The Service begins on page 78 of the Book of Common Prayer (BCP).
Grace to you and peace from God our
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:2
Send out your lit and your truth,
that they may lead me, and bring me
to your holy hill and to your dwelling.
Psalm 43:3
The Confession of Sin
Most merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us;
that we may delight in your will,
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your Name. Amen.
Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins
through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness,
and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life. Amen
The Invitatory and Psalter
BPC p. 80
Leader Lord, open our lips.
People And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
one God: Come let us adore him.
Jubilate (Psalm 100)
BCP p. 82
Be joyful in the Lord, all you lands; *
serve the Lord with gladness
and come before his presence with a song.
Know this: The Lord himself is God; *
he himself has made us, and we are his;
we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise; *
give thanks to him and call upon his Name.
For the Lord is good;
his mercy is everlasting; *
and his faithfulness endures from age to age.
The Psalm Appointed
Psalm 116:1, 10-17
1 I love the Lord, because
he has heard the voice of my supplication, *
because he has inclined his ear to me
whenever I called upon him.
10 How shall I repay the Lord *
for all the good things he has done for me?
11 I will lift up the cup of salvation *
and call upon the Name of the Lord.
12 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord *
in the presence of all his people.
13 Precious in the sight of the Lord *
is the death of his servants.
14 O Lord, I am your servant; *
I am your servant and the child of your handmaid;
you have freed me from my bonds.
15 I will offer you the sacrifice of thanksgiving *
and call upon the Name of the Lord.
16 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord *
in the presence of all his people,
17 In the courts of the Lord’s house, *
in the midst of you, O Jerusalem.
Hallelujah!
Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
The Lessons
A Reading from the Book of Genesis 18:1-15, 21:1-7
The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed down to the ground. He said, “My lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. Let me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on — since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Make ready quickly three measures of choice flour, knead it, and make cakes.” Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it. Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate.
They said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” Then one said, “I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent entrance behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I have pleasure?” The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ Is anything too wonderful for the Lord? At the set time I will return to you, in due season, and Sarah shall have a son.” But Sarah denied, saying, “I did not laugh”; for she was afraid. He said, “Oh yes, you did laugh.”
The Lord dealt with Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as he had promised. Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham gave the name Isaac to his son whom Sarah bore him. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. Now Sarah said, “God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.” And she said, “Who would ever have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”
The Word of the Lord.
People Thanks be to God.
A Reading from the Letter of Paul to the Romans 5:1-8
Canticle 9: The First Song of Isaiah
BPC p. 86
Since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.
The Word of the Lord.
People Thanks be to God.
A Reading from the Gospel according to Matthew 9:35-10:23
Canticle 15: The Second Song of Isaiah
BPC p. 86
Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.
These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment. [Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for laborers deserve their food. Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave. As you enter the house, greet it. If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town. Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.
“See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues; and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles. When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next; for truly I tell you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.”
The Word of the Lord.
People Thanks be to God
GOING ON A MISSION FOR CHRIST
Today’s sermon is titled, “Going on a Mission for Christ.” My text is taken from the Gospel we just heard, Matthew 9:35 – 10:23.
As Jesus sent his disciples out, He gave them the power to cast out demons and unclean spirits and to proclaim the good news that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. He also asked them to freely give because freely they have received. Because of the urgency of the mission Jesus told his disciples to take bare necessities for their journey and totally depend on their hosts. This reminds us to live our lives with simplicity and to trust in God. Jesus is also telling us today as we go through our spiritual journey to totally depend on God..
Today’s Gospel has a lot to tell us in our world today. It asks us to tolerate and be hospitable to one another and especially those involved in the ministry of Evangelism.
The capacity to evangelize reflects our joy to enable others to experience the love of Christ. We all know that when people believe that something is true, they want to spread it. This sharing reveals our belief in Christ and what he has done for us. Evangelism is the sharing of the Good News of God in Christ. This sharing therefore reflects our enthusiasm for Christ. As Bishop Richard Enrich wrote in Missionary Strategy for Today, every time Baptized Christians refuse to invite people to Christ, they are saying that they do not believe in a vital church.
Evangelism is our job as Christians. Now is the time for all churches to become sending churches. We cannot gather together, but we can use technology like this to share the message of Christ with the world. Evangelism reminds us that we are people who have been sealed by the power of the Holy Spirit at Baptism.
As Jesus sent His disciples out He warned that they will face lots of challenges. Some people may not welcome them or be hospitable to them. He instructed them not to worry about those, but keep on going. Life at that time was probably not any different from our life today.
The challenge for us is how ready are we for this type of rejection? As bad as rejection may be, we are reminded to take comfort in what Jesus told His disciples. If they were welcome in one place they should stay with those people, but wherever they were not accepted He said they should not only leave the place but that they should shake off the dust of the city from their shoes. In essence none of us should be stuck in the mud of rejection. In the Gospel of Matthew that we heard today Jesus told the disciples to keep going from town to town and that they would not have finished visiting every city until His return. This is the true meaning of going on a mission for Christ. This is what evangelism is, and it is also what having a purpose driven life looks like.
Before I conclude let me say Happy Father’s Day all fathers both natural and surrogate. Fathers are the first teachers to children, they teach us to be humble and to do well in life. Every time children do well in life fathers are always very proud of them.
When we are faced with rejection, it is our fathers to encourage us to keep on keeping on and don’t sweat small things. As we celebrate all fathers today let us remember those fathers that have died I pray that their souls will rest in peace.
So, let us take time today to recognize and celebrate the precious gift of good dads. Thank God for giving them to us to love and to cherish. And to the fathers among us let us live our lives so that we can also be mentors for our children and when they grow up, long after we are gone, they too will joyfully celebrate and remember us as the best fathers anyone could have.
As we continue to proclaim the good news of the mercy and goodness of God I pray that God will give us strength and protection as we go on a mission for Christ.
Amen.
The Apostles’ Creed
BCP p. 96
Canticle 20: The Third Song of Isaiah
BPC p. 87
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Prayers
BCP p. 97
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.
Save us from the time of trial,
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power
and the glory are yours,
now and for ever. Amen.
V. Save your people, Lord, and bless your inheritance;
R. Govern and uphold them, now and always.
V. Day by day we bless you;
R. We praise your Name for ever.
V. Lord, keep us from all sin today;
R. Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy.
V. Lord, show us your love and mercy;
R. For we put our trust in you.
V. In you, Lord, is our hope;
R. And we shall never hope in vain.
The Collect of the Day
BCP p. 230
Keep, O Lord, your household the Church in your steadfast faith and love, that through your grace we may proclaim your truth with boldness, and minister your justice with compassion; for the sake of our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
A Collect for Peace
BCP p. 99
O God, the author of peace and lover of concord, to know you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom: Defend us, your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in your defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries; through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
A Prayer for Mission
BCP p. 101
Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace: So clothe us in your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you; for
the honor of your Name. Amen.
Prayers of the People
Through Jesus, whom we confess as Lord,
we give thanks and praise to the Father,
calling on him who is judge of all:
For all the peoples of the world;
that they may know you as the God of peace,
We pray to you, O Lord.
Father, your kingdom come.
For nations, for leaders and governments;
that integrity may mark all their dealings,
We pray to you, O Lord.
Father, your kingdom come.
For all who labour for righteousness;
that your presence and help may give them courage,
We pray to you, O Lord.
Father, your kingdom come.
For communities torn by dissension and strife;
that your forgiveness may bring them healing,
We pray to you, O Lord.
Father, your kingdom come.
For those on our Parish Prayer List (N);
for the anxious, the lonely, the bereaved;
that consolation and peace may be theirs,
We pray to you, O Lord.
Father, your kingdom come.
For the Church, your household and family;
that she may be firm in the confession of her hope,
We pray to you, O Lord.
Father, your kingdom come.
For Thomas, our Bishop,
and for all who bear Christ’s name;
that their lives may proclaim your glory,
We pray to you, O Lord.
Father, your kingdom come.
For those who are separated from us by death;
that theirs may be the kingdom which is unshakeable,
We pray to you, O Lord.
Father, your kingdom come.
(adapted from The Scottish Liturgy 1982)
A Prayer of St. Chrysostom
BCP p.102
Almighty God, you have given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplication to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will be in the midst of them: Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen.
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
be with us all evermore. Amen.
2 Corinthians 13:14
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