14. Year B - Fourth Sunday after Epiphany

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VERSION: 9 April 2002

FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY, YEAR B

In 2003: 2 Feb

In 2006: 29 Jan

In 2009: 1 Feb

In 2012: 29 Jan

In 2015: 1 Feb

- - -

Note: For explanations and suggestions on the various resources provided, see the documents 'General notes and resources' and 'Epiphany season and time after' 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.

The Lord God will raise up a prophet like Moses from among your own people.

He will put his words in the mouth of the prophet

and you shall heed such a prophet. (based on Deut 18:15,18)

OR, use the standard Epiphany Sentence in the document 'Epiphany season and time after', 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.

PRAYER OF THE DAY (COLLECT)

Traditional

Almighty God,

since you know that we are set in the midst

of so many and great dangers

that we cannot stand upright

because of the frailty of our nature:

Grant us strength and protection

to support us in all dangers,

and carry us through all temptations;

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,

you know that we are placed

in the midst of such great dangers

that we cannot stand upright

because of our human frailty.

Make us whole in mind and body.

Support us in all dangers

and carry us through all temptations.

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 power to say and do what is right. [silence])

In all our doubts, dangers, and confusion,

teach us, Lord, what we ought to say and do.

Give to us,

who can do nothing good without you,

the power to speak the truth and do your will.

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 accept the authority of Jesus. [silence])

Great and loving God,

we thank you for sending your Son Jesus

with authority to teach and to heal.

Make us ready to listen to him

in all our doubts and confusion,

and to trust in him

in all our troubles.

For he lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.

Amen.

FIRST READING

Deuteronomy 18:15-20 The Lord promises a prophet like Moses

(Begin: Moses said, 'The Lord your God will . . .')

PSALM

Psalm 111

Antiphon:

He(/the Lord) has sent redemption to his people. (Ps 111:9a NRSV)

SECOND READING

1 Corinthians 8:1-13 Freedom and the conscience of your fellow believer

ALLLELUIA VERSE (Mark 1:27 NRSV)

Alleluia, alleluia.

They were all amazed, and said, 'He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.'

Alleluia.

GOSPEL

Mark 1:21-28 Jesus teaches with authority

(Begin: 'Jesus and his disciples . . .')

PRAYER AFTER THE GOSPEL

This is the gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, O Christ.

Lord Jesus, thank you for coming

with God's authority and power.

Help us to listen to what you say and to obey you.

Amen.

OFFERING PRAYER

Thank you, Lord, for sending your prophets,

and especially for sending your Son Jesus,

with your own authority and power

to save us from sin and evil.

Help us to listen to Jesus,

and to serve him by serving and helping other people.

Amen.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH

Call to prayer

Our Lord Jesus Christ speaks with authority, so that even the unclean spirits obey him. Let us pray to our heavenly Father in Jesus' name.

The regular response, OR:

Lord, hear our prayer,

in Jesus' name.

Suggested intercessions

Concluding prayer

Lord, only you can deliver us from evil, and keep us walking in your light and salvation. Let us always fear you, so that we may live wisely, and so that we may continually join the whole church on earth and the hosts of heaven as they praise you forever. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Amen.

PREFACE

For these non-festival Sundays after Epiphany, either no seasonal preface is used, as in the Service with Communion (LHS p6), or the following Epiphany preface may be used.

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.

You have sent your only Son

to appear among us as a human being,

and through him

you have fully revealed

the light of your presence to us.

And so, with angels and archangels,

and with all the company of heaven,

we adore and praise your glorious name:

COMMUNION INVITATION

The following Epiphany invitation or one of the two general invitations below may be used.

Epiphany

Jesus says:

'The bread that God gives

is he who comes down from heaven

and gives life to the world.'

(Thanks be to God.)

Come, everything is ready.

General

1  Jesus says:

'I am the bread of life.

Whoever comes to me will never be hungry,

and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.'

(Thanks be to God.)

Come, everything is ready.

2  Jesus says:

'My flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.

Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood

remain in me, and I in them.'

(Thanks be to God.)

Come, everything is ready.

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION

If the third prayer listed above under 'Prayer of the day' has not already been used, it may be used in this modified form as a post-communion prayer.

In all our doubts, dangers, and confusion,

teach us, Lord, what we ought to say and do.

As we have received

the body and blood of Christ

in this sacrament,

give us the power

to speak the truth and do your will.

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.

DISMISSAL

Go in peace. Be guided by love, and serve the Lord in freedom.

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 : Deuteronomy 18:15-20

LHS

AT

TIS

Second reading : 1 Corinthians 8:1-13

LHS

AT

TIS

Gospel: Mark 1:21-28

LHS

AT

TIS

PSALM 111

For musical settings of Psalm 111, see Music Packages 4, 6 and 9. Another version appears in TIS, no. 68 Praise the Lord.

Two metrical versions of Psalm 111 by David Sch¸tz are given here. If reproducing either of these versions, please put 'Words (c) David Sch¸tz' at the beginning or the end of the psalm.

Version I: may be sung to the tune Herzlich Lieb (LHS 385)

Alleluia! Alleluia!

With all my heart I thank the Lord

      before the congregation.

The works of God are great and good,

and all who find their joy in him,

      will seek to understand them.

His noble works and splendid ways,

have won him fame and glorious praise;

for evermore his righteousness

and grace and mercy never cease.

      The Lord our God

provides for those who fear his name,

true to his word, always the same.

The Lord has shown his mighty power

by giving to his faithful ones

      a good land to inherit.

The things he does are right and just,

and all his laws deserve our trust,

      they will remain for ever.

He set his faithful people free,

when we were lost in slavery,

gave us his covenant and word -

holy and awesome is the Lord!

      Alleluia!

Be wise and learn to fear the Lord,

whose praise endures for evermore.

Version II: may be sung to the tune 'I am covered over' (ATA 130)

I will thank the Lord with all

      my heart before the presence of

      his holy ones.

Everything the Lord has done

      is great and wonderful, and

      I delight in it!

He is full of majesty

      and honour, and his righteousness

      will always last forever.

We will not forget him for

      he always shows us tenderness

      and mercy.

He provides the food for those

      who fear him; he will not forget

      his covenant;

he has shown his power to

      his people and he's given us

      a heritage.

All he does is just and true;

      and we can trust his precepts too,

      for they are always steadfast,

they have been set down to be

      performed in truth and righteousness

      for ever.

He has freed his people from

      their chains and he has given us

      his covenant.

Holy is the Lord our God

      and awesome is his holy name

      for evermore.

Wisdom starts with fearing God

      the Lord, and all who practise it

      will reach true understanding.

Everyone who loves the Lord

      our God will praise his name now

      and forever.

NOTES ON THE READINGS

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

DEUTERONOMY 18:15-22: Moses here predicts a future prophet who, like Moses at Mount Horeb, will establish a new covenant. This prophet will speak the comprehensive will of God. All will be required to receive and believe his word as being the word of God himself. Peter and Stephen both connected this promise with the prophetic ministry of Jesus. Similarities between the life and work of Moses and Christ abound.

1 CORINTHIANS 8-1-13: At Corinth meat was presented for sacrifice to the heathen gods. Some was burnt at the altar, while the remainder was sold in the market as consumable food. Some Christians purchased this meat to eat while others believed that to be wrong because it had been consecrated to the gods. Paul says that as idols do not exist as gods, the meat was not in itself evil, nor its consumption. However, Christians, while free to eat, would not do so if it were to harm the faith of a weaker brother/sister.

MARK 1:21-28: Jesus shows his messianic and divine authority at Capernaum by casting out an evil spirit. The spirit recognised Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus appears in this instance as the true Son of God with authority to fight evil and control it from the very outset of his ministry.

VISUAL

VISUALS FOR THE READINGS

Pictures or visual symbols could be displayed on banners or the overhead screen during the readings.

SYMBOL

A symbol of the cross and orb, signifying the authority of the cross over the world, could be displayed today.

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 three readers: a reader to introduce and close the reading, Moses, the Lord; and the gospel could be read by four readers: narrator (the pastor), man with evil spirit, Jesus, one of the people.

CHILDREN

'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.

This week's story is: 'God saves Moses' (to be found in the original edition in 19 Pentecost year B and in the RCL edition in 4 Epiphany year B).