Watchword for the 1^st Sunday after Pentecost (Holiday of the Holy Trinity) from Isaiah 6:3  “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”

Collect of the day: Almighty and everlasting God, You have given us grace to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity by the confession of a true faith and to worship the Unity in the power of the Divine Majesty. Keep us steadfast in this faith and defend us from all adversities; for You, O Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, live and reign, one God, now and forever.

The reading from the Old Testament the prophet Isaiah the 6th chapter:  In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.  ² Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.  ³ And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”  ⁴ At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.  ⁵ “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.”  ⁶ Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar.  ⁷ With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”  ⁸ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”  ⁹ He said, “Go and tell this people: “‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’  ¹⁰ Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”  ¹¹ Then I said, “For how long, O Lord?” And he answered: “Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged,  ¹² until the LORD has sent everyone far away and the land is utterly forsaken.  ¹³ And though a tenth remains in the land, it will again be laid waste. But as the terebinth and oak leave stumps when they are cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump in the land.” (verses 1-13)

The epistle of St. Paul to the Romans the 11th chapter:  Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!  “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?” For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. (verses 33-36)

“God the Father, Be Our Stay” by Unknown Author, c. 1400 translated by Richard Massie, 1800-1887

• 1. God the Father, be our Stay,
  Oh, let us perish never.
  Cleanse us from our sins, we pray,
  And grant us life forever.
  Keep us from the Evil One;
  Uphold our faith most holy,
  Grant us to trust Thee solely
  With humble hearts and lowly.
  Let us put God’s armor on:
  With all true Christians running
  Our heavenly race and shunning
  The devil’s wiles and cunning.
  Amen, Amen, this be done,
  So sing we, Hallelujah!
• 2. Jesus Christ, be Thou our Stay,
  Oh, let us perish never.
  Cleanse us from our sins, we pray,
  And grant us life forever.
  Keep us from the Evil One;
  Uphold our faith most holy,
  Grant us to trust Thee solely
  With humble hearts and lowly.
  Let us put God’s armor on:
  With all true Christians running
  Our heavenly race and shunning
  The devil’s wiles and cunning.
  Amen, Amen, this be done,
  So sing we, Hallelujah!
• 3. Holy Ghost, be Thou our Stay,
  Oh, let us perish never.
  Cleanse us from our sins, we pray,
  And grant us life forever.
  Keep us from the Evil One;
  Uphold our faith most holy,
  Grant us to trust Thee solely
  With humble hearts and lowly.
  Let us put God’s armor on:
  With all true Christians running
  Our heavenly race and shunning
  The devil’s wiles and cunning.
  Amen, Amen, this be done,
  So sing we, Hallelujah!

Holy Gospel according to John the 3rd chapter: Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.”  3 In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”  4 “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!”  5 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.  6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.  7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’  8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” (verses 1-8)