Sunday readings and prayers

Collect for the Sixth Sunday after Trinity  

Merciful God, you have prepared for those who love you such good things as pass our understanding: pour into our hearts such love toward you that we, loving you in all things and above all things, may obtain your promises, which exceed all that we can desire; 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.

First Bible Reading: Isaiah 55: 10 -13 

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,  and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;  it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.  

 For you shall go out in joy, and be led back in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song,  and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall be to the Lord for a memorial, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off. 

Olive trees: Van Gogh

Psalm 65:  9-14    

You visit the earth and water it abundantly; you make it very plenteous; the river of God is full of water. 

You prepare the grain, for so you provide for the earth. 

You drench the furrows and smooth out the ridges; with heavy rain you soften the ground and bless its increase. 

You crown the year with your goodness, and your paths overflow with plenty. 

May the fields of the wilderness be rich for grazing, and the hills be clothed with joy.   

May the meadows cover themselves with flocks, and the valleys cloak themselves with grain; let them shout for joy and sing

Second Reading Romans 8:1–11  

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.

Gospel Reading: Matthew 13:1–9,18–23  

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the lake. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: ‘Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let anyone with ears listen!’ ‘Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.’

Van Gogh

O Lord, save us from hardness of heart, where your word cannot take root.

O Lord, save us from shallowness of mind, where your word withers away.

O Lord, save us from relying on material things, where your word is choked by everyday cares.

But Lord, grant that our hearts may be fertile soil, where your word flourishes and yields a harvest,

bringing salvation to ourselves and those about us. Amen. 

 http://www.arthurrankcentre.org.uk/

God of creation, we give you thanks for the world that we live in, for its beauty and resourcefulness, for the life that it sustains and the food it provides. We thank you for the seed you have sown in our hearts. We pray that we may nurture it and show forth in our lives the fruits of the Spirit.

We pray for those who help us to understand the word of God through their teaching and their example…. clergy, teachers, broadcasters and lay people.

We pray for people around the world suffering from extremes of weather, whether high temperatures or floods, especially where it affects the ability to grow food and lead a healthy life.  May we play our part in caring for the Creation for the good of all.

Heavenly Father, we pray for those in need, asking you to heal the sick, strengthen the fearful, befriend the lonely and guide the perplexed.  We pray in particular at this time for ............

We pray for the repose of the souls of those who have recently departed this world, thinking of ........................  & for strength & reassurance for those they have left behind.

We pray that each day we may reflect the love of Christ in our lives and never fail to see the image of Christ in those that we encounter along the way.