Almighty God,who in the passion of your blessed Son made an instrument of painful death to be for us the means of life and peace:grant us so to glory in the cross of Christ that we may gladly suffer for his sake;who is alive and reigns with you,in the unity of the Holy Spirit,one God, now and for ever.

Numbers 21.4–9    

4 From Mount Hor, Moses and the people of Israel set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; but the people became impatient on the way. 5The people spoke against God and against Moses, ‘Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food.’ 6Then the Lord sent poisonous serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many Israelites died. 7The people came to Moses and said, ‘We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord to take away the serpents from us.’ So Moses prayed for the people. 8And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Make a poisonous serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live.’ 9So Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole; and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live.

 Philippians 2.6–11    

6 Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God,   did not regard equality with God   as something to be exploited,7 but emptied himself,   taking the form of a slave,   being born in human likeness.And being found in human form,8 he humbled himself   and became obedient to the point of death—   even death on a cross.9 Therefore God also highly exalted him   and gave him the name   that is above every name,10 so that at the name of Jesus   every knee should bend,   in heaven and on earth and under the earth,11 and every tongue should confess   that Jesus Christ is Lord,   to the glory of God the Father.

Psalm 22.23–28    

23 Praise the Lord, you that fear him; ♦︎   O seed of Jacob, glorify him;      stand in awe of him, O seed of Israel.24 For he has not despised nor abhorred the suffering of the poor;      neither has he hidden his face from them; ♦︎   but when they cried to him he heard them.25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation; ♦︎   I will perform my vows      in the presence of those that fear you.26 The poor shall eat and be satisfied; ♦︎   those who seek the Lord shall praise him;      their hearts shall live for ever.27 All the ends of the earth      shall remember and turn to the Lord, ♦︎   and all the families of the nations shall bow before him.28 For the kingdom is the Lord’s ♦︎   and he rules over the nations.

John 3.13–17    

13 Jesus said to Nicodemus, ‘No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.14And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.16 ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.17 ‘Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.’

Faithful God,whose Son bore our sins in his body on the tree and gave us this sacrament to show forth his death until he comes:give us grace to glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,for he is our salvation, our life and our hope,who reigns as Lord, now and for ever.