Lent 4 & Mothering Sunday, 15/03/2026

SENTENCE FROM SCRIPTURE:

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. (Psalm 23)

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

Almighty God,
grant that we, who are weighed down by our sins,
may be relieved and encouraged by your grace;
through 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
1 Samuel 16.1–13 ,
read by David Kerr

¹ The LORD said to Samuel, ‘How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.’ ² Samuel said, ‘How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.’ And the LORD said, ‘Take a heifer with you, and say, “I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.” ³ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you.’ ⁴ Samuel did what the LORD commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, ‘Do you come peaceably?’ ⁵ He said, ‘Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.’ And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. ⁶ When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, ‘Surely the Lord’s anointed is now before the LORD.’

⁷ But the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the LORD does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.’ ⁸ Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, ‘Neither has the LORD chosen this one.’ ⁹ Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, ‘Neither has the LORD chosen this one.’ ¹⁰ Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, ‘The LORD has not chosen any of these.’ ¹¹ Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Are all your sons here?’ And he said, ‘There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.’ And Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.’ ¹² He sent and brought David in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome.

The LORD said, ‘Rise and anoint him; for this is the one.’ ¹³ Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.

SECOND READING
Ephesians 5.8–14,
read by Amie Byers

⁸ Once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light – ⁹ for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true.

¹⁰ Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. ¹¹ Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. ¹² For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly; ¹³ but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, ¹⁴ for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, ‘Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’

GRADUAL HYMN

GOSPEL
John 9.1–11, 13&14, 16&17, 24&25, 28-38,
read by Rev DcnAnn Wren

Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John, Chapter 9, beginning at verse 1

Glory to Christ our Saviour

¹ As Jesus walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. ² His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ ³ Jesus answered, ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him.

⁴ We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. ⁵ As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’ ⁶ When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, ⁷ saying to him, ‘Go, wash in the pool of Siloam’ (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see. ⁸ The neighbours and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, ‘Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?’ ⁹ Some were saying, ‘It is he.’ Others were saying, ‘No, but it is someone like him.’ He kept saying, ‘I am the man.’ ¹⁰ But they kept asking him, ‘Then how were your eyes opened?’ ¹¹ He answered, ‘The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, “Go to Siloam and wash.” Then I went and washed and received my sight.’ ¹³ They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. ¹⁴ Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. ¹⁶ Some of the Pharisees said, ‘This man is not from God, for he does not observe the sabbath.’ But others said, ‘How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?’ And they were divided. ¹⁷ So they said again to the blind man, ‘What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened.’ He said, ‘He is a prophet.’ ²⁴ So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, ‘Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.’

²⁵He answered, ‘I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.’ ²⁸Then they reviled him, saying, ‘You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. ²⁹We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.’ ³⁰The man answered, ‘Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. ³¹We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. ³²Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. ³³If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.’ ³⁴They answered him, ‘You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?’ And they drove him out. ³⁵Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’ ³⁶He answered, ‘And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.’ ³⁷Jesus said to him, ‘You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.’

³⁸ He said, ‘Lord, I believe.’ And he worshipped him. ³⁹ Jesus said, ‘I came into this world for judgement so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.’ ⁴⁰ Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, ‘Surely we are not blind, are we?’ ⁴¹ Jesus said to them, ‘If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, “We see,” your sin remains.’

Give thanks to the Lord for his glorious Gospel

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

SERMON

IMAGES THROUGHOUT RELATING TO THEME OF SERMON

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

St J’s 15/3/26 Mothering Sunday

Jesus, Lord of Life,

By the power of your word

And through your actions of love,

Call us to be your disciples.

Give us the strength to be different,

To stand up for justice and peace and be signs of your reconciling love for all.

Firstly, we think of our Mothers.  Many will have had (or have) good relations with them, for others it is (or may have been) more trying and indeed, some have never known their mother. 

 

We also remember Jesus’s mother, Mary, Our Lady, the Mother of God.  This Mothering Sunday, we thank you for mothers and caregivers in our own lives, and in the lives of all those we love.  Please equip all mothers, in our own lives and around the world, with the grace and fortitude to meet the challenges of each day.

Lord in Your Mercy

Hear our Prayer

 

God of grace, enable your servants to carry out your mission on earth through the work of Mothers’ Union worldwide. Today we pray for the people and the work of the ‘Gift of Belonging’ a MU project which amongst other countries is established in Rwanda. 

 

It is supporting young mothers who have been turned away, helping them find guidance, dignity and belonging through faith, parenting support and life skills.  We thank you for their strength and dignity, for their attentiveness and care, and for the love that underpins all they do.

Lord in Your Mercy

Hear our Prayer

 

We pray for the safety of mothers around the world. We ask for your protection for mothers trying to raise their children in places of conflict, food insecurity, or abuse.  We especially pray for the women and children of the Ukraine, the women and children of Iran and the women and children of Gaza who are all now living in war zones.  Conflict brings with it food insecurity and we pray for the aid organisations; and in Lent at St  John’s we particularly remember the work of Christian Aid and ask you Lord to equip them with the strength and wisdom to persevere in carrying out their good work. 

This year the Bishop’s Lent appeal in this Diocese is the Daisy Project which supports women and children to heal from Domestic Abuse.  We pray that members of the diocese will give generously to this fund.

Lord in Your Mercy

Hear our Prayer

 

And Christ will shine on you; We ask that you look over and guide back to good health, all those in need.

Lord in Your Mercy

Hear our Prayer

 

And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.  Look after all those that have gone to their rest, thinking especially at this time of our mothers and grandmothers, and that they may rise in glory.

Lord in Your Mercy

Hear our Prayer

 

We all conclude with the Mothers’ Union Prayer:

 

We thank you for your love so freely given to us all.

We pray for families around the world.

Bless the work of Mothers’ Union as we seek to share your love through the encouragement, strengthening and support of marriage and family life.

Empowered by your spirit, may we be united in prayer and worship, and in love and service reach out as your hands across the world.

In Jesus’ name.
Amen

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