After Pentecost | Sunday 15 Sep 2024
+ In the name the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen
Opening prayer:
O Lord,
you have taught us that without love,
all our deeds are worth nothing:
Send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts
that most excellent gift of charity,
the true bond of peace and of all virtues,
without which whoever lives is counted dead before you;
grant this for the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Jesus asked them,
“But who do you say I am?”
(Mark 8:29)
__________
His Name Is Higher – Randy Agyemang
__________
OT Reading: Isaiah 50:4-9a (GW)
The Lord’s Servant Trusts in the Lord’s Help
50:4 The Almighty Lord will teach me what to say,
so I will know how to encourage weary people.
Morning after morning he will wake me
to listen like a student.
The Almighty Lord will open my ears.
I will not rebel, nor will I turn away ⌞from him⌟.
I will offer my back to those who whip me
and my cheeks to those who pluck hairs out of my beard.
I will not turn my face away from those who humiliate me
and spit on me.
The Almighty Lord helps me.
That is why I will not be ashamed.
I have set my face like a flint.
I know that I will not be put to shame.
The one who pronounces me innocent is near.
Who will bring a case against me?
Let us confront each other!
Who accuses me?
Let him confront me!
The Almighty Lord helps me.
__________
From the Psalms: Psalm 19 / Jess Ray
__________
NT Reading: James 3:1-12 (GW)
Speak Wisely
3:1 Brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers. You know that we who teach will be judged more severely.
All of us make a lot of mistakes. If someone doesn’t make any mistakes when he speaks, he would be perfect. He would be able to control everything he does. We put bits in the mouths of horses to make them obey us, and we have control over everything they do. The same thing is true for ships. They are very big and are driven by strong winds. Yet, by using small rudders, pilots steer ships wherever they want them to go. In the same way the tongue is a small part of the body, but it can brag about doing important things.
large forest can be set on fire by a little flame. The tongue is that kind of flame. It is a world of evil among the parts of our bodies, and it completely contaminates our bodies. The tongue sets our lives on fire, and is itself set on fire from hell. People have tamed all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and sea creatures. Yet, no one can tame the tongue. It is an uncontrollable evil filled with deadly poison.
With our tongues we praise our Lord and Father. Yet, with the same tongues we curse people, who were created in God’s likeness. Praise and curses come from the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, this should not happen! Do clean and polluted water flow out of the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree produce olives? Can a grapevine produce figs? In the same way, a pool of salt water can’t produce fresh water.
__________
THE BLESSING ♥ World Edition ♥ Brothers & sisters from 154 nations sing in 257 languages ♥
__________
Gospel Reading: Mark 8:27-38 (GW)
Peter Declares His Belief about Jesus
8:27 Then Jesus and his disciples went to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say I am?”
They answered him, “Some say you are John the Baptizer, others Elijah, still others one of the prophets.”
He asked them, “But who do you say I am?”
Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah!”
He ordered them not to tell anyone about him.
Jesus Foretells That He Will Die and Come Back to Life
8:31 Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man would have to suffer a lot. He taught them that he would be rejected by the leaders, the chief priests, and the experts in Moses’ Teachings. He would be killed, but after three days he would come back to life. He told them very clearly what he meant.
Peter took him aside and objected to this. Jesus turned, looked at his disciples, and objected to what Peter said. Jesus said, “Get out of my way, Satan! You aren’t thinking the way God thinks but the way humans think.”
What It Means to Follow Jesus
8:34 Then Jesus called the crowd to himself along with his disciples. He said to them, “Those who want to follow me must say no to the things they want, pick up their crosses, and follow me. Those who want to save their lives will lose them. But those who lose their lives for me and for the Good News will save them. What good does it do for people to win the whole world yet lose their lives? Or what should a person give in exchange for life? If people are ashamed of me and what I say in this unfaithful and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of those people when he comes with the holy angels in his Father’s glory.”
__________
His Name Is Jesus – The Maranatha! Singers // Jesus Christ is my Lord
__________
For The Human Family
+ O God, you made us in your own image, and you have redeemed us through your Son Jesus Christ: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Lord hear our prayers for the Church and the world:
-
- We pray for the peace of the whole world;
- and for the well-being and unity of the people of God.
- We pray for all those who proclaim the Gospel at home and abroad;
- and for all who teach and disciple others.
- We pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ who are persecuted for their faith;
- and for all those supporting them.
- We pray for our nation, and for those in positions of authority;
- and for a spirit of repentance and revival throughout the land.
- We pray for the peace of Jerusalem;
- and for the restoration of your people to their proper place in your Kingdom.
- We pray for all those who are in trouble, sorrow, need, sickness, or any other adversity;
- and especially for those in the Middle East.
- We pray for all those who have departed this life in the certain hope of the resurrection;
- and for those who mourn their loss.
+ All this we pray in Jesus’ Name, Amen
To Please God Rather Than Men
Thomas à Kempis
+ Our God, in whom we trust: Strengthen us not to regard overmuch who is for us or who is against us, but to see to it that we be with you in everything we do. Amen.
Closing: FaithandWorship.com | John Birch
The Lord bless us, and preserve us from all evil,
and keep us in eternal life.
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
21:28 “What do you think about this? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go to work in the vineyard today.’
You fool! Do you have to be shown that faith which does nothing is useless? Didn’t our ancestor Abraham receive God’s approval as a result of what he did when he offered his son Isaac as a sacrifice on the altar? You see that Abraham’s faith and what he did worked together. His faith was shown to be genuine by what he did. The Scripture passage came true. It says, “Abraham believed God, and that faith was regarded as the basis of Abraham’s approval by God.” So Abraham was called God’s friend. You see that a person receives God’s approval because of what he does, not only because of what he believes. The same is true of the prostitute Rahab who welcomed the spies and sent them away on another road. She received God’s approval because of what she did.
11:17 When God tested Abraham, faith led him to offer his son Isaac. Abraham, the one who received the promises from God, was willing to offer his only son as a sacrifice. God had said to him, “Through Isaac your descendants will carry on your name.” Abraham believed that God could bring Isaac back from the dead. Abraham did receive Isaac back from the dead in a figurative sense.
Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and asked, “Why couldn’t we force the demon out of the boy?”
The Peanut Gallery 