COLLECT FOR THE WEEK
Lord of all life and
power,
who through the mighty
resurrection of your Son
overcame the old order
of sin and death
to make all things new
in him:
grant that we, being
dead to sin
and alive to you in
Jesus Christ,
may reign with him in
glory;
to whom with you and the
Holy Spirit
be praise and honour,
glory and might,
now and in all eternity.
Amen
PARISH INTERCESSION
Sunday 21st April – Easter Day
God of glory,
by the raising of your
Son
you have broken the
chains of death and hell:
fill your Church with
faith and hope;
for a new day has dawned
and the way to life
stands open
in our Saviour Jesus
Christ.
As a corporal act of
mercy, please offer the following topics for prayer this week:
• Diocese of Blackburn, Brechin (Scotland), The Lutheran Church
in Great Britain and all their Archbishops, Bishops and clergy.
• Justin our Archbishop, John our Bishop, Graham the Bishop of
Dudley, for Nikki our Archdeacon, Andrew our Rural Dean, our Parish Priest
Canon Sue, Revd Richard Newton, for the Clergy, Readers and Lay-minsters of the
Stourbridge Deanery, our ALM Team and visiting Clergy, the Church Wardens of
our group of Churches; our Musical Directors, Organists and Choir, the
Sidespersons, and our Administrators Christine & Chrissy.
• The homes and families of: Nash Lane, Belbroughton; Walton
Rise, Clent; Mount Road, Fairfield
• Those who receive Communion at home and our Communion
visitors
• Church Wardens and Deputy Wardens
We pray for those
suffering in body, mind or spirit; may they know your presence alongside them
in their time of need, including: Syd Hawkeswood, Gerald Dyer, Trevor Grove,
Marilyn Hiscock, Nina Moyes, John and Hazel Smith, Dan Taylor, Jan Woolley,
Steve Eagle
We pray, for those
mourning the death of loved ones especially for the family and friends of Geoff
Skelding, Kathleen Raybould, Gilda Beech, Felicity Willows, George Fisher,
Phyllis Adams, Dorothy Pope, Mavis Read, Susan Clark, John & Margaret Dunn
READINGS
First Reading: Acts 10.34-43
Peter began to speak to
those assembled in the house of Cornelius. ‘I truly understand that God shows
no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right
is acceptable to him. You know the message he sent to the people of Israel,
preaching peace by Jesus Christ – he is Lord of all. That message spread
throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced:
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he
went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God
was with him. We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in
Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; but God raised him
on the third day and allowed him to appear, not to all the people but to us who
were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose
from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he
is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. All the
prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives
forgiveness of sins through his name.’
The Gospel Reading: Luke 24.1-12
On the first day of the
week, at early dawn, the women who had accompanied Jesus came to the tomb,
taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from
the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body. While they were
perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them.
The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground but the men said
to them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but
has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the
Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third
day rise again.’ Then they remembered Jesus’ words, and returning from the
tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary
Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who
told this to the apostles. But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and
they did not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and
looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at
what had happened.
This is the Gospel of
the Lord