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ST COLUMBA’S, PONT STREET
MORNING WORSHIP,
SUNDAY 12TH APRIL 2026, 11AM
Welcome
Call to Worship
Hymn 9 Oh, come, and let us to the Lord (Psalm 16) (Wetherby)
1 O God, my refuge, keep me safe:
on you my good depends;
O Lord, you are my Lord alone,
your saints my choicest friends.
2 Whoever turns to other gods
will find remorse and shame;
to them I make no sacrifice,
nor will I speak their name.
3 The Lord is my inheritance,
a prize beyond compare;
his word instructs me day and night,
his own belovèd heir.
4 At all times I have set the Lord
before my face to stand;
no trial, no pain can shake my hope
with him at my right hand.
5 My heart and soul rejoice in you
and in your power to save:
you will not leave your Holy One
to perish in the grave.
6 You lead me to the path of life:
before your face I’ll stand
and drink my fill of endless joys
that flow at your right hand.
Prayers of Approach & Lords Prayer
Theme for the day for our young people
Hymn 432 How often we, like Thomas (Reres Hill)
1 How often we, like Thomas,
need proof before we trust.
Lord Jesus, friend of doubters,
come, speak your truth to us.
We long to feel your presence,
and gain new faith from you,
to find, without our seeing,
the blessing Thomas knew.
2 You always stand among us,
no doors can lock you out.
Your presence reassures us
though we still live with doubt.
As present-day disciples,
whose lives by sin are flawed,
we want to come believing,
and cry: ‘My Lord, my God!’
New Testament Reading: Acts 2: 14a, 22 – 32
14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Fellow Jews[a] and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say.
22 “Fellow Israelites,[a] listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth,[b] a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know— 23 this man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law. 24 But God raised him up, having released him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power. 25 For David says concerning him,
‘I saw the Lord always before me,
for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken;
26 therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;
moreover, my flesh will live in hope.
27 For you will not abandon my soul to Hades
or let your Holy One experience corruption.
28 You have made known to me the ways of life;
you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’
29 “Fellow Israelites,[c] I may say to you confidently of our ancestor David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would put one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Foreseeing this, David[d] spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah,[e] saying, ‘He was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh experience corruption.’ 32 “This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses.
Epistle Testament Reading: 1 Peter 1: 3-9
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead 4 and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice,[a] even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, 7 so that the genuineness of your faith—being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Although you have not seen[b] him, you love him, and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.[c]
Anthem: Haec dies Byrd (1542/3 – 1623)
Haec dies quam fecit Dominus; Exaltemus, et laetemur in ea.
Alleluia.
This is the day that the Lord hath made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Alleluia.
Gospel Reading: John 20: 19-31
19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors were locked where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin[a]), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”
26 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may continue[b] to believe that Jesus is the Messiah,[c] the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.
Hymn 189 Be still, for the presence of the Lord (Be Still)
1 Be still,
for the presence of the Lord,
the Holy One, is here;
come bow before him now
with reverence and fear:
in him no sin is found —
we stand on holy ground.
Be still,
for the presence of the Lord,
the Holy One, is here.
2 Be still,
for the glory of the Lord
is shining all around;
he burns with holy fire,
with splendour he is crowned:
how awesome is the sight —
our radiant king of light!
Be still,
for the glory of the Lord
is shining all around.
3 Be still,
for the power of the Lord
is moving in this place;
he comes to cleanse and heal,
to minister his grace:
no work too hard for him —
in faith receive from him.
Be still,
for the power of the Lord
is moving in this place.
Sermon
Anthem: Ye choirs of new Jerusalem Stanford (1852-1924)
Ye choirs of new Jerusalem, your sweetest tongues employ,
The Paschal victory to hymn, in strains of holy joy.
For Judah’s lion bursts his chains, crushing the serpent’s head;
And cries aloud through death’s domains, to wake th’imprisoned dead.
Devouring depths of hell their prey at his command restore;
His ransom’d hosts pursue their way where Jesus went before.
Triumphant in his glory now to him all power is giv’n;
To him in one communion bow all saints in earth and heav’n.
While we, his soldiers, praise our King, his mercy we implore,
Within his palace bright to bring and keep us evermore.
All glory to the Father be, all glory to the Son,
All glory, Holy Ghost, to thee, while endless ages run.
Alleluia. Amen.
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 468 Son of God, eternl Saviour (Blaenwern)
1 Son of God, eternal Saviour,
source of life and truth and grace,
Son of Man, whose birth incarnate
hallows all our human race;
great High Priest who, throned in glory,
for your own will ever plead,
fill us with your love and pity,
heal our wrongs, and help our need.
2 Lord, as you have lived for others,
so may we for others live;
freely have your gifts been granted,
freely may your servants give.
Yours the gold and yours the silver,
yours the wealth of sea and land,
we but stewards of your bounty
held in trust at your command.
3 Come, Lord Jesus, reign among us,
King of Love, and Prince of Peace;
hush the storm of strife and passion,
bid its cruel discords cease.
Yours the prayer, and yours the purpose,
that your people should be one;
grant from heaven our hope’s fruition:
here on earth your will be done.
Benediction
Postlude: Redhead – E Thiman (1900-1975)
Retiring Offering
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