After Pentecost | Sunday 22 Sep 2024
+ In the name the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen
Opening prayer:
O God,
because without you we are not able to please you,
mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit
may in all things direct and rule our hearts;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
“Whoever wants to be the most important person
must take the last place
and be a servant to everyone else.”
(Mark 9:35)
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“O God Our Help From Ages Past” | Brian Doerksen
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OT Reading: Jeremiah 11:18-20 (GW)
Jeremiah’s Life Is Threatened
11:18 The Lord revealed their plot to me so that I would understand. He showed me what they were doing. I was like a trusting lamb brought to the slaughter. I didn’t know that they were plotting against me. They were saying, “Let’s destroy the tree with its fruit. Let’s cut Jeremiah off from this world of the living so that we won’t be reminded of him anymore.”
O Lord of Armies, you judge fairly
and test motives and thoughts.
I want to see you take revenge on them,
because I’ve brought my case to you.
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From the Psalms: Psalm 54 / Poor Bishop Hooper
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NT Reading: James 3:13 – 4:3, 7-8 (GW)
Live Wisely
3:13 Do any of you have wisdom and insight? Show this by living the right way with the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you are bitterly jealous and filled with self-centered ambition, don’t brag. Don’t say that you are wise when it isn’t true. That kind of wisdom doesn’t come from above. It belongs to this world. It is self-centered and demonic. Wherever there is jealousy and rivalry, there is disorder and every kind of evil.
However, the wisdom that comes from above is first of all pure. Then it is peaceful, gentle, obedient, filled with mercy and good deeds, impartial, and sincere. A harvest that has God’s approval comes from the peace planted by peacemakers.
Stop Fighting with Each Other
4:1 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Aren’t they caused by the selfish desires that fight to control you? You want what you don’t have, so you commit murder. You’re determined to have things, but you can’t get what you want. You quarrel and fight. You don’t have the things you want, because you don’t pray for them. When you pray for things, you don’t get them because you want them for the wrong reason—for your own pleasure….
4:7 So place yourselves under God’s authority. Resist the devil, and he will run away from you. Come close to God, and he will come close to you. Clean up your lives, you sinners, and clear your minds, you doubters.
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“Walk With Me” – Richard Wills
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Gospel Reading: Mark 9:30-37 (GW)
Jesus Again Foretells That He Will Die and Come Back to Life
9:30 They left that place and were passing through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where he was because he was teaching his disciples. He taught them, “The Son of Man will be betrayed and handed over to people. They will kill him, but on the third day he will come back to life.”
The disciples didn’t understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him.
Greatness in the Kingdom
9:33 Then they came to Capernaum. While Jesus was at home, he asked the disciples, “What were you arguing about on the road?” They were silent. On the road they had argued about who was the greatest.
He sat down and called the twelve apostles. He told them, “Whoever wants to be the most important person must take the last place and be a servant to everyone else.” Then he took a little child and had him stand among them. He put his arms around the child and said to them, “Whoever welcomes a child like this in my name welcomes me. Whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”
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The Servant Song | Sunday 7pm Choir
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For Purity of Heart:
+ 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.
For the Church and the world:
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- 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.
- In Jesus’ name we pray.
For Answered Prayer:
+ Heavenly Father, grant these our prayers for the sake of Jesus Christ, our only Mediator and Advocate, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. 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.
“You snakes! You poisonous snakes! How can you escape being condemned to hell? I’m sending you prophets, wise men, and teachers of the Scriptures. You will kill and crucify some of them. Others you will whip in your synagogues and persecute from city to city. As a result, you will be held accountable for all the innocent blood of those murdered on earth. This includes the murder of Abel, who had God’s approval, to that of Zechariah, son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. I can guarantee this truth: The people living now will be held accountable for all these things.
The Good News made the Jewish people enemies because of you. But by God’s choice they are loved because of their ancestors. God never changes his mind when he gives gifts or when he calls someone. In the past, you disobeyed God. But now God has been merciful to you because of the disobedience of the Jewish people. In the same way, the Jewish people have also disobeyed so that God may be merciful to them as he was to you. God has placed all people into the prison of their own disobedience so that he could be merciful to all people.
2:1 Brothers and sisters, when I came to you, I didn’t speak about God’s mystery as if it were some kind of brilliant message or wisdom. While I was with you, I decided to deal with only one subject—Jesus Christ, who was crucified. When I came to you, I was weak. I was afraid and very nervous. I didn’t speak my message with persuasive intellectual arguments. I spoke my message with a show of spiritual power so that your faith would not be based on human wisdom but on God’s power.
The Pharisees heard the crowd saying things like this about him. So the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest Jesus.
The Peanut Gallery 