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Preparation
O Lord, open our lips
and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
Praise
Holy God,
you know the disorder of our sinful lives:
set straight our crooked hearts,
and bend our wills to love your goodness and your glory
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Psalm 50.1, 8, 16-24
The Lord, the most mighty God, has spoken
and called the world from the rising of the sun to its setting.
‘I will not reprove you for your sacrifices,
for your burnt offerings are always before me.’
But to the wicked, says God:
‘Why do you recite my statutes
and take my covenant upon your lips,
‘Since you refuse to be disciplined
and have cast my words behind you?
‘When you saw a thief, you made friends with him
and you threw in your lot with adulterers.
‘You have loosed your lips for evil
and harnessed your tongue to deceit.
‘You sit and speak evil of your brother;
you slander your own mother’s son.
‘These things have you done, and should I keep silence?
Did you think that I am even such a one as yourself?
‘But no, I must reprove you,
and set before your eyes the things that you have done.
‘You that forget God, consider this well,
lest I tear you apart and there is none to deliver you.
‘Whoever offers me the sacrifice of thanksgiving honours me
and to those who keep my way will I show the salvation of God.’
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now and shall be for ever. Amen.
Reading
Mark 8.11-13
The Pharisees came and began to argue with Jesus, asking him for a sign from heaven, to test him. And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, ‘Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.’ And he left them, and getting into the boat again, he went across to the other side.
Prayers of Intercession
In the power of the Spirit and in union with Christ, let us pray to the Father.
In every age you have raised up holy men and women to reflect the light of Christ and to teach us the way of holiness.
We thank you for those who have been teachers in the school of Christ: give understanding to those who study the faith that the Church has handed on, and clarity to those who communicate the gospel in a changing world.
We thank you for those who have been shepherds of your people: give a pastoral heart to deacons, priests and bishops, and the needful gifts to all your people in their ministry.
We thank you for those who have been Christian rulers in the world, and for those who carried the good news to lands where it had not been before: give wisdom to all who have power and influence among the nations, and establish God’s sovereignty among people of every race.
We thank you for those who have lived out their vocation in family life: give your grace to all who nurture children and all who care for the aged, and enfold in your love all your sons and daughters.
We thank you for those who have brought wholeness through the medicine of the gospel: give skill to all who minister healing and reconciliation in your name, and comfort all who cry out to you from any sort of distress.
We thank you for the noble army of martyrs by the shedding of whose blood the Church has been enriched: keep under your protection those who are persecuted for the cause of Christ,
and acknowledge, we pray, those who have passed through death trusting your promises.
Hasten, Lord, the day when people will come from east and west, from north and south, and sit at table in your kingdom, and we shall see your Son in his glory.
Prayer for the week
Lord Christ,
shine upon all who are in the darkness of suffering or grief;
that in your light they may receive hope and courage,
and in your presence may find their rest and peace;
for your love’s sake.
Amen.
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.
The Grace
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.