St Edburg's Church - Bicester

Collect of the Day

Eternal Father,
who at the baptism of Jesus
revealed him to be your Son,
anointing him with the Holy Spirit:
grant to us, who are born again by water and the Spirit,
that we may be faithful to our calling as your adopted children;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

 

First Reading

Isaiah 42.1–9

42Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
  my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my spirit upon him;
  he will bring forth justice to the nations.
2 He will not cry or lift up his voice,
  or make it heard in the street;
3 a bruised reed he will not break,
  and a dimly burning wick he will not quench;
  he will faithfully bring forth justice.
4 He will not grow faint or be crushed
  until he has established justice in the earth;
  and the coastlands wait for his teaching.

5 Thus says God, the Lord,
  who created the heavens and stretched them out,
  who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people upon it
  and spirit to those who walk in it:
6 I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness,
  I have taken you by the hand and kept you;
I have given you as a covenant to the people,
  a light to the nations,
7   to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
  from the prison those who sit in darkness.
8 I am the Lord, that is my name;
  my glory I give to no other,
  nor my praise to idols.
9 See, the former things have come to pass,
  and new things I now declare;
before they spring forth,
  I tell you of them.

 

Psalm

29

1  Ascribe to the Lord, you powers of heaven, ♦︎
  ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2  Ascribe to the Lord the honour due to 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 mighty in operation; ♦︎
  the voice of the Lord is a glorious voice.
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 Sirion like a young wild ox.
7  The voice of the Lord splits the flash of lightning;
     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; ♦︎
  in his temple all cry, ‘Glory!’
9  The Lord sits enthroned above the water flood; ♦︎
  the Lord sits enthroned as king for evermore.
10  The Lord shall give strength to his people; ♦︎
  the Lord shall give his people the blessing of peace.

 

Second Reading

Acts 10.34–43

34 Then Peter began to speak to them: ‘I truly understand that God shows no partiality, 35but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. 36You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all. 37That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: 38how 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. 39We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; 40but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, 41not 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. 42He 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. 43All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.’

 

Gospel

Matthew 3.13–end

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. 14John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ 15But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfil all righteousness.’ Then he consented. 16And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.’

 

Post Communion Prayer

Lord of all time and eternity,
you opened the heavens and revealed yourself as Father
in the baptism of Jesus your beloved Son:
by the power of your Spirit
complete the heavenly work of our rebirth
through the waters of the new creation;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

​

N

New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. nrsvbibles.org.

The Common Worship psalter is © The Archbishops’ Council of the Church