The flowers in the Sanctuary today are to the Glory of God and in loving memory of dear mother and father Don and Doris Cavanagh given by the family.
*Canadian church calendars. Beautiful informative great quality Talk to Barb. A few still available. $8
*Draws. Cookie draw, $5, 5 for 20$. Handmade Afghan by Heather Jamieson. $2 or 3 for $5. Also thanks to Millard George we have hockey tickets $2 or 3 for $5. Ask Barb.
*Our food cupboard. Butch 519-615-9106.
*Penny Social Thank You.
*All Saints Nov. 3. New list of names by Barb at church .
*Calendar/Planning meeting Nov. 5 at 1:00 p.m.
*Remembrance at our Cenotaph. Mon. November 11 10:30
*Cookie Tin Assembly. Sat. Dec. 7. Donations of Cookies before 10 a.m. please. Fresh not Frozen / non gooey, non mint squares/cookies needed. Tickets available. 5 for $20 or $5 each.
*Mint smoothies Sandra $3
*Veggie pies only a few left. 5$ for a great meal
*Christmas Card program. Save Money and help the church.
*Christmas Star Bazaar. Saturday November 16. 9:30 to 12:30 Donations of new items needed. Baking. Grocery Draw. Grocery donations for draw. Suggested price for your baking?
*White Gift and Toonie lunch. Sun Dec. 1. Food donations, gift cards, etc. Proceeds to our food outreach. Soup & Buns.
*There are three ways to support our church. Volunteering at events. Generosity. Prayer. Our church is a team
*Cancelled stamps. Gloria Thompson.
*If you wish, our regular weekly donations or special donations may be sent to our Envelope Secretary:
Eternal One, whose thoughts and ways are not ours,
you alone are God, awesome, holy, and most high.
School us in the ways of faith and wisdom,
that we, like Job,
may learn to truly see and hear,
and in humility find blessing. Amen.
Reading Mark 10:35-45
Warnings to ambitious disciples
10:35James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.”
10:36And he said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?”
10:37And they said to him, “Appoint us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.”
10:38But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”
10:39They replied, “We are able.” Then Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink and with the baptism with which I am baptized you will be baptized,
10:40but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to appoint, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”
10:41When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John.
10:42So Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that among the gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them.
10:43But it is not so among you; instead, whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant,
10:44and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all.
10:45For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many.”
Sermon
Mark 10:35-45
During the American Revolution a man in civilian clothes rode past a group of soldiers repairing a small defensive barrier.
Their leader was shouting instructions, but making no attempt to help them.
Asked why by the rider, he retorted with great dignity, “Sir, I am a corporal!”
The stranger apologized, dismounted, and proceeded to help the exhausted soldiers.
The job done, he turned to the corporal and said, “Corporal, next time you have a job like this and not enough men to do it, go to your commander-in-chief, and I will come and help you again.”
With that George Washington got back on horse and rode off.
Where did Washington learn such leadership skills?
I have no doubt he learned them in these words of Jesus:
Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.
The young corporal had these words modeled to him from the man at the top.
The disciples, likewise, receive from their leader a picture of servant hood.
====
It is now five days before Jesus’ crucifixion.
If the Disciples are going to start adopting Jesus’ teachings
in their life it ought to be now.
But it doesn’t happen.
Moments before the most crucial events in their life
they are a bickering, petty, bad-tempered quarrelsome lot.
We need to learn from this
not-so-flattering moment
in the life of the disciples.
How is it that critical moments can be so close at hand
and they are wondering what’s in this for me?
I
The disciples wanted position.
As you read the Gospels
you come across numerous occasions
when the disciples misunderstand Jesus’ teachings,
when their actions are inappropriate,
when they jump to conclusions that are way off mark.
Here is a unique situation,
something a little different than their usual blunders.
Within their own ranks they are jockeying for position.
Here’s what happened.
It is the last week of Jesus’ life.
James and John,
two brothers born to a man named Zebedee,
sense their opportunity to claim leadership positions.
Calling his disciples together Jesus tells his disciples,
“You know those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles
lord it over them,
and their high officials exercise authority over them.
Not so with you.” Jesus says.
The kingdom of God will have no hierarchy.
Don’t fight to be leader of all;
fight for the least position of all.
Be a servant.
II
James and John want status.
“Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left
when you come into your glory”
is the request of James and John.
They want a piece of the action.
They assumed,
that there would be great glory and honor
given on the disciples
when they rode in military victory over the Romans.
How, you might ask,
did they think that little Israel could conquer the Empire of Rome?
One need only be reminded of David and Goliath.
There are plenty of examples of God’s people
overcoming impossible odds.
But glory would not come through battle this time.
Looking at James and John he said,
“You do not know what you are asking.
It is not my right to grant you these seats.
These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”
They have turn upside down everything.
James and John thought the positions
on Jesus’ right and left were earthly positions of power.
They were not.
Just exactly what Jesus means by these two positions is uncertain.
Perhaps he means the left and right side of his cross
where the two criminals were crucified.
Or, perhaps he means Moses and Elijah
who stood with him on the mount of Transfiguration.
Still yet he might mean the positions
beside him in heaven.
It is not clear.
The one thing that is clear
is that James and John have misunderstood
what lies ahead of them.
Prestige is not coming to the disciples.
III
James and John wanted power.
Notice that the other ten disciples
became indignant
when they heard what James and John were up to.
It was a power play,
a strategic maneuver,
and the other disciples resented it.
We are drawn to power, to wield it over another.
Jesus shows them that real power resides
in humble acts of service.
Jesus calls the disciples around him:
“Whoever wants to become great among you” he said,
“ must be your servant,
and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.
For even the son of man did not come to be served,
but to serve,
There is a story about the three trees?
The trees were talking in the forest one day
about their dreams for the future.
The first tree said it would like to be made into a cradle,
so that it might go on living
as a support for the fragile life of a tiny new baby.
The second tree wanted to be made into a big ship,
so that it might go on living,
carrying important cargo and influential people
to exotic new lands.
The third tree longed to stay right where it was,
existing only as a tree,
but growing ever taller,
and pointing ever higher,
to remind everyone that there is a God in heaven
who loves them.
Those were their dreams:
One wanted to be a cradle,
one wanted to be a mighty ship,
and one wanted to be a tall tree,
pointing people toward God.
But then one day the woodcutters came
and chopped down the three trees…
and destroyed their dreams.
The first tree was not made into a cradle,
but into a simple feeding trough,
a manger for animals.
But the manger was sold to a family in Bethlehem,
and on the night Jesus was born,
that simple feed box became the cradle for the Christ Child.
The second tree was built into a boat,
but not the kind it had dreamed of—
not a mighty ocean-going vessel—
but a tiny inexpensive fishing boat.
A man named Simon Peter bought the boat,
and on one warm afternoon when the crowds pressed in,
Jesus himself climbed aboard that small fishing boat
that he might preach good news to the multitudes.
The third tree also was deprived of its dream.
It wanted to remain standing tall
and pointing toward God.
Instead, it was cut down and shaped into a cross.
But it was on that very cross that Jesus was crucified,
a powerful reminder of God’s eternal love for all the people.
The three trees were humbled,
but in the plan of God,
they were exalted.
That’s the way it works:
When we,
in humility,
give ourselves to God,
our Lord can do great things through us and for us—
greater than we can ever imagine.
Hymn: All Glory Laud and Honour
All glory, laud, and honor
to you, Redeemer, King,
to whom the lips of children
made sweet hosannas ring.
You are the King of Israel
and David’s royal Son,
now in the Lord’s name coming,
the King and Blessed One.
The company of angels
is praising you on high;
and we with all creation
in chorus make reply.
The people of the Hebrews
with palms before you went;
our praise and prayer and anthems
before you we present.
To you before your passion
they sang their hymns of praise;
to you, now high exalted,
our melody we raise.
As you received their praises,
accept the prayers we bring,
for you delight in goodness,
O good and gracious King!
The Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God,
the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again
to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
Prayers:
Creator God,
you call us to love and serve you
with body, mind, and spirit
through loving your creation
and our sisters and brothers.
Open our hearts in compassion
and receive these petitions
on behalf of the needs of the church and the world.
.Prayers: Barry and Linda B; (Church);Debbie R. (Mary Liz)Jamie;Jackie M (Gloria); Paul; Suzanne; Peter (Ron and Jan);Kenny; Jim T.; Norma A,;Dave F.; Peter T.; Dan B.;. (Garfield & Diane Mike J.; Scott H.; Lisa (Keeling), Roger & Maxine M.; Wendy;Eric P,; Beverley P.;,Sarah-Jane P.; Linda H.; Jacquie and Cam .; Janice & Darrin R; .(Suzie D.)
Holy One,
hear our prayers and make us faithful stewards
of the fragile bounty of this earth
so that we may be entrusted with the riches of heaven. Amen
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.
Glory to God,
whose power, working in us,
can do infinitely more
than we can ask or imagine.
Glory to God from generation to generation,
in the Church and in Christ Jesus,
for ever and ever. Amen.
Prayer based on Scripture:
Creator God,
you are wrapped in light as a garment,
clothed with honor and majesty.
Enlighten us with true faith and humble obedience
that seeks to serve others in your name. Amen.
Blessing from the Book of Common Prayer:
The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, be amongst you, and remain with you always. Amen.
Our Parting Blessing Song:
May God’s blessing surround you each day
As you trust Him and walk in His way
May His presence within guard and keep you from sin,
