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| Baptism of our Lord Mark 1:4-11 |
Sunday Readings
(Revised Common Lectionary Year B)
Opening Sentence
Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.
~ Isaiah 60:3
This is the first Sunday of the year. This is a good time of year for us to reflect in our hymns and prayers on the start of a New Year, our hopes and fears and dreams and longings. It is a chance for us to wonder where we will be going personally, as a church and as a nation. The story of the beginning of the public ministry of Jesus with his baptism and temptation reminds us that Jesus grew up and that He came for a purpose. It also reminds us of the importance of “getting ready”. The Christian faith offers not a new start to life but a new life to start, and that makes all the difference.
Prayer of the Day (Collect)
Father in heaven, who at the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan proclaimed him your beloved Son and anointed him with the Holy Spirit: Grant that all who are baptized into his Name may keep the covenant they have made, and boldly confess him as Lord and Savior; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
Confession and Forgiveness
Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.
God is light; in him there in no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him, yet walk in the darkness, we lie and son not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
~ John 1:5b-8
Most holy and merciful Father, We confess to you and to one another, that we have sinned against you by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart and mind and strength. We have not fully loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not always had in us the mind of Christ. You alone know how often we have grieved you by wasting your gifts, by wandering from your ways. Forgive us, we pray you, most merciful Father; And free us from our sin. Renew in us the grace and strength of your Holy Spirit, for the sake of Jesus Christ your Son our Savior. Amen
The Lessons
First Lesson: Genesis 1:1-5
In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, "Let there be light" and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
Psalm: Psalm 29 Afferte Domino
1 Ascribe to the LORD, you gods,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his Name;
worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.3 The voice of the LORD is upon the waters; the God of glory thunders;
the LORD is upon the mighty waters.4 The voice of the LORD is a powerful voice;
the voice of the LORD is a voice of splendor.5 The voice of the LORD breaks the cedar trees;
the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon;6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
and Mount Hermon like a young wild ox.7 The voice of the LORD splits the flames of fire; the voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness;
the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.8 The voice of the LORD makes the oak trees writhe
and strips the forests bare.9 And in the temple of the LORD
all are crying, "Glory!"10 The LORD sits enthroned above the flood;
the LORD sits enthroned as King for evermore.11 The LORD shall give strength to his people;
the LORD shall give his people the blessing of peace.
Second Lesson: Acts 19:1-7
While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul passed through the interior regions and came to Ephesus, where he found some disciples. He said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?" They replied, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit." Then he said, "Into what then were you baptized?" They answered, "Into John's baptism." Paul said, "John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus." On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied-- altogether there were about twelve of them.
Gospel: Mark 1:4-11
John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, "The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."
Here ends the Lessons
Click HERE to read today's Holy Gospel Lesson message
The Apostle's Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen
Closing Prayer
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen
The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.
~ Numbers 6:22-27
Let us bless the Lord. Alleluia!
Thanks be to God! Alleluia!
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The New Revised Standard Version Bible may be quoted and/or reprinted up to and inclusive of five hundred (500) verses without express written permission of the publisher, provided the verses quoted do not amount to a complete book of the Bible or account for fifty percent (50%) of the total work in which they are quoted. The Collects, Psalms and Canticles are from the Book of Common Prayer, 1979.
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