Thank you for joining us as we celebrate the Fifth Sunday of Easter.
Here you can find resources for our Sunday liturgy to pray at home or wherever you are. The readings for this Sunday and some of the prayers of our liturgy can be found on the downloadable pew sheet.
Preparation
Organ Prelude – Johann Gottfried Walther: Erstanden ist der heilig Christ
Opening
Alleluia, Christ is risen. He is risen indeed, alleluia.
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.
Gloria reflection – Johann Gottfried Walther: Allein Gott in der Hoh sei Ehr
Collect
O God,
who alone can bring harmony to the minds of your faithful people:
give us grace to love the things you command,
and to desire the things you promise;
that, amid the uncertain changes of this world,
our hearts may be firmly fixed where true joys are to be found;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God,
world without end.
Amen.
The Liturgy of the Word
First Reading: Acts 8.26-40 (recorded by Liza Green)
Psalm 22.24-30 (please join in saying the psalm, pausing shortly at the *asterisk)
Refrain: All the ends of the earth shall turn to you, O Lord.
My praise is of him in the great assembly; *
I will perform my vows in the presence of those who worship him.
The poor shall eat and be satisfied, and those who seek the Lord shall praise him: *
‘May your heart live for ever!’
All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, *
and all the families of the nations shall bow before him .
For kingship belongs to the Lord; *
he rules over the nations.
To him alone all who sleep in the earth bow down in worship; *
all who go down to the dust fall before him.
My soul shall live for him; my descendants shall serve him; *
they shall be known as the Lord’s for ever.
They shall come and make known to a people yet unborn *
the saving deeds that he has done.
Refrain: All the ends of the earth shall turn to you, O Lord.
Second Reading: 1 John 4:7-21
see pew sheet
Gospel: John 15.1-8 (The Rector)
Sermon (The Rector)
Nicene 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,
eternally begotten of the Father,
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.
Intercessions led by David Brown
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.
God, who is both power and love,
forgive us and free us from our sins,
heal and strengthen us by the Holy Spirit
and raise us to new life in Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The Peace (please stand)
We meet in Christ’s name. Let us share his peace.
The Liturgy of the Sacrament
In church we continue with the Liturgy of the Sacrament
Offertory – Antonio de Cabezón: Duo
Offertory Prayer (please stand)
Let us present our offerings to the Lord.
Yours, Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory,
the splendour and the majesty;
for everything in heaven and on earth is yours.
All things come from you, and of your own we give you.
Eucharistic Prayer
The Breaking of the Bread
The Lord’s Prayer
Please join in the prayer Jesus himself taught us:
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 for ever.
Amen.
Agnus Dei: Organ Reflection – Georg Philip Telemann: O Lamme Gottes, unschuldig
Thanksgiving and Sending Out
A Blessing is pronounced:
The God of peace,
who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus,
that great shepherd of the sheep,
through the blood of the eternal covenant,
make us perfect in every good work to do his will,
working in us that which is well-pleasing in his sight;
and may the blessing of God almighty,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
be among us and remain with us always.
Amen.
The Dismissal
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord, alleluia, alleluia.
In the name of Christ, alleluia, alleluia.
Organ Postlude – Johann Gottfried Walther: Erschienen ist der herrliche Tag
Thank you for joining us at Holy Trinity Church, Stirling for the Fifth Sunday of Easter
THIS WEEK
Sunday 9th April 10.30 a.m.
EASTER 6
10.30 Eucharist in Church
online resources will be available on this website
Readings
Acts 10.44-48
1 John 5.1-6
John 15.9-17
