25 May 2025
10:30 | 
Posted by
Dr Platts |
Acts 16:9-15
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles.
During the night Paul had a vision:
there stood a man of Macedonia pleading with him and saying,
“Come over to Macedonia and help us.”
When he had seen the vision,
we immediately tried to cross over to Macedonia,
being convinced that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them.
We set sail from Troas
and took a straight course to Samothrace,
the following day to Neapolis,
and from there to Philippi,
which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony.
We remained in this city for some days.
On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river,
where we supposed there was a place of prayer;
and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there.
A certain woman named Lydia,
a worshiper of God,
was listening to us;
she was from the city of Thyatira
and a dealer in purple cloth.
The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly
to what was said by Paul.
When she and her household were baptized,
she urged us, saying,
“If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord,
come and stay at my home.”
And she prevailed upon us.
Revelation 21:10,22-22:5
A reading from the book of Revelation.
In the spirit the angel carried me away to a great, high mountain
and showed me the holy city Jerusalem
coming down out of heaven from God.
I saw no temple in the city,
for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.
And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it,
for the glory of God is its light,
and its lamp is the Lamb.
The nations will walk by its light,
and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.
Its gates will never be shut by day—
and there will be no night there.
People will bring into it the glory and the honour of the nations.
But nothing unclean will enter it,
nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood,
but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life,
bright as crystal,
flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb
Through the middle of the street of the city.
On either side of the river is the tree of life
with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month;
and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
Nothing accursed will be found there any more.
But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it,
and his servants will worship him;
they will see his face,
and his name will be on their foreheads.
And there will be no more night;
they need no light of lamp or sun,
for the Lord God will be their light,
and they will reign forever and ever.
John 14:23-29
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Those who love me will keep my word,
and my Father will love them,
and we will come to them and make our home with them.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words;
and the word that you hear is not mine,
but is from the Father who sent me.
”I have said these things to you while I am still with you.
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit,
whom the Father will send in my name,
will teach you everything,
and remind you of all that I have said to you.
Peace I leave with you;
my peace I give to you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled,
and do not let them be afraid.
You heard me say to you,
‘I am going away, and I am coming to you.’
If you loved me,
you would rejoice that I am going to the Father,
because the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you this before it occurs,
so that when it does occur, you may believe."
18 May 2025
Acts 11:1-18
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles.
The apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles
had also accepted the word of God.
So when Peter went up to Jerusalem,
the circumcised believers criticized him,
saying, “Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?”
Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying,
“I was in the city of Joppa praying,
and in a trance I saw a vision. T
here was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven,
being lowered by its four corners;
and it came close to me.
As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals,
beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air.
I also heard a voice saying to me,
‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’
But I replied,
‘By no means, Lord;
for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’
But a second time the voice answered from heaven,
‘What God has made clean, you must not call profane.’
This happened three times;
then everything was pulled up again to heaven.
At that very moment three men,
sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were.
The Spirit told me to go with them
and not to make a distinction between them and us.
These six brothers also accompanied me,
and we entered the man’s house.
He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying,
‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter;
he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved.’
And as I began to speak,
the Holy Spirit fell upon them
just as it had upon us at the beginning.
And I remembered the word of the Lord,
how he had said, ‘John baptized with water,
but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’
If then God gave them the same gift
that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ,
who was I that I could hinder God?”
When they heard this, they were silenced.
And they praised God, saying,
“Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.”
Revelation 21:1-6
A reading from the book of Revelation.
I, John, saw a new heaven and a new earth;
for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away,
and the sea was no more.
And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
“See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them as their God;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.”
And the one who was seated on the throne said,
“See, I am making all things new.”
Also he said, “Write this,
for these words are trustworthy and true.”
Then he said to me,
“It is done!
I am the Alpha and the Omega,
the beginning and the end.
To the thirsty I will give water as a gift
from the spring of the water of life.
John 13:31-35
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.
During te supper when Judas had gone out, Jesus said,
“Now the Son of Man has been glorified,
and God has been glorified in him.
If God has been glorified in him,
God will also glorify him in himself
and will glorify him at once.
Little children, I am with you only a little longer.
You will look for me;
and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you,
‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’
I give you a new commandment,
that you love one another.
Just as I have loved you,
you also should love one another.
By this everyone will know that you are my disciples,
if you have love for one another.”
11 May 2025
Acts 9:36-43
A reading form the Acts of the Apostles.
In Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha,
which in Greek is Dorcas.
She was devoted to good works and acts of charity.
At that time she became ill and died.
When they had washed her,
they laid her in a room upstairs. 3
Since Lydda was near Joppa,
the disciples, who heard that Peter was there,
sent two men to him with the request,
“Please come to us without delay.”
So Peter got up and went with them;
and when he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs.
All the widows stood beside him, weeping
and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made
while she was with them.
Peter put all of them outside,
and then he knelt down and prayed.
He turned to the body and said, “Tabitha, get up.”
Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up.
He gave her his hand and helped her up.
Then calling the saints and widows,
he showed her to be alive.
This became known throughout Joppa,
and many believed in the Lord.
Meanwhile he stayed in Joppa for some time
with a certain Simon, a tanner.
Revelation 7:9-17
A reading from the book of Revelation.
After this I looked,
and there was a great multitude that no one could count,
from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages,
standing before the throne and before the Lamb,
robed in white, with palm branches in their hands.
They cried out in a loud voice, saying,
“Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
And all the angels stood around the throne
and around the elders and the four living creatures,
and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,
singing, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving
and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
Then one of the elders addressed me, saying,
“Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?”
I said to him,
“Sir, you are the one that knows.”
Then he said to me,
“These are they who have come out of the great ordeal;
they have washed their robes
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
For this reason they are before the throne of God,
and worship him day and night within his temple,
and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them.
They will hunger no more, and thirst no more;
the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat;
for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them to springs of the water of life,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
John 10:22-30
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.
At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem.
It was winter,
and Jesus was walking in the temple,
in the portico of Solomon.
So the Jews gathered around him and said to him,
“How long will you keep us in suspense? I
f you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”
Jesus answered,
“I have told you, and you do not believe.
The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me;
but you do not believe,
because you do not belong to my sheep.
My sheep hear my voice.
I know them, and they follow me.
I give them eternal life, and they will never perish.
No one will snatch them out of my hand.
What my Father has given me is greater than all else,
and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand.
The Father and I are one.”
04 May 2025
Acts 9:1-6(7-20)
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles.
Saul,
still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord,
went to the high priest
and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus,
so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women,
he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus,
suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.
He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him,
“Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
He asked, “Who are you, Lord?”
The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
But get up and enter the city,
and you will be told what you are to do.”
The men who were traveling with him stood speechless
because they heard the voice but saw no one.
Saul got up from the ground,
and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing;
so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.
For three days he was without sight,
and neither ate nor drank.
Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias.
The Lord said to him in a vision,
“Ananias.”
He answered, “Here I am, Lord.”
The Lord said to him,
“Get up and go to the street called Straight,
and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul.
At this moment he is praying,
and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias
come in and lay his hands on him
so that he might regain his sight.”
But Ananias answered,
“Lord, I have heard from many about this man,
how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem;
and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name.”
But the Lord said to him,
“Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen
to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel;
I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”
So Ananias went and entered the house.
He laid his hands on Saul
and said, “Brother Saul,
the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here,
has sent me so that you may regain your sight
and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes,
and his sight was restored.
Then he got up and was baptized,
and after taking some food,
he regained his strength.
For several days he was with the disciples in Damascus,
and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues,
saying, “He is the Son of God.”
Revelation 5:11-14
A reading from the book of Revelation.
I, John, looked,
and I heard the voice of many angels surrounding the throne
and the living creatures and the elders;
they numbered myriads of myriads
and thousands of thousands,
singing with full voice,
“Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!”
Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth
and under the earth and in the sea,
and all that is in them, singing,
“To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb
be blessing and honor and glory and might
forever and ever!”
And the four living creatures said, “Amen!”
And the elders fell down and worshiped.
John 21:1-19
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.
Jesus showed himself again to the disciples
by the Sea of Tiberias;
and he showed himself in this way.
Gathered there together were Simon Peter,
Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee,
the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples.
Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.”
They said to him, “We will go with you.”
They went out and got into the boat,
but that night they caught nothing.
Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach;
but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.
Jesus said to them,
“Children, you have no fish, have you?”
They answered him, “No.”
He said to them,
“Cast the net to the right side of the boat,
and you will find some.”
So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in
because there were so many fish.
That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter,
“It is the Lord!”
When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord,
he put on some clothes, for he was naked, a
nd jumped into the sea.
But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish,
for they were not far from the land,
only about a hundred yards off.
When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there,
with fish on it, and bread.
Jesus said to them,
“Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.”
So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore,
full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them;
and though there were so many, the net was not torn.
Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.”
Now none of the disciples dared to ask him,
“Who are you?”
because they knew it was the Lord.
Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them,
and did the same with the fish.
This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples
after he was raised from the dead.
When they had finished breakfast,
Jesus said to Simon Peter,
“Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”
He said to him,
“Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.”
Jesus said to him,
“Feed my lambs.”
A second time he said to him,
“Simon son of John, do you love me?”
He said to him,
“Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.”
Jesus said to him,
“Tend my sheep.”
He said to him the third time,
“Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time,
“Do you love me?”
And he said to him,
“Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.”
Jesus said to him,
“Feed my sheep.
Very truly, I tell you,
when you were younger,
you used to fasten your own belt
and to go wherever you wished.
But when you grow old,
you will stretch out your hands,
and someone else will fasten a belt around you
and take you where you do not wish to go.”
(He said this to indicate the kind of death
by which he would glorify God.)
After this he said to him,
“Follow me.”
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