Live Stream
Order of Service
MORNING WORSHIP & BAPTISMS
ST COLUMBA’S, PONT STREET
SUNDAY 19th SEPTEMBER 2021, 11.00am,
(17th SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST)
Welcome & Lighting of Candles
Call to Worship
Hymn 1 How blest are those who do not stray (St Botolph (Slater))
Prayers of Approach and Confession
Lord’s Prayer
Families’ Talk
New Testament Reading: James 3:13- 4:8a
Anthem: O Lord, give thy Holy Spirit (Tallis)
Gospel Reading: Mark 9: 30 – 37
Hymn 594 Come, Holy Spirit, Come (Diademata)
Sermon
Musical Interlude: Thou knowest, Lord (Purcell)
Prayers of Thanksgiving & Intercession
Intimations
Hymn 166 Lord of all hopefulness (Miniver)
Benediction & Choral Amen
Organ Postlude: Prelude, Fugue and Ciaconne (Buxtehude)
Retiring Offering
Hymn 1 How blest are those who do not stray (St Botolph (Slater))
How blest are those who do not stray,
led by the wicked's talk;
who will not with the sinful stand,
nor sit where scoffers mock.
The teaching of the Lord their God
they follow with delight,
and meditate upon his word
with gladness day and night.
They flourish like well-watered trees
set by a riverside,
whose fruit matures, whose leaves remain —
they prosper and abide.
The wicked, like the straw and chaff
by wind blown far away,
can have no place among the just
nor stand on judgement day.
The Lord will guard the righteous well,
he knows the way they take;
but doomed to perish is the way
the wicked undertake.
Hymn 594 Come, Holy Spirit, Come (Diademata)
- Come, Holy Spirit, come!
Inflame our souls with love,
transforming every heart and home
with wisdom from above.
Let none of us despise
the humble path Christ trod,
but choose, to shame the worldly wise,
the foolishness of God. - All-knowing Spirit, prove
the poverty of pride,
by knowledge of the Father’s love
in Jesus crucified.
And grant us faith to know
the glory of that sign,
and in our very lives to show
the marks of love divine. - Come with the gift to heal
the wounds of guilt and fear,
and to oppression’s face reveal
the kingdom drawing near.
Where chaos longs to reign,
descend, O holy Dove,
and free us all to work again
the miracles of love. - Spirit of truth, arise;
inspire the prophet’s voice:
expose to scorn the tyrant’s lies,
and bid the poor rejoice.
O Spirit, clear our sight,
all prejudice remove,
and help us to discern the right,
and covet only love. - Give us the tongues to speak
the word of love and grace
to rich and poor, to strong and weak,
in every time and place.
Enable us to hear
the words that others bring,
interpreting with open ear
the special song they sing. - Come, Holy Spirit, dance
within our hearts today,
our earthbound spirits to entrance,
our mortal fears allay.
And teach us to desire,
all other things above,
that self-consuming holy fire,
the perfect gift of love.
Hymn 166 Lord of all hopefulness (Miniver)
- Lord of all hopefulness, Lord of all joy,
whose trust, ever childlike, no cares could destroy,
be there at our waking, and give us, we pray,
your bliss in our hearts, Lord, at the break of the day. - Lord of all eagerness, Lord of all faith,
whose strong hands were skilled at the plane and the lathe,
be there at our labours, and give us, we pray,
your strength in our hearts, Lord, at the noon of the day. - Lord of all kindliness, Lord of all grace,
your hands swift to welcome, your arms to embrace,
be there at our homing, and give us, we pray,
your love in our hearts, Lord, at the eve of the day. - Lord of all gentleness, Lord of all calm,
whose voice is contentment, whose presence is balm,
be there at our sleeping, and give us, we pray,
your peace in our hearts, Lord, at the end of the day.
New Testament Reading: James 3:1-12
James 3:13- 4:8a
Two Kinds of Wisdom
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.
Friendship with the World
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. Adulterers! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you suppose that it is for nothing that the scripture says, ‘God yearns jealously for the spirit that he has made to dwell in us’? But he gives all the more grace; therefore it says,
‘God opposes the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.’
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.
Mark 9: 30 – 37
Jesus Again Foretells His Death and Resurrection
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.
Who Is the Greatest?
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 about 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.’