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Worship series
| Leader: | Today we'll be using a new and different form of Morning Prayer, based on the old and familiar Letter to the Hebrews. Because so much of this service is taken straight from the Bible, there won't be any New Testament reading as such. |
| Silence | —5 seconds |
| Call to Worship | |
| Leader: | We have come together to worship God:
to Mount Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem, to the city of the living God; to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven; to God, the judge of all; to the spirits of the righteous made perfect; to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant. |
| All: | So let us be thankful,
and offer to God acceptable worship with reverence and awe. |
| Song | Come, let us praise the Lord
(metrical version of Psalm 95, Mission Praise 92) |
| Old Testament Reading
Jeremiah 31.31-34 silence Confession of Sin Jesus is the mediator of God's new covenant. Silence |
|
| All: | O God, our Father, whose Son Jesus Christ
was tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin, we approach your throne of grace with confidence, knowing that he understands us. In our weakness show us your mercy, and give us your grace to help in time of need, for Jesus' sake. Amen. |
| Leader: | In full assurance of faith,
with our hearts sprinkled clean from a guilty conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water, let us hold firm to the faith we profess, for he who promised is faithful. |
| Affirmation of Faith | |
| All: | Long ago God spoke to our ancestors
in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, Jesus Christ; |
| Side 1: | Whom he appointed heir of all things,
through whom he also created the worlds. |
| Side 2: | He is the reflection of God's glory
and the exact imprint of God's very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. |
| Side 1: | When he had made purification for our sins,
he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, |
| Side 2: | So he became as much superior to the angels
as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. |
| Side 1: | Though for a little while he was made lower than the angels,
now we see Jesus crowned with glory and honour because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. |
| Side 2: | Though he was a Son,
he learned obedience through what he suffered; and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him. |
| Side 1: | Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession,
was faithful to the one who appointed him. |
| Side 2: | He holds his priesthood permanently,
because he continues for ever. |
| Side 1: | Consequently he is able for all time
to save completely those who come to God through him, since he always lives to intercede for them. |
| Side 2: | Such a high priest meets our need-
one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. |
| Side 1: | He entered once for all into the Holy Place,
not with the blood of goats and bulls, but with his own blood, offering himself without blemish through the eternal Spirit, thus obtaining eternal redemption. |
| Side 2: | Having been offered once to bear the sins of many,
Christ will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. |
| All: | So let us fix our eyes on Jesus,
the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Amen. |
| Prayers | |
| Leader: | Consider him:
Jesus Christ, the same yesterday and today and for ever. The one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. So let us pray together the Lord's Prayer... |
| Leader: | And let us join in this prayer for God's help |
| All: | Almighty God,
by whose grace alone we are accepted and called to your service: strengthen us by your Holy Spirit and make us worthy of our calling; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. |
| Other prayers may be said. | |
| All: | May the God of peace,
who brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, make us complete in everything good so that we may do his will, working in us what is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. |
| Song: | Jesus is King and we will extol him
(Mission Praise 366, changed into first person plural) |
Notes
1. Thanks to Jenny Petersen (Chaplain of Queen Mary and Westfield College, London) for this liturgy.
If this text is reproduced for worship use, it should bear the NRSV copyright notice:
The scripture quotations in the Hebrews liturgy are from The New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Anglicized
Edition, ©1989,1995 by the Division of Christian Educatin of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of
America, and are used by permission. All rights reserved. Back
Return to: W175 Further Resources
Worship series