Trinity 7 / Pentecost 8
Sunday, 03/08/2025
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SENTENCE FROM SCRIPTURE:
Give thanks to the Lord for his mercy, and the wonders he does for his children (Psalm 107)
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.
GLORIA sung by Dougie Byers
COLLECT
Grant to us, Lord, the spirit
to think on those things that are right,
and always to be ready to do them:
that we, who without you cannot be alive,
may have the strength to live according to your will;
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 Hosea 11.1–12, read by David Kerr
Hear the word of the LORD, O people. 1 When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. ✝ 2 The more I called them, the more they went from me; they kept sacrificing to the Baals, and offering incense to idols. 3 Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, I took them up in my arms; but they did not know that I healed them. 4 I led them with cords of human kindness, with bands of love. I was to them like those who lift infants to their cheeks. I bent down to them and fed them.
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5 They shall return to the land of Egypt, and Assyria shall be their king, because they have refused to return to me. 6 The sword rages in their cities, it consumes their oracle-priests, and devours because of their schemes. 7 My people are bent on turning away from me. To the Most High they call, but he does not raise them up at all. 8 How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender. 9 I will not execute my fierce anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and no mortal, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath. 10 They shall go after the LORD, who roars like a lion; when he roars, his children shall come trembling from the west.
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11 They shall come trembling like birds from Egypt, and like doves from the land of Assyria; and I will return them to their homes, says the LORD. 12 Ephraim has surrounded me with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit; but Judah still walks with God, and is faithful to the Holy One.
SILENCE
SECOND READING Colossians 3.1–11 , read by Amie Byers
1 If you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, 3 for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory. 5 Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient. 7 These are the ways you also once followed, when you were living that life. 8 But now you must get rid of all such things – anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth.
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9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices 10 and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. 11 In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!
GRADUAL HYMN
GOSPEL Luke 12.13–21, read by Rev Chris Wren
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to St Luke, chapter 12, beginning at verse 13
Glory to Christ our Saviour
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13 Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.’ 14 But he said to him, ‘Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?’
15 And he said to the crowd, ‘Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.’ 16 Then he told them a parable: ‘The land of a rich man produced abundantly. 17 And he thought to himself, “What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?” 18 Then he said, “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’”
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20 But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” 21 So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich towards God.’
Give thanks to the Lord for his glorious Gospel
Praise to Christ our Lord.
SERMON
The Holy Remnant in every age
Today we read Hosiah 11: 1-12 and explore the mystery of the Holy Remnant in Old and New New Testament theology and in our contemporary World.
‘The surviving remnant of the House of Judah shall bring forth new roots below and fruits above. For a remnant shall go forth from Jerusalem And survivors from Mount Zion. The jealous love of Yahweh Almighty will achieve this. (Is 37:31-32).
During my college days we had a series of lectures about the Virgin Mary. The first is the only one I remember, ‘The significance of the Virgin Mary in the OT.’ The Tutor arrived, took his place, and read the subject of the lecture. There was a significant pause, before he exploded, ‘B***** all’ and walked out of the lecture room. It was the shortest lecture on record.
A few minutes later he returned. Beginning with the Isaiah text he led us through the Old Testament scriptures highlighting the significance of ‘the holy remnant;’ Yahweh’s willingness to continue to work with ‘the few who get it’ forcing Israel, the chosen people, to constantly rethink its understanding of salvation. This faithful remnant becomes a token of God’s own faithfulness…. We hear this in the text of Hosiah. Read it slowly…. feel the love…the faithfulness.
‘The holy remnant’ are chosen not because of God’s favouritism toward them but because of the radical trust they have in God’s universal, compassionate and unconditional love for them. As the prophets prepare people for exile and from exile proclaim a new beginning, it is the House of Judah that remain faithful and from that community the ‘Good News of the Kingdom’ is born in Mary. She is the Old Testament’s token of faithfulness, reflecting the way God works from the beginning, ‘Love them until they love you back.’
Reflect on the faith and trust we see in Mary, called to give birth to the Son of God, to offer her life to create a new beginning; Her trust in God to be present in the good and the challenging times that lay ahead.
The holy remnant, in biblical tradition, carries history forward slowly in spite of the whole. Think of Noah and his family emerging from the ark; the youngest and forgotten son David who became King; the enslaved Israelites crossing the Red Sea; and in that tradition, it is not surprising, that Jesus calls the twelve from the outlying, unexpected folk to be his disciples of the New Way, not from the Holy City Temple team.
God never gives up on his creation, the whole people of God, but calls the holy remnant to be the ones bringing the radical change for a new time and so it continues to this day.
Small groups living out Jesus’ prophetic way of life, ‘I have come to set the downtrodden free’ (Is.61:1-2 and Lk 4:18) challenge the dualistic, blaming society that hold the ‘power’ in every generation.
The undivided vision we see in Col.3: 11-12; reading, all people are equal in God’s sight. Jesus took everyone to the challenging text; we read it most Sundays, ‘Love the Lord GOD with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might’ (Deut 6:5) adding and ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’(Lev,19:18) Where do we start? It is a radical move from the ten commandments, think about it. Which is easier to live?
Do I have the faith and trust of Mary to be part of the Holy Remnant and bring change in our Church and Society today? It begins not with radical action but radical prayer of the greatest commandment to love God.
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.
Almighty God,
You rule over all creation with wisdom and love. Encourage us to be strong in faith and to walk with You out of the wilderness into the light.
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer.
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At this time when many parts of our world are not at peace, we take a moment to 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.
Lord, please bring healing to those lands—where there is destruction, let there be rebuilding; where there is hatred, bring reconciliation; where there is despair, restore hope.
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer.
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 in helping us to continue worshipping and walking together in faith.
We pray for the vacancy committee as they seek discernment and unity in their work to find a new rector to lead us into the next chapter of our journey.
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer.
Gracious and loving God,
We give You thanks for the children and young people of our church family. We celebrate their joy, energy, and the promise of their future.
Bless them as they grow in faith, wisdom, and love.
We pray for Provincial Youth Week which took place over this week, as they all made a deeper connection with you.
We lift up all leaders and delegates. Fill them with your Spirit as they reflect on their time together which was rich in your love.
We also pray for our Summer Club at St Johns this August. May it be a time of discovery, laughter, and learning more about You.
Bless all who offer their time, gifts, and energy—
For the leaders, volunteers, and helpers. 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, in your mercy
Hear our prayer.
We pray for all who face daily struggles—for those who are burdened with pain, grief, or loneliness. We remember those suffering in body, mind, or spirit.
We pray for all of 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 falls at this time.
We give thanks for those we knew well and loved deeply, for those we only met 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.
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
