Last Sunday

Sunday May 21

Sunday After Ascension - Seventh Sunday of Easter

Notices
Opening Hymn: The Church's One Foundation
Sentence of the Day
Collect of the Day
Lesson: Acts 1:6-14
Epistle: 1 Peter 4:12-14 & 5:6-11
Gradual Hymn: Be Still For The Presence Of The Lord
Gospel: John 17:1-11
Sermon
Prayers & Intercessions
Anthem: O Clap Your Hands - John Rutter
Closing Hymn: Ye Servants Of God

Notices

Fisherfolk Newsletter & Pew Sheet for Sunday May 21

Opening Hymn: The Church's One Foundation

Sentence of the Day

This is eternal life, that we may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
John 17:3

Collect of the Day

Christ our great high priest,
you understand our weakness;
you pray for us while we are sinners.
Help us, through you,
to find a new and living way to God;
for the glory of your holy name.
Amen.

Lesson

Acts 1:6-14

⁶ Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

⁷ He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. ⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

⁹ After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

¹⁰ They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ¹¹ “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

¹² Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. ¹³ When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. ¹⁴ They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

Epistle

1 Peter 4:12-14 & 5:6-11

¹² Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. ¹³ But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. ¹⁴ If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.

^{[5] 6} Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. ⁷ Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

⁸ Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. ⁹ Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

¹⁰ And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. ¹¹ To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Gradual Hymn: Be Still For The Presence Of The Lord

Gospel

John 17:1-11

¹ After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:

“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. ² For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. ³ Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. ⁴ I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. ⁵ And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

⁶ “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. ⁷ Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. ⁸ For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. ⁹ I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. ¹⁰ All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. ¹¹ I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.

Sermons by the Revs. Richard Girdwood & Lynda Whitwell

Sermon by the Rev. Richard Girdwood

Here we are on the Sunday after the third most important feast in the Christian Calendar, although we might be hard pressed to believe it. Obviously, importance wise, Easter is the Queen of feasts, that most important day on which we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. Second in importance is Pentecost, which we will celebrate next Sunday. The third is Ascension Day. You will be thinking “The old duffer has finally lost it... Read more...

Sermon by the Rev. Lynda Whitwell

A mum had taught her daughter to pray a set prayer every night before she went to sleep. One night she entered her daughter’s bedroom to find her reading aloud the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Upon asking why, the daughter replied, ‘I thought God might be bored with the same prayer all the time, so I am reading Him a story instead.’ I am sure God was smiling and enjoying her story... Read more...

Prayers & Intercessions

Prayers of the people for Sunday May 21

Anthem: O Clap Your Hands - John Rutter

Closing Hymn: Ye Servants Of God