Sunday 8 January – The Baptism of Christ
The service is live-streamed and can be found on the church Facebook page.
Collect
Eternal Father,
who at the baptism of Jesus
revealed him to be your Son,
anointing him with the Holy Spirit:
grant to us, who are born again by water and the Spirit,
that we may be faithful to our calling as your adopted children;
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.
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First Reading
Isaiah 42.1-9
Thus says the Lord: Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his teaching. Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it: I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. I am the Lord, that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to idols. See, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth, I tell you of them.
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Psalm
29
1 Bring unto the Lord, O ye mighty, bring young rams unto the Lord :
ascribe unto the Lord worship and strength.
2 Give the Lord the honour due unto his Name:
worship the Lord with holy worship.
3 It is the Lord, that commandeth the waters:
it is the glorious God, that maketh the thunder.
4 It is the Lord, that ruleth the sea; the voice of the Lord is mighty in operation:
the voice of the Lord is a glorious voice.
5 The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedar-trees:
yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars of Libanus.
6 He maketh them also to skip like a calf:
Libanus also, and Sirion, like a young unicorn.
7 The voice of the Lord divideth the flames of fire; the voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness:
yea, the Lord shaketh the wilderness of Cades.
8 The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to bring forth young, and discovereth the thick bushes:
in his temple doth every man speak of his honour.
9 The Lord sitteth above the water-flood:
and the Lord remaineth a King for ever.
10 The Lord shall give strength unto his people:
the Lord shall give his people the blessing of peace.
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Second Reading
Acts 10.34-43
Then Peter began to speak to them: ‘I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all. That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: 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. 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; but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, 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. 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. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.’
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Gospel
Matthew 3.13-17
Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfil all righteousness.’ Then he consented. And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.’
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Post Communion Prayer
Lord of all time and eternity,
you opened the heavens and revealed yourself as Father
in the baptism of Jesus your beloved Son:
by the power of your Spirit
complete the heavenly work of our rebirth
through the waters of the new creation;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.