Sunday 26 February – 1st Sunday of Lent
Collect
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.
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First Reading
Genesis 2.15-17; 3.1-7
The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.’ Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God say, “You shall not eat from any tree in the garden”?’ The woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; but God said, “You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.” But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.
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Psalm
32
1 Blessed is he whose unrighteousness is forgiven:
and whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth no sin:
and in whose spirit there is no guile.
3 For while I held my tongue:
my bones consumed away through my daily complaining.
4 For thy hand is heavy upon me day and night:
and my moisture is like the drought in summer.
5 I will acknowledge my sin unto thee:
and mine unrighteousness have I not hid.
6 I said, I will confess my sins unto the Lord:
and so thou forgavest the wickedness of my sin.
7 For this shall every one that is godly make his prayer unto thee, in a time when thou mayest be found:
but in the great water-floods they shall not come nigh him.
8 Thou art a place to hide me in, thou shalt preserve me from trouble:
thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance.
9 I will inform thee, and teach thee in the way wherein thou shalt go:
and I will guide thee with mine eye.
10 Be ye not like to horse and mule, which have no understanding:
whose mouths must be held with bit and bridle, lest they fall upon thee.
11 Great plagues remain for the ungodly:
but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord, mercy embraceth him on every side.
12 Be glad, O ye righteous, and rejoice in the Lord:
and be joyful, all ye that are true of heart.
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Second Reading
Romans 5.12-19
Just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned – sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law. Yet death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who was to come. But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man’s trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man’s sin. For the judgement following one trespass brought condemnation but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification. If, because of the one man’s trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so the act of righteousness of one leads to justification and life for all. For just as by the one person’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.
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Gospel
Matthew 4.1-11
Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.’ But he answered, ‘It is written, “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” ’ Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, “He will command his angels concerning you,” and “On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.” ’ Jesus said to him, ‘Again it is written, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” ’ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour; and he said to him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Away with you, Satan! for it is written, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.” ’ Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.
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Post Communion Prayer
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.