Ebenezer eNews/Worship Service at 10 AM - 9th Sunday After Pentecost

Prelude Murphy Hung

Welcome & Announcements

Chime Margaret Tribe

Land Acknowledgement (All)
We acknowledge this land on which Ebenezer United Church serves our community. For thousands of years, this land has been on the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and the Mississaugas of the Credit River. Today, this meeting place is still the home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island and we are grateful to have the opportunity to worship, pray, and practice our faith on this land.

Affirmation of Faith: (In Unison)  “A New Creed” VU #: 918
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.

Call to Worship: (Responsive) (Please stand as you are able)
Minister: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God,
                 and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
People: And also, with you.

Minister: The sacrifice that honours God is a thankful heart.
People: We lift up our hearts with gratitude and our voices
                 with praise for all that God has done.

Minister: The eye of the Lord is on those who fear him;
                 on those who hope in God’s steadfast love.
All:           Our soul waits for the Lord who is our help and shield.
                 We trust in God’s holy name and so we come to worship.

Lighting of the Christ Candle & Fellowship Candles
(Lighting by Gabrielle Forrester, reading by Valerie Panisales)

The Christ Candle is a sign to us that Jesus Christ has come into this world as the Eternal Light. The Fellowship Candles remind us that Jesus’ people are the people of Light in this world. As we light the Christ Candle, let us hear the voice of Jesus say, “I am the Light of the World.” And, as we light the Fellowship Candles, let us also hear the voice of Jesus say, “You are the light of the world.”

Hymn of Praise: “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name” VU #: 334

Prayers of Adoration & Invocation: (Together) (Please be seated)
Faithful God, we gather at your call to worship you. We join our prayers with all those who have gone before us in faith: those who struggled to know you and follow you, those who relied on you to guide them through life, and those whose examples inform our lives as your disciples today. Thank you, O God, for your goodness to us over all these generations and for your guiding presence still with us on our journeys. May our offerings of praise and thanksgiving be pleasing to you, as we worship you this day. O Lord our God: send your Holy Spirit to deposit in us the gift of faith that possessed the Apostles, that we might claim it as our own as we walk with you. In Jesus' name, we pray, amen!

Prayer of Confession: (Responsive)
Minister: God of mercy, we confess that we are not always ready
                 to do what you call us to do.
People: Afraid and uncertain, we store up treasures for our
                 own security and hesitate when you call us to act.

Minister: Being selfish, we look after ourselves first,
                 while putting your mission in second place.
All:         Forgive us and give us the readiness to serve, so that we live in faithful service, bringing glory, honour, and praise to your name all of our days. Through Christ, we pray, amen.

Assurance of Pardon
Minister:         Beloved in the Lord, this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance: “The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbour his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For, as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” To all who turn to the Lord then, he says, “your sins are forgiven.” He also says, “Follow me.”
All: Thanks be to God!

The Lord’s Prayer: (Sung Together) VU #: 959

(Children are welcome to go with Diane McLean to the Heritage Hall for a Sunday School program.)

Prayer for Understanding (read by Rev. Forrester)
O Lord, you speak to us through the teaching of the Law and the Prophets, and through your Word made flesh in Jesus Christ. Help us to listen when you challenge us and call us to change. Help us listen when you assure us of your love despite our failings. Help us listen for your living Word, so, that by your Spirit, we may be transformed into your faithful disciples. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Risen Lord, we pray, amen.

Scripture Readings (read by Valerie Panisales)

Old Testament: Isaiah 1:1, 10–20 (New International Version)
¹The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah, son of Amoz, saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. ¹⁰ Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah! ¹¹ “The multitude of your sacrifices—what are they to me?” says the Lord.
“I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. ¹² When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? ¹³ Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations— I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.¹⁴ Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals I hate with all my being.
They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them.
¹⁵When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening. Your hands are full of blood! ¹⁶ Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. ¹⁷ Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless;
plead the case of the widow. ¹⁸ “Come now, let us settle the matter,”
says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. ¹⁹ If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land;
²⁰ but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

New Testament: Luke 12:32–40 (New International Version)
³² “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. ³³ Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. ³⁴ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
³⁵ “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, ³⁶ like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks, they can immediately open the door for him. ³⁷ It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. ³⁸ It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. ³⁹ But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁰ You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

Reader: This is the word of the Lord!
All:           Thanks be to God!

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