Sunday,  October 13, 2024
Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost 
Mark 10:17-31 | "Eye of the Needle"

Call to Worship (Inspired by Psalm 90)
One: Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, O God, so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
Many: The Holy One meets us in the stillness of our thoughts, in the joy of our laughter, in the spontaneity of our encounters, in the hope of our presence.
One: Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, O God, so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
Many:The Creator sustains us with mercy, reassures us with compassion, and challenges us with grace. 
One: Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, O God, so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
Many: Let us worship our Maker in spirit and in truth, through pain and despair, with the fullness of our being. .

Invocation
Everlasting God, we come before you with questions, and you question us in return. We declare that you are good, and you have declared us good. May we acknowledge that you make all things new, you redeem our days, and you empower us to be your people. In your presence, there is joy, and there is struggle. Peace surpasses understanding, and our hearts break. This defines the fullness of human community and experience in companionship with you. We give thanks for your presence and trust that you continue to transform the impossible into the possible. Make it so in us and through us in your precious name. Amen.

Prayer for Transformation and New Life
Just God, we confess our attachment to things of this world, to our possessions, and to objects of status. We acknowledge the pride we take in doing good things that require little of us while turning away from the needed thing that challenges our wants and desires. Make us repairers of brokenness and restorers of lost. Help us to discern that life in full pursuit of your kindom is rich, full, and freeing. Even as you test us, help us meet the moment with abounding love and abiding faith. Amen.

Words of Grace
Dear One, God is with you. Hear these words of assurance from 1 Corinthians 10:13, “No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful and will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing God will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.” 

Invitation to Generosity
Generosity is a spiritual gift that may be cultivated, grown, and nurtured. Let us plant seeds today with our gifts that will bloom and provide a harvest beyond our expectation or imagination.  

Prayer of Thanksgiving and Dedication
Gracious God, may the gifts we bring be magnified and do miracles in our community. Use them for restoration and hope as your kindom is demonstrated before us all. Amen.

Benediction 
Be strengthened in God’s love.
Be held in God’s goodness.
Be enriched in God’s generosity.
Do the hard thing by the power of the Spirit.
Love our neighbors with the love of Jesus Christ. 
And, repair and restore the Holy One’s good creation. Amen.

Eye of the Needle: Service Prayers for the Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost Year B was written by the Rev. Dr. Cheryl A. Lindsay who serves as Minister for Worship and Theology for the United Church of Christ.