St John the Evangelist

Lent 2

Sunday, 01/03/2026

SENTENCE FROM SCRIPTURE:

My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. (Psalm 121)

HYMN-

GREETING

Grace and peace to you from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen

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 Sue St Joseph

COLLECT

God of patience and humility,
in your love you gave your Son
to be rejected and raised up on a cross.
Gather us under its shadow
and open our eyes to its mystery,
that we may share even now
in the life that is from above;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.  Amen

PROCLAIMING & RECEIVING GOD’S WORD

FIRST READING Genesis 12.1–4a, read by David Kerr

¹ The LORD said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.

² I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ ⁴ So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him.

SECOND READING Romans 4.1–5, 13–17, read by Kate Lidwell

What are we to say was gained by Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh? ² For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. ³ For what does the scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.’

⁴ Now to one who works, wages are not reckoned as a gift but as something due. ⁵ But to one who without works trusts him who justifies the ungodly, such faith is reckoned as righteousness. ¹³ For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. ¹⁴ If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. ¹⁵ For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation. ¹⁶ For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us,

¹⁷ as it is written, ‘I have made you the father of many nations’) – Abraham believed in the presence of the God who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.

 

GRADUAL HYMN

GOSPEL : John 3.1–17 , read by the Rev Chris Wren

Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John, Chapter 3, beginning at verse 1

Glory to Christ our Saviour

¹ There was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. ² He came to Jesus by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.’

³Jesus answered him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.’ ⁴Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?’ ⁵Jesus answered, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. ⁶What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷Do not be astonished that I said to you, “You must be born from above.” ⁸The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound ofit, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. Soit is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.’ ⁹Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can these things be?’ ¹⁰Jesus answered him, ‘Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? ¹¹Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. ¹²If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? ¹³No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. ¹⁴And just as Moses lifted upthe serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

¹⁶For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

¹⁷ Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.’

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

SERMON

If you were to ask people generally, whether they attend Church week after week or whether they never darken the doors of a Church, what this life that we are given is for, its purpose, I suspect that you would get very similar answers. We would speak of being happy and fulfilled, of feeling valued, of sharing in good relationships with family and friends. We’d hope for health and the basics to sustain our lives – a roof over our heads and food in our stomachs. And so on – we can all make our personal lists.

If you were then to ask a Christian to sum up the Gospel good news that we offer to the world – to suggest one verse of the New Testament that sums up the Gospel – I suspect that most of us would say John Ch 3 v 16 which we have read within today’s Gospel. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life.” The purpose of life, our hopes and dreams for life? The Gospel? Two questions and they are related questions, because if the Gospel that we proclaim and offer means anything then it has to make sense of the life that is given to every human being on this planet. And I believe that it does.

“God so loved the world…” We start from the reality of a God who is love, whose very nature is love, whose love lies at the heart of all that is. We start with a God who goes on loving us and who shows that love by His gift of Himself to us in Jesus His Son who lives and dies and is raised that we might know life in its fulness both now in this world and through eternity.

But what does all that actually mean for us and how we try to live our lives today in this real world with all its challenges, its joys, its beauty, its ugliness, its happiness and its sorrow? It seems to me that the purpose of life is to discover our true humanity; and to live as truly human beings.

There is so much in the world, and in our own lives, that denies that humanity. We see that denial of our humanity in the horror of war and conflict, in the abuse of power, in the injustices of our world. The only truly human being who has ever lived is Jesus. He shows us our humanity as it is created to be and we are invited, we are challenged – individuals, communities, world – to discover our true humanity, what we can be and what we are created to be – as we open ourselves to Him and follow His way of love and service of God and others. Then, we know ourselves loved and valued; we find meaning and purpose in life and work with all of good will to build God’s Kingdom of love, justice, peace and hope in our world where every human being can know themselves loved, valued and accepted as they are and discover their true humanity.

“God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life.”

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

For the response to our intercessions today, we’re going to use the refrain for the Psalm of the day, 121,

My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.

We bring before you those closest to us: family, friends, neighbours, colleagues. Help us to stand together, celebrating and cherishing what we have in common, and not the things we sometimes feel divide us. Thank you for the love, in all its forms, that binds us together and for the love you show for us.

My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.

We commend to you the church: St John’s; churches and faith groups in Dumfries, regionally and worldwide. Thank you for the witness of all of these, and of groups like Open Doors and Faithful America, who are standing up for proper values in many of the difficult places of the world. Help us play our part, too: Dumfries may not be one of the more difficult parts of the world, but there are issues here, too, that need our attention. Help us not overlook these, and to help where we can.

My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.

^{Created with Copilot}

We remember nations, leaders and governments and those in any sphere who wield power. We give thanks for some recent signs of the corrupt – in some places – starting to be held to account and ask that we all may act justly, love mercy and seek to walk humbly with you, our God.

We ask that you deliver us from tyrants, those who seek to exempt themselves from the need for proper behaviour; the cruel, the reckless, the incompetent and the corrupt; and from all who seek to spread lies, hatred or unkindness. We remember places in the world particularly on our minds: Ukraine & Russia; Israel,. Palestine, Lebanon & Gaza; Turkey & Syria; Sudan, countries in the Horn of Africa, Congo, Kenya, Nigeria, Yemen, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Kashmir, Myanmar…and anywhere else particularly on our own hearts.

My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.

We ask your blessing and protection on the weak, the powerless, those at the mercy of others, the sick. Those in fear; thosefor whom ‘home’ does not mean a place of safety, shelter, comfort and enjoyment, or whom the word no longer has a meaning.

Help us welcome and support such of those who cross our paths. We also ask your healing for those known to us […], giving thanks also for answered prayer. We also commend to you the departed known to us,[…], and for comfort and support from us, and from you, for those they have left behind.

My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth

And lastly we pray for ourselves; for our needs and wants; recalling that every good and perfect gift comes from you: ‘a full measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over’; and we give particular thanks for instances of that experienced in this congregation in recent days; also for what we’ve experienced personally. In a moment of silence, we bring any of our own particular concerns before you.[…]

My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.

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