Readings for Sunday, 10/22/23 – Celebration of Life for Jodene Weeter (10:00am Service)
THE COLLECT
O God, who by the glorious resurrection of your Son Jesus
Christ destroyed death, and brought life and immortality to
light: Grant that your servant N., being raised with him, may
know the strength of his presence, and rejoice in his eternal
glory; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one
God, for ever and ever. Amen.
FIRST READING: 2Corinthians 4:16-5:9
16 So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is
wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by
day. 17 For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us
for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, 18 because
we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen;
for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is
eternal.
5 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed,
we have a building from God, a house not made with hands,
eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this tent we groan, longing to
be clothed with our heavenly dwelling— 3 if indeed, when
we have taken it off a we will not be found naked. 4 For
while we are still in this tent, we groan under our burden,
because we wish not to be unclothed but to be further
clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by
life. 5 He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who
has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.
6 So we are always confident; even though we know that
while we are at home in the body we are away from the
Lord— 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yes, we do
have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body
and at home with the Lord. 9 So whether we are at home or
away, we make it our aim to please him.th you and the Holy Spirit, one
God, for ever and ever. Amen.
THE PSALM
Psalm 23
The Divine Shepherd A Psalm of David.
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside
still waters;
3 He restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s
sake.
4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil;
for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
6 Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my
life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.
Revelations 7:9-17
The Multitude from Every Nation
9 After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one
could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and
languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed
in white, with palm branches in their hands.
10 They cried out in a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our
God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
11 And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders
and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the
throne and worshiped God,
12 singing, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and
thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever
and ever! Amen.”
13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these,
robed in white, and where have they come from?”
14 I 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 center 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.”
GOSPEL HYMN: Spirit of God
Spirit of God, un-seen as the wind, gentle as is the dove:
teach us the truth and help us believe, show us the Saviour’s
love!
- You spoke to us long, long a-go, gave us the written word;
we read it still, needing its truth, through it God’s voice is heard - With-out your help we fail our Lord, we can-not live his way;
we need your power, we need your strength, following Christ
each day
Gospel John 10:11-16 11
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his
life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and
does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the
sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters
them. 13 The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not
care for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own
and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know
the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other
sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and
they will listen to my voice. So, there will be one flock, one
shepherd.