Preparation
O Lord, open our lips
and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
Praise
God of constant mercy,
who sent your Son to save us:
remind us of your goodness,
increase your grace within us,
that our thankfulness may grow,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Psalm 33.12-21
Happy the nation whose God is the Lord
and the people he has chosen for his own.
The Lord looks down from heaven
and beholds all the children of earth.
From where he sits enthroned he turns his gaze
on all who dwell on the earth.
He fashions all the hearts of them
and understands all their works.
No king is saved by the might of his host;
no warrior delivered by his great strength.
A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
for all its strength it cannot save.
Behold, the eye of the Lord
is upon those who fear him,
on those who wait in hope for his steadfast love,
to deliver their soul from death
and to feed them in time of famine.
Our soul waits longingly for the Lord;
he is our help and our shield.
Indeed, our heart rejoices in him;
in his holy name have we put our trust.
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 4.16-30
When Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’
And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, ‘Is not this Joseph’s son?’ He said to them, ‘Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, “Doctor, cure yourself!” And you will say, “Do here also in your home town the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.” ’ And he said, ‘Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s home town. But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up for three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land; yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.’
When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff. But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way.
This is the word of the Lord.
Prayers of Intercession
Let us pray to God, by whose word we are taught to pray.
Keep the Church faithful to the truth revealed in holy scripture. Enrich your people with the word of Christ, for unity of purpose and for witness to the world.
Make the glory of your word shine throughout the world, to be a light to all people. Bless those who work to make your word known among the nations. Be their support in times of trouble and their defence against hostility.
Guide and enable us to spread the good news of salvation among our families and friends, our colleagues and neighbours. Give to all in this community the love of your word, and bless those who are seeking you through study of the Bible.
Look with compassion on all who are deprived of Bible reading, through ignorance, poverty or lack of translation in their own tongues. Create and satisfy in them true desire for your living word.
We give thanks for those who strove to live by the teachings of scripture and whose longing for your word is now perfectly fulfilled. Grant that we too may be kept securely in the way of salvation.
Guided by the word of God made known to us, we pray in faith.
Grant, O Lord, that
your love may so fill our lives
that we may count
nothing too small to do for you,
nothing too much to give,
and nothing too hard to bear,
for Jesus Christ’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 Conclusion
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.
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