Trinity Sunday
Call to worship:
Let us come to God who is Holy Trinity:
God the Father, who creates and sustains us;
God the Son, who saves and keeps us;
God the Holy Spirit, who lives within us.
Let us enter into the mystery of God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Hymn: STF 55
Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, Thy great name we praise.
Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
Nor wanting, nor wasting, Thou rulest in might;
Thy justice like mountains high soaring above
Thy clouds which are fountains of goodness and love.
To all life Thou givest, to both great and small;
In all life Thou livest, the true life of all;
We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
And wither and perish, but nought changeth Thee.
Great Father of Glory, pure Father of Light
Thine angels adore Thee, all veiling their sight;
All laud we would render, O help us to see:
’Tis only the splendour of light hideth Thee.
Prayers:
Creator God,
we come to you in awe, marvelling at the mysteries of the universe,
and delighting in the world you have made.
Redeemer God,
we come to you in gratitude, wondering at your love revealed in the face of your Son, and in his arms stretched wide to embrace us.
Sustainer God,
we come to you in expectation, opening our lives, hearts and minds to the breath of your Spirit and the flame of your love.
We come, too in thanksgiving.
We give thanks to you, our Father, God of love,
who created us in his image,
and daily satisfies us with good things.
Thanks be to God.
We give thanks to you, Jesus Christ our Saviour,
who lived among us, suffered and died,
yet rose again to bring us new life.
Thanks be to God.
We give thanks to you, Holy Spirit, giver of life,
who teaches, inspires, guides and comforts us,
transforming us day by day into God’s likeness.
Thanks be to God.
We give thanks to you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit
now and for all eternity,
three-in-one, blessed trinity.
Thanks be to God.
Amen.
Readings:
Isaiah 6:1-8
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty, and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another and said,
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”
The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. And I said, “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said, “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!”
Matthew 28:16-20
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshiped him, but they doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Hymn: StF 62
Our God is an awesome God
He reigns from heaven above
With wisdom, power, and love
Our God is an awesome God
Awesome God lyrics © Universal Music – Brentwood Benson Publ.
Reflection:
I wonder how many things you can think of that comes in 3s?
Wheels on a tricycle, 3 French hens, 3 barleycorns to an inch (shoe sizes), 3 musketeers…..
And how about in scripture – Jesus was tempted 3 times in the desert by Satan, There were three disciples present at the transfiguration. Peter denied him three times. Jesus died at three o’clock and rose again, three days later. When Jesus reinstates Peter, he asks him 3 times if he loves him. I’m sure you can think of more – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
People have spent centuries trying to understand the concept of the Trinity. The relationship between Father, Son and Holy Spirit is such that is fully and equally God, yet there is only one God. We don’t, we can’t fully understand it, the width, the breadth, the whole majesty of it. It’s one of the profound mysteries of faith.
St. Augustine of Hippo, a great philosopher and theologian, was fascinated by the Holy Trinity. He wanted so much to understand it and be able to explain one God in three persons logically. There is a story that he was once walking along the seashore when he came across a young child. The child made a small hole in the sand, ran to the sea with a little cup, filled it with sea water and ran back and emptied her cup into the hole she had made. Back and forth she went again and again, filling her cup and pouring the sea water into the hole. “What are you doing?” Augustine asked. “I’m trying to empty the sea into this hole,” she replied. “How do you think,” Augustine said, “that you can empty this vast sea into this tiny hole and with this tiny cup?” The child looked back at him. “And you,” she answered back, “How do you suppose that with your small head you can understand the immensity of God?” With that the child disappeared.
God has shown himself to his people in three ways, yet he still remains one God. Someone once tried to explain it, very simply:
“God the Father – made us
God the Son – came to us
God the Holy Spirit – is with us”.
We can’t truly understand it and thinking will continue to move and change and grow as time goes on.
The prophet Isaiah also said, “Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to live in; who brings princes to naught, and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing.”
This is the God who is greater than we can ever imagine.
This is our God who wants to come close to us and know us.
When we recognise the awesomeness of God, what can we do but worship? Isaiah was ‘filled with awe’ in the Temple.
So often we can bring God down to our size and fit him in a little box and label it “God”, yet he is so, so much more – God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. If we lose sight of those three persons our picture of God is distorted, diminished. Hold on to them all and we can see something of our God who desires a relationship with us and whose love breaks all boundaries and who, as Paul wrote in his letter to the Ephesians, “is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations for ever and ever.” Amen.
Song: We believe
In this time of desperation
When all we know is doubt and fear
There is only one foundation
We believe, we believe
In this broken generation
When all is dark, you help us see
There is only one salvation
We believe, we believe
We believe in God the Father
We believe in Jesus Christ
We believe in the Holy Spirit
And He’s given us new life
We believe in the crucifixion
We believe that He conquered death
We believe in the resurrection
And He’s coming back again
We believe
So, let our faith be more than anthems
Greater than the songs we sing
And in our weakness and temptations
We believe, we believe
Chorus
Let the lost be found and the dead be raised
In the here and now, let love invade
Let the church live loud, our God, we’ll say
“We believe, we believe”
And the gates of hell will not prevail
For the power of God has torn the veil
Now we know Your love will never fail
We believe, we believe
We believe in God the Father
Chorus
Songwriters: Travis Ryan / Richie Fike / Matthew Hooper We Believe lyrics © Integrity Worship Music
Prayers of intercession:
O Lord, our Sovereign,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Lord, we bring before you our prayers for the world, the Church and all of creation.
Loving God, we place the Church into your hands. Guide and lead it to be a sign of unity and loyalty.
Loving God, we place into your hands the places where war has become a way of life.
Use us as bearers of your peace.
Loving God, we place into your hands the lives of those who suffer. Give us the
grace to carry one another’s burdens.
Loving God, receive the prayers we offer,
in Christ who lives with you and the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever.
O Lord, our Sovereign,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
We gather these and all our prayers together in the name of Jesus as we pray the words he taught his disciples:
Our Father……
Hymn: StF 8
God with us: Creator, Father,
bringing everything to birth;
Mother of the whole creation,
fire of stars and life of earth:
down the countless years composing,
from the earth’s evolving night,
love’s response to love, and forming
mind and soul to seek your light.
God with us: Redeemer, Brother,
Friend for ever at our side,
here, in flesh, you walked among us,
taking up your cross, you died.
Crucified, despised, rejected,
Perfect Love, who shared our shame,
streaming from the cross, your judgement,
full of mercy, clears our name.
God with us: Unwearied Spirit,
from the birth of time and space,
surging through unconscious being,
joyful, Life-Creating Grace:
through the centuries you find us;
you, as God, inspire our prayer;
Life and Power at work within us,
Love for ever, everywhere!
God, Transcendent, far beyond us,
closest Friend, unfailing Guide:
through the ages, wronged, affronted,
in your poor, still crucified!
God with us: convict, forgive us;
by your holy love destroy
all that hinders peace and justice:
fill this aching world with joy!
Alan Gaunt (b. 1935) Words: © 1998, Stainer & Bell Ltd.
Blessing:
Go in peace to love and serve God;
And may the blessing of God;
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
be with you today and always.
Amen.
Prayers adapted from Rootsontheweb
CCLI No: 1086671
