Alleluia! Christ is risen.
The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!
On this day the Lord has acted; we will rejoice and be glad in
it. Psalm 118:24
Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord
Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:57
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that
are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
Colossians 3:1
Christ has entered, not into a sanctuary made with hands, a
copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in
the presence of God on our behalf. Hebrews 9:24
You shall receive power when the Holy Ghost has come upon
you; and you shall be my witness in Jerusalem, and in all
Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Acts 1::8
O Gracious Light Phos hilaron
O gracious Light,
pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven,
O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!
Now as we come to the setting of the sun,
and our eyes behold the vesper light,
we sing your praises, O God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices,
O Son of God, O Giver of life,
and to be glorified through all the worlds.
A Smudging Prayer
Creator,
our Father in heaven,
we come to you as your children.
We confess that we are weak and broken images of you.
We pray for the forgiveness and healing you give in Jesus Christ. May his Spirit clean our spirits, minds, hearts, and bodies.
We pray that your Holy Spirit will help us to worship in spirit and truth.
We pray in the name of Jesus, so that his Spirit will carry our prayers to you. Amen.
Christ our Passover Pascha nostrum
1 Corinthians 5:7-8; Romans 6:9-11; 1 Corinthians 15:20-22
Alleluia.
Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us; *
therefore let us keep the feast,
Not with old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, *
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Alleluia.
Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; *
death no longer has dominion over him.
The death that he died, he died to sin, once for all; *
but the life he lives, he lives to God.
So also consider yourselves dead to sin, *
and alive to God in Jesus Christ our Lord. Alleluia.
Christ has been raised from the dead, *
the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For since by a man came death, *
by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die, *
so in Christ shall all be made alive. Alleluia.
1 Be pleased, O God, to deliver me; *
O Lord, make haste to help me.
2 Let those who seek my life be ashamed
and altogether dismayed; *
let those who take pleasure in my misfortune
draw back and be disgraced.
3 Let those who say to me "Aha!" and gloat over me turn back, *
because they are ashamed.
4 Let all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; *
let those who love your salvation say for ever,
"Great is the Lord!"
5 But as for me, I am poor and needy; *
come to me speedily, O God.
6 You are my helper and my deliverer; *
O Lord, do not tarry.
Isaiah 2:2-5
2 In days to come
the mountain of the Lord’s house
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be raised above the hills;
all the nations shall stream to it.
3 Many peoples shall come and say,
‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob;
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.’
For out of Zion shall go forth instruction,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 He shall judge between the nations,
and shall arbitrate for many peoples;
they shall beat their swords into ploughshares,
and their spears into pruning-hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more.
5 O house of Jacob,
come, let us walk
in the light of the Lord!
The Song of Mary Magnificat
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in you, O God my Savior, *
for you have looked with favor on your lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: *
you, the Almighty, have done great things for me,
and holy is your name.
You have mercy on those who fear you *
from generation to generation.
You have shown strength with your arm * and scattered the proud in their conceit,
Casting down the mighty from their thrones * and lifting up the lowly.
You have filled the hungry with good things * and sent the rich away empty.
You have come to the help of your servant Israel, * for you have remembered your promise of mercy,
The promise made to our forebears, * to Abraham and his children for ever.
Revelation 7:13-17
13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, ‘Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?’ 14I said to him, ‘Sir, you are the one that knows.’ Then he said to me, ‘These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
15 For this reason they are before the throne of God,
and worship him day and night within his temple,
and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them.
16 They will hunger no more, and thirst no more;
the sun will not strike them,
nor any scorching heat;
17 for the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them to springs of the water of life,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’
A Song of the Wilderness
Isaiah 35:1-7,10
The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, * the desert shall rejoice and blossom;
It shall blossom abundantly, *
and rejoice with joy and singing.
They shall see the glory of the Lord, * the majesty of our God.
Strengthen the weary hands, * and make firm the feeble knees.
Say to the anxious, “Be strong, do not fear! *
Here is your God, coming with judgment to save you.”
Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, * and the ears of the deaf be unstopped.
Then shall the lame leap like a deer, *
and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness *
and streams in the desert;
The burning sand shall become a pool *
and the thirsty ground, springs of water.
The ransomed of God shall return with singing, *
with everlasting joy upon their heads. Joy and gladness shall be theirs, *
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Matthew 2:13-18
13 Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.’ 14Then Joseph* got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, 15and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I have called my son.’
16 When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men,* he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men.* 17Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:
18 ‘A voice was heard in Ramah,
wailing and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.’
A Song of the Spirit
Revelation 22:12-17
“Behold, I am coming soon,” says the Lord, “and bringing my reward with me, *
to give to everyone according to their deeds.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, * the beginning and the end.”
Blessed are those who do God’s commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, *
and may enter the city through the gates. “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to you, *
with this testimony for all the churches. “I am the root and the offspring of David, *
I am the bright morning star.” “Come!” say the Spirit and the Bride; *
“Come!” let each hearer reply! Come forward, you who are thirsty, *
let those who desire take the water of life as a gift.
Today's Reading from the Good Book Club!
Acts 11:1-18
Peter’s Report to the Church at Jerusalem
Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, saying, ‘Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?’ Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying, ‘I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners; and it came close to me. As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air. I also heard a voice saying to me, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.” But I replied, “By no means, Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.” But a second time the voice answered from heaven, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.” This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven. At that very moment three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were. The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, “Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter; he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved.” And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, “John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?’ When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, ‘Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.’
Collect of the Day
Almighty God, our Refuge and our Rock, your loving care knows no bounds and embraces all the peoples of the earth: Defend and protect those who fall victim to the forces of evil, and as we remember this day those who endured depredation and death because of who they were, not because of what they had done or failed to do, give us the courage to stand against hatred and oppression, and to seek the dignity and well-being of all for the sake of our Savior Jesus Christ, in whom you have reconciled the world to yourself; and who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Loving Jesus: Protect and sustain us with your hand. Open the door of your love that, sealed with your wisdom, we may be free to serve you with joy. Amen. (a prayer of St. Gertrude)
Jesus, you are the way through the wilderness: show us your truth in which we journey, and by the grace of the Holy Spirit be in us the life that draws us to God. Amen.
(source: F.B. McNutt, The Prayer Manual [London: Mowbray, 1961], p. 29, adapted)
Jesus, the true bread that comes down from heaven: leaven us with your Holy Spirit, that the world may know the abundance of life in your new creation. Amen.
God of unchangeable power, when you fashioned the world the morning stars sang together and the host of heaven shouted for joy; open our eyes to the wonders of creation and teach us
to use all things for good, to the honor of your glorious name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(source: A New Zealand Prayer Book, p. 569)
Settings of the Lord's Prayer from A New Zealand Prayer Book
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.
now and for ever. Amen.
Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver,
Source of all that is and that shall be,
Father and Mother of us all,
Loving God, in whom is heaven:
The way of your justice be followed by the peoples
of the world!
Your heavenly will be done by all created beings!
Your commonwealth of peace and freedom
sustain our hope and come on earth.
In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.
In times of temptation and test, strengthen us.
From trials too great to endure, spare us.
From the grip of all that is evil, free us.
now and for ever. Amen.
by Jenny Child
God of our pilgrimage,
you have given us a desire
to take the questing way
and set out on our journey.
Help us to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus,
that whatever we encounter as we travel,
we may seek to glorify you by the way we live. Amen
Eternal God,
give us the courage to set off on pilgrimage.
May we travel unhindered by worldly possessions
simply trusting in you for all that we need.
Sometimes our hearts will be heavy as we plod along
and our feet will ache and feel dirty.
Other times we will rejoice as the sun shines
on the path stretching before us.
May we ponder the truth,
that the pilgrim’s journey is never finished till they reach home. Amen
You call us, Lord,
to leave familiar things and to leave our “comfort zone”.
May we open our eyes to new experiences,
may we open our ears to hear you speaking to us
and may we open our hearts to your love.
Grant that this time spent on pilgrimage
may help us to see ourselves as we really are
and may we strive to become the people you would have us be. Amen
Lord, you know our beginning and our end.
Help us to realise we are only pilgrims on this earth
and save us from being too attached to worldly possessions.
May we experience the freedom to wander,
the freedom to hope and the freedom to love as we journey. Amen
Creator God, you are the source of all life and motivation.
May we journey in faith and love, rejoicing and eager to serve you.
Grant us a glimpse of your glory as we seek to follow you –
the Way, the Truth and the Life. Amen
May God the Father who created you, guide your footsteps,
May God the Son who redeemed you, share your journey,
May God the Holy Spirit who sanctifies you, lead you on life’s pilgrimage,
and the blessing of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit
be with you wherever you may go. Amen.
MONTH 1
Walk 5 km 2 TIMES PER WEEK - 5 k = 5 kilometers =
Month One is all about getting started. Walking 5km on flat terrain should take less than an hour. You should be aiming for 45 minutes by the end of the month.
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