Minister: Katherine Taylor
Organist: Iain Mackinnon
Welcome and Intimations
Call to Worship (From Psalm 24)
The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it,
the world, and those who live in it;
The Lord has founded it on the seas,
and established it on the rivers.
Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
Those who have clean hands and pure hearts,
They will receive blessing from the Lord.
Hymn 132 Immortal, invisible, God only wise
Prayer of Approach ending with the Lord’s Prayer
First Thought
Scriptures: Mark 6: 14-29 – Reader, Gerry O’Neil
Sermon – Bad news and good news
Hymn 253 Inspired by love and anger
Prayer of Dedication for the Offering
Prayers for the World – Tim Bell
Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer
Hymn 742 Rejoice in God’s saints
Benediction
Picture
Umlauf, Charles, 1911-1994. John the Baptist, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN.
INTIMATIONS
Sunday Services – Services continue at 11 am. Please remember that restrictions are still in place; please arrive by 10:55 at the latest.
Katherine is on holiday for the rest of this week returning on Monday 19 July. The service next Sunday will be led by Rev Dr Martin Scott.
Opening the Church – The church building and garden is open on Tuesday and Friday mornings between 10am and 12 noon. Please add your name to the rota in the church vestibule if you are available to help.
Our Trees Project – The Church of Scotland is inviting us to take part in a joint project with Citizen Science to survey trees on church land. The purpose is to study trees in sacred spaces and to create a database. It would be good to have a North Leith response and if you are interested in joining in or know someone else who may, please get in touch with Katherine or the Church Office. The survey needs to be completed by the end of July.
Prayer for this Sunday evening – Visit the Church of Scotland website to hear the prayer
Sunday prayers continue as Kirk members grapple with ‘uncertainty of the times’ | The Church of Scotland
“What is the future shape of the society in which we live? To ask the question is to invite any number of different answers and many of the answers will reflect the uncertainty of the times.
“In all of our lives, there is perhaps a greater element of uncertainty than there has been in previous years. Each of us will respond to the challenges of our times in different ways and many will ponder the question and ask: What does the future hold?
“The Apostle Paul lived within the society of his time and offers us a vision of our place within the world. That vision is shaped by an understanding of how we share in the purpose and plan of the ‘God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ’. We share in that understanding as those who have received the ‘promised Holy Spirit’. Within this vision, we find that we are adopted as the children of God and discover our place according to the purpose and plan of God. (Ephesians 1: 3-14)
“If we cannot yet describe the future shape of our society, we know that, whatever the future holds, we live as those whose destiny is shaped by the purpose and plan of God.”
We pray:
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
You adopt us as Your children
And include us within Your purposes.
May we find our place in the world and purpose for our lives
As we respond to Your gracious initiative in Christ.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
You adopt us as Your children
And offer to us forgiveness.
May we know the healing power of forgiveness
And offer forgiveness according to the measure that we have been forgiven.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
You adopt us as Your children
And make known Your intention
To gather together all things in heaven and earth.
May our lives on earth reflect the life of the world that is to come.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
You adopt us as Your children
And make known to us the word of truth.
May we always speak according to the truth
And may our words reflect the One who came to us full of grace and truth.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
You adopt us as Your children
And seal us with the promised Holy Spirit
May we rediscover our place in the world and renew the purpose of our lives
As we receive the gracious gift of Your Spirit.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
