Mothers' Union 22nd March
SERVICE OF THE WORD – 22 March 2020
The FOURTH Sunday in Lent (MOTHERING SUNDAY)
Preparation
INVITATION TO WORSHIP
Praise God who loves us.
Praise God who cares.
PRAISING AND THANKING GOD
We praise you, our God, for all mothers who have loved and laughed and laboured as they cared for their children.
Blessed be God for ever.
We praise you, our God, for all mothers who have wept in sorrow and joy for their children.
Blessed be God for ever.
We praise you, our God, for Jesus, born of a woman and nurtured in her love, and for Mary, a reminder of your patient, waiting love.
Blessed be God for ever.
SENTENCE OF SCRIPTURE
As a mother comforts a child so will I comfort you, says the Lord.
Isaiah 66:13
INTRODUCTION
We thank God for mothers and carers around the world. It takes a very special love to care for a family. Today we’ll celebrate that love and thank God for his own perfect love for us all.
We’re not all mothers ourselves but we all have a mother, whether or not they are still with us, and we are all children of God. He is our loving Father but is also the one who remembers and comforts us as a mother comforts her child, and draws us close as a hen protects her chicks.
OPENING PRAYER
Dear Jesus,
We thank you for mothers and carers everywhere,
and for the special love they have for their children.
We thank you Jesus for your special care and comfort
and the perfect love you have for us all.
Help us all to show your love to those who care for us,
and to the people that we meet in our lives. Amen.
SORRY
We call to mind our sin, our failure to value the love of others
and our failure to love as Christ has loved us.
Silence for reflection
Your love gives us life from the moment of conception.
We fail to live as your children.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
You call us to do good.
We seek our own good.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
You hear us when we cry for help.
We ignore the cries of others.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
May the Father of all mercies
cleanse us from our sins,
and restore us in his image
to the praise and glory of his name,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hymn of Praise: CH712 “Tell out, my soul”
Listen to and sing along with this hymn at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6ji4y9Q-K0
Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord:
unnumbered blessings, give my spirit voice;
tender to me the promise of his word;
in God my Saviour shall my heart rejoice.
Tell out, my soul, the greatness of his name:
make known his might, the deeds his arm has done;
his mercy sure, from age to age to same;
his holy name, the Lord, the Mighty One.
Tell out, my soul, the greatness of his might:
The FOURTH Sunday in Lent (MOTHERING SUNDAY)
Preparation
INVITATION TO WORSHIP
Praise God who loves us.
Praise God who cares.
PRAISING AND THANKING GOD
We praise you, our God, for all mothers who have loved and laughed and laboured as they cared for their children.
Blessed be God for ever.
We praise you, our God, for all mothers who have wept in sorrow and joy for their children.
Blessed be God for ever.
We praise you, our God, for Jesus, born of a woman and nurtured in her love, and for Mary, a reminder of your patient, waiting love.
Blessed be God for ever.
SENTENCE OF SCRIPTURE
As a mother comforts a child so will I comfort you, says the Lord.
Isaiah 66:13
INTRODUCTION
We thank God for mothers and carers around the world. It takes a very special love to care for a family. Today we’ll celebrate that love and thank God for his own perfect love for us all.
We’re not all mothers ourselves but we all have a mother, whether or not they are still with us, and we are all children of God. He is our loving Father but is also the one who remembers and comforts us as a mother comforts her child, and draws us close as a hen protects her chicks.
OPENING PRAYER
Dear Jesus,
We thank you for mothers and carers everywhere,
and for the special love they have for their children.
We thank you Jesus for your special care and comfort
and the perfect love you have for us all.
Help us all to show your love to those who care for us,
and to the people that we meet in our lives. Amen.
SORRY
We call to mind our sin, our failure to value the love of others
and our failure to love as Christ has loved us.
Silence for reflection
Your love gives us life from the moment of conception.
We fail to live as your children.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
You call us to do good.
We seek our own good.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
You hear us when we cry for help.
We ignore the cries of others.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
May the Father of all mercies
cleanse us from our sins,
and restore us in his image
to the praise and glory of his name,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hymn of Praise: CH712 “Tell out, my soul”
Listen to and sing along with this hymn at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6ji4y9Q-K0
Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord:
unnumbered blessings, give my spirit voice;
tender to me the promise of his word;
in God my Saviour shall my heart rejoice.
Tell out, my soul, the greatness of his name:
make known his might, the deeds his arm has done;
his mercy sure, from age to age to same;
his holy name, the Lord, the Mighty One.
Tell out, my soul, the greatness of his might: