Worship at Home
Worship for the week beginning 24th October 2021
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Sunday 24th October
Local Preacher Jenny Brooks has prepared this week’s message
This short act of worship is for use from home. Please use this service whenever you like during the week.
Pause to settle yourself in God’s presence, knowing that other people are sharing in worship with you.
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© ROOTS for Churches Ltd www.rootsontheweb.com. Reproduced with permission.
Call to Worship
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great Light”.
We ask Jesus to enable us to see what He needs us to be.
StF 545– Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart
Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart
be all else but naught to me, save that thou art;
be thou my best thought in the day and the night,
both waking and sleeping, thy presence my light.
Be thou my wisdom, be thou my true word,
be thou for ever with me, and with thee, Lord;
be thou my great Father, thy child let me be;
be thou in me dwelling, and I one with thee.
Be thou my breastplate, my sword for the fight;
be thou my whole armour, be thou my true might;
be thou my soul’s shelter, be thou my strong tower;
O raise though me heavenward, great Power of my power.
Riches I heed not, nor earth’s empty praise;
be thou mine inheritance now and always;
be thou and thou only the first in my heart;
O Sovereign of heaven, my treasure thou art.
High King of Heaven, thou heaven’s bright Sun,
O grant me its joys after victory is won
Great Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
still be thou my vision, O Ruler of all.
Prayers of Gathering
All seeing God, you are so far beyond our understanding,
yet you want to meet with us.
You call us into your presence,
as the crowd called the blind man to come to Jesus.
We come to you now, mighty Lord,
gathered expectantly,
ready to worship and learn from you.
May we have eyes open to see you
and hearts willing to be seen by you.
Bible Reading
Blind Bartimaeus receives his sight
46 Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means ‘son of Timaeus’), was sitting by the roadside begging. 47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’
48 Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’
49 Jesus stopped and said, ‘Call him.’
So they called to the blind man, ‘Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.’ 50 Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.
51 ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ Jesus asked him.
The blind man said, ‘Rabbi, I want to see.’
52 ‘Go,’ said Jesus, ‘your faith has healed you.’ Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.
Holy Bible, New International Version® Anglicized, NIV® Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Prayers of confession
Lord, we ask you to forgive us for the times we don’t hear Jesus calling us.
Son of David, have mercy on us.
The blind man was direct in his request: forgive us for the times we go all round the houses, and times we just can’t ‘see’ what is right in front of us.
Son of David, have mercy on us.
The blind man had good friends: forgive us when we don’t accept help from friends, and when we aren’t good friends to each other.
Son of David, have mercy on us.
Forgive us for ignoring people who really need our attention, and for not seeing that we can help through you – and you can help through us.
Son of David, have mercy on us.
Forgive us when our faith is small and we don’t believe that it can heal us.
Son of David, have mercy on us.
Amen.
Assurance of forgiveness
Jesus asked Bartimaeus what he wanted from him.
Now he asks us what we want.
We have confessed our sins,
and now we want the assurance that God grants us pardon.
(keep a time of silence)
Jesus says, ‘Go; your faith has healed you.
’And we say, ‘Amen’.
Reflection
Bartimaeus was one of those people most of us feel embarrassed to hear, or see – a beggar who sat at the side of the road and shouted at passers-by.
He would be easy to ignore, to shout back at, to “Shush”.
His presence might have made many feel uncomfortable about their ability to participate in all the activities that Bartimaeus was excluded from, including seeing and following Jesus. However, Jesus does notice him, pays attention to him, asks what he wants and is able to provide the gift of sight. Maybe we need to consider how we can be more like this Jesus?
Bartimaeus has insight into who Jesus really is – the Son of David -because he has listened carefully to what Jesus is saying, rather than what other people said Jesus should be or could be. Perhaps we need to think and see more like Bartimaeus?
The picture above is a close up of an everyday object what do you think it might be? Its red cabbage, cut in half.
Sometimes in life we get so focussed on the detail of what we’re doing we can’t see anything else.
The English phrase is “can’t see the wood for the trees”
This part of Marks gospel is the end of all the stories about what Jesus said and did, it then goes on to tell the journey into Jerusalem, Jesus’ death and resurrection. I feel this story is in this place for a reason – Mark is reminding us that many of the people who followed Jesus still had no idea who He really is and it took an outsider, a rejected person, to speak the truth about who Jesus really is and His purpose in living at that time and place.
Sometimes we need to lift our heads up from the work we are doing and look at the greater picture of what God is asking us to do, together with others and in the power of His Spirit.
Prayers of intercession
God, we pray for all those sitting in darkness,
those who feel that they have little to offer,
those who cannot see light – not even a pinprick of light in the night that they currently endure.
We ask for the candle in their hearts to be relit, and for those around them to be inspired to help them,
to intervene and intercede on their behalf.
Have mercy on us, O God,
have mercy on your world.
We pray for those who are unsure of the way ahead,
who struggle to discern the right thing to do.
Give them insight and wisdom,
that they may perceive the right course of action and understand what is needed.
Have mercy on us, O God,
have mercy on your world.
We pray for those who have been hindered
by unhelpful or untrue expectations,
asking that you would untangle the muddle
that they find themselves in,
and allowing them to see your truth and grace. Have mercy on us, O God,
have mercy on your world.
We ask in the name of the living Christ.
Amen.
The Lord's Prayer
Please use the version that you prefer
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,
the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
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.
StF 175 - Light of the World
Light of the world
you stepped down into darkness,
opened my eyes, let me see
beauty that made this heart adore you,
hope of a life spent with you.
So here I am to worship
here I am to bow down,
here I am to say that you’re my God,
and you’re altogether lovely,
altogether worthy,
altogether wonderful to me.
King of all days
oh so highly exalted,
glorious in heaven above
Humbly you came,
to the earth you created,
all for love’s sake became poor.
Refrain
And I’ll never know how much it cost
to see my sin upon that cross,
And I’ll never know how much it cost
to see my sin upon that cross.
Refrain
Sending out Prayer.
Lord, may we look out into your world
with your eyes, listen with your ears,
May we speak and love in your name.
Amen. Thanks be to God.
Service prepared by Jenny Brooks
Webpage: Paul Deakin