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Listen to or read a short service of prayer for the Tuesday after the Fourth Sunday of Easter, 5 May 2020.
Preparation
O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.
If I climb up to heaven, you are there;
if I make the grave my bed, you are there also.
Praise
Risen Christ,
faithful shepherd of your Father’s sheep:
teach us to hear your voice
and to follow your command,
that all your people may be gathered into one flock,
to the glory of God the Father.
Amen.
Psalm 48
Great is the Lord and highly to be praised,
in the city of our God.
His holy mountain is fair and lifted high,
the joy of all the earth.
On Mount Zion, the divine dwelling place,
stands the city of the great king.
In her palaces God has shown himself
to be a sure refuge.
For behold, the kings of the earth assembled
and swept forward together.
They saw, and were dumbfounded;
dismayed, they fled in terror.
Trembling seized them there; they writhed like a woman in labour,
as when the east wind shatters the ships of Tarshish.
As we had heard, so have we seen
in the city of the Lord of hosts, the city of our God:
God has established her for ever.
We have waited on your loving-kindness, O God,
in the midst of your temple.
As with your name, O God,
so your praise reaches to the ends of the earth;
your right hand is full of justice.
Let Mount Zion rejoice and the daughters of Judah be glad,
because of your judgements, O Lord.
Walk about Zion and go round about her; count all her towers;
consider well her bulwarks; pass through her citadels,
That you may tell those who come after
that such is our God for ever and ever.
It is he that shall be our guide for evermore.
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
At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.’ Jesus answered, ‘I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.’
John 10:22-30 (NRSV)
This is the word of the Lord.
Prayers
Let us renew in prayer our dedication to the service of God.
As we give thanks for our Church, we pray that our worship and the worship of the whole Church of Christ may be holy and acceptable to God, our Father. May the blessing of God rest upon us and upon all who profess the faith of Jesus Christ, and may the whole creation praise the Lord’s name.
Gather into one fold the people of the world. Give strength and perseverance to those who know their Messiah, and open the ears of those who have not heard his voice. May all in authority dedicate their power to the common good.
We pray that in our families and in all our lives with others we may share the fellowship that we know in our church communities. Bless all whom love, and keep them safe in the Fathers’ hand.
We remember all who are afflicted: the sick and the injured, the homeless and refugees, the lonely and the rejected. Have mercy on them, relieve their distress and bring them peace.
We remember those who have followed their Shepherd to the end of their lives on earth. Grant them eternal life in the glory of heaven.
We pray in the name of Christ, who holds us safely in his loving hand.
We give thanks, O God our Father,
for the glorious resurrection of your Son our Lord from the dead:
for his victory over sin and the grave;
for his risen presence in our daily lives;
for his promise of life immortal with him.
Accept our praise,
and teach us day by day to live rejoicingly
in the faith of him who died for us,
and rose again, and is alive for evermore,
our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Gathering our prayers and praises into one,
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
May the risen Christ give us his peace.
Alleluia. Amen.