Author: Derek Winterburn

  • 2 Peter 1 10-11

    Therefore,
    rather sisters /brothers
    do your best
    to confirm
    your calling and election.
    For doing these things
    you will never ever stumble .
    For in this way
    an entrance
    will be richly provided for you
    into the eternal kingdom
    of our Lord
    and Saviour Jesus Christ.

    Be thou a bright flame before me,
    Be thou a guiding star above me
    Be thou a smooth path below me
    Be thou a kindly shepherd behind me
    Today – tonight -forever
    Amen.

    St Columba

  • 2 Peter 1 5-9

    For this reason,
    do you best to add
    by your faith, virtue
    by virtue, wisdom
    by wisdom, self-control
    by self-control, perseverance
    by perseverance, godliness
    by godliness, family-love
    by family-love, unselfish-love.
    For if these things
    really-are yours
    and are increasing
    they will make you
    neither idle
    or unfruitful
    in the knowledge of our Lord,
    Jesus Christ.
    But the one in whom these things are not present
    is blind, short-sighted,
    being forgetful about
    the cleansing of their past sins.

    O Love, O God who created me, in your love recreate me.
    O Love, who redeemed me,
    fill up in me whatever part of your love
    has fallen into neglect within me.
    O Love, O God, who first loved me,
    grant that with my whole heart,
    and with my whole soul,
    and with my whole strength,
    I may love you.

    Gertrude the Great

  • 2 Peter 1 3-4

    Seeing that
    – his divine power
    having given to us everything necessary
    to lead to life and godliness
    through the knowledge
    of the one who calls us
    by his own glory and goodness,
    -through which he gave to us
    precious and very great promises
    so that through these things
    you might become
    sharers of the divine nature
    having escaped the corruption
    which is in the the world
    because of (sinful) desire…

    Teach us, good Lord,
    to serve thee as thou deservest;
    to give and not to count the cost;
    to fight and not to heed the wounds;
    to toil and not to seek for rest;
    to labour and not to ask for any reward,
    save that of knowing that we do thy will,
    through Jesus Christ our Lord.
    Amen

    St Ignatius

  • 2 Peter 1 1-2

    Simeon Peter,
    a slave and apostle
    of Jesus Christ
    to those
    who have received a faith-commitment
    as equally standing as ours
    through the righteousness of
    our God and Saviour Jesus Christ

    Grace to you all and
    may peace increase
    in knowledge of God
    and Jesus our Lord.

    Grant, Lord,
    that we may hold to you without parting,
    worship you without wearying,
    serve you without failing;
    faithfully seek you,
    happily find you,
    and forever possess you,
    the only God,blessed now and for ever.
    Amen

    St Anselm

  • John 3 31-36

    The one coming from above,
    is above all things.
    The one being from the earth
    is from the earth
    and speaks from the earth,
    He who is coming from heaven
    is above all things.

    He who has seen, and heard this,
    bears witness
    yet nobody receives his witness (statement.)

    The one who has received his witness,
    has confirmed
    that God is truthful.


    -whom God sent,
    to speak the words of God,
    for he does not give the Spirit
    in a measured way.

    The Father loves the Son,
    and he has given all things
    into his hand.
    The one who believes in the Son
    has the life of the world to come.
    The one who disbelieves the Son,
    will not see life,
    but the wrath of God remains on him.



    Thank you, dear Jesus,
    for all you have given me,
    for all you have taken away from me,
    for all you have left me.

    Thomas More (c.1478-1535)

  • John 3 22-30

    After these things
    Jesus and his disciples went
    into the Judean countryside
    and he stayed there
    with them
    and was baptizing
    And John also was baptizing
    in Aenon, near Salim,
    because there was plenty of water there,
    and (people) came and were being baptized
    f or John was not yet thrown into prison.

    Then an argument arose
    from between disciples of John
    and a Judean
    about washing.
    And they came to John
    and said to him:
    ‘Rabbi,
    the one who was with you
    beyond the Jordan
    to whom you bore witness,
    Look! He is baptizing and
    they all are going to him.’
    John replied:
    ‘No one can receive anything
    unless it has been given to him
    from heaven.
    You yourselves bear witness about me
    that I said:
    ‘I am not the Christ,
    but
    ‘ I have been sent before him’
    The one who has the bride
    is the bridegroom.
    But the friend of the bridegroom,
    he is the one who stands and
    listens
    with great joy
    because of the the voice of the bridegroom.
    so this joy of mine is complete.
    He must increase
    and I decrease.’

    O Lord Jesus Christ,
    stay beside me to defend me,
    within me to guide me,
    before me to lead me,
    and above me to bless me,
    that with you and in you,
    I may live, and move and have my being,
    for ever and ever.
    Amen.

    (unknown)


  • John 3 16-21

    (…so that everyone who believes
    in him might have future-age-life.)

    For, to such an extent
    God loved the world
    that he gave the only son,
    so that everyone who believes
    might not perish
    but might have next-age-life.

    For God did not send the Son
    into the world
    in order to pronounce judgement on the world
    but in order to save the world
    through him.

    The one who believes in him
    will not be judged,
    but the one who does not believe
    has already been judged,
    because they have not already believed
    in the name of the only son of God.

    And this is the judgement
    namely that the Light came into the world
    and people loved the darkness
    rather than the Light.
    For their deeds are evil.
    For everyone who does evil
    hates the light,
    and does not come to the Light,
    so that their works might not be made visible.
    But the one who does truth,
    comes to the L ight,
    so that their works might be made visible
    because they were done in God.

    Eternal God and Fatther,
    you create us by your power,
    and redeem us by your love,
    guide and strengthen us by your Spirit,
    that we may give ourselves in love and service
    to one another and to you;
    through Jesus Christ our Lord.

  • John 3 11-15

    (Jesus replied)
    Truly, truly, I say to you:
    what we speak of
    we know
    and what we bear witness to
    we have seen,
    but you all do not receive our witness.
    If we have spoken of earthly things,
    and you do not believe,
    how will you believe
    if I speak to you about heavenly things?
    And nobody has gone up into heaven
    except the one who has come down out of heaven:
    The Son of Man.
    And as Moses lifted the serpent in the wilderness,
    so it is necessary for the Son of Man to be lifted up,
    so that everyone who believes
    in him might have future-age-life.

    Lord God,
    you feed us with the living bread from heaven;
    you renew our faith,
    increase our hope,
    and strengthen our love.

    Teach us to hunger
    for Christ who is the true and living bread,
    and to live by every word
    that comes from your mouth,
    through Jesus Christ our Lord.
    Amen.

  • John 3 1-10

    Now there was a man – one of the Pharisees,
    Nicodemus by name
    a leader of the Judeans.
    He came to him (Jesus)
    at night
    and said to him:
    ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher
    who has come from God.
    For nobody can d o these signs,
    which you are doing
    unless God was with him.’

    Jesus replied:
    Truly, truly, I tell you
    unless someone is reborn from above
    they cannot see the Kingdom of God.’

    Nicodemus said to him:
    ‘How can a (man) be born being an old person?
    He cannot enter the womb of his mother
    a second time
    and be born,
    can he?’
    Jesus replied:
    Truly, truly, I tell you
    unless someone is born
    from ‘water and Spirit’
    he cannot enter the Kingdom of God
    The one born from flesh
    is flesh
    but the one born from the Spirit
    is spirit.
    Do not marvel that I said to you all:
    “It is necessary to be reborn from above.”
    The wind blows were it wishes
    and you hear its sound
    but you do not know where it is coming from
    or where it goes.
    It is this way for all who have been reborn from above.

    Nicodemus replied:
    How can these things be?

    Jesus replied:
    You are ‘the teacher’ of Israel,
    but you do not know these things?

    Eternal Light, shine into our hearts;
    Eternal Goodness, deliver us from evil;
    Eternal Power, be our support;
    Eternal Wisdom, scatter the darkness of our ignorance:
    That we may seek your face
    with all our heart and mind and soul and strength. Amen.

    Alcuin

  • John 2 18-25

    Then the Judeans replied:
    What sign do you show us,
    that you do these things?
    Jesus replied to them:
    Tear down this sanctuary
    and in three days I will raise it up.
    So the Judeans said
    46 years the temple has been being built
    and you will raise it up in three days?
    -But he said that about the sanctuary of his body.
    So that when he was raised up from the dead people,
    his disciples remembered that he said this,
    and they believed in the scripture
    and the word which he said.

    And now he was in Jerusalem
    at Passover
    during the Festival.
    Many believed in his name
    seeing the signs which he was doing.
    But Jesus did not trust himself
    to them
    because he knew all people
    and
    because he had no need
    for anyone to bear witness
    about anyone,
    For he knew what was in everyone.

    Lord God,
    you feed us with the living bread from heaven;
    you renew our faith,
    increase our hope,
    and strengthen our love.

    Teach us to hunger
    for Christ who is the true and living bread,
    and to live by every word
    that comes from your mouth,
    through Jesus Christ our Lord.
    Amen.