The Collects and Readings for Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity, 18th
October 2020 Collect: O God, forasmuch as without you
we are not able to please you;
mercifully grant
that your Holy Spirit
may in all things direct and rule our hearts;
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 for ever.
1 Thessalonians
1:1-10 1Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace to you
and peace. 2 We always give thanks
to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly 3remembering before our God and Father your work
of faith and labour of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4For we know, brothers and sisters
beloved by God, that he has chosen you, 5because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also
in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of people we proved to be among you for
your sake. 6And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with
joy inspired by the Holy Spirit, 7so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.
8For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place where
your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak about it. 9For the people of those regions
report about us what kind of welcome we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God,
10and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath
that is coming. Matthew 22:15-22 15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. 16So
they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, ‘Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach
the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. 17Tell
us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?’ 18But Jesus, aware of their
malice, said, ‘Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? 19Show me the coin used for the tax.’
And they brought him a denarius. 20Then he said to them, ‘Whose head is this, and whose title?’ 21They
answered, ‘The emperor’s.’ Then he said to them, ‘Give therefore to the emperor the things that are
the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ 22When they heard this, they were amazed;
and they left him and went away. For Harvest Services: Luke 12. 13-31 13 Someone in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide
the family inheritance with me.’ 14But he said to him, ‘Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator
over you?’ 15And he said to them, ‘Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s
life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.’ 16Then he told them a parable: ‘The land of
a rich man produced abundantly. 17And he thought to himself, “What should I do, for I have no place to store
my crops?” 18Then he said, “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there
I will store all my grain and my goods. 19And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many
years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” 20But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life is
being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” 21So it is with those who store
up treasures for themselves but are not rich towards God.’
22 He said to his disciples, ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about
your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. 23For life is more than food, and the body
more than clothing. 24Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and
yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! 25And can any of you by worrying add a single
hour to your span of life?* 26If then you are not able to do so small
a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? 27Consider the lilies, 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. 28But
if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he
clothe you—you of little faith! 29And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink,
and do not keep worrying. 30For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father
knows that you need them. 31Instead, strive for his* kingdom, and these things
will be given to you as well. Post Communion Collect: Holy and blessed God,
you have fed us with the body and blood of your
Son
and filled us with your Holy Spirit:
may we honour you, not only with our lips
but in lives dedicated
to the service of Jesus Christ our Lord. Prayers - we have
been asked to remember in our prayers: David Aked-Walker,
Father Mike, Katie Hakin, Carole Harrington, Diane Jones, Rev'd John Knight, Philip Le Roux,
Sylvia Reynolds and
James Wagstaffe.
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