After Pentecost | Sunday 08 Sep 2024
+ In the name the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen
Opening prayer:
O Lord God, grant your people grace
to withstand the temptations of
the world, the flesh, and the devil,
and with pure hearts and minds to follow you,
the only God;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Jesus completely amazed the people.
(Mark 7:37a)
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“O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing” – [The New Irish Choir and Orchestra.] // Chet Valley Churches
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OT Reading: Isaiah 35:4-7a (GW)
35:4 Tell those who are terrified,
“Be brave; don’t be afraid.
Your God will come with vengeance, with divine revenge.
He will come and rescue you.”
Then the eyes of the blind will be opened,
and the ears of the deaf will be unplugged.
Then those who are lame will leap like deer,
and those who cannot speak will shout for joy.
Water will gush out into the desert,
and streams will gush out into the wilderness.
Then the hot sand will become a pool,
and dry ground will have springs.
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From the Psalms: Psalm 146 / Praise the Lord, My Soul! (Or Alleluia) – Francesca LaRosa
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NT Reading: James 2:1-10, 14-17 (GW)
Don’t Favor Rich People over Poor People
2:1 My brothers and sisters, practice your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ by not favoring one person over another. For example, two men come to your worship service. One man is wearing gold rings and fine clothes; the other man, who is poor, is wearing shabby clothes. Suppose you give special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say to him, “Please have a seat.” But you say to the poor man, “Stand over there,” or “Sit on the floor at my feet.” Aren’t you discriminating against people and using a corrupt standard to make judgments?
Listen, my dear brothers and sisters! Didn’t God choose poor people in the world to become rich in faith and to receive the kingdom that he promised to those who love him? Yet, you show no respect to poor people. Don’t rich people oppress you and drag you into court? Don’t they curse the good name ⌞of Jesus⌟, the name that was used to bless you?
You are doing right if you obey this law from the highest authority: “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” If you favor one person over another, you’re sinning, and this law convicts you of being disobedient. If someone obeys all of God’s laws except one, that person is guilty of breaking all of them….
We Show Our Faith by What We Do
2:14 My brothers and sisters, what good does it do if someone claims to have faith but doesn’t do any good things? Can this kind of faith save him? Suppose a believer, whether a man or a woman, needs clothes or food and one of you tells that person, “God be with you! Stay warm, and make sure you eat enough.” If you don’t provide for that person’s physical needs, what good does it do? In the same way, faith by itself is dead if it doesn’t cause you to do any good things.
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Faith without works is dead // Andrea Ungson
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Gospel Reading: Mark 7:24-37 (GW)
The Faith of a Greek Woman
7:24 Jesus left that place and went to the territory of Tyre. He didn’t want anyone to know that he was staying in a house there. However, it couldn’t be kept a secret.
A woman whose little daughter had an evil spirit heard about Jesus. She went to him and bowed down. The woman happened to be Greek, born in Phoenicia in Syria. She asked him to force the demon out of her daughter.
Jesus said to her, “First, let the children eat all they want. It’s not right to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”
She answered him, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat some of the children’s scraps.”
Jesus said to her, “Because you have said this, go! The demon has left your daughter.”
The woman went home and found the little child lying on her bed, and the demon was gone.
Jesus Cures a Deaf Man
7:31 Jesus then left the neighborhood of Tyre. He went through Sidon and the territory of the Ten Cities to the Sea of Galilee.
Some people brought to him a man who was deaf and who also had a speech defect. They begged Jesus to lay his hand on him. Jesus took him away from the crowd to be alone with him. He put his fingers into the man’s ears, and after spitting, he touched the man’s tongue. Then he looked up to heaven, sighed, and said to the man, “Ephphatha!” which means, “Be opened!” At once the man could hear and talk normally.
Jesus ordered the people not to tell anyone. But the more he ordered them, the more they spread the news. Jesus completely amazed the people. They said, “He has done everything well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute talk.”
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I Stand Amazed | Celtic Worship ft. Steph Macleod
I stand amazed in the presence
Of Jesus the Nazarene
And wonder how He could love me A sinner, condemned, unclean
How marvellous, how wonderful And my song shall ever be
How marvellous, how wonderful Is my Saviour’s love for me
For me it was in the garden
He prayed, not my will, but Thine
He had no tears for His own griefs But sweat drops of blood for mine
He took my sins and my sorrows
He made them His very own
He bore the burden of Calvary And suffered and died alone
When with the ransomed in glory
His face I at last shall see
‘Twill be my joy through the ages To sing of His love for me
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Collect for Purity
+ 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.
Prayer of Self-Dedication [William Temple]
+ Almighty and eternal God, so draw our hearts to you, so guide our minds, so fill our imaginations, so control our wills, that we may be wholly yours, utterly dedicated to you; and then use us, we pray, as you will, and always to your glory and the welfare of your people; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Lord hear our prayers 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.
+ All this we pray in Jesus’ Name, Amen
Heavenly Father, you have promised to hear what we ask in the Name of your Son: Accept and fulfill our petitions, we pray, not as we ask in our ignorance, nor as we deserve in our sinfulness, but as you know and love us in your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. 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.
The Peanut Gallery 