CALL TO WORSHIP
Our call to worship is from Psalm 66:8-12,1 6-20. Read it aloud or listen to Paula Cohen read it aloud.
All you nations, bless our God!
Let the sound of his praise be heard!
God preserved us among the living;
he didn’t let our feet slip a bit.
But you, God, have tested us—
you’ve refined us like silver,
trapped us in a net,
laid burdens on our backs,
let other people run right over our heads—
we’ve been through fire and water.
But you brought us out to freedom!
Come close and listen,
all you who honor God;
I will tell you what God has done for me:
My mouth cried out to God
with praise on my tongue.
If I had cherished evil in my heart,
my Lord would not have listened.
But God definitely listened.
He heard the sound of my prayer.
Bless God who didn’t reject my prayer!
God didn’t withhold faithful love from me.
opening hymn
Prayer of Confession
Offer this prayer aloud.
Help us and guide us, O Lord.
Show us the way. Otherwise, we are lost.
Help us seek truth. Otherwise, we only hear what we want to believe.
Give us life and help us protect life.
After a moment of silence, offer this sung confession:
Lord have mercy upon us. Christ have mercy upon us. Lord have mercy upon us.
We pray in the name of the One who is the way, the truth, and the life. It is in Jesus Christ that we can boldly say, “We are forgiven.” Amen.
THE WORD
Our affirmation of faith today comes from the United Church of Canada. Feel free to recite the affirmation along with this recording.
John 14:15-21
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you for ever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.
“I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.”
Solo
Tom Sobieski offers a solo on the violin.
Affirmation of Faith
Our affirmation of faith today comes from the United Church of Canada.
We are not alone,
we live in God’s world.
We believe in God:
who has created and is creating,
who has come in Jesus,
the Word made flesh,
to reconcile and make new,
who works in us and others by the Spirit.
We trust in God.
We are called to be the Church:
to celebrate God’s presence,
to live with respect in Creation,
to love and serve others,
to seek justice and resist evil,
to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen,
our judge and our hope.
In life, in death, in life beyond death,
God is with us.
We are not alone. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Welcome & Prayers of the People
SENDING
Lisa sends us from this service with a message for the whole family.
Benediction
And now as members of Christ’s church: Be of good courage. Hold fast to that which is good. Render no one evil for evil. Strengthen the fainthearted. Support the weak. Heal the afflicted. Honor all people. Love and serve the Lord, rejoicing in the power of the Spirit. Amen.
Postlude & Offering
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