Monday, May 28, 2012
1 John 5:1–6
Hi, it's been a while since my last post but here's one on how the law of God is given to us as an act of love. It's got me thinking about the relationship between law and liberty. Would complete freedom from laws be a liberation or would we be trapped in another kind of prison? If I had no parameters in which to live my life, would I feel completely free of adrift without anchor? Hmmm, maybe a sermon for the future.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Friday, April 6, 2012
Good Friday
The reading for this reflection is John 18-19. I'd recommend reading it before watching As you read it, especially during the trial, who do you think holds the power? The people outside? Pilate? Jesus? If you're really ambitious, then read the trial and passion narratives from the other Gospels and note the difference in the power dynamics.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Palm Sunday
We all have times in our lives when the future isn't as assured as we'd like it to be. I imagine that for Jesus, coming to Jerusalem was on of those times. This sermon talks directly to the future of Mortlach United but maybe you can find some truth that applies to any person or community.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
A Song Of Faith
This Sunday we've done something a bit different. We had a "coffee house" service with readings, hymns, brief reflections, and time for discussion rather than a sermon. Therefore, there is no video for this week. Below though is the full liturgy of the service for you to read, use, or glean ideas if you too are discussing the Song Of Faith.
Mortlach United Church
Third Sunday in Lent March 11th, 2012
Worship Leaders: Jim Tenford Ministers: All of us
Jim’s phone #630-5679(cel) 692-0563 (home)
e-mail: jtenford@sasktel.net
website: http://mortlachunitedchurch.blogspot.com/
We are a community that comes together as a worshiping family, and strives to live out the Christian mission of hospitality, justice and love for all.
Words of Welcome
Call To Worship & Opening Prayer
One: May the love of God be with you all.
All: And also with you
One: We offer worship
All: as an outpouring of gratitude and awe
and a practice of opening ourselves
to God’s still, small voice of comfort,
to God’s rushing whirlwind of challenge.
One: Through word, music, art, and sacrament,
All: in community and in solitude,
God changes our lives, our relationships, and our world.
One: Let us pray:
All: Gracious and holy God, we come today as a community of faith, gathered as your people to hear your wisdom and seek direction for our future. We wish to thankfully take our place in the dance of creation. You have supplied the music, and now we, with your guidance, need to find the steps. Be with us as we worship and listen for your song, as as we do, sing your song to the world. We offer the prayer that Jesus taught, Our Father...
Hymn #30 (M.V.) It’s A Song Of Praise To The Maker
________________________________________________________________
We believe in God
Scripture 1 John 4:16-21
From Song of Faith
God is Holy Mystery,
beyond complete knowledge,
above perfect description.
Yet,
in love,
the one eternal God seeks relationship.
So God creates the universe
and with it the possibility of being and relating.
God tends the universe,
mending the broken and reconciling the estranged.
God enlivens the universe,
guiding all things toward harmony with their Source.
Grateful for God’s loving action,
We cannot keep from singing.
Questions: Does the SOF’s image of God feel familiar or new? How has your idea of God changed?
Hymn #126 (MV) Are You A Shepherd
___________________________________________________________
We trust in Jesus
Scripture Luke 7:18-23
From Song of Faith
We sing of Jesus,
a Jew,
born to a woman in poverty
in a time of social upheaval
and political oppression.
He knew human joy and sorrow.
So filled with the Holy Spirit was he
that in him people experienced the presence of God among them.
We sing praise to God incarnate.
Jesus announced the coming of God’s reign—
a commonwealth not of domination
but of peace, justice, and reconciliation.
He healed the sick and fed the hungry.
He forgave sins and freed those held captive
by all manner of demonic powers.
He crossed barriers of race, class, culture, and gender.
He preached and practiced unconditional love—
love of God, love of neighbour,
love of friend, love of enemy—
and he commanded his followers to love one another
as he had loved them.
Because his witness to love was threatening,
those exercising power sought to silence Jesus.
He suffered abandonment and betrayal,
state-sanctioned torture and execution.
He was crucified.
But death was not the last word.
God raised Jesus from death,
turning sorrow into joy,
despair into hope.
We sing of Jesus raised from the dead.
We sing hallelujah.
Questions: What aspect of the story of Jesus holds particular importance for you? Birth, death, resurrection, teachings? Does the SOF reflect this?
Hymn #195 (MV) Long Ago And Far Away
_____________________________________________________
We learn from scripture
Scripture John 21: 24-25
From Song of Faith
Scripture is our song for the journey, the living word
passed on from generation to generation
to guide and inspire,
that we might wrestle a holy revelation for our time and place
from the human experiences
and cultural assumptions of another era.
God calls us to be doers of the word and not hearers only.
The Spirit breathes revelatory power into scripture,
bestowing upon it a unique and normative place
in the life of the community.
The Spirit judges us critically when we abuse scripture
by interpreting it narrow-mindedly,
using it as a tool of oppression, exclusion, or hatred.
The wholeness of scripture testifies
to the oneness and faithfulness of God.
The multiplicity of scripture testifies to its depth:
two testaments, four gospels,
contrasting points of view held in tension—
all a faithful witness to the One and Triune God,
the Holy Mystery that is Wholly Love.
Questions: How do use scripture in your life? Do you see it as a reliable guide? Do the words from SOF speak to you?
Hymn #12 (MV) Come Touch Our Hearts
_______________________________________________________
We are called to be the church
Scripture John 21:15-19
From Song of Faith
We sing of a church
seeking to continue the story of Jesus
by embodying Christ’s presence in the world.
We are called together by Christ
as a community of broken but hopeful believers,
loving what he loved,
living what he taught,
striving to be faithful servants of God
in our time and place.
Our ancestors in faith
bequeath to us experiences of their faithful living;
upon their lives our lives are built.
Our living of the gospel makes us a part of this communion of saints,
experiencing the fulfillment of God’s reign
even as we actively anticipate a new heaven and a new earth.
The church has not always lived up to its vision.
It requires the Spirit to reorient it,
helping it to live an emerging faith while honouring tradition,
challenging it to live by grace rather than entitlement,
for we are called to be a blessing to the earth.
We sing of God’s good news lived out,
a church with purpose:
faith nurtured and hearts comforted,
gifts shared for the good of all,
resistance to the forces that exploit and marginalize,
fierce love in the face of violence,
human dignity defended,
members of a community held and inspired by God,
corrected and comforted,
instrument of the loving Spirit of Christ,
creation’s mending.
We sing of God’s mission.
Prayers for ourselves and the world
Creating and sustaining God, we gather together for an impossible task. We gather to put into words what we believe, what you mean to us, and how we are to live out that belief as individuals and as a church. We give you thanks for all that you have provided and will continue to provide. We join in the praises that have rung out over the eons from your children. When we look at the wonders of your creation, at the life of Jesus made known through scripture and through the work and love of neighbour, how can we keep from singing?
Comforting God, many of your children live lives that are less than what most would see as blessed. Aspects of life that many take for granted, food, clean water, education, love, and safety are missing from the lives of countless millions. When we see this pain, how can we keep from weeping? We pray that you will be a comfort to those who are lacking the basics of life and we pray that you inspire us to be instruments of transformation in the world
Redeeming God, you have created a world out of love and holiness yet so often we choose to seek out ugliness and pain rather than love and beauty. Often, we turn to gods of our own making, gods that we can make fit our own selfish desires. When we see the needless pain that is brought upon ourselves, how can we keep from screaming. We pray for your forgiveness and patience as we turn back to face you, our one holy, true God.
We offer the silent and spoken prayers of our hearts...
Gracious God, we offer all of our prayers, hopes, dreams, and all that we are. We pray with faith that you hear us, and in love and wisdom, answer. When given the opportunity to come before you, how can we keep from praising. Amen.
Offering
Offering Hymn VU#191
What can I do? What can I bring?
What can I say? What can I sing?
I’ll sing with Joy. I’ll say a prayer.
I’ll bring my love. I’ll do my share.
Voting on our statements of faith
Hymn #145 (MV) Draw The Circle Wide
Benediction
Grateful for God’s loving action,
we cannot keep from singing.
Creating and seeking relationship,
in awe and trust,
we witness to Holy Mystery who is Wholly Love.
Amen.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
A new Creed
Today we continue our look at the statements of faith withing the United Church of Canada. This time it's A New Creed. As in past weeks, if any of this material is useful to you, feel free to use whatever you wish. Next week we'll be looking at our most contemporary statement and so we'll be having a service in a very contemporary style. I'm not sure what video there will be to post, but I'll upload some material that may be useful to others.
Mortlach United Church
Third Sunday in Lent March 11th, 2012
Worship Leaders: Jim Tenford Ministers: All of us
Jim’s phone #630-5679(cel) 692-0563 (home)
e-mail: jtenford@sasktel.net
website: http://mortlachunitedchurch.blogspot.com/
We are a community that comes together as a worshiping family, and strives to live out the Christian mission of hospitality, justice and love for all.
Words of Welcome
Call To Worship & Opening Prayer
One: May the love of God be with you all.
All: And also with you
One: We are not alone, we live in God’s world:
All: God is here with us, now and forever.
One: We are not alone, we live in God’s world:
All: God is here, through us and around us, existing at the farthest reaches of the universe, yet closer that we can imagine.
One: We are not alone, we live in God’s world.
All: We have been given the gift of a place. A place amongst all the other miracles of God’s creative power.
One: Let us pray:
All: Holy Spirit, we are a community on a journey. We as the United Church have been gathering for 92 years and this congregation for more than 100. After all this time though, we gather together with the humility of a newborn. We ask that you be with us as we worship, and seek the next stage of this journey. We take on the impossible task of putting into words what you mean to us, but as seen with your son Jesus, the impossible is exactly what we should expect. We share in the prayer that Jesus taught: Our Father...
Hymn #352 I Danced In The Morning
Prayer of Confession and Words of Assurance
One: Gracious God, you have called us to be the church:
To celebrate God’s presence
All: Sometimes though, we choose other gods, the ones with more immediate gratification, the ones that allow us to worship ourselves.
One: To live with respect in creation;
All: Sometimes though, we have taken stewardship to mean plunder, leaving nothing for neighbour or our children.
One: To love and serve others;
All: Sometimes though, the others are unseen. It’s often easier to serve ourselves, believing that the needs of others have nothing to do with us.
One: To seek justice and resist evil;
All: Sometimes though, the easier path is to turn away; telling ourselves that this is just the way it is.
One: To proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen;
All: Sometimes though, it is hard to proclaim to others what we find hard to accept ourselves.
Time of silence…
One: Even when it is hard to remember we live with the promise of new life, not just something to hope for after we literally die, but also after we die to the past in favour of a new life that can start today.
All: We will look to new life with excitement, we will find brother and sister who have lost their way, we will walk this path more lightly, and we will rejoice in God’s presence. Amen
Time with God’s Children
Hymn #701 What Does The Lord Require Of You
We hear the stories of our faith
Scripture Readings
Hebrew Scripture: Proverbs 2: 1-12
King Solomon’s advice for a good and holy life.
Psalm 82 (Page 799)
A prayer to God for justice.
Gospel reading: Luke 11: 37-47
Jesus instructs a pharisee on what is truly important in life.
Scripture response
One: These are our words from scripture,
All: May God bless our understanding. Amen
Hymn #684 Make Me A Channel Of Your Peace
Sermon
Hymn #691 Though Ancient Walls
We respond and add our lives to the story
Pastoral Prayer All of our prayers are worthy of being heard by God and by our community, feel free to speak your prayers when time is given.
Gracious God, we celebrate that we live in your world. Every tree, every rock, every animal, wild or human is a testament to your creative power. We give thanks for our place in this world and we pray for it’s health.
Gracious God, we celebrate that you are with us. We are not alone, and through our laughter and tears, our successes and struggles, you accompany us on the journey of our lives. We pray that we lives lives that show the world your love and presence. We pray that as you touch us with holiness, we touch others lives as well.
Gracious God, we celebrate your word made flesh in the life of Jesus. We still winder at the deeds he did, the words he spoke, and the level of self sacrifice he was willing to endure so that the message of wisdom and love would be heard by all. We pray and endeavour to live by his example and spread his message of gospel.
Gracious God, we celebrate the opportunity to resist evil and seek justice. While your creation is at it’s core holy beautiful, there is much work to be done. Too many live in fear, live in poverty, live in hunger, live without what so many others take for granted. We pray and pledge to make this a world that lives up to it’s divine heritage, where all have the opportunity to live in holeness.
Gracious God, we celebrate that you have called us to be the church. We are a communion of brothers and sisters, called to a task no less than helping to establish your kingdom on earth. We pray and pledge that we live up to the tasks we are called to do. We pray that when people come to know us, they also feel that they have come to know you.
We offer all the silent and spoken prayers of our hearts...
Gracious God, we offer these prayers as a celebration. We celebrate that you hear us and in your wisdom answer. We celebrate that we, this family of faith, can come together, different lives and different voices, to praise you and pray to you. Amen.
Minute For Mission
Offering
Offering Hymn VU#191
What can I do? What can I bring?
What can I say? What can I sing?
I’ll sing with Joy. I’ll say a prayer.
I’ll bring my love. I’ll do my share.
Announcements
Hymn #644 I Was There To Hear Your Borning Cry
Benediction and Choral Amen
Go into the world with the faith that in life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us. We are not alone. Amen
Mortlach United Church
Third Sunday in Lent March 11th, 2012
Worship Leaders: Jim Tenford Ministers: All of us
Jim’s phone #630-5679(cel) 692-0563 (home)
e-mail: jtenford@sasktel.net
website: http://mortlachunitedchurch.blogspot.com/
We are a community that comes together as a worshiping family, and strives to live out the Christian mission of hospitality, justice and love for all.
Words of Welcome
Call To Worship & Opening Prayer
One: May the love of God be with you all.
All: And also with you
One: We are not alone, we live in God’s world:
All: God is here with us, now and forever.
One: We are not alone, we live in God’s world:
All: God is here, through us and around us, existing at the farthest reaches of the universe, yet closer that we can imagine.
One: We are not alone, we live in God’s world.
All: We have been given the gift of a place. A place amongst all the other miracles of God’s creative power.
One: Let us pray:
All: Holy Spirit, we are a community on a journey. We as the United Church have been gathering for 92 years and this congregation for more than 100. After all this time though, we gather together with the humility of a newborn. We ask that you be with us as we worship, and seek the next stage of this journey. We take on the impossible task of putting into words what you mean to us, but as seen with your son Jesus, the impossible is exactly what we should expect. We share in the prayer that Jesus taught: Our Father...
Hymn #352 I Danced In The Morning
Prayer of Confession and Words of Assurance
One: Gracious God, you have called us to be the church:
To celebrate God’s presence
All: Sometimes though, we choose other gods, the ones with more immediate gratification, the ones that allow us to worship ourselves.
One: To live with respect in creation;
All: Sometimes though, we have taken stewardship to mean plunder, leaving nothing for neighbour or our children.
One: To love and serve others;
All: Sometimes though, the others are unseen. It’s often easier to serve ourselves, believing that the needs of others have nothing to do with us.
One: To seek justice and resist evil;
All: Sometimes though, the easier path is to turn away; telling ourselves that this is just the way it is.
One: To proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen;
All: Sometimes though, it is hard to proclaim to others what we find hard to accept ourselves.
Time of silence…
One: Even when it is hard to remember we live with the promise of new life, not just something to hope for after we literally die, but also after we die to the past in favour of a new life that can start today.
All: We will look to new life with excitement, we will find brother and sister who have lost their way, we will walk this path more lightly, and we will rejoice in God’s presence. Amen
Time with God’s Children
Hymn #701 What Does The Lord Require Of You
We hear the stories of our faith
Scripture Readings
Hebrew Scripture: Proverbs 2: 1-12
King Solomon’s advice for a good and holy life.
Psalm 82 (Page 799)
A prayer to God for justice.
Gospel reading: Luke 11: 37-47
Jesus instructs a pharisee on what is truly important in life.
Scripture response
One: These are our words from scripture,
All: May God bless our understanding. Amen
Hymn #684 Make Me A Channel Of Your Peace
Sermon
Hymn #691 Though Ancient Walls
We respond and add our lives to the story
Pastoral Prayer All of our prayers are worthy of being heard by God and by our community, feel free to speak your prayers when time is given.
Gracious God, we celebrate that we live in your world. Every tree, every rock, every animal, wild or human is a testament to your creative power. We give thanks for our place in this world and we pray for it’s health.
Gracious God, we celebrate that you are with us. We are not alone, and through our laughter and tears, our successes and struggles, you accompany us on the journey of our lives. We pray that we lives lives that show the world your love and presence. We pray that as you touch us with holiness, we touch others lives as well.
Gracious God, we celebrate your word made flesh in the life of Jesus. We still winder at the deeds he did, the words he spoke, and the level of self sacrifice he was willing to endure so that the message of wisdom and love would be heard by all. We pray and endeavour to live by his example and spread his message of gospel.
Gracious God, we celebrate the opportunity to resist evil and seek justice. While your creation is at it’s core holy beautiful, there is much work to be done. Too many live in fear, live in poverty, live in hunger, live without what so many others take for granted. We pray and pledge to make this a world that lives up to it’s divine heritage, where all have the opportunity to live in holeness.
Gracious God, we celebrate that you have called us to be the church. We are a communion of brothers and sisters, called to a task no less than helping to establish your kingdom on earth. We pray and pledge that we live up to the tasks we are called to do. We pray that when people come to know us, they also feel that they have come to know you.
We offer all the silent and spoken prayers of our hearts...
Gracious God, we offer these prayers as a celebration. We celebrate that you hear us and in your wisdom answer. We celebrate that we, this family of faith, can come together, different lives and different voices, to praise you and pray to you. Amen.
Minute For Mission
Offering
Offering Hymn VU#191
What can I do? What can I bring?
What can I say? What can I sing?
I’ll sing with Joy. I’ll say a prayer.
I’ll bring my love. I’ll do my share.
Announcements
Hymn #644 I Was There To Hear Your Borning Cry
Benediction and Choral Amen
Go into the world with the faith that in life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us. We are not alone. Amen
Sunday, March 4, 2012
1940 Statement of Faith
This post is a bit different. Below is the beginning of the sermon where I talk about the readings and introduce the 1940 Statement of Faith. After this, we had some discussion time about this statement and the difference between this and the 20 Articles of Faith. Again, if you'd like to use this as a resource for your own congregation as you get ready for "Remit 6" use whatever you like with Mortlach United Church's blessing. Next week we'll be looking at "A New Creed" and I'll be so happy to get back to inclusive language!
Mortlach United Church
Second Sunday in Lent March 5th, 2012
Worship Leaders: Jim Tenford Ministers: All of us
Jim’s phone #630-5679(cell) 692-0563 (home)
e-mail: jtenford@sasktel.net
website: http://mortlachunitedchurch.blogspot.com/
We are a community that comes together as a worshiping family, and strives to live out the Christian mission of hospitality, justice and love for all.
Words of Welcome
Call To Worship & Opening Prayer
Adapted from 1940 Statement of Faith I:God
One: May the love of God be with you all.
All: And also with you
One: We believe in God, the eternal personal Spirit, Creator and Upholder of all things.
All: We believe that God, as sovereign Lord exalted above the world, orders and overrules all things in it to the accomplishment of His holy, wise, and good purposes.
One: We believe that God made man to love and serve Him;
All: that He cares for him as a righteous and compassionate Father; and that nothing can either quench His love or finally defeat His gracious purpose for man.
One: So we acknowledge God as Creator, Upholder, and Sovereign Lord of all things,
All: and the righteous and loving Father of men.
One: Let us pray:
(from 1940 Statement of Faith VII The Church)
All: Gracious God, We believe that all members of the Church are one in you, and that the life of the Church in every age is continuous with that of the first apostolic company. You call us to share in the life of the whole Church, of all ages and of all lands, entering freely into the full heritage of thought, worship, and discipline, and living together in mutual confidence. Amen
Hymn #315 Holy, Holy, Holy
Prayer of Confession and Words of Assurance
From 1940 Statement of Faith V: Man and Man’s Sin
Holy Spirit, we believe that you gave to us, as you did not to the lower creatures, capacity to share your thought and purpose, and freedom to choose whether we would or would not love and serve you.
We believe that we have used this freedom of choice for low and selfish ends. We have estranging ourselves from you and our brother-man. We bring upon ourselves your judgment and wrath, so that we live in a world of confusion and distress, and are unable to fulfill God’s high purpose.
So we acknowledge our sin, God’s righteous judgment, and our helplessness and need.
Time of silence…
From 1940 Statement of Faith VI Redemption
One: We believe that in the greatness of His love for us, God has in Christ opened up a way of deliverance from the guilt and power of sin. We believe that Christ, by living our life without sin, by dying at the hands of sinful men with faith unshaken and unfaltering love, has done for man what man could not do for himself. On the Cross He bore the burden of sin, and He broke its power; and what He did there moves men to repentance, conveys forgiveness, undoes the estrangement, and binds them to Himself in a new loyalty.
We believe that by His resurrection and exaltation Christ stands victorious over death and all evil, and that He fills those who commit themselves to Him with such grace and strength that in Him they too are conquerors. His redemption of man is at once an awful mystery and a glorious fact; it is the Lord’s doing and marvelous in our eyes.
All: So we acknowledge the unmerited love and the mercy of our God in giving His only begotten Son that we might not perish, but have everlasting life. Amen
Time with God’s Children
Hymn #264 Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise
We hear the stories of our faith
Scripture Readings
Hebrew Scripture: Deuteronomy 20:10-20
God gives instruction to the Isrealites who are about to go to war.
Psalm 91 (Page 807) Sung responce
God is the protector who delivers us to safety.
Gospel reading: Matthew 6: 25-33
God is the God of all: birds, flowers, and us.
Scripture response
One: These are our words from scripture,
All: May God bless our understanding. Amen
Hymn #686 God Of Grace And God Of Glory
Sermon
Hymn #272 Open Your Ears, O Faithful People
We respond and add our lives to the story
Pastoral Prayer All of our prayers are worthy of being heard by God and by our community, feel free to speak your prayers when time is given.
Minute For Mission
Offering
Offering Hymn VU#191
What can I do? What can I bring?
What can I say? What can I sing?
I’ll sing with Joy. I’ll say a prayer.
I’ll bring my love. I’ll do my share.
Announcements
Hymn #693 One More Step Along The World I Go
Benediction and Choral Amen
___________________________________
Do you like chocolate? Of course! Come to the hall on 14th for our 1st annual chocolate social. More details will follow but be sure to mark this evening on your calendar.
Today we continue with out exploration of the history of the United Church’s faith. On Mach 11th, we’ll be looking at “A New Creed” and on March 18th, when we explore the latest faith statement, “ A Song Of Faith.” We’ll be worshipping in a very modern style - we’ll have a “coffee house” service where we will share refreshments and discussion while we worship God. This will be held in the church basement.
Jim will be in Mortlach on Wednesdays if anyone would like to visit in the church or in your home. Jim is usually available to come in on any other day of the week if requested.
Second Sunday in Lent March 5th, 2012
Worship Leaders: Jim Tenford Ministers: All of us
Jim’s phone #630-5679(cell) 692-0563 (home)
e-mail: jtenford@sasktel.net
website: http://mortlachunitedchurch.blogspot.com/
We are a community that comes together as a worshiping family, and strives to live out the Christian mission of hospitality, justice and love for all.
Words of Welcome
Call To Worship & Opening Prayer
Adapted from 1940 Statement of Faith I:God
One: May the love of God be with you all.
All: And also with you
One: We believe in God, the eternal personal Spirit, Creator and Upholder of all things.
All: We believe that God, as sovereign Lord exalted above the world, orders and overrules all things in it to the accomplishment of His holy, wise, and good purposes.
One: We believe that God made man to love and serve Him;
All: that He cares for him as a righteous and compassionate Father; and that nothing can either quench His love or finally defeat His gracious purpose for man.
One: So we acknowledge God as Creator, Upholder, and Sovereign Lord of all things,
All: and the righteous and loving Father of men.
One: Let us pray:
(from 1940 Statement of Faith VII The Church)
All: Gracious God, We believe that all members of the Church are one in you, and that the life of the Church in every age is continuous with that of the first apostolic company. You call us to share in the life of the whole Church, of all ages and of all lands, entering freely into the full heritage of thought, worship, and discipline, and living together in mutual confidence. Amen
Hymn #315 Holy, Holy, Holy
Prayer of Confession and Words of Assurance
From 1940 Statement of Faith V: Man and Man’s Sin
Holy Spirit, we believe that you gave to us, as you did not to the lower creatures, capacity to share your thought and purpose, and freedom to choose whether we would or would not love and serve you.
We believe that we have used this freedom of choice for low and selfish ends. We have estranging ourselves from you and our brother-man. We bring upon ourselves your judgment and wrath, so that we live in a world of confusion and distress, and are unable to fulfill God’s high purpose.
So we acknowledge our sin, God’s righteous judgment, and our helplessness and need.
Time of silence…
From 1940 Statement of Faith VI Redemption
One: We believe that in the greatness of His love for us, God has in Christ opened up a way of deliverance from the guilt and power of sin. We believe that Christ, by living our life without sin, by dying at the hands of sinful men with faith unshaken and unfaltering love, has done for man what man could not do for himself. On the Cross He bore the burden of sin, and He broke its power; and what He did there moves men to repentance, conveys forgiveness, undoes the estrangement, and binds them to Himself in a new loyalty.
We believe that by His resurrection and exaltation Christ stands victorious over death and all evil, and that He fills those who commit themselves to Him with such grace and strength that in Him they too are conquerors. His redemption of man is at once an awful mystery and a glorious fact; it is the Lord’s doing and marvelous in our eyes.
All: So we acknowledge the unmerited love and the mercy of our God in giving His only begotten Son that we might not perish, but have everlasting life. Amen
Time with God’s Children
Hymn #264 Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise
We hear the stories of our faith
Scripture Readings
Hebrew Scripture: Deuteronomy 20:10-20
God gives instruction to the Isrealites who are about to go to war.
Psalm 91 (Page 807) Sung responce
God is the protector who delivers us to safety.
Gospel reading: Matthew 6: 25-33
God is the God of all: birds, flowers, and us.
Scripture response
One: These are our words from scripture,
All: May God bless our understanding. Amen
Hymn #686 God Of Grace And God Of Glory
Sermon
Hymn #272 Open Your Ears, O Faithful People
We respond and add our lives to the story
Pastoral Prayer All of our prayers are worthy of being heard by God and by our community, feel free to speak your prayers when time is given.
Minute For Mission
Offering
Offering Hymn VU#191
What can I do? What can I bring?
What can I say? What can I sing?
I’ll sing with Joy. I’ll say a prayer.
I’ll bring my love. I’ll do my share.
Announcements
Hymn #693 One More Step Along The World I Go
Benediction and Choral Amen
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Do you like chocolate? Of course! Come to the hall on 14th for our 1st annual chocolate social. More details will follow but be sure to mark this evening on your calendar.
Today we continue with out exploration of the history of the United Church’s faith. On Mach 11th, we’ll be looking at “A New Creed” and on March 18th, when we explore the latest faith statement, “ A Song Of Faith.” We’ll be worshipping in a very modern style - we’ll have a “coffee house” service where we will share refreshments and discussion while we worship God. This will be held in the church basement.
Jim will be in Mortlach on Wednesdays if anyone would like to visit in the church or in your home. Jim is usually available to come in on any other day of the week if requested.
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