Lent 3
INTRODUCTORY VIDEO
SENTENCE FROM SCRIPTURE:
O that today you would hear his voice! Harden not your hearts. (Psalm 95)
HYMN-
GREETING
Grace and peace to you from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen
COLLECT FOR PURITY
Almighty God,
to whom all hearts are open,
all desires known,
and from whom no secrets are hidden:
cleanse the thoughts of our hearts
by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love you,
and worthily magnify your holy name;
through Christ our Lord. Amen.
SUMMARY OF THE LAW
Our Lord Jesus Christ said: The first commandment is this:
Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is the only Lord. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.”
The second is this: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these. Amen. Lord, have mercy.
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION
God is love and we are God’s children. There is no room for fear in love. We love because God loved us first.
Let us confess our sins in penitence and faith.
SILENCE
God our Father,
we confess to you
and to our fellow members in the Body of Christ
that we have sinned in thought, word and deed,
and in what we have failed to do.
We are truly sorry.
Forgive us our sins,
and deliver us from the power of evil,
for the sake of your Son who died for us, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
ABSOLUTION
God, who is both power and love,
forgive you and free you from your sins,
heal and strengthen you by the Holy Spirit,
and raise you to new life in Christ our Lord. Amen.
KYRIE
sung by Susan St Joseph
COLLECT
Merciful Father,
we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves:
when we are discouraged by our weakness,
give us strength to follow Christ, our pattern and our hope;
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, world without end. Amen
PROCLAIMING & RECEIVING GOD’S WORD
FIRST READING Exodus 17.1–7
read by Simon Lidwell
1 From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 The people quarrelled with Moses, and said, ‘Give us water to drink.’ Moses said to them, ‘Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?’
3 But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, ‘Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?’ 4 So Moses cried out to the LORD, ‘What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.’ 5 The LORD said to Moses, ‘Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.’ Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel.
7 He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarrelled and tested the LORD, saying, ‘Is the LORD among us or not?’
SECOND READING Romans 5.1–11
read by Annabelle Guthrie
1 Since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person – though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. 8 But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. 9 Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. 11 But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
GRADUAL HYMN
GOSPEL John 4.5–42,
read by Rev Dr Steven Ballard
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John, Chapter 4, beginning at verse 5
Glory to Christ our Saviour
5 Jesus came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon. 7 A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink.’ 8 (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?’ (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, “Give me a drink,” you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.’ 11 The woman said to him, ‘Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?’ 13 Jesus said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.’
15 The woman said to him, ‘Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.’ 16 Jesus said to her, ‘Go, call your husband, and come back.’ 17 The woman answered him, ‘I have no husband.’ Jesus said to her, ‘You are right in saying, “I have no husband”; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!’ 19 The woman said to him, ‘Sir, I see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.’ 21 Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him.
24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.’ 25 The woman said to him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming’ (who is called Christ). ‘When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.’ 26 Jesus said to her, ‘I am he, the one who is speaking to you.’ 27 Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, ‘What do you want?’ or, ‘Why are you speaking with her?’ 28 Then the woman left her water-jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, 29 ‘Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?’ 30 They left the city and were on their way to him. 31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, ‘Rabbi, eat something.’ 32 But he said to them, ‘I have food to eat that you do not know about.’ 33 So the disciples said to one another, ‘Surely no one has brought him something to eat?’ 34 Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. 35 Do you not say, “Four months more, then comes the harvest”? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. 36 The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. 37 For here the saying holds true, “One sows and another reaps.” 38 I sent you to reap that for which you did not labour. Others have laboured, and you have entered into their labour.’ 39 Many Samaritans from that city believed in Jesus because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me everything I have ever done.’ 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there for two days. 41 And many more believed because of his word.
42 They said to the woman, ‘It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Saviour of the world.’
Give thanks to the Lord for his glorious Gospel
Praise to Christ our Lord
SERMON
Our Gospel reading today tells the remarkable story of Jesus’ meeting with a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. We have read how a thirsty Jesus asks her to give him a drink. A simple request it might seem, but as is clear from all that follows, in making that request, Jesus breaks through all sorts of barriers. He addresses a woman directly; moreover, he addresses a Samaritan woman, with whom we are told “Jews do not share things in common” (Jn 4 v 9).
So, if Jesus accepts a drink from her, he makes himself unclean in the eyes of the society of which he is part. And all this explains the later astonishment of the disciples (v27) when they learn what Jesus has done. Then we discover that the woman with whom Jesus speaks would seem to have led a somewhat colourful life with her five husbands and currently living with a man to whom she is not married.
Yet Jesus, by breaking through all these gender, racial, religious and societal barriers – accepting this woman as she is, with all that her life has been (v 29) – enables her to recognise who Jesus is, that here is the promised One of God. She comes to faith and because she has been accepted by Jesus, loved as she is, her life is transformed. And then because of her testimony, we are told that “many Samaritans from that city believed in him”. (v39).
This is what God’s love makes possible for each one of us. We are loved and accepted as we are; as we open ourselves to the God whom we meet in Jesus, living, dying and rising, then our lives are transformed and we find meaning, purpose, direction and hope in our lives.
And faith, belief, flows from experience. Each of us – perhaps inspired and encouraged by the witness, by the testimony, by the teaching, by the lives of others – comes to our own faith through our experience, which is unique to us. We come to faith as we experience for ourselves that loving acceptance that the Samaritan woman experienced. The final verse of the Gospel passage we have read (v 42), speaking of the many who later come to faith, acknowledges the testimony of the Samaritan woman, but then says this: “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Saviour of the world.”
May this be our experience too.
Amen.
THE CREED
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
God from God,
Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one substance with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven;
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father.
With the Father and the Son,
he is worshipped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
PRAYERS
Intercessions 8th March 2026
To the bidding “Lord, hear us”, please respond “Lord, graciously hear us”
Let us pray
Almighty God, hear our prayer for peace between and within the nations of the world. We pray for the more than 200 million of our fellow citizens who live in conditions of war or civil unrest. Lord, in the midst of terror, be to them a source of comfort and may they find each day something to give them encouragement and hope.
Heavenly Father, there are many areas of conflict, but we bring to you, in the silence of our hearts, the people of
Iran and the Middle East
Ukraine
Gaza
Syria
Sudan
Myanmar
Hear our prayer for them and for their leaders, and the leaders of those with whom they are in conflict, that those in authority will not see our fellow citizens as pawns to be used to further their own interests but will seek peace and justice for all.
Lord, hear us
Heavenly Father, hear our prayer for the church throughout the world.
www.bing.com (Creative Commons)
At this time of conflict give it the courage to speak truth to power and to proclaim the values of the kingdom. Lord, hear our prayer for Christians who are persecuted for their faith in you and particularly today for the Christians in Iran worshipping in small house churches. Keep all who are persecuted safe and turn the hearts of those who oppress them to respect sincerely held beliefs which differ from their own
Lord, hear us
On International Women’s Day we pray for women throughout the world
www.bing.com (Creative Commons)
Heavenly Father we remember the women who have played a part in our lives, those who have nurtured us, taught us, inspired us, loved us.
Hear our prayer for women who have been limited by inequality, stereotype, exclusion, or lack of opportunity.
As we acknowledge the challenges many women still face, we pray that all women may know equality of healthcare, education, wealth, prospects.
We pray that all women may know themselves to be respected,
safe, included, empowered.
Lord, hear us
Merciful Father, hear our prayer for all who are ill, mentally or physically, all who live with long term chronic disease or disability, those who are lost in the darkness of dementia or addiction. In silence we bring those we know to your loving care. We pray for those who care for them as professionals or as family or friend. Give them strength and patience and bless them in all that they do.
Lord, hear us
www.bing.com (CreativeCommons)
Loving Father, we remember with gratitude those whom we have loved and who now rejoice in the glory of life everlasting with you. Hear our prayer for those who have recently lost a loved one that they will know the truth of your promise that they who mourn will find comfort
Lord, hear us
We conclude with the traditional prayer for peace
Almighty God, from whom all thought of truth and peace proceed, kindle we pray, in the hearts of all, the true love of peace and guide with your pure and peaceable wisdom those who take counsel for the nations of the world, that in tranquillity your kingdom may go forward, till the earth is filled with the knowledge of your peace
Merciful Father accept these prayers for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ who taught us to pray together
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those
who sin against us.
Do not bring us
to the time of trial
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power
and the glory are yours,
now and forever. Amen.
BLESSING
Christ the Son of God gladden your hearts with the good news of his kingdom; and the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always. Amen.
HYMN:
DISMISSAL
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord
In the name of Christ. Amen
