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MORNING WORSHIP
ST COLUMBA’S, PONT STREET
SUNDAY 1st NOVEMBER 2026
TWENTY THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
Welcome
Call to Worship
Hymn 113 God the Father of Creation (Cwm Rhondda)
1 God the Father of Creation,
source of life and energy,
your creative love so shapes us
that we share your liberty.
Teach us how to use this freedom
* loving children all to be.
2 Jesus Christ our Lord and brother,
in your cross we see the way
to be servants for each other,
caring, suffering every day.
Teach us patience and obedience
never from your path to stray.
3 Holy Spirit, love that binds us
to the Father and the Son,
giver of the joy that fills us,
yours the peace that makes us one,
teach our hearts to be more open
as we pray ‘God’s will be done.’
4 Members of our Saviour’s body,
here on earth his life to be,
though we stand as different people,
may we share the unity
of the Father, Son and Spirit,
perfect love in Trinity.
* The last line of each verse is repeated.
Call to Prayer {congregation remain standing}
Prayer of Approach and Confession {seated}
Sacrament of Holy Baptism: Rafael Elio Sanz de Acedo
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 687 Lord of our growing years (Little Conrad)
1 Lord of our growing years,
with us from infancy,
laughter and quick-dried tears,
freshness and energy:
your grace surrounds us all our days —
for all your gifts we bring our praise.
2 Lord of our strongest years,
stretching our youthful powers,
lovers and pioneers
when all the world seems ours:
3 Lord of our middle years,
giver of steadfastness,
courage that perseveres
when there is small success:
4 Lord of our older years,
steep though the road may be,
rid us of foolish fears,
bring us serenity:
5 Lord of our closing years,
always your promise stands;
hold us, when death appears,
safely within your hands:
Old Testament Reading: Joshua 3:7-17 {OT page 182}
The Lord said to Joshua, ‘This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so that they may know that I will be with you as I was with Moses. You are the one who shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, “When you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.”’ Joshua then said to the Israelites, ‘Draw near and hear the words of the Lord your God.’ Joshua said, ‘By this you shall know that among you is the living God who without fail will drive out from before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites: the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is going to pass before you into the Jordan.
So now select twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. When the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan flowing from above shall be cut off; they shall stand in a single heap.’
When the people set out from their tents to cross over the Jordan, the priests bearing the ark of the covenant were in front of the people. Now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest. So when those who bore the ark had come to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the edge of the water, the waters flowing from above stood still, rising up in a single heap far off at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, while those flowing towards the sea of the Arabah, the Dead Sea, were wholly cut off.
Then the people crossed over opposite Jericho. While all Israel were crossing over on dry ground, the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, until the entire nation finished crossing over the Jordan.
Hymn 534 Make me a captive, Lord (Leominster)
1 Make me a captive, Lord,
and then I shall be free;
force me to render up my sword,
and I shall conqueror be.
I sink in life’s alarms
when by myself I stand;
imprison me within thine arms,
and strong shall be my hand.
2 My heart is weak and poor
until it master find;
it has no spring of action sure,
it varies with the wind.
It cannot freely move
till thou hast wrought its chain;
enslave it with thy matchless love,
and deathless it shall reign.
3 My power is faint and low
till I have learned to serve;
it wants the needed fire to glow,
it wants the breeze to nerve;
it cannot drive the world,
until itself be driven;
its flag can only be unfurled
when thou shalt breathe from heaven.
4 My will is not my own
till thou hast made it thine;
if it would reach a monarch’s throne
it must its crown resign;
it only stands unbent,
amid the clashing strife,
when on thy bosom it has leant
and found in thee its life.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 23:1-12 {NT page 24}
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, ‘The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practise what they teach. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. They love to have the place of honour at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, and to be greeted with respect in the market-places, and to have people call them rabbi.
But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students. And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father—the one in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.
Anthem: Haste thee, O God (Batten 1591-1637)
Haste Thee, O God to deliver me, make haste to help me.
Let them be ashamed and confounded that seek after my soul.
Let them for their reward be woon brought to shame, that cry over me:
“There, there, there.”
But let all those who seek thee be joyful and glad in thee,
and let all such as delight in thy salvation say always:
“The Lord be praised!” Amen.
Sermon
Anthem: All people that on earth do dwell (Tallis 1505-1585)
All people that on Earth do dwell,
Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice;
Him serve with fear, his praise forthtell;
Come ye before him and rejoice.
The Lord, ye know, is God indeed;
Without our aid he did us make;
We are his folk, he doth us feed,
And for his sheep he doth us take.
O enter then his gates with praise,
Approach with joy his courts unto;
Praise, laud, and bless his name always,
For it is seemly so to do.
For why? The Lord our God is good;
His mercy is forever sure;
His truth at all times firmly stood,
And shall from age to age endure.
Dedication of our Offerings, Prayers of Thanksgiving & Intercession
(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 740 For all the saints (Sine Nomine)
Omit verses 4 & 5
1 For all the saints, who from their labours rest;
who thee by faith before the world confessed,
thy name, O Jesus, be for ever blest.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
2 Thou wast their rock, their fortress, and their might;
thou, Lord, their captain in the well-fought fight;
thou, in the darkness drear their one true light.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
3 Oh, may thy soldiers, faithful, true, and bold,
fight as the saints who nobly fought of old,
and win, with them, the victor’s crown of gold.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
4 O blest communion, fellowship divine!
We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
yet all are one in thee, for all are thine.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
5 And when the strife is fierce, the warfare long,
steals on the ear the distant triumph song,
and hearts are brave again, and arms are strong.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
6 The golden evening brightens in the west;
soon, soon to faithful warriors cometh rest;
sweet is the calm of paradise the blest.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
7 But, lo! there breaks a yet more glorious day;
the saints triumphant rise in bright array;
the King of Glory passes on his way.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
8 From earth’s wide bounds, from ocean’s farthest coast,
through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,
singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Benediction & Choral Amen sung by the congregation
Organ Postlude: Soliloquy (Alec Rowley 1892-1958)
Retiring Offering
