Bulletin – Sunday, October 20, 2024 – World Food Sunday / Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost
Sunday, October 20, 2024
World Food Sunday / Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost
We Gather as People of Faith
Welcome
Announcements
Treaty Land Acknowledgement
One: We gather for worship and work in Treaty One Territory, which is also the homestead of the Métis Nation. For thousands of years Indigenous Peoples walk this land and knew it to be the center of their lives and their spirituality.
All: May we live on these lands in peace and with respect for all creation.
Call to Worship
One: Greet this morning with joy!
All: A new week with all its opportunities lies ahead of us.
One: Greet this morning with thanksgiving!
All: This is a time of praise and prayer, the time to remember God’s creative generosity.
One: Greet this morning with care!
All: We are aware of our responsibility as people of God.
One: Greet this morning with Christ!
All: On the first day of the week we celebrate our life in Christ. Amen.
Lighting the Christ Candle
We light this Christ candle to remind us of the actual physical presence of Christ in our midst. Christ is with us whenever we meet to consider our relationship with the Divine Creator. Christ is among us, our guide and our comforter. Let us rejoice in Christ’s presence. Amen.
Opening Prayer
One: God, you call us to rejoice in you, to fill this spiritual house with music, love, and laughter.
All: The excitement of our sons and daughters feeds us. The faith of our grandparents empowers us. The courage of our brothers and sisters in Christ strengthens us.
One: God, as we worship this day, pour out your Holy Spirit upon us, filling our hearts with dreams and our minds with peace.
All: Amen.
Hymn – “This is the Day” (VU #412)
This is the day, this is the day
That our God has made, that our God has made;
We will rejoice, will rejoice,
And be glad in it, and be glad in it.
This is the day that our God has made,
We will rejoice and be glad in it.
This is the day, this is the day
That our God has made.
Open to us, open to us
Your gates, O God, your gates, O God;
We will go in, we will go in,
To your holy place, to your holy place.
Open to us your gates, O God,
We will go in to your holy place.
Open to us, open to us your gates, O God.
You are our God, you are our God,
We will praise your name, we will praise your name;
We will give thanks, we will give thanks,
For your faithfulness, for your faithfulness.
You are our God, we will praise your name,
We will give thanks for your faithfulness.
You are our God, you are our God, we will praise your name.
This is the day, this is the day
That our God has made, that our God has made;
We will rejoice, we will rejoice,
And be glad in it, and be glad in it.
This is the day that our God has made,
We will rejoice and be glad in it.
This is the day, this is the day
That our God has made.
Prayer of Reflection
One: God of our hopes, we yearn for you. When we are overwhelmed with fear,
All: Forgive us.
One: When the suffering, which we experience in other peoples lives, makes us want to turn away from you and stop believing in you,
All: Forgive us.
One: When we cannot bear to face our own suffering or acknowledge our sad feelings about it,
All: Forgive us.
One: When we seek quick solutions to the problems around us rather than allowing ourselves to feel the pain and seek true healing.
All: Forgive us.
One: When we accept glib answers and easy excuses,
All: Forgive us. Fill our hearts with desire for the fullness of life that only You can bring. Amen.
Words of Assurance
One: Friends, the Good News is, God’s love is more profound than any of our resistance. God’s forgiveness goes deeper than our despair. God is with us in all times and all places. Receive God’s love. Receive God’s forgiveness and be healed.
All: Thanks be to God. Amen.
Hymn – “Will You Come and Follow Me” (VU #567)
Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?
Will you go where you don’t know and never be the same?
Will you let my love be shown, will you let my name be known?
Will you let my life be grown in you and you in me?
Will you leave yourself behind if I but call your name?
Will you care for cruel and kind and never be the same?
Will you risk the hostile stare should you life attract or scare?
Will you let me answer prayer in you and you in me?
Will you let the blinded see if I but call your name?
Will you set the prisoners free and never be the same?
Will you kiss the leper clean, and do such as this unseen,
And admit to what I mean in you and you in me?
Will you the love the “you” you hide if I but call your name?
Will you quell the fear inside and never be the same?
Will you use the faith you’ve found to reshape the world around,
Through my sight and touch and sound in you and you in me?
Christ, your summons echoes true when you but call me name.
Let me turn and follow you and never be the same.
In your company I’ll go where your love and footsteps show.
Thus I’ll move and live and grow in you and you in me.
We Hear God’s Word
Scripture Reading: Job 38:1-7
1 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind: 2 “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? 3 Gird up your loins like a man; I will question you, and you shall declare to me. 4 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. 5 Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? 6 On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone 7 when the morning stars sang together and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy?
Scripture Reading: Psalm 104 (VU 826)
One: Praise God, O my soul.
All: Eternal God, you are great indeed.
One: You clothe yourself with light like a garment.
All: You spread the heavens like a tent; you lay out the beams of your dwelling on the waters above.
One: You make the clouds your chariot, and ride on the wings of the wind.
All: You make the winds your messengers, and flames of fire you servants.
One: You fix the earth on its foundations, so that it can never tremble.
All: You cover the earth with the ocean as with a clock.
Sung Response: Bless, O my soul, the Almighty, who rules all creation.
One: When the waters covered the mountains, they fled at your rebuke;
All: At the sound of your thunder, they took flight.
One: They flowed over the mountains, ran down the valleys to the place you had appointed for them.
All: There you set limits not to be passed, that they might not again cover the earth.
Sung Response: Bless, O my soul, the Almighty, who rules all creation.
Scripture Reading: Mark 10:35-45
35 James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” 36 And he said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” 37 And they said to him, “Appoint us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” 38 But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” 39 They replied, “We are able.” Then Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized you will be baptized, 40 but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to appoint, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”
41 When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John. 42 So Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that among the gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. 43 But it is not so among you; instead, whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many.”
Friends listen to the Good News
God’s Wisdom for this world.
Anthem – “Speak, O Lord”
Speak, O Lord, as we come to You,
To receive the food of Your holy Word.
Take Your Truth, plant it deep in us;
Shape and fashion us in Your likeness,
That the light of Christ might be seen today
In our acts of love and our deeds of faith.
Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us all Your purposes for Your glory.
Teach us, Lord, full obedience, holy reverence, true humility.
Test our thoughts and our attitudes in the radiance of Your purity.
Cause our faith to rise, cause our eyes to see
Your majestic love and authority.
Words of power that can never fail;
Let their truth prevail over unbelief.
Speak, O Lord, and renew our minds,
Help us grasp the heights of Your plans for us.
Truths unchanged from the dawn of time,
That will echo down through eternity;
And by grace we’ll stand on Your promises;
And by faith we’ll walk as You walk with us.
Speak, O Lord, ‘til Your church is built,
And the earth is filled with Your glory.
Speak, O Lord, ‘til the earth is filled with Your glory.
Reflection – The Power of the Servant
Hymn – “I, the Lord of Sea and Sky” (VU #509)
I, the Lord of sea and sky,
I have heard my people cry.
All who dwell in deepest sin my hand will save.
I who made the stars of night,
I will make their darkness bright.
Who will bear my light to them?
Whom shall I send?
Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord?
I have heard you calling in the night.
I will go, Lord, if you lead me.
I will hold your people in my heart.
I, the Lord of snow and rain,
I have borne my people’s pain.
I have wept for love of them;
They turn away.
I will break their hearts of stone, give them hearts for love alone.
I will speak my words to them.
Whom shall I send?
Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord?
I have heard you calling in the night.
I will go, Lord, if you lead me.
I will hold your people in my heart.
I, the Lord of wind and flame,
I will tend the poor and lame.
I will set a feast for them;
My have will save.
Finest bread I will provide till their hearts be satisfied.
I will give my life to them.
Whom shall I send?
Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord?
I have heard you calling in the night.
I will go, Lord, if you lead me.
I will hold your people in my heart.
We Respond to God’s Word
Invitation to Share
In celebration and thankfulness for all we have received in our lives, let us now share through our offerings of time, talent, and treasure so to continue God’s ministry here and around the world.
Offering Response – “Doxology” (VU #541)
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise God all creatures high and low;
Give thanks to God in love made know;
Creator, Word, and Spirit, One. Amen.
Offering Prayer
One: We offer these gifts for renewal through the faith community. O God through these gifts, may the lonely find friendship, the sick find hope; those who suffer find comfort, the powerless gain confidence; the Way of Christ be experience. Bless the givers and bless those who receive these gifts.
All: Amen.
Prayers of the People
One: God who dwells beyond us.
All: God who dwells among us.
One: God who calls us to dwell together, bless us now as we gather our thoughts in prayer. Like James and John who wanted to have the top places beside Jesus, some captains of industry want to be seen as more capable than other industry leaders. Many dictators of developing nations want to have more power than anyone else. Some leaders in the political spheres of community, province, and nation want to be seen as more attractive than other political leaders. Some sports stars and entertainers want to be seen as the unrivalled in their field. Some friends lacing self-confidence want to come across as superior. Jesus has words for them…
All: If one of you wants to be great, you must be the servant of the rest.
One: Some family members think they have the right to tell other family members what to do. Some medical professionals are reluctant to refer because they have a false sense of their own ability. And some patients refuse treatment because they believe they know better than their physician. Jesus has words for them…
All: If one of you wants to be great, you must be the servant of the rest.
One: Some church leaders know the way it has always been done. And that’s the right way! Some ministers will not share worship or visiting with their congregation. Some church members prefer giving to the local church over missions in this country and overseas. Jesus has words for them…
All: If one of you wants to be great, you must be the servant of the rest.
One: So ask yourself, do you look down on others and convey your opinions to others? Do you ignore cheeky children or repetitive older folks? Do you lose patience with those who are slower on the uptake than you are? Do you covet a special place in the family circle or sports group or community group? Do you ‘damn with faint praise’ a person who is competing with you? Do you go out of your way to associate with the ‘top people’ or ‘name drop’ when talk with your friends and associates? If so, Jesus has words for you…
All: If one of you wants to be great, you must be the servant of the rest.
We Go Into God’s World
Hymn – “We are Pilgrims” (VU #595)
We are pilgrims on a journey, fellow travelers on the road;
We are here to help each other walk the mile and bear the load.
Sister, let me be your servant, let me be as Christ to you;
Pray that I may have the grace to let you be my servant too.
I will hold the Christ-light for you in the night-time of your fear,
I will hold my hand out to you, speak the peace you long to hear.
I will weep when you are weeping, when you laugh I’ll laugh with you;
I will share your joy and sorrow, till we’ve seen this journey through.
When we sing to God in heaven, we shall find such harmony,
Born of all we known together of Christ’s love and agony.
Brother, let me be your servant, let me be as Christ to you;
Pray that I may have the grace to let you be my servant too.
Commissioning and Benediction
You are pilgrims on a journey, fellow travelers on the road, we are here to help each other walk the mile and bear the load. Brothers and sisters in Christ be as servants to each other and to all you meet on your journey. May the grace of God, the love of Christ, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all on your journey through life. Go in Peace.
Response – “For the Fruit of All Creation” (VU #227 verse 3)
For the harvest of the Spirit, thanks be to God.
For the good we all inherit, thanks be to God.
For the wonders that astound us, for the truths that still confound us,
Most of all that love has found us, thanks be to God.
