The Celebration of the Gospel

September 20, 2015 —17th Sunday after Pentecost

  “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me,
and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”
— Mark 9.37

_______ We Gather as The Body of Christ_______

GREETING
PRELUDE   God Our Father, Dwell Within   Samuel Scheidt

[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: Creator God, mighty and powerful, we praise you.
All:    You reign over us in love.
Crucified and risen Christ, tender and powerless, we thank you.
You reach out to us in love.
Holy Spirit, divine energy within and among us, we worship you.
You fill us with your love.
May we be present to you in our worship now, and in all our lives. Amen.

* SONG   How Like a Gentle Spirit   Blue hymnal #115

(10:30) CHILDREN’S TIME

___________ We Attend to the Word__________

(10:30) THE WORD IN SONG    I Am His Child   Moses Hogan

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,
to see all that is in us that is loving,
and all that is not loving.
By the grace you show us in Christ,
receive us, forgive us, heal us, and perfect your love in us.
SILENT PRAYER …   THE WORD OF GRACE

RESPONSE You Are My Hiding Place Black hymnal #2055

PRAYER OF THE DAY
God of love, you are the mother who gives us life. You are the brother who walks beside us. You are the child who grows within us. Shine your light in our lives by your gracious presence in word and music, in sound and silence, in love and blessing. Amen.

OLD TESTAMENT      Isaiah 11.1-9
[God’s faithful servant lives by God’s Spirit, respects the poor and works for justice. In such a world all live in peace, and even great beasts are led by a child.]

A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse,
from Jesse’s roots a branch will blossom.
The spirit of the Lord shall rest on you,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and reverence for the Holy One.
Your delight shall be in obedience of God.
You will not judge by appearances,
or make decisions according to hearsay;
but act with respect toward the poor,
and choose for the well being of the powerless.
With a word you will disarm tyrants,
and you will blow away all oppression
Justice shall be the belt around your waist,
and faithfulness will gird you up.

The wolf shall live with the lamb,
the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion together,
and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze,
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.
No one will harm or destroy on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Beloved
as the waters cover the sea.
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PSALTER   Psalm 1
[Those who contemplate and follow God’s ways are like trees growing near water, never failing.

Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or take the path that sinners tread,
or sit in the seat of scoffers;
but their delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on God’s law they meditate day and night.
They are like trees planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its season,
and their leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper.

The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
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NEW TESTAMENT   James 3.13-18
[Selfish desire leads to conflict, but wisdom from God is “willing to yield,” and leads to peace.]

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. This is not wisdom; it 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 divine harmony is sown in peace for those who make peace.
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GOSPEL   Mark 9.30-37
[Jesus responds to the disciples’ desire to be the “greatest” by saying that the first must be last; the greatest must be a servant. He embraces a child—vulnerable, powerless, and without status—and invites us to be welcoming to such people. ]

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 Human One is to be betrayed into human hands, and killed, and three days after being killed, be raised 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.”
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SERMON

SONG   Welcome the Child  Steve G-H

We welcome the child among us.
We welcome the tender ones.
In our embrace we meet your grace,
your gentle love divine.

Welcome to those who are fragile, a safe healing place to belong,
a shelter from harm, a comforting arm, a refuge where you may grow strong.

Welcome the child within us, the small, timid voice in the night,
her wonder and fear at the world so near, the child of your love and delight.

God, you are a child among us, no power or might or control.
By your gentle part you soften my heart and make me a more loving soul.

* AFFIRMATION OF FAITH     Philippians 2.5-11

Have the same mind that was in Christ Jesus,
who, though divine,
did not cling to equality with God,
but became utterly empty,
born a human, choosing the place of a slave.
In complete humility Christ became obedient to death,
even death on a cross.                                                     
Therefore God also highly exalted Christ
with a name that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God, the Giver of Life.        

CALL TO PRAYER  Sweet Hour of Prayer (Bells of of S. Matthew’s)

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

THE PRAYER OF JESUS

______ We Are Sent in Ministry to the World_____

OFFERING OUR GIFTS   We Will Glorify    Twila Paris, arr: Fred Bock

* OFFERING SONG   Make Me a Servant   Black hymnal #2176

* 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. We open our arms to you to come among us as a child. By your Spirit in us may we humbly welcome and serve all people, for the sake of the healing of the world, in the name of Christ. Amen.

THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD

* SONG   Jesu, Jesu   Blue hymnal #432

* 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   Andante Cantabile   Charles-Marie Widor

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