Online worship for the Birth of John the Baptist, 25 June

This Sunday, 25 June, we celebrate the Birth of John the Baptist with services of Holy Communion at 9.30am at St Bartholomew, Burstow, 10am at St Mary the Virgin, Horne and 11am at St John the Baptist, Outwood. And as always, there is an online service here, too, which this week is led by the Revd Nicholas Calver

To follow today’s online service just click on the arrow here and find the words below.

On Jordan’s bank the Baptist’s cry
Announces that the Lord is nigh;
Awake, and hearken, for he brings
Glad tidings of the King of kings.

Then cleansed be ev’ry breast from sin;
Make straight the way for God within;
Prepare we in our hearts a home,
Where such a mighty guest may come.

For thou art our salvation, Lord,
Our refuge and our great reward;
Without thy grace we waste away,
Like flow’rs that wither and decay.

To heal the sick stretch out thine hand,
And bid the fallen sinner stand;
Shine forth and let thy light restore
Earth’s own true loveliness once more.

All praise, eternal Son, to thee
Whose advent doth thy people free,
Whom with the Father we adore
And Holy Ghost for evermore.

Charles Coffin (1676-1749) Trans. John Chandler (1806-1876) alt

This is the day the Lord has made.

Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Let us pray:

The Collect for the Birth of John the Baptist

Almighty God,
by whose providence your servant John the Baptist
was wonderfully born,
and sent to prepare the way of your Son our Saviour
by the preaching of repentance:
lead us to repent according to his preaching
 and, after his example, constantly to speak the truth, boldly to rebuke vice,
and patiently to suffer for the truth’s sake;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Amen

The readings
by Wendy Jeavons

The first reading is Isaiah 40: 1-11

This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.
Glory to you, O Lord.

The Gospel reading is from Luke 1: 57-66 and 80

This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.

Talk
by Revd Nicholas Calver

The Prayers

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.

Blessing

For all your saints still active,
For those whose work is done;
For saints with you in glory
Whose earthly race is run.
You rose as King and Sov’reign,
That they the crown might wear,
Reserved for those who humbly
your earthly pathway share.

Give thanks for John the Baptist,
Forerunner of the Word
Who went ahead preparing
The way for Christ our Lord.
Greatest among the prophets,
He saw in Christ the One
Whom God had sent to save us,
Jesus, his only Son.

Apostles, prophets, martyrs,
Who served you here on earth,
Now reign with you in heaven,
Singing your praise and worth.
With them, and all whose witness
Is known to you alone,
We share our earthly journey
Towards your heavenly throne.

We praise you, God our Father,
We worship Christ, your Son,
We glorify your Spirit,
Forever three, yet one.
On earth we see you dimly,
In heaven face to face;
And then with all who’ve served you,
We’ll praise you, God of grace.

Horatio Bolton Nelson (1823-1913) vv1, 3+4 Stuart Thomas (b. 1954) v2 © Copyright 2004 Kevin Mayhew Ltd. Reproduced by permission. CCLI:845257

Organist: Peter Nye

Common Worship: Services and Prayers for the Church of England (2000), material from which is included in this service, is copyright © The Archbishops’ Council 2000.