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Preparation
O Lord, open our lips
and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
The Collect for Trinity 14
Merciful God,
your Son came to save us
and bore our sins on the cross:
may we trust in your mercy
and know your love,
rejoicing in the righteousness
that is ours through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Psalm 30.1-5
I will exalt you, O Lord, because you have raised me up
and have not let my foes triumph over me.
O Lord my God, I cried out to you
and you have healed me.
You brought me up, O Lord, from the dead;
you restored me to life from among those that go down to the Pit.
Sing to the Lord, you servants of his;
give thanks to his holy name.
For his wrath endures but the twinkling of an eye,
his favour for a lifetime.
Heaviness may endure for a night,
but joy comes in the morning.
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: Luke 8.4-15
When a great crowd gathered and people from town after town came to Jesus, he said in a parable: ‘A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell on the path and was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. Some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered for lack of moisture. Some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. Some fell into good soil, and when it grew, it produced a hundredfold.’ As he said this, he called out, ‘Let anyone with ears to hear listen!’
Then his disciples asked him what this parable meant. He said, ‘To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God; but to others I speak in parables, so that
“looking they may not perceive,
and listening they may not understand.”‘Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones on the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. The ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe only for a while and in a time of testing fall away. As for what fell among the thorns, these are the ones who hear; but as they go on their way, they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. But as for that in the good soil, these are the ones who, when they hear the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance.
Luke 8.4-15
This is the word of the Lord.
Prayers of Intercession
Let us pray that the word of God shall be fertile in the Church and in the world.
Give to the Church the grace to receive the word of faith in obedience and to bring forth good fruit for the salvation of many. Take away all that hinders her witness, so that all her people may share in her ministry and work for the harvest that is to come.
Come in mercy to all who are hungry for the word but are held back by the cares of living. Rouse the indifferent and nurture those who are moving towards the Kingdom but have not yet come to full commitment. Bless the servants of your word who are bringing its healing power to the nations.
As we share our lives with others who are close to us, help us to live as those who have heard and received the word, that we may be bearers of good news and doers of good work. May this community be as a field which the Lord has blessed.
We pray for all those in many places who are suffering from failed harvests and who struggle to cultivate infertile land.
We pray for people who once believed but have fallen away through trouble and persecution: bring them back to know the richness of your love.
We give thanks for the departed whose harvest has ripened and been gathered in where new life begins. Give us grace to follow their example as we wait for our time of fruition.
We pray in the name of Christ who brings to us the good seed of the Kingdom.
Prayer for the week
Into the hands of your love and mercy, O God our Father,
we commit our lives this day:
our work and the tasks that await us;
our homes and the members of our families;
our loved ones and especially those in need.
Give to us your guidance, your strength and
your protection, according to our needs
and throughout this and every day
keep us abiding in your love;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. 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.