Trinity St. Andrew’s United Church
Order of Worship
Sunday, May 17th 2026
Seventh Sunday of Easter
Prelude
Welcome & Telling Our Story
GATHERING
Gathering Chorus
Call to Worship
Come, people of God, for the Spirit is moving among us. We come seeking renewal, hope, and grace. God meets us where we are and calls us into deeper life. Open our hearts, O God. Awaken your Spirit within us. Come, let us worship God together. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Hymn Worship the Lord VU 401
Refrain: Worship the Lord (worship the Lord)
worship the Father, the Spirit, the Son,
raising our hands (raising our hands)
in devotion to God who is one!
- Raising our hands as a sign of rejoicing,
and with our lips our togetherness voicing,
giving ourselves to a life of creativeness,
worship and work must be one! Refrain
- Praying and training that we be a blessing,
and by our handiwork daily confessing:
we are committed to serving humanity,
worship and work must be one! Refrain
- Called to be partners with God in creation,
honouring Christ as the Lord of the nation,
we must be ready for risk and for sacrifice,
worship and work must be one! Refrain
- Bringing the bread and the wine to the table,
asking that we may be led and enabled,
truly united to build new communities,
worship and work must be one! Refrain
- Now in response to the life you are giving,
help us, O Father, to offer our living,
seeking a just and a healing society,
worship and work must be one! Refrain
Gathering Prayer & Assurance of Grace
Holy and life-giving God, you met the disciples in Ephesus and stirred within them a deeper understanding of your grace. Meet us here today. Where our faith feels uncertain, bring clarity. Where our spirits feel weary, bring renewal. Where fear or doubt hold us back, breathe your courage into us again. Pour your Spirit upon this gathered community, that our worship may be honest, our prayers sincere, and our lives transformed for the sake of the world. Amen.
Friends, hear the good news: God does not wait for us to understand everything perfectly before offering love. The Spirit comes not to condemn, but to renew; not to shame, but to awaken. In Jesus, we are met with mercy, surrounded by grace, and invited into new life. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Time for the Young & Young at Heart
Hymn: Breathe on Me, Breath of God VU 382
- Breathe on me, breath of God,
fill me with life anew,
that I may love what thou dost love,
and do what thou wouldst do.
- Breathe on me, breath of God,
until my heart is pure,
until my will is one with thine,
to do and to endure.
- Breathe on me, breath of God,
till I am wholly thine,
until this earthly part of me
glows with thy fire divine.
- Breathe on me, breath of God:
so shall I never die,
but live with thee the perfect life
of thine eternity.
WORD
Scripture Reader: Joy Curry
Psalm: Psalm 92, VU 810
Refrain It is good to sing your praises and to thank you,
O Most High.
It is good to give you thanks, O God,
to sing praises to your name, O Most High.
to tell of your love in the morning,
and your faithfulness during the night,
with a ten-stringed lute and harp,
with voice and lyre together.
For you, O God, have made me glad by your work;
I shout for joy at the works of your hands. Refrain
The just shall flourish like the date-palm
and increase like the cedars of Lebanon.
Planted in God’s house,
they will flourish in the courts of our God.
In old age the still produce fruit,
thriving and full of vigour.
They will show that God is just;
God, our rock, in whom there is no wrong. Refrain
Scripture: Acts 19: 1-12
This is the witness of the Church.
Thanks be to God.
Sermon Still Becoming
Anthem
RESPONSE
Thanksgiving & Offering
The Spirit of God moves through ordinary people, ordinary gifts, and ordinary acts of generosity. What we offer today becomes part of God’s work of healing, welcome, compassion, and hope in the world. Let us give with grateful hearts, trusting that God can do more than we imagine through what we share.
Offertory Song: Know That God is Good MV 104
Know that God is good, (3x)
God is good, God is good.
Offertory Prayer
Generous God, receive these gifts and receive our lives alongside them. Take what we offer: our resources, our time, our compassion, our hopes, and use them for the work of your Spirit in the world. May these gifts bring encouragement to the weary, justice to the forgotten, and signs of your love wherever they are needed. Amen.
Hymn: I Am a Child of God MV 157
- I am a child of God,
I am a glimpse of God’s new creation.
I am a child of God,
I am a child of God.
- I am an endless prayer,
I am a yearning for contemplation,
I am an endless prayer,
I am an endless prayer.
- I am an angry voice,
I am compassion and consternation,
I am an angry voice,
I am an angry voice.
- I am a cry for peace,
I am commitment and dedication,
I am an angry voice,
I am an angry voice.
- I am a song of joy,
I am the moment of jubilation,
I am a song of joy,
I am a song of joy.
Pastoral Prayers & The Lord’s Prayer
Spirit of the Living God, you moved through the streets of Ephesus, through conversations and questions, through healing and wonder, through ordinary people willing to listen and respond.
We pray for your church throughout the world. Where communities are discouraged, renew hope. Where divisions have hardened hearts, bring reconciliation. Where fear has silenced compassion, awaken courage. We pray for leaders in every nation and community. Grant wisdom where there is confusion, integrity where there is corruption, and compassion where power has forgotten the vulnerable.
We pray for all who are struggling today: for those burdened by illness, grief, anxiety, loneliness, or uncertainty. For those carrying private pain. For those who feel forgotten or unseen. Surround them with care, comfort, and strength. We pray for this community of faith. Help us to become people attentive to your Spirit: ready to listen deeply, ready to grow, ready to serve with humility and joy. And where we have become tired or cynical, breathe new life into us again. We offer these prayers in the name of Jesus, who taught us to pray together, saying: Our Father…
SENDING
Hymn: There’s a Spirit in the Air (vs 1,3,5,7) VU 582
- There’s a spirit in the air,
telling Christians everywhere:
“Praise the love that Christ revealed,
living, working in our world.”
- When believers break the bread,
when the hungry child is fed,
praise the love that Christ revealed,
living, working in our world.
- When a stranger’s not alone,
where the homeless find a home,
praise the love that Christ revealed,
living, working, in our world.
- There’s a Spirit in the air,
calling people everywhere:
praise the love that Christ revealed,
living, working, in our world.
Sending Forth
Go now with hearts open to grace, with courage to follow where Christ leads, and with compassion for all you meet. May the Spirit renew you, Christ walk beside you, and the love of God surround you today and always. Amen.
Sung Blessing: Go Now in Peace VU 964
Go now in peace, go now in peace.
May the love of God surround you everywhere,
everywhere you may go.
Postlude
Still Becoming
Acts 19:1-12
There’s a lot of excitement around the season of Spring. Well, there will be once we get from this weird mini-Fall season that we are experiencing. Spring is a time of newness isn’t it? Where the flowers are starting to poke through, the tomato plants are doing their best to be resilient. All of this before our upcoming Plant Sale… The promise of Spring and the anticipation of summer is a hopeful, exciting and aspirational time. Filled with such promise. All the projects that will get done, the summer trips, new ice cream flavours and the list goes on and on. Even as I’m speaking to you now I’m getting a little more hyped up about this season. There’s just so much promise and the best part is I don’t have to commit yet or actually plan anything quite yet as there’s still time. So, we are in this weird situation of blissful possibility without getting into the less exciting logistics discussion.
For myself, I “followed” almost every community Facebook group I could within a 40km radius of our apartment. I did a deep dive on anything even remotely interested that Sebastian could or what we could do together. I ended up with T-Ball, Lego sessions, park days, drive-in movies, you name it and I’ve probably bookmarked it or written it down on a post it. I love the idea of doing all of things. For me this speaks to how we are drawn to the ideas of newness. The promise of what might be possible. Vision and possibility of the upcoming seasons are so exciting aren’t they? Maybe after hearing one of my sermons you were particularly motivated and then it faded a little bit… It’s ok, John, don’t worry about it! As human beings, as excitable and discerning creatures, we are often drawn to the idea of change, renewal or this fulfilling purpose. But like the seasons, the potential seems so much more exciting than the implementation of it. Like the idea and the potential end result is exciting and inspiring but you have that pesky ‘walking the walk” part that connects the idea stage to the result stage…
I’ve witnessed this phenomenon throughout my life as I imagine that you have as well. One of the best examples is the famous New Years Resolution. I know what I want to do, what I want to achieve, but by mid-January you’re locked into a gym membership contract with a personal trainer and that resolution is no longer the inspiring dream it was on December 31st… Perhaps you’ve noticed the Minimalist movement, the “Buy Nothing” or “Buy Local” movement. Perhaps there’s been any number of social movements that get us to think and that we agree with- but then our comfort or willingness starts to falter as we get further from the excitement of the idea… Similarly, I’ve been at countless conferences or retreats where we love talking ministry and all the ideas but then we get stalled out when it comes to putting those ideas into action. And I can’t help but wonder if that’s where these disciples in Ephesus find themselves. They know something is stirring, something is inviting them into something new. They’ve already stepped into the waters once. But Paul senses there is still something unfinished in them. There is something perhaps un-realized still.
Have you ever felt that there’s something… more? Not necessarily to do. But maybe to be discovered or explored within yourself? Your family? Your church? Perhaps that’s exactly why you’re here today. Or, perhaps it’s why you’ve stepped away from faith. The vast majority of people today sense that there must be “something more”. There has to be something to feel this existential hunger within us. In that way we are sort of spiritually restless aren’t we? As a society as a whole, places where folks can have a transcendent experience, or connect in community with something greater than themselves, these types of opportunities are increasing in popularity. There’s this global search for what I mentioned last week as this missing “piece of the puzzle”. We long for purpose, fulfillment and connection. Regardless of what stage of life we are in; we are seeking for that fulfilling purpose or group. But so often we are exhausted or overscheduled. And when we are feeling that way then it makes living differently feel more risky than it is. This deep transformation that will give us what we seek asks more of us than inspiration does. So, as people, we experience that gap between longing and embodiment. And so we do our best to hop between the two, but often we find ourselves dangling off the edge and staring down into the void of living out those inspiring ideals so we may embody those in a way that’s fulfilling and life-giving. And that isn’t to say that we aren’t happy people and that we aren’t living purpose filled lives. But it does point that there is something unrealized in a lot of us… In some ways there’s the tension between admiring Jesus, his wisdom, his love, his hairline… There’s this tension between admiring Jesus and actually following in his way everyday… And maybe that’s why Paul begins his interaction in Ephesus not with correction, but with questions.
Paul begins relationally. Doesn’t start with convincing or preaching. But with starting a conversation. Connecting with them. Paul asks “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you came to believe?” He doesn’t assume that they did or not. He listens. He discerns where they are spiritually. To know what gaps in their beliefs might be. Where perhaps their discipleship had gone awry. What Paul does here is pastoral and relational evangelism. He is curious. He wants to share what he knows- but that does not take precedence over what they’ve experienced in their seeking of baptism and following John’s way. Paul shows us that God works with people who are still becoming. God doesn’t work exclusively work with “finished products”. Flip through the bible- there’s a lot of works in progress in there. Paul doesn’t reject the disciples for their incomplete understanding. It’s not like Paul writes a letter back to the apostles or his friends just laughing about these disciples in Ephesus. Through Paul, God recognizes that these folks are already seeking, already moving and already longing for something.
The baptism that they received through John the Baptist was important. It was a beginning to their renewal, to their new lives of faith. It was a first step to signify their intention to follow this new way of living. In their entering the waters that first time they showed the contents of their heart. Their baptism of repentance mattered! It awakened them. It named something that needed reorientation. But it was preparation, it was a start. This purifying ritual they did through John opened them to change. But life in Christ would invite them into transformation.
Baptism in Jesus’ name is not merely cleansing from the old. This is entering into a new way of life. It is a life that is shaped by grace, courage, community and participation in God’s world. So the emotion and energy of baptism isn’t just a ritual that is special. It’s not a supernatural spectacle. The Spirit is God’s ongoing presence empowering people to actually live the life Jesus calls them toward. God’s ongoing presence. Not faltering, not absent. But ongoing. So the Spirit is more than gift giving or empowering. But She encourages and sustains as well. The Spirit bridges the distance between longing for the Kingdom and participating in it. Receiving baptism is one thing. Living baptism is another. Living baptism means forgiving, reconciling, serving, seeking justice while resisting evil, and doing our best to follow in Jesus’ footsteps in the everyday paths of life. And that is both exciting and a little frightening isn’t it? It’s an exciting but daunting invitation. Once the Spirit enters the picture, faith is no longer only something we believe. It becomes something we live.
Where do you sense there is “something more” in your life? Is there a practice, a routine, a ministry that you’re feeling there’s a gap in. Is there something that you know is missing but you just don’t know how to address it? Perhaps it’s scary. Perhaps you don’t have the tools. What would it mean to not simply remember your baptism, but to live it? This isn’t a trick question and there won’t be a test. Next week we are going to celebrate the sacrament of baptism. And when we are working through the liturgy I encourage you to listen to the words, the promises and the responses. How are we living those out? How might we tweak our discipleship to be more faithful in our current context or life situation… Friends the good news is that you are not alone; the Spirit is with you. God does not demand perfection before calling people forward. And whether you’re in-person or online if this is church thing is new to you or you’re a veteran, I promise you that doesn’t change your giftedness or God’s loving plan for you. Like the disciples in Ephesus, we begin where we are. The promise of baptism is not that we suddenly become fearless or finished. The promise is that God’s Spirit goes with us.
Imagine with me the message that is shown when a church lives its baptism. From the promises to the acknowledging the Spirit as our guide. How might the baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit strengthen, encourage and inspire this Church and its ministries? Faith continued to be embodied relationally and publicly. Where our vows aren’t like a secret or somewhere gathering dust like the baptismal candles we all received eh? When’s the last time you saw yours? (kidding). When we live our baptism intentionally our ordinary acts of simply living become holy ministry. Ordinary acts become sacred blessings to others. Then we answer the invitation from God and that invitation is then asked to the wider community through our living, breathing and doing- not just in the words recited once a decade or more ago… When we do this then people can discover that the “something more” they longed for was not found in consuming more striving for greater, but participating more deeply in the life of God.
Perhaps the miracle in Ephesus was not simply that people spoke in tongues or prophesied. Perhaps the deeper miracle was that ordinary people discovered they could actually live the way of Jesus. The waters of baptism are not the end of the journey. They are where the journey begins. Amen.
