WELCOME
Good morning everyone. Welcome to our family service for Trinity Sunday. Lots of people have taken part in this service. I want to thank the young people for the prayers, Chris Mann for reading and Chris Barret for giving us a very entertaining and pertinent talk.
We come young and old to join in worship as we sing the great Trinity hymn: “Holy, Holy, Holy”.
(songs of praise “Holy, Holy, Holy” up to the point of 2.12 minutes)
GATHERING
We meet in the name of God
God the Father,
God the Son,
God the Spirit:
God is one.
The Lord be with you.
We use these signs to remind us of the Trinity
These flowers remind us of the Father’s love who made a world of beauty and colour.
The cross reminds us of the Son’s forgiveness who endured the world’s pain to set us free.
This candle reminds us of the Spirit’s power who renews the church for worship and for witness
We gaze at these signs of the Trinity of love:
God around us
God with us
God among us;
the Beginning, the End,
the Everlasting one.
Eternal God, source of all blessing,
help us to worship you
with all our heart and mind and strength;
for you alone are God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
for ever and ever. Amen
INVITATION TO CONFESSION
We come to God from whom no secrets are hidden, and in sorrow for our sins, to ask for forgiveness and peace.
CONFESSION
We have not always worshipped God, our creator.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
We have not always followed Christ, our Saviour.
Christ have mercy.
Christ have mercy.
We have not always trusted in the Spirit, our guide.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy
The minister declares God’s forgiveness
May the God of love bring us back to himself, forgive us our sins and assure us of his eternal love in Jesus Christ our Lord.
THE COLLECT
Holy God, faithful and unchanging:
enlarge our minds with the knowledge of your truth, and draw us more deeply into the mystery of your love,
that we may truly worship you,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen
BIBLE READING Genesis 18:1-16 From The Message
18 1-2 God appeared to Abraham at the Oaks of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent. It was the hottest part of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing. He ran from his tent to greet them and bowed before them.
3-5 He said, “Master, if it please you, stop for a while with your servant. I’ll get some water so you can wash your feet. Rest under this tree. I’ll get some food to refresh you on your way, since your travels have brought you across my path.”
They said, “Certainly. Go ahead.”
6 Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. He said, “Hurry. Get three cups of our best flour; knead it and make bread.”
7-8 Then Abraham ran to the cattle pen and picked out a nice plump calf and gave it to the servant who lost no time getting it ready. Then he got curds and milk, brought them with the calf that had been roasted, set the meal before the men, and stood there under the tree while they ate.
9 The men said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?”
He said, “In the tent.”
10 One of them said, “I’m coming back about this time next year. When I arrive, your wife Sarah will have a son.” Sarah was listening at the tent opening, just behind the man.
11-12 Abraham and Sarah were old by this time, very old. Sarah was far past the age for having babies. Sarah laughed within herself, “An old woman like me? Get pregnant? With this old man of a husband?”
13-14 God said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh saying, ‘Me? Have a baby? An old woman like me?’ Is anything too hard for God? I’ll be back about this time next year and Sarah will have a baby.”
15 Sarah lied. She said, “I didn’t laugh,” because she was afraid.
But he said, “Yes you did; you laughed.”
16 When the men got up to leave, they set off for Sodom. Abraham walked with them to say good-bye.
HYMN 142 Father I adore you
BIBLE READING: Matthew 28:16-20
16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’
THE ADDRESS – given by Chris Barrett.
Hello everyone, it is good to be talking to you and in particular the young families that are joining us for this service.
Today is Trinity Sunday and as I expect you know Trinity means three, as in tricycle a bike with three wheels, or triangle a shape with three sides or a triathlon a race with three parts, running, swimming and riding a bike. I bet you all knew those facts.
This week I had three challenges, firstly preparing my very first online presentation, secondly delivering this presentation without the help of the young people with me at the front of the church and of thirdly getting to grips with the technology, many thanks to Alex for his invaluable help with this.
So our service today has a feeling of three-ness about it. We could start with some exercises; are you ready for some actions –
If school was operating properly, we would be getting ready for sports day – On your marks, get set – Go!
Little bit limited as to what we can do sitting in our own homes, but could try some finger exercises – count 1, 2, 3 on fingers forwards and backwards.
Or maybe some exercises to keep us fit – later you could make up your own actions to do in threes, how about; hands on heads, hands on shoulders, jump in the air. I’m sure you can think of something better. Definitely no age restriction for this one.
Or we could try a treasure hunt, looking for three similar objects – Three greetings cards, three plastic spoons, three plastic cups. Notice how these can all be slipped together and look like one, the cards, the cups and the spoons.
Think about your Mums and Dads and all of our families. Who in your family are both a daughter and a mother or a son and a father? To solve this riddle, think about Granny or Grandpa, your Mum and Dad and yourself. If you have great grandparents, someone could be, a son, a Grandfather and a Father or Daughter, Grandmother and Mother. Same person with three identities, think about it!
Listen to this poem
1, 2, 3 – Discover a mystery
3, 2, 1 – Of Father Spirit Son
1, 2, 3 – Is all of God for me
3, 2, 1 – God is three in one
Whenever we want to pray for each other, we often use these three ways of describing God, and in our services are blessed in the name of ‘God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit’. These may be three names, but there is only one God.
In a story from the Old Testament book of Genesis, The Lord appeared to Abraham. While Abraham was sitting at the door of his tent in the heat of the midday sun, he looked up and saw three men standing nearby. Standing up he hurried to meet them asking if they wished for rest and refreshment. He asked his wife Sarah to use her finest flour to bake fresh bread and his servant selected a tender calf to be prepared for a delicious meal. While the three men ate, Abraham stood near them under a tree.
“Where is your wife Sarah?” They asked him.
“There in the tent,” he replied.
Then one of the men said to Abraham, “I will return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.”
Now Abraham and Sarah were already very old and well past the age of having children.
Sarah laughed and said, “Will I really have a child, now that I am old?”
The Lord said to Abraham, “Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”
Who were the three men who visited Abraham and Sarah The Bible says, The Lord appeared to Abraham.
On the website you can see this picture by the artist Rublev, it was painted over 500 years ago and is called the Icon of the Trinity. In the picture you can see the three men who came to visit Abraham, look carefully and you will see that they each have wings just like angels. Rublev painted them to represent the Trinity. The angel on the left is God the Father, in the middle, God the Son – Jesus; his hand is pointing to the cup representing the words Jesus spoke before his crucifixion when he asked God to take this cup from him, meaning for God to release him from his burden and on the right is the Holy Spirit. The angels are three in one, Father, Son and Holy Spirit and they brought the good news to Abraham and Sarah that they would have a Son.
Some of our young people have been making wonderful attempts at creating their own Icons of the Trinity. Please find time to explore them on our website.
In our reading we heard about Jesus coming to his disciples on the mountain and commanding them to “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Words that we hear in the blessing and would have been said at our own baptism.
We also remember these words taken from St Paul’s letter to the Corinthians when we say the peace together at the end of a service or gathering.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all evermore.
We can understand that God works in three distinct ways. We know that the hidden face of God the Father was made visible on earth as Jesus, and that we can experience the life of God the Son as the Holy Spirit, who is the invisible God living inside each one of us.
We have been exploring that God is three but also one.
There is God the creator who made us
There is God the redeemer who forgives us when we do wrong, rescues us when we are in need help and answers our prayers.
And there is God the sustainer, who strengths us giving us the power to spread his word and to help others when they are in need.
I wonder which part of God you like the best?
I wonder which part of God is the most important?
I wonder if we can leave out any part of God and still have the God we need?
I wonder which part of God you feel closest to at the moment?
To conclude let us say the words of the Grace together
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all evermore. Amen
OUR FAITH
Do you believe and trust in God the Father, who made all things?
We believe and trust in him.
Do you believe and trust in his Son Jesus Christ, who redeemed the world?
We believe and trust in him.
Do you believe and trust in the Holy Spirit, who gives life to the people of God?
We believe and trust in him.
This is the faith of the Church.
This is our faith.
We believe and trust in one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Amen.
HMYN: This is the dance of our God
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
We begin with prayers for our situation at the moment
A prayer for the world.
God of love and hope,
you made the world and care for all creation,
but the world feels strange right now.
The news is full of stories about Coronavirus.
Some people are worried that they might get ill.
Others are anxious for their family and friends.
Be with them and help them to find peace.
We pray for the doctors and nurses and scientists,
and all who are working to discover the right medicines
to help those who are ill.
Thank you that even in these anxious times,
you are with us.
Help us to put our trust in you and keep us safe.
Amen.
A prayer for those who are ill
Merciful God,
we entrust to your tender care
those who are ill or in pain,
knowing that whenever danger threatens
your everlasting arms are there to hold them safe.
Comfort and heal them,
and restore them to health and strength;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Prayers for Trinity Sunday
We worship you God the Father,
you made the earth and the sea,
the day and the night,
the stars and the moon,
the sun and the rain.
You made the creatures;
you made all people and you made us.
You love us and want us to love you.
Thank you for all the good things in our lives that you have given to us.
Amen
We worship you Jesus, God the son.
You were born into a family and lived in the world among us.
You understand us.
You told people that God loves them,
you healed people when they were sick
and you listened to people when they were sad.
Thank you that you died for us and forgive us our sins.
Amen
We worship you Holy Spirit of God.
You live within us and turn our hearts to God.
You give us the gifts of patience, joy, love, peace and kindness.
You inspire us to do great things for God.
Thank you, Holy Spirit, that you are at work in the world
and in people to make the world a better place.
Amen
Holy Trinity,
God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit,
three in one and one in three.
We thank you that you are the Lord of heaven and earth.
Please heal those who are suffering because of the virus.
Helps us to know that you love us and give us your peace.
Amen
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.
FAMILY PRAYER
Heavenly Father, we thank you for our friends, homes and families. We ask that your love may surround us, your care may protect us, and that we may know your peace at all times. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
THE BLESSING
God the Holy Trinity make you strong in faith and love,
defend you on every side,
and guide you in truth and peace;
and the blessing of God Almighty,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit
be with you and remain with you now and always.
HYMN 445 Lord the Light of your love is shining.
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
In the name of Christ. Amen
BACS Details for St Mary’s, Ketton
Barclays Bank Stamford
The account is in the name of Ketton Parochial Church Council
Sort code 20-81-20
Account number 60547522
BACS Details for All Saints, Tinwell
Barclays Bank
The account is in the name: Tinwell Parochial Church Council
Sort code: 20-81-20
Account number: 70875244