “By no means, Lord;
for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.” But a second time the voice
answered from heaven, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.” This
happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven. At that very moment
three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were. The Spirit told
me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us. These six brothers
also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. He told us how he had seen the
angel standing in his house and saying, “Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called
Peter; he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be
saved.” And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the
beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, “John baptized with
water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”If then God gave them the same gift
that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder
God?’ When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, ‘Then God
has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.’
This is the word of the Lord.
Sunday
24th April
Easter 5 (Revelation 21 : 1 - 8)
Second Reading
A reading from the book of Revelation
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed
away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down
out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud
voice from the throne saying,
‘See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.’
And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’ Also he
said, ‘Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ Then he said to me, ‘It is done!
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as
a gift from the spring of the water of life. Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I
will be their God and they will be my children. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the
polluted, the murderers, the fornicators, the sorcerers, the idolaters, and all liars, their
place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death.’
This is the word of the Lord.
Sunday
1st May – special service order