October 4, 2020 - 11:00am
World Communion Sunday
The Congregation of Hope United Church
Worship Leader - Brian Stevens BA. MDiv
HopeUnited.ca
PRELUDE
WELCOME
Welcome everyone to our online ZOOM Sunday worship. My name is Brian Stevens, I am the Pastoral Charge Supervisor here at Hope United in Toronto and am so pleased to have you with us today. Our musicians today are Sandy, Claire and myself. You can type greetings and comments at any time in the chat. A copy of the order of service was emailed out with your invitation. It is also available on our website HopeUnited.ca.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THE LAND
With respect, we acknowledge the world views, spirituality, history and stewardship of the Mississauga of Scugog, the Hiawatha and the Alderville First Nations, on whose traditional lands our church resides.
We thank and honour the other indigenous peoples who share this land. As followers of the Jesus Way, we affirm our commitment as a people empowered to work in restoring broken relationships.
GREETING
I greet you in the name of our risen Lord and welcome you to our service of worship. Let us join together in our opening song “Water Flowing from the Mountains”. The words will also appear on your screen and it is also in More Voices # 87.
Water flowing from the mountains
Water flowing o’er the earth
Water comes to us so precious,
Living water gives us birth.
Drink deep the source of life
Drink deep and know
For living water sings
And living water bring
The love that makes our spirit grow.
Water rushing down the rivers.
Water rushing to the sea.
Water comes to us, so precious
Living water makes us free.
Drink deep the source of life
Drink deep and know
For living water sings
And living water bring
The love that makes our spirit grow.
Water springing from the dry place.
Water springing from the sun.
Water comes to us, so precious
Living water for each one.
Drink deep the source of life
Drink deep and know
For living water sings
And living water bring
The love that makes our spirit grow.
CALL TO WORSHIP
Creating One, here we are,
a gathering of your people;
Evidence of Creation’s unfolding.
We come, all shapes and all sizes…
All ages and life stages.
We come on dancing feet or carefully walking.
We come hesitant and unsure…
Or filled with conviction and knowing our way.
However we come, we are here to join
with all of creation
in praise and thanksgiving. Amen.
OPENING PRAYER
Thank you, Jesus, for the opportunity to remember you
in the ordinary things of our lives.
When we eat our daily bread, rice, tortilla, or potato,
we remember how you shared what you had with your friends,
breaking yourself open.
When we drink from the fruits of our harvest,
we are reminded of how you continually bless us
with your teachings;
our chipped and well-used cups overflow.
Thank you, Jesus. Amen.
LIGHTING OF THE CHRIST CANDLE
We light this candle as a symbol of Christ’s light in the world.
May it burn brightly within us all. Amen.
Sandy will now lead us in, “Touch us with Your Light”.
The words will appear on your screen. We will sing it through twice.
“Touch us with Your Light”
Light from this candle burning bright
Light our way through dark of night.
Help us find our way to you
Guide us, touch us with your Light, O Lord
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
(based on “ Prayers for Worship” in the Season of Creation)
You are the flame that warms us, Creator of All…. Yet some times we seek to extinguish your flame…to ignore the warmth and care that you offer. You are the voice that calls us to love, yet we close our ears, eyes and hearts and pretend not to hear or feel your call. You are the tug and dance that moves us…. that animates us … yet we pretend to not want to dance and resist the tug in your direction.
Holy Spirit….Open us to your warmth,…to your call, and to your dance.
Forgive us O God….help us to be ready….
Ready to go…ready to hear…ready to dance with the Spirit. Amen.
ASSURANCE OF GRACE
(Adapted from Worship leaders Blog Spot)
Listen always with ears, eyes and heart …for then you will hear the good news.
“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.”
God will forgive you in your failure.
God will accept you as you are.
God will set you free from burden’s that weigh you down.
Christ will walk with you always as you seek to be all that you are called to be. Amen.
GLORIA
Let us sing together, three times through, the Gloria. It is Voices United # 37.
The words will also appear on your screen.
Voice United # 37 “Gloria”
Gloria, Gloria, in excelsis deo
Gloria, Gloria, alleluia, alleluia!
THE PEACE OF CHRIST
May the Peace of Christ be with you always.
And also with you.
Gavin will unmute our mics so that we may greet one another!
FIRST READING Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20
And God spoke all these words:
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
“You shall have no other gods before me.
“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.
“You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
“You shall not murder.
“You shall not commit adultery.
“You shall not steal.
“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
PSALM 19 Voices United # 740
Refrain: The precepts of our God give joy to the heart!
The heavens declare the glory of God
And the vault of the sky reveals God’s handiwork
One day speaks to another
And night shares it knowledge with night
And this without speech or language,
Their voices are not heard,
But their sound goes out to all the lands,
Their words to the ends of the earth.
Refrain: The precepts of our God give joy to the heart!
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun
Which comes out like a bridegroom from under the canopy,
Like an athlete eager to run the race,
Its rising is at one end of the sky,
It runs its course to the other
And there is nothing that is hidden from its heat
Refrain: The precepts of our God give joy to the heart!
God’s law is perfect, refreshing the soul.
God’s instruction is sure
Giving wisdom to the simple
God’s precepts are right, rejoicing the heart
God’s commandment is pure
Giving light to the eyes;
God’s fear is clean, enduring forever
God’s judgments are true
Everyone of them righteous
More desirable than gold, even much fine than gold
Sweeter also than honey
Pure honey from the comb
Refrain: The precepts of our God give joy to the heart!
By them is your servant warned;
For in keeping them there is great reward
But who can discern unwitting sins?
O cleanse me from my secret faults
Keep yours servant also from presumptuous sins
Lest they get the better of me
Then shall I be clean and innocent of great offence
Refrain: The precepts of our God give joy to the heart!
GOSPEL READING Matthew 21:33-46
“Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.
“The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.
“But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
“Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”
“He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”
Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
“‘The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
“Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”
When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.
Hear the Good News of Christ!
Praise to you, O Christ.
“This One Thing I Do”
(Music and Lyrics by Andrew Donaldson)
This one thing I do
This one thing I do
This one thing I do
This one thing I do
Leaving behind what lies behind,
Striving toward what lies before
I run toward the mark,
Run toward the mark
Run toward the mark
Of the high Calling of God
In Christ Jesus.
REFLECTION: “Parables and Commandments ” - Brian Stevens BA MDiv
MUSIC MINISTRY
"It Only takes a Spark" by Carley Kurt Kaiser and Jacques Berthier
Sung by Claire
It only takes a spark, to get a fire going
An soon all those around can warm up in its glowing
That’s how it is in God’s love
Once you’ve experienced it
You spread God’s love to everyone
You want to pass it on.
What wondrous time is spring when all the trees are budding
The birds begin to sing, the flowers start their blooming
That’s how it is with God’s love
Once you’ve experienced it
You want to sing, it’s fresh like spring
You want to pass it on.
I wish for you my friend
This happiness that I’ve found
On God you can depend, it matters not where you’re bound
I’ll shout it from the mountain top
I want the world to know:
The Lord of love has come to me
I want to pass it on.
PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
Generous and gracious God, we have received so much from you in Christ and in creation. Bless the gifts we offer this day so they will speak of your love for the world in all its detail, and for people in all our diversity. May our gifts touch the need around us in the name of Christ who makes us one. Amen.
Let us join our voices in thanks as we sing “Your Work, O God Needs Many Hands”. It is the first verse from Voices United # 537 and the words will also appear on the screen.
Voices United # 537 DOXOLOGY “Your Work, O God Needs Many Hands”
Your work, O God needs many hands to help you everywhere
And some there are who cannot serve unless our gifts we share.
Because we love you and your work, our offering now we make;
Be pleased to use it as your own, we ask for Jesus sake.
PRAYERS OF THE DAY
(from world vision)
Let us centre our hearts in prayer
For our farmers and all who labour to grow, harvest and deliver the food which rest upon our tables. Watch over them Lord in the days and weeks ahead. Protect them…keep them safe in their labors and provide them with favorable weather to complete the harvest….
We pray to the Lord…
Lord, Hear our Prayer
Let us welcome the colour orange into our lives during ember days . May it remind us of the devout monastic life lead by many early Christians, who often wore robes of orange. It also is a colour of change as our season shifts from summer to fall…hues of yellow and red create a sensational vista is orange in the tree scape. The heat of summer is fading, the cool of fall is arriving…a colour of change. May we welcome the blessing of change in our life…of new learning…of discovering ways to deepen our faith as we journey.
We pray to the Lord…
Lord, Hear our Prayer
Give everyone entrusted with worldly power and authority a hunger for justice and a thirst for righteousness. Make them swift to build bridges of respect and concord, and slow to brandish weapons of war. Fill them with wisdom, patience, fairness, and kindness. Spread these virtues among all people, so that bloodshed and injustice cease, and all people live in peace and call upon your name with joy.
We pray to the Lord…
Lord, Hear our Prayer
For those who work in and support hospitals, community health centres, and seniors care homes, as they foster healing and hope for the people and communities they serve; and for the recovery of the sick.
We pray to the Lord…
Lord, Hear our Prayer
Lord…for all those in need of your healing love…those we hold quietly in our hearts…for those intentions or people we name aloud for all to hear, that they might join with our hearts in prayer…
(mics will be unmuted, please say name or intention)
Moment of Silence
Lord of love, Lord of healing, For all those named…For all intentions offered
We pray to the Lord…
Lord, Hear our Prayer
Lord, may our prayers and intentions fall gently upon your ear, grant them O Lord, as you see fit in time, in ways, in blessing and care. And with the words that our Saviour taught us….let us sing the Lord’s prayer. It is Voices United # 959 and the words will appear on your screen.
LORD’S PRAYER (Spoken)
Our Father, in heaven,
Hallowed be your name,
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done on earth as in heaven.
Give us this today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
As we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us, from the time of trial
And deliver us from evil,
For the kingdom, the power,
And the glory, are yours
Now and forever.
Invitation to Communion
Today is World Wide Communion Sunday. We a mark a Christian ritual that is shared by many of sisters and brothers in other denominations; the celebration of the last supper…our communion meal. The table of the United Church of Canada is an open one. All are welcome.
Let us join our hearts and voices in our communion hymn, “Deep in Our Hearts”. It is found in More Voices # 154…and the words will appear on your screen.
More Voices # 154 “Deep in Our Hearts”
Deep in our hearts there is a common vision
Deep in our hearts there is a common song
Deep in our hearts there is a common story
Telling Creation that we are one.
Deep in our hearts there is a common purpose
Deep in our hearts there is a common goal
Deep in our hearts there is a sacred message
Justice and peace in harmony.
Deep in our hearts there is a common longing
Deep in our hearts there is a common theme
Deep in our hearts there is a current
Following freedom like a stream
Deep in our hearts there is a common vision
Deep in our hearts there is a common song
Deep in our hearts there is a common story
Telling Creation that we are one.
A Communion Liturgy for the Whole People of God
by Alydia Smith
God is with us!
We are not alone!
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to God.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
Holy Mystery that is Wholly Love,
you are beyond complete knowledge,
above perfect description.
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;
Source of Life, Living Word, and Bond of Love,
you are creative and self-giving,
generously moving.
In all the near and distant corners of the universe.
nothing exists that does not find its source in you.
(based on A Song of Faith)
Even when we turn away from you, you are with us;
your presence never fails us,
your gifts of hope and new life transform us.
We praise you for Jesus Christ,
eternal as your love, our bond to one another.
We rejoice with all your people of every time and place,
and with angels and archangels,
to proclaim the glory of your name:
Sanctus and Benedictus (More Voices # 203)
O holy, holy, holy God
O God of time and space
All earth and sea and sky above
Bear witness to your grace
Hosanna in the highest heav’n creation sings your praise
And blessed is the One who comes and bears your name always.
It is Jesus, God incarnate, the Risen Christ,
who joins us together as a community of broken but hopeful believers:
loving what he loved
living what he taught, and
striving to be his faithful servants
in our time and place.
In this meal we remember Jesus, his promises,
and the price he paid for who he was, what he said, and what he did.
On the night before Jesus died,
he took a loaf of bread,
gave thanks, broke it, and said,
“Take and eat; whenever you do this, remember me.”
After supper, Jesus took the cup, and poured, saying,
“This is the new covenant, remember me.”
We do remember.
We remember his life of love, his friendship, his teaching, his dying, and his rising to life again.
In sharing this meal, we live out the mystery of our faith:
Memorial Acclamation (More Voices # 204)
Sing Christ has died and Christ is risen
Christ will come again
Sing Christ has died and Christ is risen
Christ will come again
Holy Mystery, God the Spirit,
we call on you to transform these familiar things,
as you continually transform the world around us.
Bless this bread and this cup,
the wheat and the grape,
the farmer and the harvest,
the seed and the sower.
So that in the sharing of these simple elements in community,
we may taste and see your goodness,
so that we might catch a glimpse of what it is to be in communion with you and with one another.
Through Christ, in Christ, and with Christ,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
all glory is yours, God most holy,
now and forever.
Great Amen (More Voices # 225)
Amen, amen, O holy one!
Hosanna and amen!
Amen, amen, O holy one!
Hosanna and amen!
Breaking the Bread, Pouring the Cup
The body of Christ,
the bread of life.
The lifeblood of Christ,
the cup of blessing.
The gifts of God for the people of God.
Thanks be to God!
Sharing of the Meal
Prayer after Communion
Thank you, O Christ, for this feast of life.
We are fed by your love;
we are strengthened by your life.
We are sent forth into this world to live into the visions God has laid on our hearts.
Amen.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
• Online Worship next Sunday, October 11 at 11:00am.
• Next Sunday, October 11 we will have Turkey Dinners for Seniors and Families available for pick up or delivery in the afternoon. We are still working out logistics so will post more details on our website and Facebook page and also leave the information on our phone message for the church office.
• We will do our first “On-Line Messy Church on Wednesday, October 14 at 6:00pm
• The exterior foundation edge of back wing of our building has now been sealed, some old drains capped and work done so that water will drain away from the building. With the rain this past week, there did not appear to be any new seepage which is great news. The cost of that work was $1900…donations to the property fund would be greatly appreciated.
• This past Saturday and Wednesday we demolished the rotten section of subfloor in the gym. It is now drying out. Once engineering consult is done, we will relay the floor, hopefully within the next week. The estimate for cost of materials for this project is $1912. Once again, donations to the property fund would be greatly appreciated.
• To make a donation to the property fund, or your weekly offering, you can send along a cheque to the Church: 2550 Danforth Avenue, Toronto M4C 1LC, or by credit card through the CanadaHelps website: https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/hope-united-church/. In Search: select Hope United Church Toronto, then click on the connection. Then use Donate Now and proceed. (Note that CanadaHelps levies a 4% service fee so your donation will be for the lower unless you select donating the 4% fee to CanadaHelps which is a charity so you will receive a tax receipt.)
• On Sunday, October 18th at 3:00pm I will be ordained at Hope United. You will be able to watch on YouTube or attend in person. We expect to be able to provide you with the link by next Sunday. At the current time we are limited to 93 persons (30% of our seating capacity).
• For Pastoral emergencies contact Brian Stevens at 647-825-5136 or by email: HopeUnitedChurch@gmail.com
CLOSING PRAYER
O God, you are the giver of life. We pray for the church in the whole world. Sanctify her life, renew her worship, give power to her witnessing, restore her unity. Give strength to those who are searching together for that kind of obedience which creates unity. Heal the divisions separating your children one from another, so that they will make fast, with bonds of peace, the unity which the Spirit gives. This is our prayer for unity amongst Christians. Amen.
Sandy will lead us in our closing hymn “Christ is Made the sure Foundation”. It is found in Voices United # 325 and the words will appear on your screen.
Christ is made the sure foundation,
Christ the head and cornerstone,
chosen of the Lord and precious,
binding all the church in one;
holy Zion's help forever,
and her confidence alone.
To this temple, where we call you,
come, O Lord of hosts, today:
with your wonted loving-kindness
hear your people as they pray;
and your fullest benediction
shed within its walls alway.
Here bestow to all your servants
what they ask of you to gain,
what they gain from you forever
with the blessed to retain,
and hereafter in thy glory
evermore with you to reign.
Laud and honour to the Father,
laud and honour to the Son,
laud and honour to the Spirit,
ever Three and ever One,
One in might, and One in glory,
while unending ages run.
BLESSING AND BENEDICTION
Go forth into the world with a thankful heart…
Go forth assured of God’s everlasting grace and love
And may the peace that passes all understanding
Be with you this day and always. Amen.
CHORAL BLESSING “Walk in Love”
Walk in love as you go into the world,
Walk in peace with everyone you meet,
May God’s grace touch your heart, mind and soul…
This day and evermore,
Amen. Amen, Alleluia and Amen!
POSTLUDE
Please stay with us following the service for a few moments to chat.
Mics will be unmuted so all can say hello
Thank you to everyone who assisted with our Service of Worship.
Blessings to all and keep safe!
Hope United.ca