Sunday 23 April 2023 – St George

Collect
God of hosts,
who so kindled the flame of love
in the heart of your servant George
that he bore witness to the risen Lord
by his life and by his death:
give us the same faith and power of love
that we who rejoice in his triumphs
may come to share with him the fullness of the resurrection;
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.
Amen

Revelation 12. 7-12
War broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon.
The dragon and his angels fought back, but they were defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.
The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan,
the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, proclaiming, “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Messiah,
for the accuser of our comrades has been thrown down,
who accuses them day and night before our God.
But they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony,
for they did not cling to life even in the face of death.
Rejoice then, you heavens and those who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you with great wrath,
because he knows that his time is short!”

2 Timothy 2. 3-13
Share in suffering like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
No one serving in the army gets entangled in everyday affairs; the soldier’s aim is to please the enlisting officer.
And in the case of an athlete, no one is crowned without competing according to the rules.
It is the farmer who does the work who ought to have the first share of the crops.
Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in all things.
Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David—that is my gospel,
for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained.
Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect,
so that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.
The saying is sure: If we have died with him, we will also live with him;
if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us;
if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.

John 15. 18-21
Jesus said to his disciples, “If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you.
If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the world,
but I have chosen you out of the world—therefore the world hates you.
Remember the word that I said to you, “Servants are not greater than their master.’ If they persecuted me,
they will persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also.
But they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.”