Feast of Barnabas

Icon of St. Barnabas, St. Barnabas Museum, Salamis (Cyprus)

Opening response

Lord, open our lips.
Our mouth will declare your praise.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Sovereign God, creator of all,
to you be glory and praise forever.
You founded the earth in the beginning
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
In the fullness of time you made us in your image,
and in these last days you have spoken to us
in your Son Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh.
As we rejoice in the gift of your presence among us
let the light of your love always shine in our hearts,
your Spirit ever renew our lives
and your praises ever be on our lips.
Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God forever.

The night has passed, and the day lies open before us;
let us pray with one heart and mind.

Silence is kept.

As we rejoice in the gift of this new day,
so may the light of your presence, O God,
set our hearts on fire with love for you;
now and forever.
Amen.

Hymn

Thy Ceaseless, Unexhausted Love

Charles Wesley

Thy ceaseless, unexhausted Love,
Unmerited and free,
Delights our evil to remove,
And help our misery.

Thou waitest to be gracious still;
Thou dost with sinners bear;
That, saved, we may thy goodness feel,
And all thy grace declare.

Thy goodness and thy truth, to me,
To every soul abound;
A vast unfathomable sea,
Where all our thoughts are drowned.

Its streams the whole creation reach,
So plenteous is the store;
Enough for all, enough for each,
Enough forevermore.

Faithful, O Lord, thy mercies are,
A rock that cannot move:
A thousand promises declare
Thy constancy of love.

Throughout the universe it reigns,
Unalterably sure;
And, while the truth of God remains,
His goodness must endure.

Confession of sin

Let us confess our sins to God.

A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.

My God, for love of you
I desire to hate and forsake all sins
by which I have ever displeased you;
and I resolve by the help of your grace
to commit them no more;
and to avoid all opportunities of sin.
Help me to do this,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

The Lord enrich us with his grace,
and nourish us with his blessing;
the Lord defend us in trouble and keep us from all evil;
the Lord accept our prayers,
and absolve us from our offenses,
for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Savior.
Amen.

Psalm 100

Refrain:
The LORD is good.
His loving kindness endures forever.

Shout for joy to the LORD, all you lands!
Serve the LORD with gladness.
Come before his presence with singing.
Know that the LORD, he is God.
It is he who has made us, and we are his.
We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving,
and into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him, and bless his name.
For the LORD is good.
His loving kindness endures forever,
his faithfulness to all generations.

Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:
The LORD is good.
His loving kindness endures forever.

Psalm prayer

O Christ, door of the sheepfold,
may we enter your gates with praise
and go from your courts to serve you
in the poor, the lost and the wandering,
this day and all our days.

Psalm 101

Refrain:
Blessed be the LORD’s name,
from this time forward and forevermore.

I will sing of loving kindness and justice.
To you, LORD, I will sing praises.
I will be careful to live a blameless life.
When will you come to me?
I will walk within my house with a blameless heart.
I will set no vile thing before my eyes.
I hate the deeds of faithless men.
They will not cling to me.
A perverse heart will be far from me.
I will have nothing to do with evil.
I will silence whoever secretly slanders his neighbour.
I won’t tolerate one who is arrogant and conceited.
My eyes will be on the faithful of the land,
that they may dwell with me.
He who walks in a perfect way,
he will serve me.
He who practices deceit won’t dwell within my house.
He who speaks falsehood won’t be established before my eyes.
Morning by morning, I will destroy all the wicked of the land,
to cut off all the workers of iniquity from the LORD’s city.

Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:
Blessed be the LORD’s name,
from this time forward and forevermore.

Psalm prayer

Keep us, Lord,
in purity of heart and faithfulness to your commands,
that your servants may walk before you
in the way that is perfect;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 117

Praise the LORD, all you nations!
Extol him, all you peoples!
For his loving kindness is great towards us.
The LORD’s faithfulness endures forever.
Praise the LORD!

Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.

Psalm prayer

Gracious God,
we praise you for your faithfulness
and pray that every nation may find your blessing
in the face of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading

Jeremiah 9:23-24

The LORD says,
“Don’t let the wise man glory in his wisdom.
Don’t let the mighty man glory in his might.
Don’t let the rich man glory in his riches.
But let him who glories glory in this,
that he has understanding, and knows me,
that I am the LORD who exercises loving kindness, justice, and righteousness in the earth,
for I delight in these things,” says the LORD.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Acts 4:32-37

The multitude of those who believed were of one heart and soul. Not one of them claimed that anything of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. With great power, the apostles gave their testimony of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Great grace was on them all. For neither was there amongst them any who lacked, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and distribution was made to each, according as anyone had need.

Joses, who by the apostles was also called Barnabas (which is, being interpreted, Son of Encouragement), a Levite, a man of Cyprus by race, having a field, sold it and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

Silence may be kept.

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Luke 1:68-79

Refrain:
You didn’t choose me,
but I chose you and appointed you,
that you should go and bear fruit,
and that your fruit should remain.

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
for he has visited and redeemed his people;
and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David
(as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets who have been from of old),
salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us;
to show mercy toward our fathers,
to remember his holy covenant,
the oath which he swore to Abraham our father,
to grant to us that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies,
should serve him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life.
And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the remission of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the dawn from on high will visit us,
to shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death;
to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:
You didn’t choose me,
but I chose you and appointed you,
that you should go and bear fruit,
and that your fruit should remain.

Brief silence.

The Apostle’s Creed

Let us unite in this historic confession of the Christian faith:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

Intercession and thanksgiving

Prayers may be offered for:

the day and its tasks
the world and its needs
the church and her life

Prayers may include the following concerns:

The media and the arts
Farming and fishing
Commerce and industry
Those whose work is unfulfilling, stressful or fraught with danger
All who are unemployed

Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.

Response

Father, by your Spirit
Bring in your kingdom.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Bountiful God, giver of all gifts,
who poured your Spirit upon your servant Barnabas
and gave him grace to encourage others:
help us, by his example,
to be generous in our judgments
and unselfish in our service;
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 forever.
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

As our Savior taught us, so we pray

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and forever.
Amen.

Conclusion

The Lord bless us,
and preserve us from all evil,
and keep us in eternal life.
Amen.