Sunday, 07/12/2025

OPENING SENTENCE OF SCRIPTURE –

In his time shall the righteous flourish (Psalm 72)

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 Dougie Byers

COLLECT

Stir up our hearts, Lord,
to prepare the way of your only-begotten Son:
that, in his coming,
we might serve you with our hearts made pure;
through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord,
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
Isaiah 11.1–10,
read by Margaret Morton

¹ A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. ² The spirit of the LORD shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.

³ His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; ⁴ but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. ⁵ Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins. ⁶ The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. ⁷ The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. ⁸ The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.

⁹ They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. ¹⁰ On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.

SECOND READING
Romans 15.4–13,
read by Peter Boreham

⁴ Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope. ⁵ May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, ⁶ so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁷ Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. ⁸ For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God in order that he might confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, ⁹ and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, ‘Therefore I will confess you among the Gentiles, and sing praises to your name’; ¹⁰ and again he says, ‘Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people’; ¹¹ and again, ‘Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise him’; ¹² and again Isaiah says, ‘The root of Jesse shall come, the one who rises to rule the Gentiles; in him the Gentiles shall hope.’

¹³ May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit

GRADUAL HYMN

GOSPEL
Matthew 3.1–12,
read by Rev Dr Steven Ballard
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew, Chapter 3. beginning at verse 1….

 

Glory to Christ our Saviour

¹ In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, ² ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’

³ This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, ‘The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”’ ⁴ Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵ Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, ⁶ and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. ⁷ But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

⁸ Bear fruit worthy of repentance. ⁹ Do not presume to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our ancestor”; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. ¹⁰ Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ¹¹ I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹² His winnowing-fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing-floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’

Give thanks to the Lord for his glorious Gospel
Praise to Christ our Lord.

SERMON

Online Reflection 7^th December 2025

On this the 2^ndSunday in the season of Advent we continue our journey through this time of preparation, of waiting and of expectation. And that sense of preparation and of expectation finds its particular focus in this morning’s Gospel reading from Matthew Chapter 3, telling of the ministry of John the Baptist. Matthew clearly links the ministry of John into that of the Old Testament prophets, for here, he says, is the one of whom Isaiah speaks, the one who comes to “…prepare the way of the Lord…”, [Matt 3 v 3], who comes to point to the expected arrival of the One promised of God, whose sandals John is “not worthy to carry” [Matt 3 v 11]. He comes to prepare the way for Jesus, the Son of God – Immanuel, God with us.

And the preparation that John requires of his hearers is one of repentance and then of baptism, of washing, of cleansing. And repentance means a refocusing of life, a turning round of the direction in which life is lived. The baptism of John in the Jordan is more than a surface wash – more than a ‘lick and a promise’! And this is why John turns on the Pharisees and Sadducees, calling them a “brood of vipers” [Matt 3 v 7], who need first to “bear fruit worthy of repentance” [Matt 3 v 8]. In other words, he challenges then first to show true repentance, a true refocusing of their lives, before they seek the cleansing of baptism.

Above all John points to and prepares the way for Jesus, who will share our life, die our death, be raised to glory and through whom we can now know life in all its fullness both here in this world and through eternity. And this work of God through Jesus is not limited to a select few, to a chosen group, but for Jew and Gentile alike, for all people for all time, as Paul tells us in today’s Epistle from his letter to the Romans. “Welcome one another”, says Paul, “just as Christ has welcomed you”. [Romans 15 v 7]. We are all included, all welcome. We can all have our place within the family of God, for we are all loved as we are, accepted as we are, that we might be loved into the people that God would have us be and become.

The challenge to each one of us then is that of repentance – of refocusing our lives on Christ, of finding the purpose, direction and meaning of our lives from the knowledge, the experience, of the love of God for each one of us in Jesus, His Son.

Advent is the season of hope. It is the season of hope because we journey through these weeks of preparation, of waiting and expectation towards that time each year when we celebrate again the wondrous love of God for us, for our world, for the whole creation, in His gift of Himself in Jesus – Immanuel, God with us. But Advent also takes us on beyond Christmas, the Incarnation, to that ultimate completion of all things in God – the ultimate victory of love, His Kingdom reign of love, justice and peace for all, a picture of which is given in the words we have read today from the prophet Isaiah [Ch 11 v 1ff].

And the building of that Kingdom begins now, God working through us, and through all people of goodwill, to bring hope to our world in its need.

So may we journey with the living God through this Advent season, our lives focused upon Him.

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

Let us pray for the Church and for the world.

As we prepare for the coming of Christ, let us lift our hearts in hope and turn to the Lord who brings light to our darkness. Come, Lord Jesus, and hear our prayer.

We pray for the Scottish Episcopal Church and the Methodist church in Scotland as we work together in union, in this holy Place.

Encourage us to be strong in faith and to walk with You out of the wilderness into the light.

Lord, hear us.

Lord, graciously hear us.

Loving, living God,

We pray for all who are affected by natural disasters—

for places where flooding, earthquakes, and severe weather bring destruction and fear.

Give us strength to restore what is broken,

and hope to carry Your light through every storm.

Lord, hear us.

Lord, graciously hear us.

Loving God,

We pray for all who are affected by acts of terrorism.

At this time, when many parts of our world are not at peace,

we gather our thoughts and lift our prayers to You.

We pray for Israel, Palestine, Iran, Ukraine, Sudan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Myanmar, Syria,

and all places where conflict, fear, and division prevail.

Bring healing to those lands:

where there is destruction, may there be rebuilding;

where there is hatred, bring reconciliation;

where there is despair, restore hope.

Lord, hear us.

Lord, graciously hear us.

Lord of peace and justice,

We remember with gratitude those who gave their lives in the service of others.

We recall the courage of men and women who faced hardship, danger, and loss

so that peace and freedom might prevail.

We pray for all who still bear the scars of war—in body, mind, or spirit—

and for all who mourn loved ones lost.

Grant them healing, comfort, and the hope of Your eternal peace.

As we remember the cost of conflict,

teach us to be peacemakers in our time.

May we honour the past not only with our words,

but with lives dedicated to justice, mercy, and reconciliation.

Let the memory of the fallen inspire us to build a world

where all may live in safety and dignity.

Lord, hear us.

Lord, graciously hear us.

We pray for our church during this time of interregnum.

We give thanks for Jim, our priest-in-charge,

and for all who support him as we continue worshipping

and walking together in faith.

We pray for the vacancy committee:

grant them discernment, unity, and wisdom

as they seek a new rector to lead us into the next chapter of our journey.

Lord, hear us.

Lord, graciously hear us.

Gracious and loving God,

We give You thanks for the children and young people of our church family.

We celebrate their joy, energy, and promise.

Bless them as they grow in faith, wisdom, and love.

Guide and strengthen our leaders, volunteers, and helpers in all they do.

Let their service be fruitful and life-giving.

Help us to be a church that nurtures, supports, and celebrates our young people.

May everything we do point them toward Your grace and love.

Lord, hear us.

Lord, graciously hear us.

We pray for all who face daily struggles:

those burdened by pain, grief, anxiety, or loneliness;

those suffering in body, mind, or spirit.

And we pray for all those on our minds and in our hearts.

In a moment of silence,

we remember those who have departed this life

and those whose anniversary of death falls at this time.

We give thanks for those we knew well and loved deeply,

for those we met only briefly,

and for those we never had the chance to know.

Loving Father, take away the sting of grief

and hold in Your care all who mourn.

Though they have departed this life,

they live on in our hearts

and in Your eternal kingdom.

May they rest in peace and rise in glory.

Loving, living God,

Help us to live daily in Your service—

to do good for others,

to walk humbly with You,

and to be lights in Your world.

Lord God, as we await the birth of your Son, strengthen our faith, deepen our hope, and fill us with your peace. Bring to completion the good work you have begun in us. Through Christ our Lord.

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