Twenty Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
What follows is a worship service which, I pray, you can participate in at a time(s) that are convenient to you. This 'service' will take about forty five (45) minutes.
I pray that you will feel called to ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE in this service.
The text that is in regular typeface (that is what you are reading at the moment) is to be read quietly, while the text that is in bold face (like you are reading right now) is meant to be read aloud.
Opening Hymn:
Let us continue by watching, and please do feel free to sing or read aloud the lyrics, as we commence our praise and thanksgiving.
When you are ready - click the "play" button on the video window, below:
A Call To Worship:
We meet in the name of God,
Creator of the universe,
source of true humanity,
mother and father of all. Amen.
An Assurance of Forgiveness:
(click the 'play' button below to listen)
The Sentence For Today (let us say aloud):
Bless the Lord, O my soul; O Lord my God, how excellent is your greatness!
The Special Prayer For Today (let us pray aloud):
Almighty and everlasting God, in Christ you have revealed your glory among the nations: Preserve the works of your mercy, that your Church throughout the world may persevere with steadfast faith in the confession of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Our first reading for today:
(click the 'play' button below to listen)
Our second reading for today:
(click the 'play' button below to listen)
Gradual Hymn:
Let us continue by watching, and please do feel free to sing or read aloud the lyrics, as we raise out voices in praise and thanksgiving.
When you are ready - click the "play" button on the video window, below:
A reading from the holy gospel according to Saint Mark.
Listen to David speak to this gospel.
or, if you prefer, you can read the sermon, below:
Sermon for Ordinary 29, Sunday, 20th Oct 2024
MAY the words of my mouth and the meditations in our hearts be acceptable in your sight O Lord, our strength and our Redeemer. <Amen>
Let me begin with a story ... A group of exhausted soldiers were struggling and straining to repair a small defensive barrier. One of them shouted orders at the others, but made no attempt to help them.
Suddenly a civilian came by on horseback. He asked the soldier in charge why he wasn’t helping in the effort. The solider responded, “Sir, I am a corporal!”
The stranger apologised, dismounted, and helped the exhausted soldiers in their work.
Once the job was done, he turned to the corporal and said, “Corporal, next time you have a job like this and not enough men to do it, go and tell your commander-in-chief and I will come and help you again.”
With that, George Washington got back on his horse and rode off. Leadership ! <PAUSE>
Today’s gospel does not show the first disciples of Jesus in a very favourable light.
James and John, who are brothers, ask Jesus for a big favour. They want the premium seats, the ones right beside Him, when He finally is enthroned as king. It appears they have have a strong appetite for prestige and power.
The other ten disciples are no better. They become angry at James and John because they also want the premium seats. They also want prestige and power.
All twelve disciples miss the point about the kingship of Jesus. Although He has told them repeatedly of His approaching death and resurrection, they just don’t get it. They continue to miss the point.
Yet the failure of the twelve to understand The Kingdom of God can be for us a cause of hope. For each of us is sometimes blind to what discipleship requires. Jesus did not give up on His original twelve, and he does not give up on us. He continues to set forth the upside down way of His kingdom, and invites us to walk where He has walked.
Also, remember, Jesus NEVER invites us to walk where He himself has not walked first.
One way Christ’s kingdom appears upside down is with regard to the conventional expectations in the area of leadership.
Now when I say that word “leadership,” please do not close your ears. Do not say YOU, YOURSELF are not a leader, or that YOU, YOURSELF are no longer a leader, or that YOU, YOURSELF don’t have what it takes to be a leader.
You see, every one of us is invited, repeatedly, to leadership, sometimes in modest, informal ways, ways we barely notice; and sometimes perhaps in ways that involve titles and prominence and the burden of being a public person.Whatever form of leadership we are called to, let this be characteristic of it - that we follow the example Jesus offers us of a leadership that is “SERVANT LEADERSHIP”.
Jesus claims the role of servant by BOTH word and deed. He SAYS He has come “not to be served, but to serve” (10:46). Remember, at His final meal before His death, He staggers His followers by kneeling before them to WASH THEIR FEET. Word and deed.
Remember my opening story about George Washington? This Christ-reality, not only appears in the New Testament but also in the lives of ALL great leaders through the ages.
The problem is not with leaders seeking greatness. The problem is that so often our definition of greatness is puny. We accept the sad models for greatness the world offers us, and we overlook the model Jesus talks about and lives out and dies for - the model which alone advances His resurrection kingdom, namely the servant as leader, the leader as servant. <PAUSE>
Much of the suffering in the world around us is due to a desperate shortage of servant leaders. Numerous high positions of every sort are occupied by two kinds of people: those too timid to do what is right, or people whose lust for power, control, or profit blinds them to even the most elementary decencies.
If our society and our work for God’s Kingdom wants any future that is worth having, we must cultivate more and more servant leaders for countless roles.
Servant leadership needs to flourish in the complexities of those vast organisations that have so much control over our lives – government and government agencies, business corporations, hospitals, universities etc.
Servant leadership needs to flourish in the church.
Servant leadership at every level is essential if the impact on all of us is to be a blessing and not something we are confused by or ashamed of. <PAUSE>
So, how are WE doing as servant leaders?
My prayer is that you all, wherever you may be, will strive to be a community that nurtures and supports servant leaders: leaders who empower others, who are not bosses but coaches, who are not bullies but models.
Our world is desperate for leaders of this kind. Those who recognise God’s blessing in their own lives, leaders brave and bold enough to bless the people and the world around them through their OWN humble service to others.
I runga e te Ingoa o te Atua, te Matua, te Tama me te Wairua Tapu. <AMINE>
In the name of God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit <AMEN>
Pause and Reflect
Just take a moment now to pause. Bow your head, close your eyes.
Allow these words of Holy Scripture and this interpretation of them today to speak to you.
An Affirmation of Our Faith
Let us affirm our faith by saying aloud, and together, "The Apostles Creed":
... and now let us pray for the Church, the World, and Ourselves, giving thanks for God's goodness.
Let us pray aloud, and together:
Heavenly Father empower by Your spirit all Christian people and their work in every land. Give us grace to proclaim the gospel joyfully, not only by word but especially by deed and by the way in which we live our lives
(LONGER pause for silent, personal reflection)
In response to the call today “Lord, in Your mercy” Our response is, “hear our prayer!”
(Short Silence) Lord, in Your mercy: hear our prayer
Creator God, we pray that You will guide those who administer justice that they may be honest and merciful in all that they do and give wisdom to all who make laws, ensuring that the laws that they make may always prevail for the common good.
(Short Silence) Lord, in Your mercy: hear our prayer
Father God, we pray that children may be brought up in the knowledge of faith and with a sense of respect and responsibility for others. Bless the parents of our children, and teachers who serve the communities we live in.
(Short Silence) Lord, in Your mercy: hear our prayer
Everlasting God, be present in all places where there is suffering, violence or pain. We especially pray for those people living through war or oppression and the many who are forced to leave their homes to seek refuge elsewhere. Be with those who are trying to bring peace in areas of warfare and terrorism and for the relief agencies trying so hard to bring food and medicine to those suffering.
(Short Silence) Lord, in Your mercy: hear our prayer
Gracious God, we pray for those we know who are passing through illness. Bless those who care for the sick, encourage all that is being done for their good and surround them with Your healing care
We especially raise before You now all those who have asked for our prayers from around the world … those we know in New Zealand, in Singapore, in Argentina, in France, in Australia, in the US, in Canada, in Austria, in Ukraine, in China and any others we now name aloud, or in the silence of our hearts, and those who are known only by You.
(Short Silence) Lord, in Your mercy: hear our prayer
Loving God, we remember in these prayers those who have died, those we have known and loved and those known only to you. Help us to leave them with you in perfect trust, knowing that you care for them, and for us, with infinite love
May all the faithful departed now rest in peace as they most surely have risen in glory.
(Short Silence) Lord, in Your Mercy: Hear our prayer
In a moment of silence we pray for ourselves, our families, friends, for all whom we love and for our personal ministries. Make the things that we choose to do worthy of the life, death, and rising again of Your Son.
(Short Silence) Lord, in Your mercy: hear our prayer
Faithful God, we commend ourselves and all for whom we have prayed to your mercy and protection.
(Short Silence) Lord, in Your mercy: hear our prayer
Forth in the peace of Christ we go; Christ to the world with joy we bring; Christ in our minds, Christ on our lips, Christ in our hearts, the world’s true King.
Merciful father: accept these prayers for the sake of Your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN.
Remembering that we are confident to pray this day, and every day, because Jesus Christ continues to teach us:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
now and for ever. Amen.
Let us conclude our prayers by praying together and aloud:
God of mercy,
you have given us grace to pray with one heart and one voice,
and have promised to hear the prayers
of two or three who agree in your name,
fulfil now, we pray,
the prayers and longings of your people
as may be best for us and for your kingdom.
Grant us in this world to know your truth,
and in the world to come to see your glory. Amen.
The Blessing
May The Risen Lord Christ turn His face towards each and every one of you.
May He cause His light to shine upon you, and
may He grant you His peace, and
The blessing of Almighty God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
be with you and all of those whom you love,
on this day and forever more.
A Closing Hymn:
Let us conclude our worship today by watching, and please do feel free to sing or read aloud the lyrics, as we unite in another hymn our praise and thanksgiving.
When you are ready - click the "play" button on the video window, below:
The Dismissal
Go now, go out into the world
to love and serve The Lord.
Go in peace.
AMEN, we go in the name of Christ.