Trinity-St. Andrew’s United Church
Order of Worship
April 14, 2024 – 3rd Sunday of Easter
Prelude
Words of welcome, announcements
Lighting the Christ Candle
In this season of resurrection, we light this candle as testimony to God’s enduring faithfulness. May the light of the risen Christ scatter the darkness of our hearts and minds. For God’s undying love and kindness shines for all to see.
Choral Introit
Call To worship
How joyful it is, to celebrate the good news of God’s love! For we are to be called an Easter people who live the gift of resurrection! Darkness cannot claim us! Fear cannot bind us! Christ is risen, and is present with us here today. Hallelujah and AMEN!
Hymn Morning Has Broken VU 409
- Morning has broken like the first morning,
blackbird has spoken like the first bird.
Praise for the singing! Praise for the morning!
Praise for them, springing fresh from the Word!
- Sweet the rain’s new fall sunlit from heaven,
like the first dewfall on the first grass.
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden,
sprung in completeness where God’s feet pass.
- Ours is the sunlight! Ours is the morning
born of the one light Eden saw play!
Praise with elation, praise every morning,
God’s recreation of the new day!
Prayer of Approach
Holy and righteous God, we are stunned by the miracles of new life and forgiveness you offer. When our awe turns to disbelief, renew us with your joy. When our fear turns to rejection, lead us deeper into your presence. When our stumbling causes us to sin or fall short of our potential, forgive us by your grace. May your Holy Spirit of new life direct our steps in your paths of righteousness. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.
Scripture Reader: Jane Lambert
First Scripture: Acts 3:12-19
Gospel Lesson: Luke 24:36b-48
Hymn Welcome, Happy Morning VU 161
- Welcome, happy morning! age to age shall say;
hell today is vanquished, heaven is won today:
come then, True and Faithful, now fulfil your word;
this is your third morning: rise, O buried Lord!
Refrain: Welcome, happy morning! age to age shall say
hell today is vanquished, heaven is won today!
- Earth with joyful welcome clothes itself for spring;
greets with life reviving our returning king;
flowers in every pasture, leaves on every bough,
speak of sorrows ended; Jesus triumphs now! Refrain
- Author and sustainer, source of life and breath;
you for our salvation trod the path of death;
Jesus Christ is living, God for evermore!
Now let all creation hail him and adore. Refrain
- Loose our souls imprisoned, bound with Satan’s chain;
all that now is fallen, raise to life again!
Show our face in brightness, shine the whole world through;
Hope returns with daybreak, life returns with you. Refrain
Homily “Add It Up”
Special Music
The offering
We give thanks for everyone who continues to support TSA and our many ministries. Your gifts of support and encouragement mean a lot to us. You can get more information about making a donation by contacting the church office or by visiting our website. For all the gifts you share, for all the people you bless by your serving and giving as a disciple of Jesus, we give thanks.
Offering Song Your Work, O God, Needs Many Hands VU 537
- 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.
Offering Prayer
Loving God, you are the author of life and Giver of all gifts. We thank you for the many blessings of our lives. Receive now these gifts of our hands and our hearts. Transform them with the power of your love into gifts that will be a blessing. May they become witnesses to your resurrection, proclaiming your grace filled forgiveness in our community and throughout the world. Amen.
Hymn The Day of Resurrection VU 164
- The day of resurrection! Earth, tell it out abroad;
the passover of gladness, the passover of God!
From death to life eternal, from earth unto the sky,
our Christ has brought us over with hymns of victory.
- Our hearts be free of evil, that we may see aright
the Christ in rays eternal of resurrection light,
and, listening to the accents, may hear so calm and plain
Christ’s own “All hail!” and, hearing, may raise the victor strain.
- Now let the heavens be joyful, let earth its song begin,
the round world keep high triumph, and all that is therein;
let all things seen and unseen their notes of gladness blend,
for Christ indeed is risen, our Joy that has no end.
Pastoral Prayer, Lord’s Prayer
Hymn Great Is Thy Faithfulness VU 288
- Great is thy faithfulness, God our Creator;
there is no shadow of turning with thee;
thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not;
as thou has been thou forever wilt be.
Refrain: Great is thy faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed thy hand hath provided –
great is thy faithfulness, ever to me!
- Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
sun, moon, and stars in their courses above
join with all nature in manifold witness
to thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love. Refrain
- Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide,
strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow –
wondrous the portion thy blessings provide. Refrain
Benediction
May the light of God’s face shine upon you. May the beauty of Christ’s love shine through you. May the power of God’s Spirit flow within us all. May we go forth as God’s beloved children, revealing the risen Christ in all that we say, and in all that we do. Go now in peace. Amen.
Choral Amen Amen, Amen, Hallelujah, Amen VU 974
Postlude
Add It Up. Sermon for April 14, 2024. Third Sunday of Easter.
Texts: Acts 3:12-19 Luke 24:36b-48
By Rev. James Murray at Trinity-St. Andrew’s United Church, Renfrew
This morning we heard two more accounts of the resurrection of Jesus. The first is the Gospel of Luke’s account of Jesus appearing in the locked upper room. The second account is Peter’s testimony of what the resurrection means to him. In both cases the essential message is the same. The suffering and death of Jesus is to be used for good, and not evil.
This is not the message anyone was expecting to hear from a man who has come back from the dead. The Canadian theorist Marshall McLuhan is famous for saying that “The medium is the message.” How something is communicated is as powerful as the message itself. We can see this truth in how Jesus communicates the message of the resurrection and salvation. He does not scold the disciples. He does not threaten them. He does not hit back at those who struck him. He does not seek revenge. Jesus is compassionate to Mary when she weeps. He lovingly talks with Thomas when he doubts. He graciously forgives Peter for his betrayal. The medium and the message are one. It all adds up. Jesus’ truth has not changed. It is there for us to see in what he says and how he says it. There is a gentle compassion to his message, and his character. We are asked to trust his gentle compassion. We are asked to be gentle compassionate people who follow the example of Jesus. Jesus communicates this message of resurrection and salvation to us in a way we too can see, and believe. As his disciples today, we are to learn from him. We are to be like him. When we in turn share this message with others, we are to reflect his character as well as his words. The medium and the message must be one if it is to be true. This means we must be visibly living out our belief in the resurrection and his gift of salvation in a way others can see it. How we live makes a difference, and when we share our faith together, it adds up to create something that is powerful and beautiful.
Now this Sunday is our Congregational Annual Meeting. It’s a time for us to reflect on the past year and to plan for the year ahead. In your Annual Report is the witness of what we did. You have the record of what the committees did. The financial reports show how we spent the money we raised to fund our many different ministries. But numbers and printed reports only tell part of the story. Because how each of you have lived your life over the past year is also part of the story of how well we did. Each of you experienced the life of our church in different ways. So this morning we want to hear from you as to how we did as a church this year. While the treasurer will be talking about the financial balance sheet, together we are going to share the story of our spiritual balance sheet and see how it all adds up.
You will find on your table some sheets of paper that has two questions on it. We want everyone at your table to share their response to these two questions. We will give you 5-7 minutes to answer each question which will give everyone a chance to answer. We’d like someone at each table to record the responses. When everyone has had their say, I’m going to come around with a microphone and we’d like to hear some of your answers to these two questions.
The first question is “What are the things we did well last year?” We want to know what the spiritual highlight of the past year was for you. For example was it something that happened while you were volunteering in the Thrift Shop? Was it the Coronation Tea? We want to know when you saw God making a difference in the life of our congregation. The second question is on the negative side of our spiritual balance sheet. We want to know “What did we fail to do well last year?” When did we not live up to the gospel message? This will help us identify what we could be doing better.
You can also email me your answers to these questions at james@tsarenfrew.ca We want to hear your witness as well.
