The Celebration of the Gospel

October 11, 2015 —20th Sunday after Pentecost

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle
than for someone who is rich to enter the realm of God.
— Mark 10.25

______ We Gather as The Body of Christ________

GREETING
PRELUDE

[As we listen to the music we quiet our minds and bodies,
listen for our hearts’ deepest desires,
and become present to the Holy One who is lovingly present for us.]

* CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: Gracious One, you are our life.
All: You are our Source, our security, our beauty.
Loving Christ, you are our healing.
You are our courage, our healing, our hope.
Holy Spirit, you are our breath.
You are our compassion, our generosity, our love.
We worship you. Breathe new life in us, and set us free. Amen.

* SONG Praise to the Lord, the Almighty

Praise to you, God, the All-Loving, the source of Creation!
Hear my soul praise you, for you are my health and salvation!
All you who hear, now to God’s temple draw near;
join me in glad adoration.

Praise to you, God, who o’er all things so wondrously reigning,
bear me on eagle’s wings, safe in your keeping maintaining.
Love, you enfold all, whose true good you uphold.
Have I not seen your sustaining?

Praise to you, God, for you nourish my life and restore me,
fitting me well for the tasks that are ever before me.
For to my need, you as a mother will speed,
spreading the wings of grace o’er me.

Praise to you, God! O let all that is in me adore you!
All that has life and breath come now with praises before you.
Let the Amen sound from your people again;
gladly forever adore you.

(10:30) CHILDREN’S TIME

___________ We Attend to the Word___________

(10:30) THE WORD IN SONG

PRAYER OF CONFESSION
Pastor: The grace of God be with you.
Congregation: And also with you.
Trusting in God’s tender mercy, let us confess our sin to God with one another.
God of love, help us to see ourselves with the eyes of love.
For all within us that is loving, we give you thanks.
For all that is not loving,
forgive us, and perfect your love in us.
SILENT PRAYER … THE WORD OF GRACE
RESPONSE Thank You, Lord Blue hymnal #84

PRAYER OF THE DAY
God of mercy, we want to know what to do to inherit your love. Speak your truth to us, set us free, and bring us with you on the path of Life. We open our heart to your Word. Amen.

NEW TESTAMENT Hebrews 4.12-16
[God’s Word is alive, and sees us in our deepest reality. Jesus, the “great high priest,” sympathizes because he knows our weakness and shares our human travails.]

The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Before God no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.

Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Beloved of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
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PSALTER Psalm 119.9-16
[God’s word is not just a set of rules but the truth that gives life. We pray that God will help us seek that truth above everything: “I delight in your ways as much as in all riches.”]

How can young people keep their way pure?
By guarding it according to God’s word.
God, with my whole heart I seek you;
do not let me stray from your commandments.
I treasure your word in my heart,
so that I may not sin against you.
Blessed are you, Holy Love; teach me your statutes.
With my lips I declare all the ordinances of your mouth.
I delight in the way of your decrees as much as in all riches.
I will meditate on your precepts, and fix my eyes on your ways.
I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.
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GOSPEL Mark 10.17-31
[A rich man asks Jesus the way to salvation. Jesus tells him to let go of his money, but he can’t. Jesus says we can’t grasp the reality of God’s grace while hanging on to our possessions any easier than we can cram a camel through the eye of a needle. When the disciples say, “We’ve left everything to follow you!” Jesus replies, “Not yet. But whatever you let go of you will receive.” ]

As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.’” He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.”

Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.
Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the realm of God!” And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the realm of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the realm of God.” They were greatly astounded and said to one another, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.”
Peter began to say to him, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.” Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”
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SERMON Getting free

SONG Set Me Free Steve G-H

From all that binds me, Love, set me free.
Set me free, Love, set me free.
Oh Love, set me free for love.

From what I fear, O Love set me free….
From what I cling to, Love, set me free…
To live in perfect love, set me free….

THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
[Anyone who wishes may share a prayer concern at the microphone.]

THE PRAYER OF JESUS
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

PASSING THE PEACE

______ We Are Sent in Ministry to the World_____

OFFERING OUR GIFTS

* OFFERING SONG Doxology Blue hymnal #94

* PRAYER
Gracious God, we give you these gifts as symbols of our lives. Receive them with love, bless them with grace and use them according to your will. Set us free from all that would prevent us from drawing near to you and from following Jesus perfectly, so that we may love deeply and freely for the sake of the healing of the world, in the name of Christ. Amen.

THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD

* SONG This Is a Day of New Beginnings Blue hymnal #383

* THE BLESSING AND SENDING FORTH
RESPONSE      We stand and sing to our neighbors:
May the grace and peace of Christ be with you my friends.
Go and share the love of God, love that never ends.

POSTLUDE

[During the postlude there are people ready to pray with you at the candles in the corners.]