September 19, 2021 – 17th Sunday after Pentecost
Watch this Service at: www.graceunitedthornbury.ca/live
Leading us today in worship:
Minister: Rev. Christine Smaller
Music Director: Dr. Christopher Burton
Scripture Reader: Jim Oliver
Leader: regular font ~ All: bold font ~ Sung Words: bold italic font
Prelude:
“Allemande” from the English Suite #4 - J.S. Bach
Greeting:
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
And also with you.
Welcome
Call to Worship:
The first shall be last.
We come to worship as we are.
The last shall be first.
We come with confidence.
The first shall be last.
We come with questions.
The last shall be first.
We come burdened by failure.
The first shall be last.
We come celebrating success.
The last shall be first.
We come fearful of the future.
The first shall be last
and the last shall be first
and a little child shall lead them.
Opening Prayer:
God of unsearchable mystery and light,
your weakness is greater than our strength,
your foolishness brings all our cleverness to naught,
your gentleness confounds the power we would claim.
You call first to be last and last to be first,
servant to be leader and ruler to be underling of all.
Pour into our hearts the wisdom of your Word and Spirit,
that we may know your purpose and live to your glory.
Amen.
Opening Hymn: VU 582 There’s a Spirit in the Air
1. There's a spirit in the air,
telling Christians everywhere:
"Praise the love that Christ revealed,
living, working in our world."
2. Lose your shyness, find your tongue,
tell the world what God has done:
God in Christ has come to stay.
Live tomorrow's life today!
3. When believers break the bread,
when a hungry child is fed,
praise the love that Christ revealed,
living, working in our world.
4. Still the Spirit gives us light,
seeing wrong and setting right:
God in Christ has come to stay.
Live tomorrow's life today!
5. When a stranger's not alone,
where the homeless find a home,
praise the love that Christ revealed,
living, working, in our world.
6. May the Spirit fill our praise,
guide our thoughts and change our ways.
God in Christ has come to stay,
live tomorrow's life today.
7. There's a Spirit in the air,
calling people everywhere:
praise the love that Christ revealed,
living, working, in our world.
Prayer for Illumination:
Holy One, we know that you constantly breathe new life into every word of scripture. Help us hear the Living Word you desire to share with us today.
Scripture:
James 3:13 - 4:3, 7-8a (NRSV)
Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.
Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures.
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Psalm 1 VU 724
Refrain
Blessed are those who follow the law of God.
Blessed are those who do not follow the counsel of the wicked,
or linger in the way of sinners, or sit down among those who mock.
But their delight is in the law of God,
and on that law they meditate day and night.
They are like trees planted beside streams of water,
yielding their fruit in due season.
Their leaves do not wither,
and whatever they produce shall prosper.
Refrain
Blessed are those who follow the law of God.
As for the wicked, it is not so with them,
but they are like the chaff,
driven away by the wind.
Therefore the wicked shall not be able to stand
when judgement comes,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous,
For God watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
Refrain
Blessed are those who follow the law of God.
Mark 9:30-37 (NRSV)
They went on from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.” But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.
Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest. He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”
Response:
The Word of God for the people of God.
Thanks be to God.
Musical Interlude:
Improvisation on a hymn - C. Burton
Sermon
Hymn: VU 430 God Be in My Head
1. God be in my head, and in my understanding;
God be in mine eyes, and in my looking;
God be in my mouth, and in my speaking;
God be in my heart, and in my thinking;
God be at mine end, and at my departing. (2x)
PROFESSION OF FAITH A New Creed
We are not alone,
we live in God’s world.
We believe in God:
who has created
and is creating,
who has come in Jesus,
the Word made flesh,
to reconcile and make new,
who works in us and others
by the Spirit.
We trust in God.
We are called to be the Church:
to celebrate God’s presence,
to live with respect in Creation,
to love and serve others,
to seek justice and resist evil,
to proclaim Jesus,
crucified and risen,
our judge and our hope.
In life, in death
and in life beyond death,
God is with us.
We are not alone.
Thanks be to God.
Prayers of the People
Loving and powerful God, you know our prayers before we even form them in our thoughts. And so we come before you today with confidence and thanksgiving:
We pray for the church,
that we might show forth our faith in action,
regard all with impartiality,
and be quick to listen and slow to anger.
Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
We pray for our community,
that whenever trials may befall us,
that God may grant us endurance and wisdom.
Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
We pray for the world,
that the lowly may be raised up,
and that mercy may fall on us all.
Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
We pray for the sick, the injured, the vulnerable,
and those undergoing all forms of adversity,
that they might all be raised up;
Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
We pray for those celebrating this week.
Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
We pray for those who have died,
that they would draw near to God,
and that God would draw near to them.
Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
Gracious God,
let our prayers be offered to you
with the gentleness that is born from your wisdom from above, that is pure, peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, and full of mercy.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
As a child turns to a loving caregiver who watches over them, we turn in prayer to you O god, who are our heavenly parent, our mother,
Our Father who art in heaven…
Passing the Peace:
The Peace of Christ be with you all.
And also with you.
Everyone is invited to share the peace of Christ by offering a message in the chat box.
You may also wish to think of someone you would like to pass the peace to this week.
Music while we share the Peace of Christ:
“Sarabande” from the English Suite #4 - J.S. Bach
Invitation to the Offering:
For resources that are hoarded, people who are exploited, and land that is stripped as if it’s not a living, breathing ecosystem -- God we grieve. We dedicate our offerings to the work that points to another way -- a way where all beings are sustained, cherished, and deeply respected. Let us bring forth our offerings that it might be so.
Prayer of Dedication:
God of Becoming, we dedicate these offerings to the divine found in every person, plant, animal, and mineral and to their inherent dignity. In honouring our sacred interconnectedness, we honor you.
Amen.
A single stone placed in the offering plate honours all our gifts.
Donate online: www.graceunitedthornbury.ca, select “Give”
or contact the office by email: accounting@graceunitedthornbury.ca
or phone: 519-599-2438 to arrange a cheque pick-up, or an e-transfer
Mail: Grace UC, 140 Bruce St. S. PO Box 219, Thornbury, ON N0H 2P0
Care, Prayer, Share Announcements:
Closing Hymn: MV 27 Creator God You Gave Us Life
1. Creator God you gave us life,
your image formed within our souls,
yet through the mist of time and space,
we search for that which makes us whole.
Refrain:
Through hands that paint majestic skies,
and voices chanting melody,
with words that reach beyond the page,
we comprehend your mystery.
2. In ev'ry flow'r and ev'ry tree,
we see your great diversity,
yet greater still we see your love,
expressed in our humanity.
Refrain:
Through hands that paint majestic skies,
and voices chanting melody,
with words that reach beyond the page,
we comprehend your mystery.
3. When with our hearts, our hands our minds,
we share our gifts with all the world,
our spirits soar beyond the veil,
to touch the very face of God.
Refrain:
Through hands that paint majestic skies,
and voices chanting melody,
with words that reach beyond the page,
we comprehend your mystery.
Commissioning and Benediction
Sung Blessing: Go Now in Peace
Go now in peace. Never be afraid.
God will go with you each hour of every day.
Go now in faith, steadfast, strong and true,
Know God will guide you in all you do.
Go now in love, and show you believe.
Reach out to others so all the world can see.
God will be there, * within, around, above.
Go now in peace, in faith and in love.
Amen, amen, amen.
* alternate words: watching from above
Postlude:
“Prelude” from the English Suite #4 - J.S. Bach
*****
RESOURCES USED (all with permission):
Prayers and Liturgies:
- Call to Worship: © 2003 Liturgy Outside
- Opening Prayer: © 2002 Revised Common Lectionary Prayers
- Invitation to and Dedication of the Offering: © 2021 enfleshed
- Prayers of the People: Rick Morley, A Garden Path blog
Hymns and Sung Responses:
- Psalm Sung Verse Music: copyright © T. Barrett Armstrong, St. Michael's Choir School, Toronto
- “There’s a Spirit In the Air.” Words: Brian Wren 1969 Music: John Wilson 1969 Words and music copyright ©1979 Hope Publishing Company One License #608577
- “God Be In My Head.” Words: from The Book of Hours 1514 Music: H. Walford Davies 1910 Public Domain
- “Creator God You Gave Us Life:” Words and music: Judith Snowdon, 2004 Words and music copyright © 2004 by Judith Snowdon. One License #608577
- “Go Now in Peace.” Words by Don Besig and Nancy Price. © 1988 Harold Flammer Music, Inc. Alternate words used with permission. Reproduced with permission, One License, #608577.
Scripture Passages from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission.
Prelude: "Allemande" from English Suite #4 - J.S. Bach
Interlude: Improvisation on a hymn - C. Burton
Passing of the Peace: "Sarabande" from English Suite #4 - J.S. Bach
Postlude: "Prelude" from English Suite #4 - J.S. Bach
All are in the Public Domain
