04. Year C - Third Sunday in Lent

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VERSION: 29 April 2002

THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT, YEAR C

In 2004: 14 Mar

In 2007: 11 Mar

In 2010: 7 Mar

In 2013: 3 Mar

In 2016: 28 Feb

- - -

Note: For explanations and suggestions on the various resources provided, see the documents 'General notes and resources' and 'Lent season' in the 'General and seasonal' folder.

LITURGY

SENTENCE

See the document 'General notes and resources', under 'Sentence', in the 'General and seasonal' folder for suggestions on using a Sentence.

Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters;

and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!

(Isaiah 55:1a NIV)

OR

Seek the Lord while he may be found;

call on him while he is near.

Let the wicked forsake their ways,

and the unrighteous their thoughts;

let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them,

and to our God, for he will freely pardon. (Isa 55:6,7 NIV)

OR, use one of the standard Lent Sentences in the document 'Lent season', under 'Sentence', in the 'General and seasonal' folder.

OR, use one of the general Sentences in the document 'General notes and resources', under 'Sentence', in the 'General and seasonal' folder.

INTRODUCTION TO CONFESSION

If Isaiah 55:6,7 are not used as opening verses, this passage could be used as an introduction to the confession and absolution.

PRAYER OF THE DAY (COLLECT)

Traditional

Almighty God,

look upon the heartfelt desires

of your humble servants,

and stretch out your mighty hand

to defend us against all our enemies;

through your Son,

Jesus Christ our Lord,

who lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.

Amen.

OR, modernised traditional

Almighty God,

look in mercy on our heartfelt desires,

and stretch out your mighty hand

to defend us.

We ask this through your Son,

Jesus Christ our Lord,

who lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.

Amen.

OR, alternative

(Let us pray for strength in temptation. [silence])

Lord God, our strength,

the battle of good and evil rages

within and around us.

Keep us firm in our faith in your Son,

and when we fall,

raise and restore us.

We ask this through your Son,

Jesus Christ our Lord,

who lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.

Amen.

OR, new

(Let us pray that we live repentant lives. [silence])

Holy and merciful God,

we thank you for giving your Son Jesus

to die on the cross for us sinners.

Turn us away from our sins

and back to a life of trust in you.

We ask this through Christ our Lord,

who lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.

Amen.

FIRST READING

Isaiah 55:1-9 Come to the Lord, who is merciful

(Begin: 'The Lord says:')

PSALM

Psalm 63:1-8

Antiphon:

O God, (you are my God,) I seek you, my soul thirsts for you.

(Ps 63:1a NRSV)

SECOND READING

1 Corinthians 10:1-13 Do not take God's grace for granted

VERSE

Use either the Verse given in the order of service or the following verse.

These are the ones sown on the good soil:

they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit. (Mark 4:20)

GOSPEL

Luke 13:1-9 Repent or die!

PRAYER AFTER THE GOSPEL

This is the gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, O Christ.

Lord Jesus,

thank you for your kindness and patience to us.

Lead us to repent and produce good fruit in our lives.

Amen.

OFFERING PRAYER

Merciful God,

you have given us so much,

without money and without price.

Help us to freely give of ourselves

in serving you

and loving other people.

Amen.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH

Call to prayer

The prophet tells us to 'Seek the Lord while he may be found' and to 'call upon him while he is near'. Let us come before God through Jesus Christ our Lord to pray for the church, the world, and those in need.

The regular response, OR:

Faithful God,

hear our prayer.

Suggestions for prayer

Concluding prayer

Heavenly Father, you have led us through the water of baptism and fed us with the spiritual food and drink. Hear our prayers and enable us to stand firm on the rock of Christ Jesus your Son, in whose name we pray.

Amen.

SEASONAL PREFACE

It is indeed right and good,

Lord God, holy Father,

that we should at all times and in all places

give thanks to you,

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

He has taken on himself our sin,

so that we might die to sin

and live to righteousness.

And so, with angels and archangels,

and with all the company of heaven,

we adore and praise your glorious name:

COMMUNION INVITATION

Every time we eat this bread and drink from this cup

we proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

(Thanks be to God.)

Come, everything is ready.

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION

For a Lent post-communion prayer, see the document 'Lent season', under 'Prayer after communion', in the 'General and seasonal' folder. Alternatively, use the third prayer of the day (as listed above) at this point. It may be modified as follows.

Lord God, our strength,

the battle of good and evil rages

within and around us.

Through this holy meal,

strengthen our faith in your Son,

and when we fall,

raise and restore us.

We ask this through your Son,

Jesus Christ our Lord,

who lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.

Amen.

SEASONAL BLESSING

This seasonal blessing is used together with (ie before) the usual blessing in the order of service.

(May) Christ our crucified Saviour draw you to himself,

so that you may find in him the assurance of sins forgiven

and the gift of eternal life; . . .

DISMISSAL

Go in peace, and bear fruit for the Lord.

Thanks be to God. OR In the name of Christ. Amen.

HYMNS AND SONGS

FOR THE READINGS

Please note:        * =        Modernised version available

      G3, G4 . . . =        Guitar chords available in the Music Package 3, 4 . . .

      GS =        Guitar chords in the Supplement to LH

First reading: Isaiah 55:1-9

LHS

AT

TIS

Second reading: 1 Corinthians 10:1-13

LHS

AT

TIS

Gospel: Luke 13:1-9

LHS

From hymns of repentance, 309-320, 850, esp.

AT

TIS

PSALM 63:1-8

For musical settings of Psalm 63:1-8, see Music Package 8.

TIS 34, O Lord, you are my God, is a paraphrase of Psalm 63.

The Iona song 'O God, you are my God alone' (Psalms of Patience, Protest and Praise) is a paraphrase of the first eight verses of Psalm 63. It is suitable for today.

Note: The Iona Community is willing to allow a church or worship assembly to reproduce the words only of a song from this publication on a service sheet or overhead projector transparency that is to be used once only on a non-commercial basis . . . provided that the title of the song and name of the copyright owner are clearly shown.

NOTES ON THE READINGS

See the document 'General notes and resources', under 'Notes on the readings', in the 'General and seasonal' folder.

ISAIAH 55:1-9: This reading appeals to Jewish believers who may have become accustomed to the ease of Babylonian life. Isaiah urges them to seize the opportunity to return to Jerusalem. What God offers costs nothing, is free, but truly satisfies. What he gives in grace calls for total dependence on his promises, but guarantees sure possession. If they will believe and come, the Lord will draw them into a covenant relationship. In this they will be given a significant part to play in the Lord's eventual fulfilment of his promise to King David to bring other nations to himself through them. They can believe this because God's ways are beyond our understanding, yet always sure.

1 CORINTHIANS 10:1-13: Paul did not take his own salvation for granted. He fought to retain it, cf 9:24,27. The Corinthians had a shallow view of their baptismal standing. They saw it as a kind of charm, and thought no harm could come from attending the feasts in the temples. Paul points out that the Israelites had experienced God's saving and providing hand in many continuing miraculous ways. Yet they still called down God's judgment through their persistent rebellion, idolatry and immorality. These things are a warning to Christians. Rebellion must always ultimately bring down God's punishment. Yet faithfulness will always be met by God's unfailing protection and salvation from evil.

LUKE 13:1-9: Jewish religious leaders taught that particular tragedies fell upon people who were especially wicked. Jesus points out here to his disciples that the whole Jewish nation was in need of repentance. In God's sight all are sinners. However, God, like the owner of the fig tree, is always ready to give opportunity for repentance. If people fail to avail themselves of his gracious pardon they are cutting themselves off from mercy and will meet destruction.

VISUAL

VISUALS FOR THE READINGS

Pictures or symbols could be displayed on banners or the overhead screen during the readings. For instance, the gospel could be accompanied by a drawing of a fig tree.

DRAMA

'MEGA DRAMA'

See a drama for the day in Mega Drama resources (Openbook Publishers), originally included in these worship resources when they were released on disks.

DRAMATISING THE READINGS

The readings can be read by more than one person to make the dramatic meaning of the text clearer. For instance, the first  reading could be read by two readers: narrator and the Lord; and the gospel could be read by two (or four) readers: narrator (the pastor), Jesus (, owner of fig tree, and gardener).

CHILDREN

TALKING WITH THE CHILDREN

Bring in a bag of fruit. Show each piece of fruit and ask what sort of fruit it is. Then ask what sort of tree the fruit came from. Tell the children that a tree bears fruit according to the type of tree it is. Tell them that in baptism God has made them into his trees to bear his 'fruit' - repentance, faith, and good works.

COME AND SEE JESUS

The Come and See Jesus curriculum published by Openbook Publishers has a wealth of material and ideas that may be adapted for use in worship. Please note that a new edition of this material is now available for the Revised Common Lectionary.

The story for the Third Sunday in Lent for year C is: The golden calf (Exodus 32) (to be found in the original edition Series A, Semester 2, 23 Pentecost, and in the RCL edition Series C, semester 1 for Lent 3).