Thank you for joining us as we celebrate the 4th 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 – CS Lang: Hymn-tune Prelude on St Columba
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 – JG Walther: Allein Gott in der Hoh sei Ehr
Collect
O God,
the light of whose truth stretches out to those who go astray,
that they may return to the path of righteousness:
give your grace to all who profess themselves Christians,
that they may cast out what is harmful,
and pursue all that gives life;
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 4.5-12 (recorded by Mary Kenyon)
Psalm 23 (please join in saying the psalm, pausing shortly at the *asterisk)
Refrain: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
The Lord is my shepherd; *
I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures *
and leads me beside still waters.
He revives my soul *
and guides me along right pathways for his name’s sake.
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil; *
for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You spread a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me; *
you have anointed my head with oil, and my cup is running over .
Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, *
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
Refrain: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
Second Reading: 1 John 3.16-24 (recorded by Mary Kenyon)
Gospel: John 10.11-18 (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 Cate Watson
The response to each petition is a prayerful silence.
We say together:
O God, whose will it is
that all should find salvation
and come to know the truth.
Receive the prayers and petitions
which we offer in faith and love
through him who gave proof of your purpose
and who sacrificed himself to win freedom
for all humankind
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
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
The Rector will celebrate the Eucharist at Holy Trinity
Offertory – JS Bach: Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier BWV731
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 – Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow: Christ lag in Todesbanden
Thank you for joining us at Holy Trinity Church, Stirling for the Fourth Sunday of Easter
THIS WEEK
Sunday 2nd April 10.30 a.m.
EASTER 5
10.30 Eucharist in Church
online resources will be available on this website
Readings
Acts 8.26-40
1 John 4.7-21
John 15.1-8
