Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost

+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Opening Prayer

Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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“This I Believe” (The Creed) – Hillsong Kiev

Gospel Reading: Mark 10:35-45 (NLT)

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came over and spoke to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do us a favor.”

“What is your request?” he asked.

They replied, “When you sit on your glorious throne, we want to sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left.”

But Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink? Are you able to be baptized with the baptism of suffering I must be baptized with?”

“Oh yes,” they replied, “we are able!”

Then Jesus told them, “You will indeed drink from my bitter cup and be baptized with my baptism of suffering. But I have no right to say who will sit on my right or my left. God has prepared those places for the ones he has chosen.”

When the ten other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant. So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
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Prayers of Intercession:

Gracious God: Hear the cries of our hearts as we come before you with our needs for help and mercy –

+ For church leaders around the world – humility and integrity …  Lord, hear us.
+ For missionaries in difficult situations – protection and wisdom … Lord, hear us.
+ For believers suffering persecution – deliverance and restoration … Lord, hear us.
+ For peacemakers around the world- justice and truth … Lord, hear us.
+ For the lonely or depressed – companionship and hope … Lord, hear us.
+ For churches around the world – an outpouring of your Spirit … Lord, hear us.
+ For every believer who has died – eternal peace and rest … Lord, hear us.

Gracious God, the creator of all, you fill the earth with your love: we rejoice in your faithfulness and trust in your mercy, as we present these prayers to you, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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“Are Ye Able,” Said the Master(십자가를 질 수 있나) – The choir of London Church

“Are ye able,” said the Master, “to be crucified with me?” “Yea,” the sturdy dreamers answered, “to the death we follow thee.”

Lord, make us able. Our spirits are thine. Remold them, make us, like thee, divine. Thy guiding radiance above us shall be a beacon to God, to love, and loyalty.

Are ye able to remember, when a thief lifts up his eyes, that his pardoned soul is worthy of a place in paradise?

Are ye able when the shadows close around you with the sod, to believe that spirit triumphs, to commend your soul to God?

Are ye able? Still the Master whispers down eternity, and heroic spirits answer, now as then in Galilee.
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Blessing – Ephesians 3:20-21

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!