Service for the Second Sunday of Epiphany – 14th January 2024
Welcome to St Paul’s Athens, especially if you are here for the first time or visiting Athens. Deacon Christine Saccali leads our worship today, and Revd Dimitris Boukis is the preacher.
To make a donation by card to St. Paul’s we have a POS. Please come to coffee in the garden after the Liturgy.
Introit: 234 (Ratisbon) Christ, whose glory fills the skies
Minister: Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ be with you
All: and also with you.
Minister: O Lord, open our lips
All: and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
Minister: Give us the joy of your saving help
All: and sustain us with your life-giving Spirit.
The minister then welcomes people informally.
Prayers of Penitence
Minister: As we come to the Lord at the start of this New Year, let us seek his grace to number our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom as we confess our sins in penitence and faith.
All: Lord God, we have sinned against you;
we have done evil in your sight.
We are sorry and repent.
Have mercy on us according to your love.
Wash away our wrongdoing and cleanse us from our sin.
Renew a right spirit within us and restore us to the joy of your salvation;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Minister: May the Father of all mercies cleanse us from our sins, and restore us
in his image to the praise and glory of his name, through Jesus Christ
our Lord.
All: Amen
Congregational Psalm: 334 (Old Hundredth) All people that on earth do dwell (Psalm 100)
First Reading: 1 Samuel 3. 1-10
Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.
At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called, “Samuel! Samuel!” and he said, “Here I am!” and ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down. The Lord called again, “Samuel!” Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. The Lord called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
Reader: The word of the Lord.
All: Thanks be to God.
Minister: Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead.
All: And Christ shall give you light.
Minister: You have died and your life is hid with Christ in God.
All: Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead.
Minister: Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on
the earth.
All: And Christ shall give you light.
Minister: When Christ our life appears you will appear with him in glory.
All: Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give
you light.
The Benedictus Luke 1, 68-79 (Please stand to say the canticle together)
- Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, who has come to his people and set them free.
- He has raised up for us a mighty Saviour, born of the house of his servant David.
- Through his holy prophets God promised of old to save us from our enemies, from the hands of all that hate us,
- To show mercy to our ancestors, and remember your holy covenant.
- This was the oath God swore to our father Abraham: to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
- Free to worship him without fear, holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.
- And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
- To give his people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of all their sins.
- In the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
- To shine on those who swell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be; world without end. Amen.
Gradual: 200 (St. Andrew) Jesus calls us! O’er the tumult
2nd Reading: John 1. 43-51
The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”
Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.
“Come and see,” said Philip.
When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”
“How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”
Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.”
Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.”
Reader: The word of the Lord
All: Thanks be to God.
Sermon Revd Dimitris Boukis (Please be seated)
The Apostles’ Creed (remain standing)
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of God the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
Collect
ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who dost govern all things in heaven and earth: Mercifully hear the supplications of thy people, and grant us thy peace all the days of our life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
All: Amen
Intercessions
Renewal of our Covenant with God
Deacon: God made a covenant with the people of Israel, calling them to be a holy nation, chosen to bear witness to his steadfast love by finding delight in the law. The covenant was renewed in Jesus Christ our Lord, in his life, work, death and resurrection. In him all people may be set free from sin and its power, and united in love and obedience. In this covenant God promises us new life in Christ. For our part we promise to live no longer for ourselves but for God. We meet, therefore, as generations have met before us, to renew the covenant which bound them and binds us to God. Let us then seek forgiveness for the sin by which we have denied God’s claim upon us.
Let us pray.
God of mercy, hear us as we confess our sins. For the sin that has made us slow to learn from Christ, reluctant to follow him and afraid to bear the cross:
Lord, have mercy.
All: Lord, forgive.
For the sin that has caused the poverty of our worship,
the formality and selfishness of our prayers, our neglect of fellowship and the means of grace, and our hesitating witness for Christ:
Lord, have mercy.
All: Lord, forgive.
For the sin that has led us to misuse your gifts,
evade our responsibilities and fail to be good stewards of your creation:
Lord, have mercy.
All: Lord, forgive.
For the sin that has made us unwilling to overcome evil with good, tolerant of injustice, quick to condemn and selfish in sharing your love with others:
Lord, have mercy.
All: Lord, forgive.
Graciously give us eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ever and ever. Amen.
The Peace (Please stand) The minister will introduce words for the Peace
Christ is our peace. He has reconciled us to God in one body by the cross. We meet in his name and share his peace. The peace of the Lord be always with you
All: and also with you
Offertory: 393 (Mannheim) Lead us, heavenly Father, lead us
(The Collection will be taken during this hymn)
Notices
Holy Eucharist will be celebrated on 28th January and 4th February, with Fr Bjorn Kling presiding
Morning prayer on Wednesdays at 10 a.m
We are expecting a locum from 9th February to 9th April
A POS is available so you can make your Sunday donation by card
Join the online Prayer Group each Tuesday morning at 09.00 – see website for the Zoom link.
Community Connect Coffee Mornings –Thursday 8th February, at the Swedish Centre, 10.30-12.30 Contact Anne Dedes if you need information.
Look out for dates for the Quiz Nights through the year.
Minister: Let us say the Grace together:
The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen.
Final: 333 (Michael) All my hope on God is founded
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