Bulletin – Sunday, September 1, 2024 – Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost / Blessing of the School Supplies

Sunday, September 1, 2024
Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost / Blessing of the School Supplies

We Gather as People of Faith

Welcome

Announcements

Lighting the Christ Candle

Call to Worship

One:   Whether this is the beginning of the week or the end of the week, God knows where each of us is at and invites us into this time of holiness and community. Take a moment and look at your neighbour. Welcome them to this space. See Christ in them as they see Christ in you. Let us worship.

Hymn – “I Sing the Mighty Power” (VU #231)

I sing the mighty power of God that made the mountains rise;
That spread the flowing seas abroad, and built the loft skies.
I sing the wisdom that ordained the sun to rule the day;
The moon shines full at God’s command and all the stars obey.

I sing the goodness of the One who filled the earth with food;
Who formed the creatures with a word, and then pronounced them good.
O God, your wonders are displayed where’er I turn my eye;
If I survey the ground I tread, or graze upon the sky!

There’s not a plant or flower below but makes your glories know;
And clouds arise, and tempests blow, by order from your throne;
While all that borrows life from you is ever in your care;
And everywhere that I may be, You, God, are present there.

Prayer of Approach and Confession

One:   Holy One, we are always asking
All:      Who my dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain? This we understand from your Holy Word, Our Bible:

One:   It is the one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart, whose tongue utters no slander, who does no wrong to a neighbour, and casts no slur on others; who despises a vile person but honours those who fear the Lord, who keeps an oath even when it hurts, and does not change their mind, who lends money to the poor without interest, who does not accept a bribe against the innocent. Whoever does these things will never be shaken.
All:      On a good day, God, this might be us, but most days we are pressed to see ourselves worthy of dwelling in you. Our transgressions are numberless and yet, we pray for your forgiveness and hope and work to be better people every moment of every day. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Words of Assurance

One:   God, the generous giver of all life, even ours, makes space for calm, for reflection, for simply being. God loves each of us unconditionally and we honour God by simply being, by listening for that still small voice, by responding in the best way we know, by being open to learning new ways.
All:      We are not alone. God is with us. Thanks be to God.

Sung Response – “Alleluia” (MV #50)

Alleluia, Alleluia,
Alleluia, Alleluia.

Blessing of the School Supplies

One:   During the month of August we have been collected school supplies to be shared with neighbourhood schools. Today, we offer our thanks and a blessing of these supplies. Let us pray:
All:      God of Wisdom, we give you thanks for schools and classrooms, and for the students who fill them each day and the students who need to be away from them. We give thanks for teachers, support workers, administrators, and caretakers of property. We thank you for this new beginning, for new books and new ideas. We thank you for sharpened pencils, colourful markers, laptops and tablets sketch pads, for all the ways that learning, teaching, and wisdom-sharing will take place. We thank you for the gift of making mistakes and trying again. Help us to remember that asking the right questions is often as important as giving the right answers. We ask you to bless all of those returning to school with curiosity, understanding, and respect. Today, we give you thanks for these supplies, generously donated by people connected with this community of faith. May they assure the children of our community that they have everything they need to learn and grow this school year. All this we ask in the name of Jesus, who as a child in the temple showed his longing to learn about you, and as an adult taught by story and example your great love for us. Amen.

(adapted from a blessing by Sharon Ely Pearson)

We Hear God’s Word

Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9

¹ So now, Israel, give heed to the statutes and ordinances that I am teaching you to observe, so that you may live to enter and occupy the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. ² You must neither add anything to what I command you nor take away anything from it, but keep the commandments of the Lord your God with which I am charging you.

⁶ You must observe them diligently, for this will show your wisdom and discernment to the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people!’ ⁷ For what other great nation has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is whenever we call to him? ⁸ And what other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just as this entire law that I am setting before you today?

⁹ But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children’s children

Sung Response

To leave the stones unthrown
To turn the other cheek,
To bear a load an extra mile,
To listen more than speak:
Such are the marks of love,
The testaments of grace,
The daily glimpses of the cross
Christ calls us to embrace.

Scripture Reading: Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

¹ Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, ² they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. ³ (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; ⁴ and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) ⁵ So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, ‘Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?’ ⁶ He said to them, ‘Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written,

“This people honours me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; ⁷ in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.” ⁸ You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.’

¹⁴ Then he called the crowd again and said to them, ‘Listen to me, all of you, and understand: ¹⁵ there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.’

²¹ For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, ²² adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. ²³ All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.’

Sung Response

Not only in extremes,
In moments stark and clear,
In dark-night wrestling long and hard
Or agony severe,
But in some faithful act,
Some scarcely conscious choice,
We find the grace to hear and heed
The bidding of Christ’s voice.

Scripture Reading: James 1:17-27

¹⁷ Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. ¹⁸ In fulfilment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

¹⁹ You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; ²⁰ for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness. ²¹ Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.

²² But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. ²³ For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; ²⁴ for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. ²⁵ But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing.

²⁶ If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. ²⁷ Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

Sung Response

New crosses wait each day,
New challenges to meet,
New signposts for the way of life,
New marks of death’s defeat:
Yet, be they great or small,
Unique or common place,
They help us look beyond ourselves
To see and know Christ’s face.

Hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church
Thanks be to God!

Meditation – “Breaking the Rules”

Hymn – “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” (VU #664)

What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged, take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful, who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness, take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care?
Christ the Saviour is our refuge; take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do our friends despise, forsake us? Are we tempted to despair?
Jesus’ strength will shield our weakness, and we’ll find new courage there.

We Respond to God’s Word

Invitation to Share

One:   Let’s be honest with ourselves…who DO we give? How do we decide HOW MUCH to give? Are we “helping poor” or feeling guilty or sharing our wealth or looking for salvation? Do we follow the rule of tithing 10% of our income, put aside our givings before attending to our other expenses, give what is left? When we are talking about breaking rules, we need look no further than 2 Corinthians 9:7 in which is written ”Each one should give what they have decided in their heart to give, not out of regret or compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver.”

One:   As we make our stewardship decisions, may we do so from that place of God’s holy stillness within us, and know God’s pleasure.

Offering Response – “What Can I Do?” (MV #191)

What can I do? What can I bring?
What can I say? What can I sing?
I’ll sing with joy. I’ll say a prayer.
I’ll bring my love. I’ll do my share.

Offering Prayer

One:   Loving God, we return this part of your creation to you.
All:      We seek your wisdom, your compassion, your righteousness to guide us in its use.

One:   May it bring your good news to life in the lives of others.
All:      May understanding, community, and peace emerge in places where discord, selfishness, and indifference rule in the hearts and lives of your beloved people.

One:   O Christ, we pray that our faithful giving frees your love from rules that hold it back. Amen.

Prayers of the People

We Go Into God’s World

Hymn – “My Love Colours Outside the Lines” (MV #138)

My love colours outside the lines,
Exploring paths that few could ever find;
And takes me into places where I’ve never been before,
And opens doors to worlds outside the lines.

My Lord colours outside the lines,
Turns wounds to blessings, water into wine;
And takes me into places where I’ve never been before
And opens doors to worlds outside the lines.

We’ll never walk on water if we’re not prepared to drown,
Body and soul need a soaking from time to time.
And we’ll never move the gravestones if we’re not prepared to die,
And realize there are worlds outside the lines.

My soul longs to colour outside the lines,
Tear back the curtains, sun, come in and shine;
I want to walk beyond the boundaries where I’ve never been before,
Throw open doors to worlds outside the lines.

Benediction

All:      Christ has fed us here so we may go into the world in peace and love to offer the ministries of hope and justice. God’s grace holds us in this sacred time of worship and prayer and beyond. The Holy Spirit will continue to encourage us as we journey with hope.
One:   May you know the peace and promise of God this day and all days. Amen.

Response – “I’m Gonna Live So God Can Use Me” (VU #575 verses 1 and 4)

I’m gonna live so God can use me anywhere, Lord, any time.
I’m gonna live so God can use me anywhere, Lord, any time.

I’m gonna sing so God can use me anywhere, Lord, any time.
I’m gonna sing so God can use me anywhere, Lord, any time.