Minister: Rev. Ron Smith
Organist: Iain Mackinnon
Welcome and Intimations
Call to Worship – PsaIm 150
Praise the Lord.Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens.
Praise him for his acts of power;
praise him for his surpassing greatness.
Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre,
praise him with tambourine and dancing,
praise him with the strings and flute,
praise him with the clash of cymbals,
praise him with resounding cymbals.
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord.
Hymn 132 Immortal, invisible, God only wise
1 Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
in light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
most blessèd, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise.
2 Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might;
thy justice like mountains, high soaring above
thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.
3 To all, life thou givest, to both great and small;
In all life thou livest, the true life of all;
we blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
and wither and perish, but naught changeth thee.
4 Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight.
All praise we would render: O help us to see
‘tis only the splendour of light hideth thee.
Prayer of Approach ending with the Lord’s Prayer
First Thought
Hymn 43 O God, you are my God alone
1 O God, you are my God alone,
whom eagerly I seek,
though longing fills my soul with thirst
and leaves my body weak.
Just as a dry and barren land
awaits a freshening shower,
I long within your house to see
your glory and your power.
2 Your faithful love surpasses life,
evoking all my praise.
Through every day, to bless your name,
my hands in joy I’ll raise.
My deepest needs you satisfy
as with a sumptuous feast.
So, on my lips and in my heart,
your praise has never ceased.
3 Throughout the night I lie in bed
and call you, Lord, to mind;
in darkest hours I meditate
how God, my strength, is kind.
Beneath the shadow of your wing,
I live and feel secure;
and daily as I follow close,
your right hand keeps me sure.
Scriptures:
Psalm 32
1 Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
2 Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them
and in whose spirit is no deceit.
3 When I kept silent, my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess
my transgressions to the Lord.’ And you forgave
the guilt of my sin.
6 Therefore let all the faithful pray to you while you may be found;
surely the rising of the mighty waters will not reach them.
7 You are my hiding-place; you will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance.
8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.
9 Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no
understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle
or they will not come to you.
10 Many are the woes of the wicked,
but the Lord’s unfailing love
surrounds the one who trusts in him.
11 Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous;
sing, all you who are upright in heart!
Luke 19: 1-10
Zacchaeus the tax collector
19 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.’ 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, ‘He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.’
8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, ‘Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.’
9 Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.’
Sermon
Hymn 555 Amazing Grace!
1 Amazing Grace! how sweet the sound
that saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
was blind but now I see.
2 ‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
and grace, my fears relieved;
how precious did that grace appear
the hour I first believed!
3 Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come;
’tis grace has brought me safe thus far,
and grace will lead me home.
4 The Lord has promised good to me,
his word my hope secures;
he will my shield and portion be
as long as life endures.
Doxology – spoken together
Praise God, the Source of life and birth;
Praise God, the Word, who came to earth;
Praise God, the Spirit, holy flame;
All glory, honour, to God’s name.
Prayer of Dedication for the Offering
Prayers for the World
Benediction
Threefold Amen
Closing Voluntary – Cantate Domino. Giuseppe Pitoni (1657-1743).
INTIMATIONS
Sunday Services – We are pleased to welcome Rev Ron Smith, retired minister from Leith St Andrew’s church, to lead our service this morning.
Ron will be back with us next Sunday, 31 October, when we will celebrate the sacrament of Holy Communion.
Opening the Church – The church building and garden are open to all on Friday mornings between 10 am and 12 noon.
The Food Bank is running low on carrier bags; anyone who has an excess could they please donate to the Food Bank
COP26 Life and Work Special Supplement – Life and Work has produced a FREE four-page COP26 Special Supplement available now to all interested at https://www.lifeandwork.org/resources/cop26-special-supplement.
There is a Climate Change Art Exhibition entitled Our Precious and Precarious World at St Cuthbert’s church (Lothian Road at the West end) this week from 26 to 30 October between 12 noon and 5pm.
National Giving Day – Thank you to everyone who has donated to this appeal for church funds. If you would still like to donate, you can do so up till the end of October, indicating ‘Giving Day’ on the envelope or bank transfer.
Prayer for this Sunday evening – Visit the Church of Scotland website to hear the prayer
Call to prayer continues in response to the pandemic | The Church of Scotland
“Today, there are many voices crying out to be heard. The voices are of those who suffer and who are broken, and of those who are isolated and alone. These voices are intermingled with many others that cry out, whether for good or ill, and seek to be heard. Truly, there are many voices crying out to be heard.
“The Gospel of Mark records an occasion when Jesus heard a particular voice crying out to be heard. The voice was that of Bartimaeus who was determined to be heard even in the face of the crowd. The voice of Bartimaeus was raised in spite of the rebuke of those who told him to be quiet. As he is told to be quiet, he shouts all the more: “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
“Jesus hears his voice and calls him into His presence: “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus hears his voice and responds to the depth of his need: “Go… your faith has healed you.” (Mark 10: 46-52)
“From the depths of the crowd, Jesus hears our cry and wills to answer and to bring healing.”
We pray:
Lord, hear us,
Graciously hear us,
As we turn to You and cry for mercy:
Hear our voice today,
Even from the depths of the crowd,
And answer our cry.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Lord, hear us,
Graciously hear us,
As we turn to You and cry for mercy:
Hear the voice of those who suffer,
Even in their brokenness,
And answer their cry.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Lord, hear us,
Graciously hear us,
As we turn to You and cry for mercy:
Hear the voice of the lonely,
Even from their place of isolation,
And draw them into the community of Your people.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Lord, hear us,
Graciously hear us,
As we turn to You and cry for mercy:
Hear our voice today,
Even as You heard the cry of Bartimaeus,
And inspire in us faith and bring to us healing.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
