GATHERING WORDS (Psalm 96)
Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvellous works among all the peoples! For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised.
CALL TO WORSHIP (Responsive)
Min: The Lord is risen!
All: He is risen indeed!
Min: This is the day that the Lord has made
All: We will rejoice and be glad in it.
Min: The Lord be with you!
All: And also with you
Hymn 202 Stand up and bless the Lord
Stand up and bless the Lord
ye people of his choice;
stand up and bless the Lord your God
with heart and soul and voice.
Though high above all praise,
above all blessing high,
who would not fear his holy Name,
and laud and magnify?
O for the living flame
from His own altar brought,
to touch our lips, our minds inspire,
and wing to heaven our thought!
God is our Strength and Song,
and his salvation ours;
then be his love in Christ proclaimed
with all our ransomed thoughts.
Stand up and bless the Lord;
the Lord your God adore;
stand up and bless his glorious Name;
henceforth forevermore.
PRAYER OF APPROACH AND THE LORD’S PRAYER
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS
‘Oh sing a new song to the Lord’
Hymn 728 Lord of life, we come to you
PRAYER OF CONFESSION (unison)
Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbours as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. AMEN.
(Silent prayer and words of assurance)
PRELUDE TO THE READINGS
‘The Lord’s my Shepherd’ (Stuart Townend)
OLD TESTAMENT: Ecclesiastes 1&2 (selected verses)
Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. What do people gain from all the toil at which they toil under the sun?
I, the Teacher, when king over Israel in Jerusalem, applied my mind to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven; it is an unhappy business that God has given to human beings to be busy with. I saw all the deeds that are done under the sun; and see, all is vanity and a chasing after wind.
I hated all my toil in which I had toiled under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to those who come after me – and who knows whether they will be wise or foolish? Yet they will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. So I turned and gave my heart up to despair concerning all the toil of my labours under the sun, because sometimes one who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave all to be enjoyed by another who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. What do mortals get from all the toil and strain with which they toil under the sun? For all their days are full of pain, and their work is a vexation; even at night their minds do not rest. This also is vanity.
EPISTLE: Colossians 3:1-4
So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.
GOSPEL LESSON: St Luke 12:13-21
Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?” And he said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” Then he told them a parable: “The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”
Hymn 70 Give praise and thanks unto the Lord
SHORT ADDRESS
‘What might one keep in one’s barn?’
OFFERING
‘Tributary’ Played and composed by Jamie Potter
PRAYERS OF THANKSGIVING AND INTERCESSION
Hymn 465 Be Thou my vision
THE NATIONAL ANTHEM
BENEDICTION
Happy Sunday!
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