Third Sunday after Trinity – 28th June 2020
Welcome to our Sunday worship brought to our homes by Zoom. Today we are ‘anticipating’ the Feast of St. Pater and Paul (29th).After the worship we can have a short chat together.
This is the last Zoom service before the Summer. We hope that from the beginning of September we will live Zoom the service from St. Paul’s. The Wednesday Evening Prayer, and the Friday Bible Study will resume in September.
The preacher this morning is Fr. Leonard.
Priest: Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
All: and also with you.
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now am found
Was blind but now I see.
T’ was Grace that taught my heart to fear
And Grace, my fears relieved
How precious did that Grace appear
The hour I first believed
Through many dangers, toils and snares
We have already come
T’was Grace that brought us safe thus far
And Grace will lead us home
Deacon: 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 and 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. On these two commandments hang all the law and
the prophets.
All: Amen. Lord have mercy.
There is a short period of silence, followed by Confession.
All: Most merciful God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we confess that we have sinned in thought, word and deed. We have not loved you with our whole heart. We have not loved our neighbours as ourselves. In your mercy forgive what we have been, help us to amend what we are, and direct what we shall be; that we may do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with you, our God. Amen.
Priest: May the God of love and power forgive you and free you from your sins, heal and strengthen you by his Spirit, and raise you to new life in Christ our Lord. Amen.
Gloria: Glory in the highest to the God of heavens:
Peace to all your people through the earth be given.
Mighty God and Father, thanks and praise we bring,
Singing Alleluia! To the heavenly King.
Jesus Christ is risen, God the Father’s Son;
With the Holy Spirit, you are Lord alone.
Lamb once killed for sinners, all our guilt to bear,
Show us now your mercy, now receive our prayer
Christ the world’s true Saviour, high and holy one,
Seated now and reigning from your Father’s throne:
Lord and God, we praise you! Highest heaven adores:
In the Father’s glory, all the praise be yours!
Collect: Let us pray TOGETHER (Collect of the Day)
Almighty God, whose blessed apostles, Peter and Paul glorified you in their death as in their life: grant that your Church, inspired by their teaching and example, and made one by your Spirit, may ever stand firm upon the one foundation, Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
First Reading (Acts 12, 1-11)
About that time King Herod laid violent hands upon some who belonged to the church. He had James, the brother of John, killed with the sword. After he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. (This was during the festival of Unleavened Bread.) When he had seized him, he put him in prison and handed him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover. While Peter was kept in prison, the church prayed fervently to God for him. The very night before Herod was going to bring him out, Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while guards in front of the door were keeping watch over the prison. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his wrists. The angel said to him, “Fasten your belt and put on your sandals.” He did so. Then he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” Peter went out and followed him; he did not realize that what was happening with the angel’s help was real; he thought he was seeing a vision. After they had passed the first and the second guard, they came before the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went outside and walked along a lane, when suddenly the angel left him. Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hands of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.”
This is the word of the Lord All: Thanks be to God.
Psalm 131
O Lord, my heart is not proud; ♦ my eyes are not raised in haughty looks.
I do not occupy myself with great matters, ♦ with things that are too high for me.
But I have quieted and stilled my soul, like a weaned child on its mother’s breast; ♦so my soul is quieted within me.
O Israel, trust in the Lord, ♦ from this time forth for evermore.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning is now and shall be for ever. Amen.
Gospel Reading
Deacon: Alleluia, alleluia, You did not chose me, but I chose you, and I appointed you to go out and bear fruit, fruit
that shall last. Alleluia.
All: Alleluia.
Deacon: The Lord be with you
All: and also with you
Deacon: Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to St. Matthew (Matthew 16, 13-19)
All: Glory to you, O Lord
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter,[ and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
Deacon: This is the gospel of the Lord.
All: Praise to you, O Christ.
Sermon The Reverend Canon Leonard Doolan
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, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father; through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven, was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and 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, who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified, who 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.
Intercessions: (kneel or sit) Lord in your mercy; hear our prayer
(Intercessor: – pray your own prayers also)
Peace: The kingdom of God is a kingdom of justice, love and peace.
Priest: The peace of God be always with you.
All: And also with you.
Hymn (you might now like to put aside your collection for today, but also the collections for previous Sundays when we have not been able to meet as a church)
I cannot tell how he whom angels worship
should stoop to love the peoples of the earth,
or why as shepherd he should seek the wanderers
with his mysterious promise of new birth.
But this I know, that he was born of Mary,
when Bethlehem’s manger was his only home,
and that he lived at Nazareth and laboured,
and so the saviour, saviour of the world, is come.
2 I cannot tell how silently he suffered,
as with his peace he graced this place of tears,
nor how his heart upon the cross was broken,
the crown of pain to three and thirty years.
But this I know, he heals the broken-hearted,
and stays our sin, and calms our lurking fear,
and lifts the burden from the heavy laden,
for still the saviour, saviour of the world, is here.
3 I cannot tell how all the lands shall worship,
when, at his bidding, every storm is stilled,
or who can say how great the jubilation
when all our hearts with love for him are filled.
But this I know, the skies will sound his praises,
ten thousand thousand human voices sing,
and earth to heaven, and heaven to earth, will answer:
‘At last the saviour, saviour of the world, is king!’
The Lord’s Prayer: (to be prayed in your own language)
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.
O God, whose beauty is beyond our imagining and whose power we cannot comprehend: show us your glory as far as we can grasp it, and shield us from knowing more than we can bear until we may look upon you without fear; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
1 For all the saints who from their labours rest,
who thee by faith before the world confessed,
thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
2 O may thy soldiers, faithful, true, and bold,
fight as the saints who nobly fought of old,
and win with them the victor’s crown of gold.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
3 O blest communion, fellowship divine,
we feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
yet all are one in thee, for all are thine.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
4 But lo! there breaks a yet more glorious day;
the saints triumphant rise in bright array;
the King of glory passes on his way.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
5 From earth’s wide bounds, from ocean’s farthest coast,
through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,
singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Priest: God grant you grace to follow his saints in faith and hope and love, and the blessing….
Deacon: Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
All: In the name of Christ. Amen.
Next Week’s Readings (4th Sunday after Trinity: Zechariah 9, 9-12; Matthew 11, 16-19, 25 end)
Fr. Leonard’s usual Day Off – Monday (in emergencies contact Deacon Christine)
Home tel : 210 72 14 906; email anglican@otenet.gr
Deacon Chris: 22950 53164: Day off – Friday
Swedish Church: contact Fr. Bjorn on 694 607 2428
The Anglican Church in Greece (including St. Paul’s) is self-financing, and receives no income other than from the generosity of those who worship here. We are a legal body and we pay tax. Our tax number is 997073090. If you wish to donate direct to our bank (IBAN) the account with Piraeus Bank is: The Anglican Church in Greece, St. Paul’s Athens GR 820172 0500 0050 5008 6327 479 Swift code is PIRB GRAA
Notices:
Public Worship in June in St. Paul’s – 10.00hrs on Wednesdays, and 10.15 on Sundays.
The church is open for private prayer from 10.00-14.00, Tuesday-Saturday.
Wednesday 8th July – come along to the 10.00am Liturgy followed by a coffee morning and ‘table top sale’ in the church garden.
Saturday 18th July – there will be a small Bazaar in the Church Garden – look out for details.
Sunday 26th July – 11.30am Thanksgiving Service for Mr. John Day at 11.30am. (Led by Deacon Christine)
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