21A - Lent 3A — 23A - Lent 5A
 
See also my posts from 2014, 2017, 2020…
 
PSALM 23
LORD God, divine shepherd;
in the days ahead, just as it has been all my life,
I shall not want for anything.
You will rest me in rich pasture
and lead me beside calm waters.
You will bring my inner being back where it belongs,
and lead me along the right paths,
for the sake of your name.
Even when things seem at their darkest,
sensing your presence, I fear nothing;
you are sure of the way ahead, and you protect me.
Indeed, in spite of the adversity surrounding me
you continue to provide abundantly for my well-being;
anointing me with your hospitality
and pouring out blessing upon blessing.
Surely good and lovingkindness will pursue me all my days,
I will return, and you, O LORD,
shall be my dwelling-place for days without end.

OFFERING
Source of life,
receive the gifts we offer;
and let all our service,
inspired by the Breath of life
give you glory and praise;
in the name of the Word of life. Amen

For use in worship, with acknowledgement. © Jeff Shrowder 1999.

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A CREATIVE MOMENT – 1 Samuel 16:1-13 and John 9:1-41
Continue using the purple cloth from last week. It could be hung as a large plain banner or draped in a manner appropriate for your worship space. Place a small glass jug of water, a small pile of dirt and a small jug of oil on the worship/communion table: oil of anointing, water and soil for the mud of healing.
The gospel reading is quite long, but the numerous characters in it offer the opportunity for it to be presented in a dramatised form.
Today might be an occasion for a healing service, or a service which contains elements of such a service.

Click here for some ideas for worship in Lent and Easter gleaned from the pages of “On the Move” (now out of print) originally published by the Joint Board of Christian Education, Melbourne, Australia.

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THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
(A prayer, usually with connection to one or more of the lections for the day, to gather the spoken and silent concerns/joys/thanks expressed by the congregation and lead into a more structured Intercession. Sometimes this prayer also borrows lightly from other sources e.g. Uniting in Worship 2 or publications of the Iona Community.)

Loving God,
let the light of your Word, and the warmth of your Spirit
rejoice with those for whom life has begun anew,
dry the eyes of all who are weighed down with grief,
strengthen the weak and the lonely;
those we have named on our lips and in our hearts
and those whose troubles are known only to you;
that they may know your peace …
         (The Prayers of the People continue)

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Looking for contemporary music and song resources?
Try David MacGregor’s Together to Celebrate
Or metrical psalms? Try Dale A. Schoening’s Sing the Psalms

HYMN SUGGESTIONS FOR LENT 4 – YEAR A
Christ whose glory fills the skies	TIS 212	AHB 140
Sing praise and thanksgiving,	TIS 107	AHB 25
Your words to me are life and health	TIS 430	AHB 337
Your hand O God has guided	TIS 456	AHB 389
1 Samuel 16:1-13
Hail to the Lord’s anointed	TIS 275	AHB 203
Lord, I come to you	TIS 685
Lord, let me see, see more and more	TIS 681
This day God gives me	TIS 642	AHB 570
Psalm 23
I know that my Redeemer lives	TIS 376	AHB 299
I know that my Redeemer	TIS 202	AHB 132
I set the Lord before my eyes	TIS 673	SA 48
I will sing the wondrous story	TIS 233	AHB 173
In all my ways, in every task	TIS 553
Jesus, my Lord, let me be near you	TIS 656	SA 54
O come, O come, Emmanuel	TIS 265	AHB 193
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King	TIS 111	AHB 28
The Lord is my shepherd, and I want to follow	TIS 659
The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothin	TIS 11
The Lord’s my shepherd, I’ll not want	TIS 10	AHB 16
The king of love my shepherd is	TIS 145	AHB 81
Ephesians 5:8-14
Awake, my soul, and with the sun	TIS 557	AHB 469
Blessed Jesus, at your word	TIS 437	AHB 352
God be in my head	TIS 549	AHB 456
I want to walk as a child of the light	TIS 643
Jesus comes with all his grace	TIS 219	AHB 149
Jesus the name high over all	TIS 218	AHB 150
Sing praise and thanksgiving	TIS 107	AHB 25
There’s a wideness in God’s mercy	TIS 136	AHB 72
Wake, awake! for night is flying	TIS 266	AHB 195
John 9:1-41
Christ is the world’s light, he and none other	TIS 246	AHB 191
Eternal light, shine in my heart	TIS 548
I’ll praise my Maker while I’ve breath	TIS 90	AHB 44
Jesus the Lord said, ‘I am the bread’	TIS 239	AHB 185
Lord, the light of your love is shining	TIS 675
Lord, your almighty word	TIS 447	AHB 61

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