Gathering and Greeting
O Lord, open our lips
and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
This is the day that the Lord has made.
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Give us the joy of your saving help
and sustain us with your life-giving Spirit.
We have come together in the name of Christ
to offer our praise and thanksgiving,
to hear and receive God’s holy word,
to pray for the needs of the world,
and to seek the forgiveness of our sins,
that by the power of the Holy Spirit
we may give ourselves to the service of God.
Blessed is the Lord,
for he has heard the voice of our prayer;
Therefore shall our hearts dance for joy
and in our song will we praise our God.
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Hymn
Shine, Jesus Shine
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Prayers of Penitence
God our Father,
we come to you in sorrow for our sins.
For turning away from you,
and ignoring your will for our lives;
Father, forgive us: save us and help us.
For behaving just as we wish,
without thinking of you;
Father, forgive us: save us and help us.
For failing you by what we do,
and think and say;
Father, forgive us: save us and help us.
For letting ourselves be drawn away from you
by temptations in the world about us;
Father, forgive us: save us and help us.
For living as if we were ashamed
to belong to your Son;
Father, forgive us: save us and help us.
May the God of love and power
forgive us and free us from your sins,
heal and strengthen us by his Spirit,
and raise us to new life in Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Reading
Matthew 28. 16 – 20
16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’
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Thought for the Day
Have you heard the story of the young woman who was an exchange student in Paris. One day she stopped by a small book store to buy a map of France. The shopkeeper went to the back of the shop and returned with an armful of maps. With great relish he announced: ‘Here is a map of Paris, here is a map of Lyons, here a map of the riviera. Here a map of…..’ At this point the woman interrupted him and said, ‘But Sir, I just want a map of France, just one.’ The shopkeeper, who was a little man, drew himself up really tall and exclaimed, ‘But Mademoiselle, France is much too big to be on just one map!’
Today, Trinity Sunday, we celebrate the unique nature of God, God being three in one and one in three.
Three into one – even with my elementary level of maths – doesn’t go. How can God be three in one and one in three? You could say it doesn’t make sense.
Like a big map of France, the Trinity is too huge a concept to do justice to in 5 minutes on a Sunday morning!
How do we express the mystery that is God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit? Put perhaps very simply: God the Father is Creator of all that it, God the Son is the redeemer of us all, God the Holy Spirit is Jesus active in the world. All at work in us.
One aspect of my life as a quilt artist is design and an area that really fascinates me is Celtic knotwork. Using a grid and following quite simple procedures within a few minutes an intricate knot appears. Often two or three knots in one design – like the knot above. Follow the lines closely and you won’t be able to find a beginning or an end. One shape becomes three, surrounded by the one circle, all completely interlocking.
God in three persons – three totally interlocking, completely interconnected and interdependent to create a holistic representation, signifying the bigger picture of the Trinity – the heart and soul of our faith.
So three into one does go.
Like the woman who wanted a map of the whole of France, sometimes we need to look at the bigger picture, leaving the detailed maps to explore another time.
It may still not make a lot of sense, and, like today, there are times when instead of trying to get to the bottom of the theology of the Trinity – that we open our hearts and celebrate the truth that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
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Affirmation of Faith.
Let us declare our faith in God.
We believe in God the Father,
from whom every family
in heaven and on earth is named.
We believe in God the Son,
who lives in our hearts through faith,
and fills us with his love.
We believe in God the Holy Spirit,
who strengthens us
with power from on high.
We believe in one God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Amen.
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Prayers
As we pray let us remember all those for whom we have been asked to pray. For the Coronavirus Pandemic and all affected by it, for the ill, the anxious, the bereave. For all who are working on the front line and those involved in seeking a vaccine.
God in three persons, blessed Trinity, on this special day, we come before you to offer our praise and adoration. You are God, the creator, giving us richly all things to enjoy. You are Christ the Saviour of the world, made flesh to set us free. You are the Spirit of truth and love, willing to dwell in us. You are holy and blessed. One God, eternal Trinity, be near to us the people formed in your image, and close to the world, your love brings to life.
Lord, in your mercy: Hear our prayer
God in three persons, blessed Trinity, we pray for your church throughout the world, for those that are thriving and those which have lost a sense of direction especially during this Pandemic. You, Lord, have chosen men and women to serve you in the ministry of your church and have given them a perfect example in the person of your son.
Lord, in your mercy: Hear our prayer
God in three persons, blessed Trinity, we remember all who bear the responsibility of leadership, for heads of state, ambassadors and political advisers, we think today particularly of the leaders of the world as they and their peoples start to return slowly to a new normality; let your will for our world be accomplished through the decisions they make and give them a vision of a better way of life for everyone.
Lord, in your mercy: Hear our prayer
God in three persons, blessed Trinity, we pray for peace in the world, in our communities and our families: create in us a love for peace, not peace that is absent from struggle, nor peace that is blind to injustice but the peace that makes whole what now is broken.
Lord, in your mercy: Hear our prayer
God in three persons, blessed Trinity, we remember this morning those who are sick, sad or lonely and those who are brave and patient when things are going wrong. We pray that they may be aware of your comforting presence and know that in your hands they are safe and loved. We continue to give thanks for all frontline workers as they continue to risk their lives coping with the Corona Virus (add names of those requesting prayer & those known to us)
Lord, in your mercy: Hear our prayer
God in three persons, blessed Trinity, we remember before God, those who have died and we pray for all whose life is saddened by the death of a loved one, be with them in their loneliness and let them know that Jesus Christ is the light of the world a light which no darkness can quench. We especially pray for who have died from the virus and their loved ones who were unable to attend their funerals.
Lord, in your mercy: Hear our prayer
Father God, lead us into the coming week, Son of God, help us to believe that you are close to us, Spirit of God, keep us from making mistakes, Triune God, help us never to disappoint you, and when we face hard decisions or difficult work, when we enjoy ourselves and have fun with others may we know that you share these times with us.
Merciful Father: Accept these prayers for the sake of your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen
The Collect
Holy God,
faithful and unchanging:
enlarge our minds with the knowledge of your truth,
and draw us more deeply into the mystery of your love,
that we may truly worship you,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
The Lord’s Prayer
Let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us
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.
Conclusion
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.
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Hymn
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty
