Twenty-Second Sunday After Pentecost Worship Bulletin
St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church
PENTECOST 22 – Coronavirus
10-24-2021 10:00AM Zoom Worship
OPENING SONG: “PASS ME NOT, O GENTLE SAVIOR” Charlotte Webb Tan #435
THE OPENING RITE: Cecil Webb + Linda Crawford
L In the midst of this small crowd that has gathered to worship far beyond the Biblical town of Jericho, let us cry out to Jesus, the Son of God and the Son of David, to hear our humble cry
C Have mercy on us, Jesus, Son of David!
We are weak and worn, we are burdened and blind, and we do not feel free to live.
There are storms that surround us and sin that fills us, and we do not feel free to live.
So, Jesus, please heal us, fix everything up, and be our solution for what ails us.
But, if we only make you our “errand boy” who does what we want, then we still are not really free to live.
So, Jesus, please be our Lord also.
May we respond to your call to follow you into the world to love and to serve.
L Arise, take heart, Jesus is calling you. He reaches out to you with love and mercy, and offers you new and real life. Your sins are forgiven (+) in Jesus’ name. His grace surrounds you and his Spirit fills you. May your burdens be lightened and your hope renewed! Humble yourself, surrender yourself, and commit yourself to follow Jesus in his journey of servant-love. Amen.
THE PRAYER OF THE DAY: – led by Linda Crawford
And we pray…
Jesus, son of David, have mercy on each of us!
Open our eyes and our ears, release our minds and our hearts, and unlock our hands and our feet to your loving presence.
Transform our sobbing tears into songs of joy and our shadowy fears into seeds of hope.
For the rest of our life may we always get up and follow you, living faithfully and loving fervently. Amen.
FIRST READING: JEREMIAH 31:7-9 [The prophet speaks a word of hope, not only to the southern kingdom of Judah about its homecoming from exile in Babylon, but also to the northern kingdom of “Israel” or “Ephraim” and its restoration more than a century after its own exile in Assyria! Only God can know where they have been taken. Only God can bring them home.] Armia Dennis
31:7 For thus says the LORD: Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, and raise shouts for the chief of the nations; proclaim, give praise, and say, “Save, O LORD, your people, the remnant of Israel.”
31:8 See, I am going to bring them from the land of the north, and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth, among them the blind and the lame, those with child and those in labor, together; a great company, they shall return here.
31:9 With weeping they shall come, and with consolations I will lead them back, I will let them walk by brooks of water, in a straight path in which they shall not stumble; for I have become a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.
SECOND READING: HEBREWS 7:23-28 [Human priests in Jewish tradition had to also offer sacrifice for their own sins, and they served only until their death. In contrast, Jesus is God’s Son, the holy, sinless, resurrected high priest. He sacrificed for our sins “once for all” when he offered himself. Death did not terminate his priestly service, but through his death and his resurrection he intercedes for our sins.] Dennis Fortune
7:23 Furthermore, the former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office;
7:24 but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever.
7:25 Consequently he is able for all time to save those who approach God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
7:26 For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, blameless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.
7:27 Unlike the other high priests, he has no need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for those of the people; this he did once for all when he offered himself.
7:28 For the law appoints as high priests those who are subject to weakness, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.
GOSPEL VERSE: Ben + Marietta Shipanga
“To God be the glory… to God be the glory…
to God be the glory for the thing he has done!
With his blood God has saved me…
with his power God has raised me…
to God be the glory for the things he has done!”
THE HOLY GOSPEL: MARK 10:46-52 [The last healing story in the Gospel of Mark is a revealing one. Blind Bartimaeus cries out and receives his sight, and, more importantly, he follows Jesus. Does this man – who confesses that Jesus is the Son of David and follows him the seventeen miles from Jericho to Jerusalem where Jesus is about to suffer and die – actually “see” and “follow” better than the disciples who have been with him longer?] Juanita Williams
10:46 They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside.
10:47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
10:48 Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
10:49 Jesus stood still and said, “Call him here.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart; get up, he is calling you.”
10:50 So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus.
10:51 Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again.”
10:52 Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.
SERMON: Pastor Gwen or Pastor Neil
SONG RESPONSE: “CAN’T NOBODY DO ME LIKE JESUS” – sung by Queen Sutton Tan #384
AN AFFIRMATION OF OUR FAITH: – led by Rosella McVay
We confess our FAITH in the God who has given us life, love, and new life…
I trust in God who has made me his own. I know that God loves me. To God I am as precious as his own Son, Jesus Christ, who lived and died in obedience to his Father’s will. Jesus suffered our pain, and through his suffering and death has brought us into fellowship with God.
I believe that God through his Spirit will give me strength when I am oppressed and weary… will give me love when I am afraid and lonely… and will guide his Church to make people free at last.
I believe that God lives in the fellowship of those who trust him, and that God wants all people to be brought into that fellowship.
I believe that nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Living in hope and trust, I will deny myself, take up my cross, and walk the Jesus walk of faithful servant love.
Amen.
OFFERING… God had done great things for us – healing us, restoring us, blessing us, and saving us. Can we follow Christ’s lead, ministering to the needs of others, inviting others to faith? Let us be grateful and generous in our response!
THE OFFERTORY SONG: “There’s a sweet, sweet Spirit in this place, and I know that it’s the Spirit of the Lord. There are sweet expressions on each face, and I know they feel the presence of the Lord. – sung by Margie Wright
Sweet Holy Spirit, sweet heavenly Dove,
stay right here with us, filling us with your love.
And for these blessings we lift our hearts in praise;
without a doubt we’ll know that we have been revived
when we shall leave this place!”
OFFERING PRAYER: – led by Monroe Daniel
O Lord our God, it is a great privilege and a great responsibility to be your people, and we thank you for loving and calling us! As one family of faith, we offer our various gifts in the service of Christ. Transform our self-centeredness into compassionate outreach. Help us to rejoice with those who rejoice, to weep with those who weep, and to overcome evil with good. Amen.
MUSIC SELECTION: – Dennis Fortune
THE PRAYERS… We pray for NEW LIFE in the Spirit and for the MISSION of the Church to the world! – led by Margie Wright
THE LORD’S PRAYER
SONG SELECTION: – Kemar Harrison
THE BENEDICTION… We are sent forth to be and become the BODY OF CHRIST for the world!