Sunday School, October 25, 2015 22 Pentecost, B proper 25
Themes
How does everyone do the work of a priest? A priest is one who prays for others. In the life of Job, we are told that Job’s
fortunes turned when he prayed for his friends.
The lesson of Job shows us that we need to turn everything that happens
to us into prayer for others. Why? Because the things which happen to us also
happen to others. It means we share
common life experiences with each other and so when we have a hard time, we
should not just feel sad for ourselves we should also remember that there are
other people who will have a hard time as well.
And if we turn our experience to the opportunity for prayer, then we
will not feel sorry for ourselves, but we will have faith to believe our lives
are connected with other people.
So let us remember our lives are given to us to pray for
each other and so in our prayer we act like priests.
The Letter to the Hebrews reminds us that Jesus was the best
priest of all because he shared our lives and he prayed for us and he continues
to pray for us. Jesus knows how we feel
because he lived through some very difficult times. And so he understands us.
The Gospel story is about Jesus healing a blind man and
giving him his sight. The Gospels tell
us that Jesus is the Light of the world and because of his teaching he helps us
to see better how we should live.
Education is like light and receiving our sight. As we learn more we can see how to do more
things and live better lives. Our
ignorance is like blindness and as we learn more we receive new sight.
Jesus came to help us to learn more and see our lives
better. We are like Bartimaeus because
we are always asking Jesus to open the eyes of our understanding so that we can
understand what we should do and say.
A sermon on Seeing
I want for us to
pretend for a while that we cannot see.
Let’s close our eyes and pretend that we are blind, just like the man
Bartimaeus.
When you close your
eyes, everything is dark, isn’t it? Can
you imagine living like this all of time?
How could you play? How could you
watch the television? How could you get
dressed? How could you eat? You and I
would have to learn how to do things in special ways if we were blind.
We might have to get
a seeing-eye dog to help lead and guide us to the right places. People who are not able to see are
heroes. When they learn how to adjust to
being blind and keep their hope and their happiness they inspire us to be
thankful and also they teach us to live with faith and hope in our lives.
A person who is blind teaches us to never give up at trying
to live well in our lives.
So even though the
blind man Bartimaeus had lost his seeing, he did not lose his faith and his
hope. He had more faith and hope than
the other people who could see.
And he had faith and
hope to ask Jesus for a favor. And even
when people tried to keep him away from Jesus, he only cried out with more
faith and more hope. And Jesus did a
great favor for him. He helped him to
see again.
I hope that you and
I never lose our ability to see. But in
our lives we sometimes will lose some very important things.
But let us remember
that when we lose important things, there are some things that we never have to
lose: We never have to lose faith, or
hope, or love, or friendship. And if we
never lose faith or hope, we will be able to know that God is always close to
us.
Can you remember
today, always to have faith and hope? No
matter what happens? These are special
gifts from God that we never have to lose.
Amen.
St. John the Divine Episcopal Church
17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037
Family Service with Holy Eucharist
October 25, 2015: The Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost
Gathering Songs: Open Our Eyes; I Want to Walk As a Child of
the Light, Jesus, Name Above All Names;
May the Lord
Liturgist: Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
People: And blessed be God’s kingdom, now and for ever. Amen.
Liturgist: Oh God,
Our hearts are open to you.
And you know us and we can hide nothing from you.
Prepare our hearts and our minds to love you and worship
you.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Song: Open Our Eyes, Lord
(Renew! # 91)
Open our eyes, Lord, we want to see Jesus, to reach out and
touch him and say that we love him. Open
our ears, Lord, and help us to listen, open our eyes Lord, we want to see
Jesus.
Liturgist: The
Lord be with you.
People: And also with
you.
Liturgist: Let us
pray
Almighty and everlasting God, increase in us the gifts of
faith, hope, and charity; and, that we may obtain what you promise, make us
love what you command; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Litany Phrase: Alleluia (chanted)
O God, you are Great!
Alleluia
O God, you have made us! Alleluia
O God, you have made yourself known to us! Alleluia
O God, you have provided us with us a Savior! Alleluia
O God, you have given us a Christian family! Alleluia
O God, you have forgiven our sins! Alleluia
O God, you brought your Son Jesus back from the dead! Alleluia
A reading from the book of Job
And the LORD restored the fortunes of Job when he had prayed
for his friends; and the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before. Then
there came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him
before, and they ate bread with him in his house; they showed him sympathy and
comforted him for all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him; and each of
them gave him a piece of money and a gold ring.
Liturgist: The Word of the Lord
People: Thanks be to God
Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 104
I will bless the LORD at all times; * his praise shall
ever be in my mouth.
I will glory in the LORD; * let the humble hear and rejoice.
Proclaim with me the greatness of the LORD; * let us exalt
his Name together.
Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)
Litanist:
For the good earth, for our food and clothing. Thanks be to
God!
For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!
For the talents and gifts that you have given to us. Thanks
be to God!
For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!
For health and for a good night’s sleep. Thanks be to God!
For work and for play. Thanks be to God!
For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!
For the happy events of our lives. Thanks be to God!
For the celebration of the birthdays and anniversaries of
our friends and parish family.
Thanks be to God!
Liturgist: The
Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark
People: Glory to you,
Lord Christ.
Jesus and his disciples 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. When he heard that it was Jesus of
Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy
on me!" Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more
loudly, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" 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." So throwing off his cloak,
he sprang up and came to Jesus. 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." Jesus said to him, "Go; your faith has made you well."
Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.
Liturgist: The
Gospel of the Lord.
People: Praise to you,
Lord Christ.
Sermon: Fr. Phil
Children’s Creed
We did not make ourselves, so we believe that God the Father
is the maker of the world.
Since God is so great and we are so small,
We believe God came into our world and was born as Jesus,
son of the Virgin Mary.
We need God’s help and we believe that God saved us by the
life, death and
resurrection of
Jesus Christ.
We believe that God is present with us now as the Holy
Spirit.
We believe that we are baptized into God’s family the Church
where everyone is
welcome.
We believe that Christ is kind and fair.
We believe that we have a future in knowing Jesus Christ.
And since we all must die, we believe that God will preserve
us forever. Amen.
Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy. (chanted)
For fighting and war to cease in our world. Christ, have
mercy.
For peace on earth and good will towards all. Christ, have
mercy.
For the safety of all who travel. Christ, have mercy.
For jobs for all who need them. Christ, have mercy.
For care of those who are growing old. Christ, have mercy.
For the safety, health and nutrition of all the children in
our world. Christ, have mercy.
For the well-being of our families and friends. Christ, have
mercy.
For the good health of those we know to be ill. Christ, have
mercy.
For the remembrance of those who have died. Christ, have
mercy.
For the forgiveness of all of our sins. Christ, have mercy.
Liturgist: The
Peace of the Lord be always with you.
People: And also with you.
Song during the preparation of the Altar and the receiving
of an offering.
Song: I Want to Walk As a Child of the Light, (Renew # 152)
1 I want to
walk as a child of the light; I want to follow Jesus. God set the stars to bring light to the
world; the star of my life is Jesus. Refrain:
In Him there is no darkness at all, the night and the day are both alike. The Lamb is the light of the city of God:
Shine in my heart, Lord Jesus.
2 I want to
see the brightness of God; I want to look at Jesus. Clear Sun of righteousness, shine on my path,
and show me the way to the Father. Refrain
Doxology
Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all
creatures here below.
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and
Holy Ghost.
Prologue to the Eucharist
Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, for to them belong
the kingdom of heaven.”
All become members of a family by birth or adoption.
Baptism is a celebration of birth into the family of God.
A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.
The Holy Eucharist is the special meal that Jesus gave to
his friends to keep us together as the family of Christ.
The Lord be with you
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to God.
It is right to give God thanks and praise.
It is very good and right to give thanks, because God made
us, Jesus redeemed us and the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts. Therefore with Angels and Archangels and all
of the world that we see and don’t see, we forever sing this hymn of praise:
Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of Power and Might. Heav’n and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.
All may gather around the altar
Our grateful praise we offer to you God, our Creator;
You have made us in your image
And you gave us many men and women of faith to help us to
live by faith:
Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob
and Rachael.
And then you gave us your Son, Jesus, born of Mary, nurtured
by Joseph
And he called us to be sons and daughters of God.
Your Son called us to live better lives and he gave us this
Holy Meal so that when we eat
the bread and drink
the wine, we can know that the Presence
of Christ is as near to us as
this food and
drink that becomes a part of us.
The Prayer continues with these words
And so, Father, we bring you these gifts of bread and wine.
Bless and sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be for your people the Body and
Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord. Bless
and sanctify us by your Holy Spirit so that we may love God and our neighbor.
On the night when Jesus was betrayed he took bread, said the
blessing, broke the bread, and gave it to his friends, and said, "Take,
eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of
me."
After supper, Jesus took the cup of wine, gave thanks, and
said, "Drink this, all of you. This is my Blood of the new Covenant, which
is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink
it, do this for the remembrance of me."
Father, we now celebrate the memorial of your Son. When we
eat this holy Meal of Bread and Wine, we are telling the entire world about the
life, death and resurrection of Christ and that his presence will be with us in
our future.
Let this holy meal keep us together as friends who share a
special relationship because of your Son Jesus Christ. May we forever live with praise to God to
whom we belong as sons and daughters.
By Christ, and with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of
the Holy Spirit all honor and glory
is yours, Almighty
Father, now and for ever. Amen.
And now as our Savior Christ has taught us, we now sing,
(Children rejoin their parents and take up their
instruments)
Our Father: (Renew # 180, West Indian Lord’s Prayer)
Our Father who art in heaven: Hallowed be thy name.
Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done: Hallowed be thy name.
Done on earth as it is in heaven: Hallowed be thy name.
Give us this day our daily bread: Hallowed be thy name.
And forgive us all our debts: Hallowed be thy name.
As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.
Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.
But deliver us from evil: Hallowed be thy name.
Thine is the kingdom, power, and glory: Hallowed be thy
name.
Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.
Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.
Amen, amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.
Breaking of the Bread
Celebrant: Alleluia!
Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.
People: Therefore
let us keep the feast. Alleluia!
Words of Administration
Communion Song: Jesus,
Name Above All Names, Renew! # 26
Jesus, Name above all names, beautiful Savior, glorious
Lord,
Emmanuel, God is with us, blessed Redeemer, Living Word.
Post-Communion Prayer
Everlasting God, we have gathered for the meal that Jesus
asked us to keep;
We have remembered his words of blessing on the bread and
the wine.
And His Presence has been known to us.
We have remembered that we are sons and daughters of God and
brothers
and sisters in
Christ.
Send us forth now into our everyday lives remembering that
the blessing in the
bread and wine
spreads into each time, place and person in our lives,
As we are ever blessed by you, O Father, Son and Holy
Spirit. Amen.
Closing Song: May the Lord (Sung to the tune of Edelweiss)
May the Lord, Mighty God, Bless and keep you forever, Grant
you peace, perfect peace,
Courage in every endeavor.
Lift up your eyes and see His face, Trust His grace forever.
May the Lord, Mighty god Bless and keep you for ever.
Dismissal:
Liturgist: Let us go forth in the Name of Christ.
People: Thanks be to God!
