The Word of the Lord - 5

Moses then went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, 'Say this to the house of Jacob, declare this to the sons of Israel, "You yourselves have seen what I did with the Egyptians, how I carried you on eagle's wings and brought you to myself. From this you must know that now, if you obey my voice and hold fast to my covenant, you of all the nations shall be my very own for all the earth is mine. I will count you a kingdom of priests, a consecrated nation." (Exodus 19:3-6)



O praise our great and gracious Lord
And call upon his name;
To strains of joy tune every chord,
His mighty acts proclaim;
Tell how he led his chosen race
To Canaan's promised land;
Tell how his covenant of grace
Unchanged shall ever stand.

He gave the shadowing cloud by day,
The moving fire by night;
To guide his Israel on their way,
He made their darkness light;
And have not we a sure retreat,
A Saviour ever nigh,
The same clear light to guide our feet,
The Dayspring from on high?

The Word of the Lord - 4

Then Joseph could not control his feelings in front of all his retainers, and he exclaimed, 'Let everyone leave me'. No one therefore was present with him while Joseph made himself known to his brothers, but he wept so loudly that all the Egyptians heard, and the news reached Pharaoh's palace. (Genesis 45:1-2)



For the joy of human love,
Brother, sister, parent, child,
Friends on earth, and friends above,
For all gentle thoughts and mild:
Christ our God, to thee we raise
This our sacrifice of praise.

The Word of the Lord - 3

The Lord said to Abram, 'Leave your country, your family and your father's house, for the land I shall show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name so famous that it will be used as a blessing. (Genesis 12:1-2)



The God of Abraham praise
Who reigns enthroned above,
Ancient of everlasting days,
And God of love:
To him uplift your voice,
At whose supreme command
From earth we rise, and seek the joys
At his right hand.

The Word of the Lord - 2

It was in the six hundred and first year of Noah's life, in the first month and on the first day of the month, that the water dried up from the earth. Noah lifted back the hatch of the ark and looked out. The surface of the ground was dry! (Genesis 8:13)



Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!
Great is thy faithfulness, great is thy faithfulness,
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed thy hand hath provided,
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

The Word of the Lord - 1

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was a formless void, there was darkness over the deep, and God's spirit hovered over the water.

God said, 'Let there be light', and there was light. (Genesis 1:1-3)



Thou whose almighty Word
Chaos and darkness heard,
And took their flight;
Hear us, we humbly pray,
And where the Gospel-day
Sheds not its glorious ray
Let there be light!

1st Sunday of Advent

The season of Advent has begun - the cheerful green vestments of Ordinary Time have been put away, and we are in purple. But it is not all doom and gloom - Jesus, the Light of the World is waiting to visit us. The darkness of winter is about to be shattered by the dazzling light of Bethlehem. So, we wait and pray! Today we have lit the first candle on our Advent Wreath. This is not Tenebrae - the light is increasing - Alleluia!



Let us pray in Advent time with longing and waiting for the coming of the Lord.

Father in heaven,
our hearts desire the warmth of your love
and our minds are searching for the light of your Word.
Increase our longing for Christ our Saviour
and give us the strength to grow in love,
that the dawn of his coming
may find us rejoicing in his presence
and welcoming the light of his truth.
We make our prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen

Happy Sunday!

Autumn Glory - 23

For the final posting in this mini series we have a lovely photo of sheep and a shepherd outside the Waterfront Hall in Belfast. St Patrick, the Patron Saint of Ireland, was at one time a shepherd boy in the hills of County Antrim. Our bishops are shepherds and carry croziers as a sign that they are leading and guiding us.



On this final day of the Church's Year we look back with thanksgiving for the year now ending, and look forward to the new year beginning tomorrow - the 1st Sunday of Advent. Two Church of Ireland bishops who spent much of their lives in Belfast have written a lovely hymn on the Church's Year (based on an original hymn by Katherine Hankey). The two bishops are Edward Darling and Harold Miller.

Advent tells us Christ is near;
Christmas tells us Christ is here;
Then we learn what life can be
In our Lord's Epiphany.

Forty days we keep in Lent,
Praying, fasting, penitent,
Give our lives to Christ anew
And to him be always true.

Holy Week begins with palms -
Crowds with branches singing psalms;
On Good Friday they will cry
'Nail him on a cross to die.'

We rejoice on Easter Day;
'Christ is risen indeed', we say;
In the Bread of Life he's shown,
And his risen power is known.

Christ ascends to heaven again,
Glorious now as King to reign;
And we give him special praise
Through those joyful fifty days.

Pentecost - it is the birth
Of the Church in all the earth,
When the Holy Spirit came
In sure signs of wind and flame.

So to God through all our days
We will gladly sing our praise:
'Glory to the One in Three,
God the Holy Trinity.'

Small wonder Edward has been elected President of the Hymn Society of Great Britain and Ireland!

On Monday I will start a new mini series - 'The Word of the Lord.'