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ST COLUMBA’S, PONT STREET,
SUNDAY 11TH JANUARY 2026 11.00 A.M.,
MORNING WORSHIP
Welcome
Call to Worship
Hymn 132 Immortal Invisible, God only wise
1 Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
in light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
most blessèd, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise.
2 Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might;
thy justice like mountains, high soaring above
thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.
3 To all, life thou givest, to both great and small;
in all life thou livest, the true life of all;
we blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
and wither and perish, but naught changeth thee.
4 Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight.
All praise we would render: O help us to see
’tis only the splendour of light hideth thee.
Prayers of Approach and Confession
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 532 Lord you have come to the seashore
1 Lord, you have come to the seashore,
neither searching for the rich nor the wise,
desiring only that I should follow.
O Lord, with your eyes set upon me,
gently smiling, you have spoken my name.
All I longed for I have found by the water,
at your side I will seek other shores.
2 Lord, see my goods, my possessions;
in my boat you find no power, no wealth.
Will you accept, then, my nets and labour?
3 Lord, take my hands, and direct them.
Help me spend myself in seeking the lost,
returning love for the love you gave me.
4 Lord, as I drift on the waters,
be the resting-place of my restless heart,
my life’s companion, my friend and refuge.
New Testament Reading: Acts 10:34-43
34 Then Peter began to speak to them: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, 35 but in every people anyone who fears him and practices righteousness is acceptable to him. 36 You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all. 37 That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: 38 how 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. 39 We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, 40 but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, 41 not 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. 42 He 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. 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
Anthem: Magi Veniunt ab oriente (Clemens non Papa)
est qui natus est rex Judaeorum? Cuius stellam vidimus, et venibus cum muneribus adorare Dominum.
There came wise men from the east, saying: Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star, and are come with gifts to worship the Lord.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 3:13-17
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. 14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw God’s Spirit descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from the heavens said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”
Hymn 718 We cannot measure how you heal
1 We cannot measure how you heal
or answer every sufferer’s prayer,
yet we believe your grace responds
where faith and doubt unite to care.
Your hands, though bloodied on the cross,
survive to hold and heal and warn,
to carry all through death to life
and cradle children yet unborn.
2 The pain that will not go away,
the guilt that clings from things long past,
the fear of what the future holds,
are present as if meant to last.
But present too is love which tends
the hurt we never hoped to find,
the private agonies inside,
the memories that haunt the mind.
3 So some have come who need your help
and some have come to make amends
as hands which shaped and saved the world
are present in the touch of friends.
Lord, let your Spirit meet us here
to mend the body, mind, and soul,
to disentangle peace from pain
and make your broken people whole.
Sermon
Anthem: Tomorrow Shall be my Dancing Day (Gardner)
To-morrow shall be my dancing day:
I would my true love did so chance
To see the legend of my play,
To call my true love to my dance:
Sing O my love, O my love, my love, my love,
This have I done for my true love.
Then was I born of a virgin pure,
Of her I took fleshly substance;
Thus was I knit to man’s nature
To call my true love to my dance:
Sing O my love, O my love, my love, my love,
This have I done for my true love.
In a manger laid and wrapped I was,
So very poor, this was my chance,
Betwixt an ox and a silly poor ass,
To call my true love to my dance:
Sing O my love, O my love, my love, my love,
This have I done for my true love.
Then afterwards baptized I was;
The Holy Ghost on me did glance,
My Father’s voice heard from above.
To call my true love to my dance:
Sing O my love, O my love, my love, my love,
This have I done for my true love.
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 512 To God be the Glory, great things he has done
1 To God be the glory, great things he has done!
So loved he the world that he gave us his Son,
who yielded his life an atonement for sin,
and opened the life-gate that all may go in.
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!
Let the earth hear his voice!
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!
Let the people rejoice!
Oh, come to the Father, through Jesus the Son,
and give him the glory! Great things he has done!
2 O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood,
to every believer the promise of God;
for every offender who truly believes,
that moment from Jesus a pardon receives.
3 Great things he has taught us, great things he has done,
and great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son:
but purer, and higher, and greater will be
our joy and our wonder, when Jesus we see.
Organ Postlude: Lay my burden down’ by Iain Farrington (1977)
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.
