Hymn – From heaven you came helpless babe (The Servant King)
The Greeting
Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
All: And also with you
The Peace
We are the body of Christ.
In the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body
Let us then pursue all that makes for peace
and builds up our common life.
The peace of the Lord be always with you.
All: And also with you.
Let us offer one another a sign of peace.
(Please turn to those around you, offering your hand, and say
‘The peace of the Lord be with you’)
Prayer of Preparation
All: 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.
Prayer of Penitence
Our Lord Jesus Christ said: The first commandment is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our Cod is the only Lord. You shall love the Lord your Cod with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’
The second is this: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
All: Amen. Lord, have mercy.
God so loved the world
that he gave his only Son Jesus Christ
to save us from our sins,
to be our advocate in heaven,
and to bring us to eternal life.
Let us confess our sins in penitence and faith,
firmly resolved to keep God’s commandments
and to live in love and peace with all.
All: Father eternal, giver of light and grace,
we have sinned against you and against our neighbour,
in what we have thought,
in what we have said and done,
through ignorance, through weakness,
through our own deliberate fault.
We have wounded your love
and marred your image in us.
We are sorry and ashamed
and repent of all our sins.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
who died for us,
forgive us all that is past
and lead us out from darkness
to walk as children of light.
Amen.
Almighty God,
who forgives all who truly repent, have mercy upon you, pardon and deliver you from all your sins, confirm and strengthen you in all goodness, and keep you in life eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.
Collect
Almighty God,
whose Son Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life:
raise us, who trust in him,
from the death of sin to the life of righteousness,
that we may seek those things which are above,
where he reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
All: Amen
Our First Reading is – Acts Chap: 2
42 They spent their time in learning from the apostles, taking part in the fellowship, and sharing in the fellowship meals and the prayers.
43 Many miracles and wonders were being done through the apostles, and everyone was filled with awe.
44 All the believers continued together in close fellowship and shared their belongings with one another.
45 They would sell their property and possessions, and distribute the money among all, according to what each one needed.
46 Day after day they met as a group in the Temple, and they had their meals together in their homes, eating with glad and humble hearts,
47 praising God, and enjoying the good will of all the people. And every day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved.
This is the word of the Lord.
All: Thanks be to God.
Hymn – Souls of Men, Why Will Ye Scatter
1 Souls of men! why will ye scatter
Like a crowd of frightened sheep?
Foolish hearts! why will ye wander
From a love so true and deep?
2 Was there ever kindest shepherd
Half so gentle, half so sweet,
As the Saviour who would have us
Come and gather round his feet?
3 There’s a wideness in God’s mercy
Like the wideness of the sea;
There’s a kindness in his justice
Which is more than liberty.
4 There is welcome for the sinner,
And more graces for the good;
There is mercy with the Saviour;
There is healing in his blood.
5 But we make his love too narrow
By false limits of our own;
And we lose the tender shepherd
In the judge upon the throne.
6 For the love of God is broader
Than the measure of man’s mind;
And the heart of the eternal
Is most wonderfully kind. (by Frederick William Faber – 1814 to 1863)
Here the Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ According to – John Chap: 10
1 Jesus said, “I am telling you the truth: the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber.
2 The man who goes in through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him; the sheep hear his voice as he calls his own sheep by name, and he leads them out.
4 When he has brought them out, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they know his voice.
5 They will not follow someone else; instead, they will run away from such a person, because they do not know his voice.”
6 Jesus told them this parable, but they did not understand what he meant.
7 So Jesus said again, “I am telling you the truth: I am the gate for the sheep.
8 All others who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.
9 I am the gate. Those who come in by me will be saved; they will come in and go out and find pasture.
10 The thief comes only in order to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come in order that you might have life – life in all its fullness.
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
All: Thanks be to God.
Sermon
Gospel reading today, Jesus offers us a powerful image:
“I have come that they may have life, and have It to the full.”
- Life in all its fullness.
- That’s not survival. It’s not just getting by.
- It’s not even just believing the right things.
- It is a rich, whole life- that nourishes us spiritually, physically, emotionally, and communally,
- In Acts, we see a picture of what that kind of life looks like when it is lived out together.
- The early followers of Jesus didn’t just believe in the resurrection— they built a way of life around it.
- They met together regularly in the temple.
- People knew where to find them,
- Their faith was visible, rooted in a place, grounded in community.
- They weren’t hidden away. They were present. Consistent. Faithful.
- They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching. They were spiritually nourished. They took time to learn, to listen, to grow. Faith wasn’t assumed, it was cultivated.
- They broke bread togethers They ate together.
- They were physically nourished. There’s something deeply holy about sharing food, about sitting at table, about companionship, about laughter and conversations
- And then perhaps most strikingly of all:
- They gave up what they had and shared according to need.
- They cared for one another in practical, sacrificial ways.
- That is emotional nourishment, knowing you are seen, known, and supported.
- This was community that created a genuine welcome.
- Not lust words at the door, but a way of life that said: you belong here.
- What happened?
“The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”
- Growth wasn’t manufactured. Wasn’t forced.
- It wasn’t driven by anxiety or strategy alone.
- It flowed naturally from a healthy, Spirit-filled community.
- And that brings us to the challenge for us today,
- Natural Church Development approach.
- It identifies eight qualities of healthy churches, And its insight is simple but profound: when a church is heath, growth happens.
- Not always Quickly, Not always in the ways we But life attracts life.
- And that fits exactly with what we see in Acts,
- Early church didn’t start with “how do we grow?” started with “how do we live faithfully?”
”How, do we nourish one another?”
‘How, do we follow Jesus well?”
- And growth followed.
- If we hold that next our Gospel, it deepens even more.
- Jesus describes himself as the Good Shepherd, the one who knows his sheep, calls them by name, leads them to safety and to pasture.
- And then he says something striking: “l am the gate”
- Through him, we find security, Belonging. Life.
- But notice this: the sheep recognise his voice.
- Which Means they have learned to listen,
- And that takes us straight back to Acts—
- to community devoted to teaching, to fellowship to prayer, to breaking bread,
- Those practices weren’t random.
- They’re how the early Christians learned to recognise the voice of the Shepherd.
- They created space to hear him.
- Built rhythms that kept them close to him.
- Shaped a life where his voice could be known and followed,
- So perhaps the Question for us today is not first, “How do we grow the church?”
- Rather, “How do we become that kind of community?”
- A community where:
- people know where to find us faith is nourished deeply
- Draw Nearer
- meals are shared generously
- needs are met compassionately and everyone encounters a genuine welcome
- Because when those things are present— when we are rooted in Christ, when we listen for his voice, when we care for one another— then we begin to experience that *’life in all its fullness.”
- And others notices
- Not because we are trying to impress, but because something real is happening,
- So, the challenge for us this— to get our priorities right.
- Not to abandon strategy, but to ground it in something deeper.
- Not to chase growth, but to cultivate health.
- Not to ask first Eight
- “What wilt bring people in?”
- but “What will help us live faithfully as the people of Jesus?
- Because the promise still holds:
- When the Shepherd leads,
- Then the sheep listen,
- when the community lives in love—
- LIFE GROWS & the Lord adds to their number,
Amen
We say together
The Creed
Let us declare our faith in God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit
All: I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
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,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come 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.
Prayers of Intercession
During the intercession this response is used: Lord, in your mercy
All: Hear our prayer.
Prayers for King Charles
Through this tritium of prayer we ask God’s continuing blessing on our new King Charles
Prayer
O God, to whom every human power is subject,
grant to your servant our sovereign Charles
success in the exercise of his high office,
so that, always revering you and striving to please you,
he may constantly secure and preserve
for the people entrusted to his care
the freedom that comes from civil peace.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
All: Amen
Prayer for the Royal Family
Almighty God, the fountain of all goodness,
we humbly beseech thee to bless
Queen Camilla, William Prince of Wales, the Princess of Wales, and all the
Royal Family:
Endue them with thy Holy Spirit; enrich them with thy heavenly
grace; prosper them with all happiness;
and bring them to thine everlasting
kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.
In the power of the Spirit and in union with Christ, let us pray to the Father.
Almighty God, our heavenly Father,
you promised through your Son Jesus Christ
to hear us when we pray in faith.
Strengthen Ruth our bishop and all your Church in the service of Christ, that those who confess your name may be united in your truth, live together in your love, and reveal your glory in the world.
Bless and guide Charles our King; give wisdom to all in authority; and direct this and every nation in the ways of justice and of peace; that we may honour one another, and seek the common good.
Give grace to us, our families and friends, and to all our neighbours, that we may serve Christ in one another, and love as he loves us.
Comfort and heal all those who suffer in body, mind,
or spirit……;
Give them courage and hope in their troubles; and bring them the joy of your salvation.
Hear us as we remember those who have died in the faith of Christ……;
According to your promises, grant us with them a share in your eternal kingdom.
Rejoicing in the fellowship of St. Laurence, St. John and all your saints, we commend ourselves and the whole creation to your unfailing love.
Merciful Father,
All: Accept these prayers
for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Heavenly Father,
you have promised through your Son Jesus Christ, that when we meet in his name, : and pray according to his mind, he will be among us and hear our prayer: in your love and mercy fulfil our desires, and give us your greatest gift, which is to know you, the only true God, and your Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.
Hymn – Loving Shepherd of Thy Sheep
- Loving Shepherd of your sheep,
all your lambs in safety keep;
nothing can your power withstand,
none can pluck them from your hand. - May they praise you ev’ry day,
gladly all your will obey,
like your blessed ones above,
happy in your precious love. - Loving Shepherd, ever near,
teach your lambs your voice to hear;
suffer not their steps to stray
from the straight and narrow way. - Where you lead them may they go,
walking in your steps below;
then, before your Father’s throne,
Saviour, claim them for your own. (by Jane Elizabeth Leeson – 1807 to 1882)
The Eucharistic Prayer
The Lord is here.
All: His Spirit is with us.
Lift up your hearts,
All: We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
All: It is right to give thanks and praise.
It is indeed right,
it is our duty and our joy,
at all times and in all places
to give you thanks and praise,
holy Father, heavenly King,
almighty and eternal God,
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord.
For he is your living Word;
through him you have created all things from the beginning, and formed us in your own image.
All: To you be glory and praise for ever.
Through him you have freed us from the slavery of sin, giving him to be born of a woman and to die upon the cross;
You raised him from the dead and exalted him to your right hand on high.
All: To you be glory and praise for ever.
Through him you nave sent upon us your holy and life-giving Spirit, and made us a people for your own possession.
All: To you be glory and praise for ever.
Therefore with angels and archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we proclaim your great and glorious name, for ever praising you and saying:
All: Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Accept our praises, heavenly Father,
through your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ,
and as we follow his example and obey his command,
grant that by the power of your Holy Spirit
these gifts of bread and wine
may be to us his body and his blood;
who, in the same night that he was betrayed,
took bread and gave you thanks;
he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying:
Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you;
do this in remembrance of me.
In the same way, after supper he took the cup and gave you thanks; he gave it to them, saying: Drink this, all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.
All: To you be glory and praise for ever.
Therefore, heavenly Father, we remember his offering of himself made once for all upon the cross; we proclaim his mighty resurrection and glorious ascension; we look for the coming of your kingdom, and with this bread and this cup
we make the memorial of Christ your Son our Lord.
All: Christ has died: Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
Accept through him, our great high priest, this our sacrifice of thanks and praise, and as we eat and drink these holy gifts in the presence of your divine majesty, renew us by your Spirit, inspire us with your love and unite us in the body of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
All: To you be glory and praise for ever.
Through him, and with him, and in him, m the unity of the Holy Spirit,
with all who stand before you in earth and heaven, we worship you, Father almighty, in songs of everlasting praise;
All: Blessing and honour and glory and power be yours for ever and ever.
Amen.
Let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name;
Thy kingdom come;
Thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Breaking of the Bread
We break this bread to share in the body of Christ.
All: Though we are many, we are one body, because we all share in one bread.
All: Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world.
Have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world,
Have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world,
Grant us peace.
Giving of Communion
Draw near with faith
Receive the body of our Lord Jesus Christ
which he gave for you,
and his blood which he shed for you-
Eat and drink
in remembrance that he died for you,
and feed on him in your hearts
by faith with thanksgiving.
Amen
We say together the –
Post Communion
All: Merciful Father,
you gave your Son Jesus Christ to be the good shepherd,
and in his love for us to lay down his life and rise again:
keep us always under his protection,
and give us grace to follow in his steps;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The Blessing
The God of peace,
who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus,
that great shepherd of the sheep,
through the blood of the eternal covenant,
make you perfect in every good work to do his will,
working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight;
and the blessing of our Lord
and the love of God
be with you now and ever more
All: Amen.
(Sung Twice)
Final Prayers and the Dismissal
Go in faith to love the Lord.
All: In the Name of Christ
Amen
© 702211