Minister: Rev. Rob Mackenzie
Organist: Iain Mackinnon
Opening Voluntary
Prelude in B Flat. Ambroise Thomas (1811-1896)
Welcome and Intimations
Call to Worship – (from PsaIm 104)
Bless the Lord, O my soul.
O Lord my God, you are very great.
You are clothed with honour and majesty,
wrapped in light as with a garment.
O Lord, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom you have made them all.
Hymn 336 Christ is our light!
1 Christ is our light! the bright and morning star
covering with radiance all from near and far.
Christ be our light, shine on, shine on we pray
into our hearts, into our world today.
2 Christ is our love! baptized that we may know
the love of God among us, swooping low.
Christ be our love, bring us to turn our face
and see in you the light of heaven’s embrace.
3 Christ is our joy! transforming wedding guest!
Through water turned to wine the feast was blessed.
Christ be our joy; your glory let us see,
as your disciples did in Galilee.
Prayer of Approach ending with the Lord’s Prayer
First Thought
Hymn 374 From heaven you came, helpless babe
1 From heaven you came helpless babe,
entered our world, your glory veiled;
not to be served but to serve,
and give your life that we might live.
This is our God, The Servant King,
he calls us now to follow him,
to bring our lives as a daily offering
of worship to the Servant King.
2 There in the garden of tears,
my heavy load he chose to bear;
his heart with sorrow was torn,
‘Yet not my will but yours,’ he said.
3 Come see his hands and his feet,
the scars that speak of sacrifice,
hands that flung stars into space
to cruel nails surrendered.
4 So let us learn how to serve,
and in our lives enthrone him;
each other’s needs to prefer,
for it is Christ we’re serving.
Scriptures: Mark 10: 35-45 – Reader, Margot Hudson
The request of James and John
35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. ‘Teacher,’ they said, ‘we want you to do for us whatever we ask.’
36 ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ he asked.
37 They replied, ‘Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.’
38 ‘You don’t know what you are asking,’ Jesus said. ‘Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptised with the baptism I am baptised with?’
39 ‘We can,’ they answered.
Jesus said to them, ‘You will drink the cup I drink and be baptised with the baptism I am baptised with, 40 but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.’
41 When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. 42 Jesus called them together and said, ‘You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’
Sermon
Hymn 502 Take my life, Lord, let it be
1 Take my life, Lord, let it be
consecrated, glad, and free;
take my moments and my days,
let them flow in ceaseless praise.
2 Take my hands, and let them move
at the impulse of your love;
take my feet, that I may run
bearing news of Christ your Son.
3 Take my voice, and let me sing
always, only, for my King;
take my intellect and use
every power as you shall choose.
4 Take my will – your will be done,
may my will and yours be one;
take my heart – it is your own,
it shall be your royal throne.
5 Take my love – my Lord, I pour
at your feet its treasure-store;
take myself, and I will be
all for you, eternally.
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.
(words from Hymn 809)
Prayer of Dedication for the Offering
Prayers for the World
Hymn 533 Will you come and follow me
1 Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?
Will you go where you don’t know
and never be the same?
Will you let my love be shown, will you let my name be known,
will you let my life be grown
in you and you in me?
2 Will you leave yourself behind if I but call your name?
Will you care for cruel and kind and never be the same?
Will you risk the hostile stare should your life attract or scare?
Will you let me answer prayer
in you and you in me?
3 Will you let the blinded see
if I but call your name?
Will you set the prisoners free and never be the same?
Will you kiss the leper clean, and do such as this unseen,
and admit to what I mean
in you and you in me?
4 Will you love the ‘you’ you hide
if I but call your name?
Will you quell the fear inside and never be the same?
Will you use the faith you’ve found
to reshape the world around,
through my sight and touch and sound
in you and you in me?
5 Lord, your summons echoes true
when you but call my name.
Let me turn and follow you
and never be the same.
In your company I’ll go
where your love and footsteps show.
Thus I’ll move and live and grow in you and you in me.
Benediction
Threefold Amen
Closing Voluntary – Credo. Joseph Haydn (1732-1809).
INTIMATIONS
Sunday Services – We are pleased to welcome Rev Rob Mackenzie from Leith St Andrew’s church to lead our service this morning.
Next Sunday, 24 October, the service will be led by Rev Ron Smith from Leith St Andrew’s.
We will celebrate the sacrament of Holy Communion on Sunday 31 October.
The Moderator of the General Assembly, Lord Wallace, is visiting Edinburgh Presbytery this month. A special service welcoming him to Leith will take place this evening, 17 October, at 7pm in South Leith church. A warm invitation is open to all the Leith congregations.
For those who are not able to attend, the service will be streamed live and also available later on the South Leith church website.
Church Magazine – The latest magazine is available for distributors (and others) to pick up today. It will also be available on our website.
Opening the Church – The church building and garden are open to all on Friday mornings between 10 am and 12 noon. If you are able to help with the rota for this please speak to Tim Bell.
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
Christians join in prayer in response to the Covid-19 pandemic | The Church of Scotland
“The faith we share affirms that it was ‘for us’ that Jesus Christ ‘became truly human’. So, in faith, when we turn to God and pray through Jesus Christ, we do so knowing that the One who brings us into the presence of God has shared fully in the life we live.
“The life we live today is shaped by particular circumstances that weigh upon us collectively and personally. In the midst of life, we find opportunity and challenge, and we seek to discern the hand of God throughout it all. In the midst of life, we recall that Jesus has shared in our flesh and participated in the life of the world.
“The Letter to the Hebrews records: ‘In the days of His flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears’. (Hebrews 5: 7) In so recording, the Letter affirms that the One who brings us into the presence of God has shared fully in the depths of human experience.
“There is no place in our experience at which God cannot meet us. As we cry out to God, the One who hears us is the One who has heard the cries of Jesus Christ.”
We pray:
God and Father
Of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Hear the prayer we offer
In the name of the One who prays for us
And who has shared in the life of the world.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
God and Father
Of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Hear the prayer we offer
From the depths of our experience
And in the midst of the challenges of our day.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
God and Father
Of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Hear the prayer we offer
In the name of the One who prayed to You with cries and tears
And hear us when we do so also.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
God and Father
Of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Hear the prayer we offer
As we share in the life of the world
And in the depths of its suffering.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
God and Father
Of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Hear the prayer we offer
In the name of the One who for us and for our salvation
Has become truly human and one with us.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
