SUNDAY READING SHEET 29th September 2024 HARVEST FESTIVAL

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.

Amen.

FOR 9 AM ONLY

A Reading from the Prophecy of Joel

O children of Zion, be glad and rejoice in the Lord your God; for he has given the early rain for your vindication, he has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the later rain, as before. The threshing-floors shall be full of grain, the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.

I will repay you for the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent against you.

You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame.
You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I, the Lord, am your God and there is no other. And my people shall never again be put to shame.

Joel 2: 23 - 27

For the word of the Lord

All: Thanks be to God

GOSPEL

Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew

All: Glory to you, O Lord.

‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.

But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear?”

For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Matthew 6: 25 - 33

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

All: Praise to you, O Christ.

Post Communion Prayer:

Lord of the harvest,

with joy we have offered thanksgiving for your love in creation

and have shared in the bread and the 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.

Amen