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ST COLUMBA’S, PONT STREET,
SUNDAY 8th March 2026 11.00 A.M.,
MORNING SERVICE
Welcome
Call to Worship
Hymn 59 (1) Oh, come, and let us to the Lord (Psalm 95) (Irish)
1 Oh, come, and let us to the Lord
in songs our voices raise,
with joyful noise let us the Rock
of our salvation praise.
2 Let us before his presence come
with praise and thankful voice;
let us sing psalms to him with grace,
and make a joyful noise:
3 For God, a great God, and great King,
above all gods he is.
Depths of the earth are in his hand,
the strength of hills is his.
4 To him the spacious sea belongs,
for he the same did make;
the dry land also from his hands
its form at first did take.
5 Oh, come, and let us worship him,
let us bow down withal,
and on our knees before the Lord
our Maker let us fall.
Prayers of Approach and Lords 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 debts,
as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power and the glory for ever, Amen.
Theme for the day for our young people
Hymn 351 Jesus’ hands were kind hands (Au Clair De La Lune)
1 Jesus’ hands were kind hands, doing good to all,
healing pain and sickness, blessing children small;
washing tired feet, and saving those who fall;
Jesus’ hands were kind hands, doing good to all.
2 Take my hands, Lord Jesus, let them work for you,
make them strong and gentle, kind in all I do;
let me watch you, Jesus, till I’m gentle too,
till my hands are kind hands, quick to work for you.
Old Testament Reading: Exodus 17: 1-7
17 From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 The people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” 3 But the people thirsted there for water, and the people complained against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?” 4 So Moses cried out to the Lord, “What shall I do for this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” 5 The Lord said to Moses, “Go on ahead of the people and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile and go. 6 I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.” Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
New Testament Reading: Romans 5: 1-11
5 Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. 8 But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. 9 Much more surely, therefore, since we have now been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. 11 But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Anthem: Circumdederunt me Catherine Olver (b 1994)
Circumdederunt me dolores mortis, et pericula inferni invenerunt me.
Tribulationem et dolorem inveni, et nomen Domini invocavi.
O Domine, libera animam meam.
The sorrows of death have compassed me: and the perils of hell have found me.
I have found tribulation and sorrow: And I called upon the name of our Lord.
O Lord, deliver my soul.
Gospel Reading: John 4: 5-42
5 So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.
7 A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 8 (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?” 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come back.” 17 The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband,’ 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!” 19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming and is now here when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking to you.”
27 Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you want?” or, “Why are you speaking with her?” 28 Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, 29 “Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?” 30 They left the city and were on their way to him.
31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.” 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33 So the disciples said to one another, “Surely no one has brought him something to eat?” 34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. 35 Do you not say, ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. 36 The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. 37 For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”
39 Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I have ever done.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of his word. 42 They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world.”
Hymn 596 Breathe on me, Breath of God (Veni Spiritus)
1 Breathe on me, Breath of God;
fill me with life anew,
that I may love the way you love,
and do what you would do.
2 Breathe on me, Breath of God,
until my heart is pure,
until with you I will one will,
to do and to endure.
3 Breathe on me, Breath of God,
direct my heart’s desire,
till every earthly part of me
glows with your holy fire.
4 Breathe on me, Breath of God;
so shall I never die,
but live with you the perfect life
of your eternity.
Sermon
Anthem: O languens Jesu Lajos Bárdos (1899-1986)
O languens Jesu, defuncte Jesu, Matris in sinu flentis!
Nostros dolores, cordis amores fac socios dolentis.
O Jesu care, fac nos amare, te pro nobis dolentem.
Te nunc deflendo, tecum dolendo, videbimus gaudentem. Amen
O sorrowful Jesus, dead Jesus, in the bosom of the weeping
Mother, make our sorrow the love of your suffering heart.
Dear Jesus, make us love you, suffering for us.
Weeping now, and sorrowing with you, we shall see you rejoicing.
Dedication of our Offerings
{If able, please stand as the offering is brought forward and the congregation sings}
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
praise him, all creatures here below;
praise him above, ye heavenly host;
praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. (CH4 807, Old 100th)
Prayer of Dedication:
Minister: Father, Son, and Spirit Holy,
we give you thanks and praise:
Congregation: We dedicate to you
our thoughts, our words,
our gifts, our deeds,
the working of our hands,
the thinking of our minds,
the loving of our hearts. Amen.
Prayers of Thanksgiving & Intercession
Intimations
Hymn 513 Courage, brother! Do not stumble (Courage Brother)
1 Courage, brother! do not stumble,
though your path be dark as night;
there’s a star to guide the humble:
trust in God, and do the right.
Let the road be rough and dreary,
and its end far out of sight;
foot it bravely; strong or weary,
* trust in God, and do the right.
2 Perish policy and cunning,
perish all that fears the light!
Whether losing, whether winning,
trust in God, and do the right.
Some will hate you, some will love you,
some will flatter, some will slight;
heed them not, and look above you:
trust in God, and do the right.
3 Simple rule and safest guiding,
inward peace and inward might,
star upon our path abiding,
trust in God and do the right.
Courage, sister! do not stumble,
though your path be dark as night;
there’s a star to guide the humble:
trust in God, and do the right.
* The words ‘trust in God’ are sung three times.
Organ Postlude: Parry Chorale Prelude on Dundee
Retiring Offering for the continuing life and ministry of St Columba’s. It is possible to donate via the website. We are most grateful for all that we receive.
