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This Sunday

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SUNDAY 5th July 2026 11.00 a.m.
MORNING WORSHIP & BAPTISMS
(SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST)

Welcome

Call to Worship

Hymn 100 O Lord, thou art my God and King (Psalm 145)
(Duke Street)

O Lord, thou art my God and King;
thee will I magnify and praise:
I will thee bless, and gladly sing
unto thy holy name always.

Each day I rise I will thee bless,
and praise thy name time without end.
Much to be praised, and great God is;
his greatness none can comprehend.

Race shall thy works praise unto race,
the mighty acts show done by thee.
I will speak of the glorious grace,
and honour of thy majesty:

Thy wondrous works I will record.
By many shall the might be told
of all thy awesome acts, O Lord:
and I thy greatness will unfold.

Call to Prayer

Prayers of Approach and Confession

Sacrament of Baptism: Darcie Skye Coventry, Oliver Arthur Holgate, Archie Lewis Nimmo & Fergus William Nimmo

Blessing {Sung by congregation} CH4 796

The Lord bless you, and keep you:
The Lord make his face
to shine upon you,
and be gracious unto you:
The Lord lift up his countenance upon you,
and give you peace. Amen

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.

Hymn 688 By cool Siloam’s shady rill (Belmont)

By cool Siloam’s shady rill
how sweet the lily grows!
How sweet the breath beneath the hill
of Sharon’s dewy rose!

Lo! such the child whose early feet
the paths of peace have trod,
whose secret heart with influence sweet
is upward drawn to God.

By cool Siloam’s shady rill
the lily must decay,
the rose that blooms beneath the hill
must shortly fade away;

And soon, too soon, the wintry hour
of life’s maturer age
will shake the soul with sorrow’s power
and stormy passion’s rage.

O thou whose infant feet were found
within thy Father’s shrine,
whose years, with changeless virtue crowned,
were all alike divine.

Dependent on thy bounteous breath
we seek thy grace alone,
through every stage of life, and death,
to keep us still thine own.

Old Testament Reading: Genesis 24: 34-38, 42-49, 58-67

34And he said, I am Abrahamโ€™s servant.
35And the Lord hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses.
36And Sarah my masterโ€™s wife bare a son to my master when she was old: and unto him hath he given all that he hath.
37And my master made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell:
38But thou shalt go unto my fatherโ€™s house, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son.
42 โ€œI came today to the spring and said, โ€˜O Lord, God of my master Abraham, if now you will only make successful the way I am going! 43 I am standing here by the spring of water; let the young woman who comes out to draw, to whom I shall say, โ€œPlease give me a little water from your jar to drink,โ€ 44 and who will say to me, โ€œDrink, and I will draw for your camels alsoโ€โ€”let her be the woman whom the Lord has appointed for my masterโ€™s son.โ€™

45 โ€œBefore I had finished speaking in my heart, there was Rebekah coming out with her water jar on her shoulder, and she went down to the spring and drew. I said to her, โ€˜Please let me drink.โ€™ 46 She quickly let down her jar from her shoulder and said, โ€˜Drink, and I will also water your camels.โ€™ So I drank, and she also watered the camels. 47 Then I asked her, โ€˜Whose daughter are you?โ€™ She said, โ€˜The daughter of Bethuel, Nahorโ€™s son, whom Milcah bore to him.โ€™ So I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her arms. 48 Then I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the right way to obtain the daughter of my masterโ€™s kinsman for his son. 49 Now then, if you will deal loyally and truly with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so that I may turn either to the right hand or to the left.โ€

58 And they called Rebekah and said to her, โ€œWill you go with this man?โ€ She said, โ€œI will.โ€ 59 So they sent away their sister Rebekah and her nurse along with Abrahamโ€™s servant and his men. 60 And they blessed Rebekah and said to her,

โ€œMay you, our sister, become
thousands of myriads;
may your offspring gain possession
of the gates of their foes.โ€

61 Then Rebekah and her maids rose up, mounted the camels, and followed the man, and the servant took Rebekah and went his way.

62 Now Isaac had come from[a] Beer-lahai-roi and was settled in the Negeb. 63 Isaac went out in the evening to walk[b] in the field, and, looking up, he saw camels coming. 64 And Rebekah looked up, and when she saw Isaac, she slipped quickly from the camel 65 and said to the servant, โ€œWho is the man over there, walking in the field to meet us?โ€ The servant said, โ€œIt is my master.โ€ So she took her veil and covered herself. 66 And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. 67 Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarahโ€™s tent. He took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his motherโ€™s death.

Anthem: God is gone up Gerald Finzi (1901-1956)

God is gone up with a triumphant shout:
The Lord with sounding Trumpetsโ€™ melodies:
Sing Praise, sing Praise, sing Praises out,
Unto our King sing praise seraphic-wise!
Lift up your Heads, ye lasting Doors, they sing,
And let the King of Glory enter in.
Methinks I see Heavenโ€™s sparkling courtiers fly,
In flakes of Glory down him to attend,
And hear Heart-cramping notes of Melody
Surround his Chariot as it did ascend.
Mixing their Music, making evโ€™ry string
More to enravish as they this tune sing.
God is gone up with a triumphant shout:
The Lord with sounding Trumpetsโ€™ melodies:
Sing Praise, sing Praise, sing Praises out,
Unto our King sing praise seraphic-wise!
Lift up your Heads, ye lasting Doors, they sing,
And let the King of Glory enter in.

Gospel Reading: Matthew 11: 16-19, 25-30

16 โ€œBut to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another,
17 โ€˜We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we wailed, and you did not mourn.โ€™
18 โ€œFor John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, โ€˜He has a demonโ€™; 19 the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, โ€˜Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!โ€™ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.โ€
25 At that time Jesus said, โ€œI thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; 26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

28 โ€œCome to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.โ€

Hymn 124 Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation (Lobe den Herren)

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation;
praise God, my soul, for in him are your health and salvation;
come all who hear,
into his presence draw near,
joining in glad adoration.

Praise to the Lord, who in all things is wondrously reigning,
shields you from harm and is gently yet firmly sustaining.
Have you not seen
how your heart’s wishes have been
granted by God’s wise ordaining?

Praise to the Lord, who with blessing and power will defend you;
surely his goodness and mercy shall daily attend you;
ponder anew
what the Almighty can do:
God will for ever befriend you.

Praise to the Lord! O let all that is in me adore him!
All that has life and breath, come now with praises before him!
Let the Amen
sound from God’s people again:
gladly for ever adore him.

Sermon

Anthem: O for a closer walk with God Stanford (1852-1924)

O for a closer walk with God,
A calm and heavenly frame;
A light to shine upon the road
That leads me to the Lamb.
Return, O holy Dove, return,
Sweet messenger of rest;
I hate the sins that made Thee mourn,
And drove thee from my breast.
So shall my walk be close with God,
Calm and serene my frame;
So purer light shall mark the road
That leads me to the Lamb.

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 818 Praise ye the lord, ye servants of the Lord (Old 124th)

Praise ye the Lord, ye servants of the Lord:
praise ye his name; his lordly honour sing:
thee we adore; to thee glad homage bring;
thee we acknowledge; God to be adored
for thy great glory, Sovereign, Lord, and King.

Father of Christ — of him whose work was done,
when by his death he took our sins away —
to thee belongeth worship, day by day,
yea, Holy Father, everlasting Son,
and Holy Ghost, all praise be thine for aye!

Benediction & Choral Amen

Organ Postlude: Fugue in C – Mendelssohn

Retiring Offering

(It is possible to donate via the website. All offerings towards the ongoing life of St Columbaโ€™s are very gratefully received. Thank you.

FIND US

CONTACT US

Our Location

St Columba’s, Pont Street, London, SW1X 0BD

Get in Touch

+44 (0)20 7584 2321

office@stcolumbas.org.uk

Opening Hours

8.30am – 4.30pm Monday to Friday
There is a 24 hour answering machine service.

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GETTING HERE BY TUBE

Sloane Square Station

Cross over the square into Sloane Street. Walk along Sloane Street until the traffic lights at the corner of Pont Street. Turn left into Pont Street. St Columbaโ€™s will then be in sight.

Knightsbridge Station

Take the Harrods exit if open (front car if coming from the East, rear car if coming from the West). Come up the stairs to street level, carry on keeping Harrods on your right. Turn right into Basil Street. Carry straight on into Walton Place with St Saviourโ€™s Church on your left. At the traffic lights, St Columbaโ€™s is to your left across the street. If the Harrods exit is closed, take the Sloane Street exit, turn right into Basil Street. Carry straight on past Harrods with the shop on your right, into Walton Place as before.

South Kensington Station

Come up the stairs out of the station and turn left into the shopping arcade. Turn left again into Pelham Street. At the traffic lights at the end of Pelham Street cross Brompton Road, turn left then immediately right into the narrow street of Draycott Avenue. After just a few yards turn left into Walton Street. Carry on walking up Walton Street until the traffic lights at the corner of Pont Street. Turn right and after a few steps you will be at St Columbaโ€™s!