Worship, prayer and Bible study resources
First Sunday of Lent - Year B
Liturgical Colour - Purple
Introduction
Lent is often seen as a time when people 'give things up.' This comes from the practice of fasting and careful preparation for baptism at Easter which once took place. It is associated with the period of 40 days which Jesus spent in the wilderness preparing himself for his ministry.
We no longer endure fast of several days to help us in our spiritual journey, but it is no less important for us to be spiritually focussed and obedient to God. It is only as we really determine to cut out the background noise and listen to God's voice that we can begin to turn our hearts and minds in the right direction and find true fulfilment in living.
So use this Lent as a time to get yourself spiritually fit,
you know you'll feel better for it.
Opening Verses of Scripture Psalm 25:4
Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and
teach me, for you are God my Saviour, and my hope is in you all day long.
Collect Prayer for the Day — Before we read we pray
Almighty God, whose Son Jesus Christ fasted forty days in the wilderness, and was tempted as we are, yet without sin: give us grace to discipline ourselves in obedience to your Spirit; and, as you know our weakness, so may we know your power to save; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen Common Worship
Heavenly father, your Son battled with the powers of darkness, and grew closer to you in the desert: help us to use these days to grow in wisdom and prayer that we may witness to your saving love in Jesus Christ our Lord. Common Worship Shorter Collects
Gracious Father, your blessed Son Jesus Christ came from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world. Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in him; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Methodist Worship
First Bible Reading Genesis 9:8-17
Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: "I now establish my covenant
with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature
that was with you--the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all
those that came out of the ark with you--every living creature on earth. I
establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the
waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth."
And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and
you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to
come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the
covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth
and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between
me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the
waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in
the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God
and all living creatures of every kind on the earth."
So God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant I have established
between me and all life on the earth."
The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth. (Ham
was the father of Canaan.)
Second Reading 1 Peter 3:18-22
For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also, not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand--with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.
Gospel Reading Mark 1:9-15
At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him. After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"
Post Communion Sentence
Lord God, you have renewed us with the living bread from heaven; by it
you nourish our faith, increase our hope, and strengthen our love: teach us
always to hunger for him who is the true and living bread, and enable us to
live by every word that proceeds from out of your mouth; through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen
Commentary
There are flood accounts from the Ancient Near in other places apart from the Bible. The Atrahasis Epic and the Gilgamesh Epic speak of the chief god Enlil becoming angry at humankind and sending a flood to eliminate the ‘noise.’ the god Ea manages to warn a king and instructs him to build a boat for him, his family and skilled citizens. The pitch covered boat has seven stories. The storm last seven days and at the end birds are sent out to find land. The stories date from the second millennium and use material from the third millennium. Of course cultures looked at the flood and came to their own conclusions at that time. It is the same when natural disasters happen today, some religious folk will call a tsunami the punishment of God upon a particular wicked people who deserve punishment, others will see it as a natural disaster into which we must offer aid and support.
Epistle
In
the New Testament reading 1 Peter we have a much more hopeful message. He
compares the water of the flood to the water of baptism. Although only eight
were saved in the Flood, baptism brings salvation to all. Baptism is
something which cleanses, not physical dirt but the soul. It is not that the
water used at baptism has some special effect, it is effective because
baptism is the way that we express our trust in Jesus and in what he has
achieved for us. The writer of 1 Peter, perhaps the Apostle Peter himself or
his disciples, knew clearly the condition of humankind, troubled in
conscience. The gift of God in Christ was to release us from that inner
conflict and set us free to serve God. Peter knew that in Jesus we had God’s
reassurance of sin forgiven because
Jesus had
gone into heaven and is at God's right hand--with angels, authorities and
powers in submission to him. ‘ There was therefore no power from whom the
Christian need be troubled or afraid.
Gospel
The
Gospel reading records an episode from the life of Jesus in which he is
shown to battle with the enemy in that conflict which will eventually be
determined by victory over sin and death on the cross. After the baptism of
Jesus he is led away into the desert and the inner turmoil of the human
condition is shown to take place in the life of Jesus also. Jesus is shown
tempted, surrounded by wild beast and angles. Many people will be able to
look inside their own souls and understand the imagery of beasts and angels,
the good and the bad at war within our own spiritual nature. In placing
Jesus with wild beasts in the wilderness, Mark is making an important point.
Protection from wild beasts was considered a sign of God’s blessing,
remember Daniel and the lions. Yet there is more than this, the episode has
the message of paradise restored. Where Adam had failed, Jesus was now
setting things right. The peaceful existence with wild animals, the service
of angels, overcoming Satan, all form part of the new order which Jesus
brings. No wonder Jesus is shown to speak the words ‘
The time
has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good
news!"
Charles Royden
Meditation
Clean your room well, for good spirits will not live where there is dirt."
At this time of year many people will be thinking of spring cleaning. Lent
is a time when we are able to start clearing up after winter, it is not to
cold to open the windows and clear away accumulated dust. This spring
cleaning is something which Christians are encouraged to do in their own
lives. We have an invitation to share with Christ in tackling our demons, to
face temptations and to confront within ourselves the things which need
clearing out. This is the time to sweep out the destructive habits that keep
us focused on ourselves and our own selfish desires in order to focus on the
truly important things of God. This takes time, which is why we church
meetings in lent, to make a symbolic and practical statement about the need
to think differently. Hopefully people will take time to share in our Lent
Course which will have new things to think about. We can take time for
special prayers and perhaps use the Bible reading scheme which Sam has
prepared for us. Time will allow us to uncover the broken areas of our lives
and have Jesus build us into people fit for his kingdom and ready for Easter
! Charles Royden
Hymns
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As we are gathered
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When morning gilds the skies Tune: Laudes Domini
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God is building a house
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As the deer pants for the water
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The Kingdom of God Tune Hanover
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To him we come Tune Living Lord
Prayers for Sunday and the week ahead
Prayer is a plant, the seed of which is sown in the heart of every Christian,
if it is well cultivated and nourished it will produce fruit, but if it is neglected,
it will wither and die
Lord take our minds and think through them
Take our lips and speak through them
Take our hearts and set them on fire
With the desire to do your holy will
In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Loving Father, today is the first Sunday of Lent.
Over the next six weeks, with your help, we are going to prepare for Easter.
From today we are making a new start with a bigger effort to be more loving
and kind.
Help us to show concern for the less fortunate, the hungry and the poor, and
especially help us to speak to you more often.
We ask this through your Son, Jesus, whose death and resurrection we will be
thinking about in the next few weeks. Amen. Tony Castle.
Grant, we beseech thee, O Lord, that by the observance of this Lent we may
advance in the knowledge of the mystery of Christ, and show forth his mind
in conduct worthy of our calling; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Gelasian
Sacramentary
Come, our Light, and illumine our darkness.
Come, our Life, and raise us from death.
Come, our Physician, and heal our wounds.
Come, Flame of Divine Love, and burn up our sins.
Come, our King, sit upon the throne of our hearts and reign there.
For you alone are my King and my Lord. Dimitrii of Rostov
Additional Material
The passage from Mark tells us about the titanic struggle with evil which took place right at the start of the ministry of Jesus. He has just been through the uplifting experience of hearing the voice of God and seeing the heavens torn apart, then it is back down to earth with a bump and he is tempted to do the wrong thing.
This is a struggle of cosmic proportions, Jesus takes on the Devil and the scene is played out in the wilderness where the nation of Israel had spent 40 years after their escape from Egypt. Jesus was in the wilderness forty days and the number is significant. Forty is a number often associated with intense spiritual experiences. God caused it to rain for forty days and forty nights to cleanse the earth (Gen. 7:12). The Israelites were in the wilderness forty years. Moses spent forty days and nights on Mount Sinai (Exod. 34:28), and Elijah journeyed forty days and forty nights to Mount Horeb (1 Kings 19:8).
We might think that, following the baptism, the angels would come to minister to Jesus or there would be some sort of celebration with the song of heavenly hosts. Nevertheless in all of the Gospels Jesus goes straight from his baptism into his temptation. We might think of his baptism as a commissioning and his temptation as a strengthening, toughening, hardening experience. Having made his choice of service to God, he immediately goes through basic training.
We might be surprised that it is when Jesus makes the right decision and accepts the path of God that he is thrown into such immediate confrontation with the Devil. But if we are honest, it is when we are seeking to do the right thing that we are often brought into situations of conflict. If we want an easy life then we turn a blind eye, we avoid trouble and in so doing become collaborators, we are tainted also.
Through the life of Jesus we can clearly see that he was not prepared to keep quiet about the abuses which surrounded him, much of which was organised by the religious leaders. It is good to remember that peace and tranquillity is not promised to the faithful Christian. Jesus lays down the expectation that the life of a Christian will not be characterized by a long series of high moments, but a rhythm of hills and valleys.
Mention is made of Jesus being with wild beasts, why would Mark mention wild animals? It is thought that Mark's Gospel was probably written in the 60s when Nero was having Christians torn to pieces. Given the ravaging of Christians by ferocious animals during Nero's reign, it is not difficult to imagine Mark including the unusual phrase 'with the wild beasts' in order to remind his Roman readers that Christ, too, was thrown to wild beasts, and as the angels ministered to him, so, too, will they minister to Roman Christians facing martyrdom.
Wild animals also intensify the foreboding character of the wilderness, as Jesus confronts the horror, the loneliness and the danger with which the wilderness is fraught. Throughout Israel's history, the wilderness has been where the Israelites have been tested, often failing, but it is also where they have been deepened spiritually. Unlike the Israelites, Jesus will not fail his testing.
Everybody is talking about evil. President Bush has declared that there is an ‘axis of evil’ out there somewhere, and that we have to find the evil people and stop them doing any more evil. Our own Prime Minister has declared, ambitiously, that our aim must be nothing short of ridding the world of evil. The public and press cried ‘Evil’ at the terrible Soham murders; and we say the same about the sudden rise of gun crime on our streets.
The awareness of Evil and the willingness to use this spiritual word is perhaps surprising. As Christians our message must be clear, Jesus is not overpowered by evil - he has triumphed over the Devil and trust and obedience to him is the only way for us to defeat evil. Charles Royden
Prayers
Holy God, You make and remake us in your image; renew us now through the
power of your Spirit that we may live our lives with integrity, not clinging
to the ways of the world but choosing the way of your truth. Amen.
Holy Lord, you made water a sign of your kingdom. Through the waters you
saved Noah and his family. Through your Son, you promised forgiveness to
those who are baptized. By the gift of the Spirit we are inheritors of
eternal life. When our lives are shaken by the storms and droughts of this
world, remember your promise and bring us to life in you. Amen
A Prayer for Reconciliation
Gracious God, ruling the earth and its people not by terror but in love; we
worship you. We confess that too often our words hurt others and our deeds
are selfish; forgive us. In this time of uncertainty and fear, help us to
love our enemies and do good to those who hate us, in the name of Jesus our
Lord. Amen.
Two Prayers for Peace
Almighty Father, whose will is to restore all things in your beloved Son,
the king of all: govern the hearts and minds of those in authority, and
bring the families of the nations, divided and torn apart by the ravages of
sin, to be subject to his just and gentle rule; who is alive and reigns with
you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
O God, who would fold both heaven and earth in a single peace: Let the
design of thy great love lighten upon the waste of our wraths and sorrows:
and give peace to thy Church, peace among nations, peace in our dwellings,
and peace in our hearts: through thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
Meditation
Hymns
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At the name of Jesus (Tune: Camberwell)
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I want to walk with Jesus Christ
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Forty days and forty night (tune: Glad with thee)
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As the deer
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Be thou my vision