Read-along Service for Sunday, September 17, 2023

Trinity St. Andrew’s United Church
Order of Worship
Sunday September 17, 2023 – 16^th Sunday after Pentecost

We welcome Rev. Zakaria Mandara, from Wesley United in Pembroke.

Prelude
Welcome and Announcements
Lighting the Christ Candle

Introit Open Our Hearts MV 21

Open our hearts, open our minds.
Open our lives to you O loving God.
Open our hearts, open our minds.
Open our lives to you O loving God.

(last time) Open our hearts.

Call to Worship

Praise the Lord.
Let us praise God together.
For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is God’s steadfast love;
as far as the east is from the west, so far God removes our sins.
So let us rejoice in God’s gracious presence.
Let us praise the God of mercy together.

Hymn All Praise to Thee VU 327

All praise to thee, for thou, O King divine,
didst yield the glory that of right was thine,
that in our troubled hearts thy grace might shine:
hallelujah; hallelujah!

Thou cam’st to us in lowliness of thought;
by thee the outcast and the poor were sought,
and by thy death was God’s salvation wrought:
hallelujah; hallelujah!

Let this mind be in us which was in thee,
who wast a servant that we might be free,
humbling thyself to death on Calvary:
hallelujah; hallelujah!

Wherefore, by God’s eternal purpose, thou
art high exalted o’er all creatures now,
and given the name to which all knees shall bow:
hallelujah; hallelujah!

Let every tongue confess with one accord
in heaven and earth that Jesus Christ is Lord;
and God eternal be by all adored:
hallelujah; hallelujah!

Prayer of Approach

God of might and mercy, the heavens and the earth are full of your glory. Your love transforms our lives. You enter our confusion and give insight. You bear our grief and bring healing.

You see our fatigue and renew strength. You sense our fear and spark courage. You know death and raise up new life. So we come before you in worship, handing over to you all that weighs us down. Renew us in this time of worship, we pray, so that we may serve you with joy in Jesus’ name. Amen.

O God, our lives do not always reflect your transforming power. You are gracious, but we cling to judgment. You are kind, but we can be cruel. You are forgiving, but we nurse grudges and old wounds. Forgive us, O God. Fill us with your Holy Spirit, and make us new through Christ, your Son and our Saviour.

Assurance of Pardon

The proof of God’s amazing love is this: that while we were sinners, Christ died for us. Know that you are forgiven by his grace and be at peace with God, with yourselves and with each other. Amen.

Hymn We are Marching VU 646 And On This Path MV 8

We Are Marching (Siyahambra) VU 646

We are marching in the light of God,
we are marching in the light of God.
We are marching in the light of God,
we are marching in the light of God.
(the light of God.)
We are marching, (marching, we are marching,)
oo-oo (marching,)
we are marching in the light of God.
(the light of God.)
We are marching, (marching, we are marching,)
oo-oo, (marching,)
we are marching in the light of God.

And on This Path MV 8

And on this path,
the gates of holiness are open wide, (3x)
Open wide! Open wide!
Open wide, the gates are open wide!

So enter in,
the gates of holiness are open wide, (3x)
Open wide! Open wide!
Open wide, the gates are open wide!

Scripture Reader: Ginette Raaphorst
Genesis 50.15-21
Romans 14:1-12
Matthew 18:21-35

Musical Response

Special Music

Homily

The Offering

Offering Song For the Gift of Creation VU 538

For the gift of creation, the gift of your love,
and the gift of the Spirit by which we live,
we thank you and give you the fruit of our hands.
May your grace be proclaimed by the gifts that we give.

Prayer of Dedication
We give thanks to you, O God, because you have blessed us with so much. Yet we know that others have too little. Bless our gifts so they touch lives in need and become roots of justice in the world, for the sake of Jesus Christ, who sends us out in love. Amen.

Hymn Lead On, O Cloud of Presence VU 421

Lead on, O cloud of Presence, the exodus is come.
In wilderness and desert our tribe shall make its home.
Our slavery left behind us,
new hopes within us grow.
We seek the land of promise where milk and honey flow.

Lead on, O fiery Pillar, we follow yet with fears,
but we shall come rejoicing though joy be born of tears.
We are not lost, though wandering,
for by your light we come,
and we are still God’s people. The journey is our home.

Lead on, O God of freedom, and guide us on our way,
and help us trust the promise through struggle and delay.
We pray our sons and daughters
may journey to that land
where justice dwells with mercy, and love is law’s demand.

Prayers of Thanksgiving and Intercession

God of authority and authenticity, we come before you today, glad to know you give us the chance to change our lives when we have wandered away from your purposes. We give you thanks for the encouragement and support we receive from friends in Christ, here in our church and wherever we meet them. We thank you for relationships that have grown stronger through the courage to forgive which you inspire in us. Use us as signs and servants of the new possibilities you create. God of changed hearts,
Renew the future for us all.

Christ our Companion, make our community one that lives out your grace and mercy. Today we pray for those among us and around us who are struggling to live wisely and well, who seek a way of integrity for the future. We pray for those who are confronting addictions, or trying to change old habits that are harmful to health: give them persistence and support. We pray for those who want to end violence and anger in their lives: give them courage and wisdom to walk a new way. God of changed hearts,
Renew the future for us all.

We pray for those who have broken the law and now seek to make amends: teach them good judgement in action and relationships. We pray for those who have broken their word and want to rebuild trust and integrity: show them how to take responsibility and live it out. God of changed hearts,
Renew the future for us all.

We pray for those who are seeking new work, learning new skills, or changing employment: open new opportunities for them. We pray for all of us who seek new ways to live out our faith. In this church and in this community: help us communicate God’s love in fresh ways so others catch the vision of your love. God of changed hearts,
Renew the future for us all.

And we pray in silence for all those for whom the week ahead will hold deep challenges, and who need your support and ours, to face what the days will bring? Spirit of transforming power, work in us and in all for whom we pray, as we sum up our prayers in the words Jesus taught us: Our Father…

Hymn Come, Let Us Sing of a Wonderful Love VU 574

Come, let us sing of a wonderful love,
tender and true, tender and true,
out of the heart of the Father above,
streaming to me and to you:
wonderful love, wonderful love,
dwells in the heart of the Father above.

Jesus the Saviour this gospel to tell
joyfully came, joyfully came,
came with the helpless and hopeless to dwell,
sharing their sorrow and shame,
seeking the lost, seeking the lost,
saving, redeeming at measureless cost.

Jesus is seeking the wanderers yet;
why do they roam? why do they roam?
Love only waits to forgive and forget;
home, weary wanderers, home!
Wonderful love, wonderful love
dwells in the heart of the Father above.

Come to my heart, O thou wonderful love!
Come and abide, come and abide,
lifting my life till it rises above
envy and falsehood and pride:
seeking to be, seeking to be
lowly and humble, a learner of thee.

Benediction
Jesus set the challenging goal before us: to forgive someone not just seven times, but seventy times seven. So, take up the challenge as you go, and allow forgiveness to change your life. So may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and communion in the Holy Spirit bless and redeem you now and evermore.

Choral Amen 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

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