Year A - Proper 08 (26 June - 02 July)

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VERSION: 8 May 2002

SUNDAY BETWEEN 26 JUNE AND 2 JULY (PROPER 8),

YEAR A

In 2002: 6th Sunday after Pentecost, 30 June

In 2005: 6th Sunday after Pentecost, 26 June

In 2008: 7th Sunday after Pentecost, 29 June

In 2011: 2nd Sunday after Pentecost, 26 June

In 2014: 3rd Sunday after Pentecost, 29 June

- - -

Note: For explanations and suggestions on the various resources provided, see the documents 'General notes and resources' and 'Time after Pentecost' 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 wages of sin is death,

but the free gift of God is eternal life

in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 6:23 NRSV)

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

O God, since you have prepared

for those who love you

such good things as pass our understanding:

Pour into our hearts such love for you,

that we may love you above all things

and obtain your promises,

which exceed all that we can desire;

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

Lord God, you have prepared for those who love you

good things beyond our understanding.

Pour into our hearts such love for you

that we may love you in all things

and above all things,

and obtain what you have promised,

which is more than we can desire.

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 endure. [silence])

Almighty and merciful God,

your dear Son willingly endured

the agony and shame of the cross

for our sake.

Give us courage and patience

to take up our cross and follow him.

For he lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.

Amen.

OR, new

(Let us pray for the gift of compassion. [silence])

Thank you, loving heavenly Father,

for setting us free from sin,

so that we can willingly serve you.

Open our eyes and hearts

to see the needs of others

and show them your compassion.

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.

FIRST READING AND PSALM

Note: There are two sets of first readings (with accompanying Psalms) given for the Sundays after Pentecost: (a) a new semi-continuous set, and (b) a set related thematically to the gospels (as in the earlier form of the lectionary). It is intended that either one of these two sets be used throughout and that they not be mixed.

1a

Genesis 22:1-14 The sacrifice of Isaac: God tests Abraham

Psalm 13

Antiphon:

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? (Ps 13:1a NRSV)

OR

I trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.

(Ps 13:5 NRSV)

OR, 1b

Jeremiah 28:5-9 Jeremiah and the false prophet Hananiah

Psalm 89:1-4,15-18

Antiphon:

I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord, forever. (Ps 89:1a NRSV)

SECOND READING

Romans 6:12-23 You have become slaves to righteousness

ALLELUIA VERSE (Matt 10:40 NRSV)

Alleluia, alleluia.

(Jesus said:) ' Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.'

Alleluia.

GOSPEL

Matthew 10:40-42 Whoever welcomes you welcomes me

(Begin: 'Jesus said to his twelve disciples:' )

PRAYER AFTER THE GOSPEL

This is the gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, O Christ.

Lord Jesus, thank you for coming to us from God.

Help us to serve you by serving others.

OFFERING PRAYER

Thank you, Lord, for making us your people

and for letting us hear your word.

Help us gladly to receive your message

and your messengers,

and to give of ourselves and our possessions

for your kingdom.

Amen

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH

Call to prayer

We have been set free from sin through baptism, so that we can serve Christ. He has invited and commanded us to pray. So let us ask our heavenly Father to have mercy on the church and on the world.

The regular response, OR:

Let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

Suggested intercessions

Concluding prayer

Heavenly Father, in your mercy give us all these things and whatever else we need  on our journey to our heavenly home; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Amen.

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.

(On this day)*

he overcame death by his resurrection

and opened up for us

the way to eternal life with you.

And so, with angels and archangels,

and with all the company of heaven,

we adore and praise your glorious name:

* The words 'on this day' are used only on Sundays.

COMMUNION INVITATION

For a choice of communion invitations, see the document 'General notes and resources', under 'Communion invitation', in the 'General and seasonal' folder.

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION

See the service order for a standard post-communion prayer. Alternatively, use the third prayer of the day (as listed above) at this point. It may be modified as follows.

Almighty and merciful God,

your dear Son

willingly offered up

his body and blood on the cross

for our sake.

Give us courage and patience

to take up our cross and follow him.

For he lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.

Amen.

DISMISSAL

Go in peace, not to serve sin, but to serve God.

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 (a): Genesis 22:1-14

LHS

AT

TIS

First reading (b): Jeremiah 28:5-9

LHS

AT

TIS

Second reading: Romans 6:12-23

LHS

AT

TIS

Gospel: Matthew 10:40-42

LHS

AT

TIS

PSALM 13

For musical settings of Psalm 13, see Music Package 3.

PSALM 89:1-4,15-18

For musical settings of Psalm 89:1-4,15-18, see Music Package 10. TIS 46, I will sing forever of your love, O Lord, is a setting of Psalm 89:1-6,13-16.

NOTES ON THE READINGS

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

GENESIS 22:1-14: This chapter presents us with a climax in Abraham's life of faith. With a long-awaited son and heir arriving beyond any human expectation in his old age, Abraham's love for Isaac could well have threatened and consumed his hitherto first love and loyalty to God. He therefore needed a soul-shaking test to help him correctly balance his spiritual priorities. Isaac was a miraculous gift to Abraham and Sarah. Although they were the parents in every sense, yet Isaac was really purely given by God. This means that if Abraham really believed that, then he would be prepared to give Isaac back to God. This test called on Abraham to set aside all the promises connected with future descendants, the land and blessing to the world, which presumed an heir to carry on his line. Abraham placed his reason second to his faith in this test and was graciously given the means of making a normal sacrifice.

JEREMIAH 28: 5-9: Jeremiah, like all the true prophets of God before him, had prophesied doom and despair for God's people unless they returned to the obedience God required in the terms of his covenant. Hananiah, a self-appointed prophet, was predicting a quick return of both people and the sacred objects of the temple with peace for the nation. While Jeremiah genuinely wished for that very thing, in loyalty and obedience to God he faced the hostile mob in the temple with the truthful reminder that prophets' words are only shown truly to be God's message when they find their fulfilment in fact.

ROMANS 6:12-23: This is the second part of St Paul's answer to his enemies' criticism that salvation through faith in Christ's work of redemption encourages more and more sin in order to receive more of God's grace. He answers here that not only did Christ die to set us free from sin and its terrible consequences, but the purpose of this freedom is to enable believers to cease allowing sin its power in their bodies, yielding them rather to be 'instruments of righteousness'. Being under the freedom of grace, opposed to slavery under strict and harsh law, means placing oneself under willing service to God with growth in personal holiness. The so-called freedom of sin brings death. The freedom of service in righteousness brings eternal life.

MATTHEW 10:40-42: This reading contains the final words of Jesus to the twelve upon sending them out to the surrounding towns. It can be seen that these words can be applied also more generally to the continuing work of the church. When a representative of Christ proclaims his word, it is as though the Lord himself is being received. A 'prophet' here describes someone who proclaims the gospel. A 'righteous person' is someone who sincerely demonstrates faith by the manner of life. 'These little ones' are people who are lightly thought of, often unnoticed. The reward so clearly promised for even slight deeds of love is a reward granted by God's grace and not deserved by personal merit.

VISUAL

VISUALS FOR THE READINGS

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

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 (1a) from Genesis could be read by four readers: narrator, God/angel, Abraham, Isaac.

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 currently available for the Revised Common Lectionary.

This week's story is 'Paul's journey to Rome (Acts 27, 28)'. Material for this story may be found in

Original Edition, Year A, Semester 2, 6 Pentecost

OR

Revised RCL Edition, Year A, Semester 2, Proper 8.