15th Sunday after Pentecost: 05 Sep 2021

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

Opening:

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.

“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this:
to visit orphans and widows in their affliction,
and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”
(James 1:27)

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Hymn Of Heaven – Phil Wickham

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OT Reading: Isaiah 35:4-7 (ESV)

35:4  Say to those who have an anxious heart,
“Be strong; fear not!
Behold, your God
will come with vengeance,
with the recompense of God.
He will come and save you.”

5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
6 then shall the lame man leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.
For waters break forth in the wilderness,
and streams in the desert;
7 the burning sand shall become a pool,
and the thirsty ground springs of water;
in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down,
the grass shall become reeds and rushes.

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Psalm: Psalm 146

What Joy (Psalm – Sarah Emerson

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NT Reading: James 1:17-27 (ESV)

1:17  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

Hearing and Doing the Word

1:19  Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

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Father Of Lights – Live Vineyard Worship

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Gospel Reading: Mark 7:31-37 (ESV)

Jesus Heals a Deaf Man

7:31  Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

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 Hope Has A Name – River Valley Worship

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Prayer:

+ Heavenly Father: have mercy on us, and hear our prayers –

• • For the peace of the whole world,
  • and for the well-being and unity of the people of God.
  • For Church leaders in our nation, and throughout the world.
  • For all those who proclaim the Gospel at home and abroad;
  • and for all who teach and disciple others.
  • For our brothers and sisters in Christ who are persecuted for their faith,
  • especially those in Afghanistan and the Middle East.
  • For national leaders, and for all those in authority, and public service.
  • For all those who are in trouble, sorrow, need, sickness,
  • or any other adversity caused by the COV19 pandemic.
  • For all those who have departed this life in the certain hope of the resurrection,
  • and for their loved ones who grieve and mourn their loss.

+ 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.

• Blessing:

  + The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among us, and remain with us always. Amen.

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