Sunday Readings

Holy Trinity
Amblecote

Home About Us Contacts Hire Information Records Music Services

Sunday Readings

Harvest Thanksgiving

Year C

Collect

Eternal God,

you crown the year with your goodness

and you give us

the fruits of the earth in their season:

grant that we may use them to your glory,

for the relief of those in need

and for our own well-being;

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.

Additional Collect

Creator God,

you made the goodness of the land,

the riches of the sea

and the rhythm of the seasons;

as we thank you for the harvest,

may we cherish and respect

this planet and its peoples,

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

First Reading

Deuteronomy 26.1-11

Moses said: “When you have entered the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance and have taken possession of it and settled in it, take some of the firstfruits of all that you produce from the soil of the land that the LORD your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place that the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name and say to the priest in office at the time, ‘I declare today to the LORD your God that I have come to the land that the LORD swore to our forefathers to give us.’ The priest shall take the basket from your hands and set it down in front of the altar of the LORD your God. Then you shall declare before the LORD your God: ‘My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down into Egypt with a few people and lived there and became a great nation, powerful and numerous. But the Egyptians ill-treated us and made us suffer, putting us to hard labour. Then we cried out to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and saw our misery, toil and oppression. So the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror and with miraculous signs and wonders. He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey; and now I bring the firstfruits of the soil that you, O LORD, have given me.’ Place the basket before the LORD your God and bow down before him. And you and the Levites and the aliens among you shall rejoice in all the good things the LORD your God has given to you and your household”.

Psalm or Canticle

R O be joyful in the Lord, O be joyful all the earth.

1 O be joyful in the Lord, all the earth; *

serve the Lord with gladness

and come before his presence with a song. R

2 Know that the Lord is God; *

it is he that has made us and we are his;

we are his people and the sheep of his pasture. R

3 Enter his gates with thanksgiving

and his courts with praise; *

give thanks to him and bless his name. R

4 For the Lord is gracious; his steadfast love is everlasting, *

and his faithfulness endures from generation to generation. R

Second Reading

Philippians 4.4-9

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia, alleluia. We do not live by bread alone,

but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Alleluia.

Gospel

John 6.25-35

25When they found him on the other side of the lake, they said to him, ‘Rabbi, when did you come here?’ 26Jesus answered them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.’ 28Then they said to him, ‘What must we do to perform the works of God?’ 29Jesus answered them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.’ 30So they said to him, ‘What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? 31Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, “He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”’ 32Then Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’ 34They said to him, ‘Sir, give us this bread always.’

35Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.’

Post Communion

Lord of the harvest,

with joy we have offered thanksgiving for your love in creation

and have shared in the bread and wine of the kingdom:

by your grace plant within us a reverence for all that you give us

and make us generous and wise stewards of the good things we enjoy;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Blessing

May God who clothes the lilies and feeds the birds of the sky,

who leads the lambs to pasture and the deer to water,

who multiplied loaves and fishes and changed water into wine,