Holy Eucharist for you at home - Sunday 7th April 2024

The Holy Eucharist for you at home.

 

Welcome to Sunday Holy Eucharist for you at home from the Anglican a prayer book for Australia on Sunday 7th April 2024.

Led by Felicity Scott, a Liturgical Assistant at St John the Baptist Anglican Church Bulimba, QLD, Australia.

The full prayer transcript is available by going to this episode on the Podcast website.

https://dailyprayeranglicanprayerbookforaustralia.podbean.com

Preparing for this Eucharist:

During this service you can minister Eucharist to yourself and your gathered family members.

Place on your table if you have them, a Bible, a small glass of wine or grape juice, enough pieces of bread or wafers one for each participant, a lighted candle and a cross. Gather all who are to partake in the Eucharist around the table.

 

The words of this eucharist are available from page 119 in the Anglican a prayer book for Australia or use the episode link to view the words.

 

We gather together to celebrate God.

 

Acclamation

Blessed be God: father, son and Holy Spirit.

Blessed be God's Kingdom, now and forever.

 

The greeting

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.

And also with you.

 

The prayer of preparation;

Let us pray.

Almighty God,

To whom all hearts are open,

All desires known,

And from whom no secrets are hidden;

cleanse the thoughts of our hearts

by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit

that we may perfectly love you,

and worthily magnify your holy name,

through Christ our Lord.  Amen

 

 

Hear O Israel, the Lord our God the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Jesus said: ‘This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: you shall love your neighbour as yourself.’

 

Confession

Our Lord Jesus Christ said:

Lord, have mercy on us, and write your law in our hearts by your Holy Spirit.

Let us confess our sins in penitence and faith confident in God’s forgiveness.

Merciful God, our maker and our judge, we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed;
we have not loved you with our whole heart,
we have not loved our neighbours as ourselves;
we repent, and are sorry for all our sins.
Father, forgive us.
Strengthen us to love and obey you in newness of life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Assurance of Forgiveness

Almighty God, who has promised forgiveness to all who turn to him in faith, pardon us and set us free from all our sins, strengthen us to do your will, and keep us in eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Lord have mercy

Christ have mercy

Lord have mercy

Gloria

Glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on earth.

Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father, we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory.

Lord Jesus Christ, only son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world:  have mercy on us; you are seated at the right hand of the Father: receive our prayer.

For you alone are the Holy One; you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father.

The Collect of the Day

Second Sunday of Easter

Risen Christ,

whose absence leaves us in despair

but whose presence is overwhelming:

breathe on us with your abundant life,

that where we cannot see

we may have courage to believe

that we may be raised with you. Amen.

Prayer of the Week

Second Sunday of Easter

Almighty God,

whose Son Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life

of all who put their trust in him:

raise us, we pray, from the death of sin

to the life of righteousness;

that we may ever seek the things which are above,

where he reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Old Testament, Scripture Reading 1

Acts 4. 32-37          

32 Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. 33 With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. 35 They laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. 36 There was a Levite, a native of Cyprus, Joseph, to whom the apostles gave the name Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”). 37 He sold a field that belonged to him, then brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet.

Psalm 133

Hear the word of the Lord

Thanks be to God.

 

New Testament, Scripture Reading 2

1 John 1.1 – 2.2.

1 We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life 2 this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us— 3 we declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; 

7 but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

2. 1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 2 and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

Hear the word of the Lord

Thanks be to God.

 

 

The lord be with you.

And also with you.

 

The Gospel reading.

The gospel of our lord Jesus Christ according to John 20. 19-31.

Glory to you Lord Jesus Christ.

19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” 24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

26 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

 

This is the gospel of the Lord

Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ.

Short Homily

Today’s reading includes human encounter of the divine in a way that we cannot explain today and in a way that does not seem to repeat itself today. Nevertheless, we accept and believe the story told by the disciples, that following his death and resurrection Jesus appeared to them. Even though Thomas knew Jesus well before the crucifixion, he did not believe that Jesus was back from the dead until he had borne witness to the revelation. Thomas had seen the miracles that Jesus had performed during his life, but this miracle of the risen Lord appeared to be too much for Thomas to accept, until he had placed his hand on the risen Jesus in the wounds inflicted during the crucifixion.

 

Well, why is it important to believe without sighting the risen Lord?

To believe is to accept the truth of God.

To accept is to receive the gift given through baptism.

To receive the gift is to be forgiven of all sin.

To be forgiven is to be healed in body and spirit.

To be healed through belief in Jesus, is to walk in the company of the Holy Spirit.

 

There are many things that we are asked to believe about life on earth that we have no proof of, but none of those other things give us the benefits that belief in Christ’s sacrifice gives us.

 

So today believe the story and believe the gift so that you also can humbly walk in the presence of God.

 

Let us pause for a moment to reflect.

 

The Nicene Creed

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father.  Through him all things were made.

For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit, he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried.  On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.  He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets.

We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.

We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Prayers

Let us pray for the world and for the church.

We give you thanks for opening our eyes to witness your hand at work in the gifts that surround us. Thank you for your continued love and blessings in abundance throughout our lives. Bless us with your generous nature good Lord, as we answer your call to minister to your will. Guide us to walk before you in faithfulness, in righteousness and in upright honour towards you.

Lord in Your Mercy.      Receive our Prayer

 

We pray for your blessing of peace across all countries and continents. Give all your servants an understanding mind able to recognise between good and evil. Give us all wise and discerning minds, that we might know how to honour God in our life.

Lord in Your Mercy.      Receive our Prayer

We thank you for the church leaders in Australia, teach them to refresh us through their leadership. Bless our bishops, ministers and lay people and renew our courage to proclaim the good news of Christ in our schools, workplaces, and homes.

Lord in Your Mercy.      Receive our Prayer

 

We pray for all those still being affected by the COVID virus. Bring them healing and strength through this trying time. Send aid to those that need aid, and we pray that the vaccine continues to protect all people now and in the future.

Lord in Your Mercy.      Receive our Prayer

 

We pray thanks that with your guidance we live in your light and go out of our way to help others who are less fortunate. We pray that through our reverence in the name of Christ, we become new and maintain our light even when surrounded by darkness.

Lord in Your Mercy.      Receive our Prayer

 

Through your Son Jesus Christ, you have shown us the way to live and breathe in your righteousness. Give us the strength to remain in your presence in all we do. Help us to accept that not all goes our way, remind us to be willing advocates of your work, guiding our actions to a better life for all.

Lord in Your Mercy.      Receive our Prayer

We pause for a moment for you to pray for your own petitions.

 

Almighty God you have promised to hear our prayers.

Grant that what we have asked in faith

 we may by your grace receive,

through Jesus Christ our lord. Amen

 

We are the body of Christ.

His spirit is with us.

 

The peace of the lord be always with you

And also, with you.

 

Let us all exchange a sign of peace.

 

Preparation for the Lord’s Supper

We do not presume to come to your table, merciful Lord,
trusting in our own righteousness,
but in your manifold and great mercies.

We are not worthy
so much as to gather up the crumbs under your table.
But you are the same Lord
whose nature is always to have mercy.
Grant us, therefore gracious Lord,
so to eat the flesh of your dear Son Jesus Christ,
and to drink his blood,
that we may evermore dwell in him,
and he is us. Amen.

Lift up your hearts.

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

It is right to give Him thanks and praise.

All glory and honour be yours always and everywhere mighty creator ever living God. We give you thanks and praise for our saviour Jesus Christ who by the power of your spirit was born of Mary and lived as one of us. By his death on the cross and rising to new life he offered the one true sacrifice for sin and obtained an eternal deliverance for his people.

Therefore, with angels and archangels, and with the whole company of heaven, we proclaim your great and glorious name, forever praising you, and saying:

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, Heaven and earth are full of your glory.  Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is he that comes in the name of the LORD. Hosanna in the highest.

Merciful God we thank you for these gifts of your creation this bread and wine and we pray that by your word and Holy Spirit we who eat and drink them may be partakers of Christ body and blood.

On the night he was betrayed Jesus took bread and when he had given you thanks he broke it and gave it to his disciples saying take eat this is my body given for you do this in remembrance of me.

After supper he took the cup and again giving you thanks he gave it to his disciples saying drink from this all of you this is my blood of the new covenant shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.

 

 

Christ has died;

Christ is risen;

Christ will come again.

Therefore, we do as our saviour has commanded proclaiming his offering of himself made once for all upon the cross his mighty resurrection and glorious ascension and looking for his coming again we celebrate with this bread and this cup his one perfect and sufficient sacrifice for the sins of the whole world.

Renew us by your Holy Spirit unite us in the body of your son and bring us with all your people into the joy of your eternal Kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord with whom and in whom in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit we worship you father in songs of never ending praise.

Blessing and honour and glory and power are yours for ever and ever.  Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

As our saviour Christ has taught us, we are confident to pray,

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your Name
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. 
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours,
now and for ever. Amen.

We break this bread to share in the body of Christ.

We who are many are one body, for we all share in the one bread.

Jesus Lamb of God, have mercy on us.

Jesus bearer of our sins, have mercy on us.

Jesus redeemer of the world, grant us your peace.

The gifts of God for the people of God.

Come, let us take this holy sacrament of the body and blood of Christ in remembrance that He died for us, and feed on Him in our hearts by faith, with thanksgiving.

As we minister the bread to each of the people gathered, we say:

The body of Christ keep you in eternal life, and they respond with: Amen.

As we minister the cup to each of the people gathered, we say:

The blood of Christ, the cup of salvation, keep you in eternal life and they respond with: Amen.

Please pause the recording while you minister the gifts and offer personal prayers of gratitude.

Pause

We say together:

Most loving God, you send us into the world you love.
Give us grace to go thankfully and with courage, in the power of your spirit.

Blessing

The peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be amongst you, and remain with you always.

Amen.

The Dismissal

We have today proclaimed the message of Christ in our homes, go forth and proclaim the message of Christ in your streets, towns, cities and countries, that all are saved by the death and resurrection of our saviour.

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.

In the name of Christ, Amen. 

End.