Grace United Church | United Church in Thornbury, ON

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October 27, 2024 - Sunday Morning Service

Rev Dr John Smith

Sunday, October 27, 2024

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October 27th, 2024

23^rd Sunday after Pentecost

Find this service at www.graceunitedthornbury.ca/live

Leading us today in Worship:
Minister: Rev. Dr. John Greg Smith
Music Director: Dr. Christopher Burton
Scripture Reader: Debbie Potts

Leader: regular font ~ All: bold font ~ Sung words: bold italics.
Asterisk * Indicates when the congregation may stand if able.

We Gather

PRELUDE
Be Thou My Vision - arr. John David Earnest/C. Burton

A Stewardship Second
Have you experienced a miracle of generosity, where what is received is more than is given?

WELCOME

THE LIGHTING of the CHRIST CANDLE
With grateful hearts we light this Christ candle,
so that, with our hearts full of love and light
we might enter into the spirit of worship with joy.
May it be so!

OUR COMMITMENT to SAFE SPACE & ACKNOWLEDGEMENT of the LAND
We believe all people are made in the image of God and are entitled to dignity and respect. At Grace United Church we try to offer a safer, inclusive and generous space for all who are seeking a faith community. We offer full participation of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities, all races, ages and abilities in the life and work of the ministry.
Grace United Church is situated on the traditional territories of the Anishinaabek, Petun, Huron-Wendat, and Mississauga peoples, located within the boundary of the region of Treaty 18 of 1818. We humbly acknowledge the First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples of Canada as traditional stewards of the land on which we work and worship and are committed to working actively toward genuine restitution and reconciliation.

CALL to WORSHIP
One thing we can faithfully and confidently say:
This is a brand-new day.
There has never been one like it before;
There will never be one like it again.

We are called to this sacred time and space,
to make this day holy.
We are called to be renewed, recharged, refreshed.
We’re excited that we’ve been found, that we’re alive,
And that we get to witness all that will happen in God’s world, this day.

God never fails to challenge us:
There are always new things to learn,
And new people to care about.

But God’s love doesn’t abandon us nor leave us without the needed gifts:
Each day we are given extravagant love
Boundless compassion,
And buckets of courage and strength for the tasks ahead.

In our worship today,
May the path in front of us become clear.
May our energies, our spirits, our hearts, begin to work together
and carry us forward to the next New Day,
which is tomorrow,
which is 5 years from now,
which is whenever we feel God's love has run out.
Praise God for the grace of this new day!
Amen! May it be so! Amen!

*HYMN: VU#560
“O Master Let Me Walk with Thee”

1. O Master, let me walk with thee
in lowly paths of service free;
teach me thy secret, help me bear
the strain of toil, the fret of care.

2. Help me the slow of heart to move
with some clear, winning word of love;
teach me the wayward feet to stay,
and guide them in the homeward way.

3. Teach me thy patience; still with thee,
in closer, dearer company,
in work that keeps faith sure and strong,
in trust that triumphs over wrong,

4. in hope that sends a shining ray
far down the future’s broadening way,
in peace that only thou canst give,
with thee, O Master, let me live.

OPENING PRAYER
Gracious God, today in our worship, let us open our minds.
Let us open our hearts.
Let us open our spirits.

Let us open ourselves to the call of your Spirit.
Let us open ourselves to the call of your Love for all of creation.
Let us open ourselves to the call of your deep creative power.

As we gather together in this community,
Let us listen for the hopes and dreams we express together.
Let our individual strengths and gifts, and all the things we value,
Combine to form a tapestry of care and compassion,
Visible, yet powerful enough to get us moving.

Let us listen for those who are grieving, those who are lost.
Let us listen for those who are at the end of their rope,
and those who are having trouble making ends meet.

Let us listen to our own spirits; finding peace and calm,
Amid the noise and the loss of the world outside our doors.

Let us open ourselves to this day, to this moment.
Let us connect to the power that lights us up from the inside.
Let us light the flame of our inner pilot light, again.
We pray in Christ’s name. AMEN

(a moment of quiet)

Sung Response: VU#381 Spirit of Life
Spirit of life, come unto me
Sing in my heart all the stirrings of compassion
Blow in the wind, rise in the sea
Move in the hand, giving life the shape of justice
Roots hold me close, wings set me free
Spirit of life, come to me, come to me.

We Listen

SCRIPTURE READINGS

Colossians 1: 3 – 12 (New International Version)
Thanksgiving and Prayer
We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people - the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on ourbehalf, and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.
For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.

Luke 10: 25 – 37 (New International Version)
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’^[^a^]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[^b^]”
“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denariiand gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

RESPONSE
These words from scripture are meant to guide us, nurture us, and teach us.
Thanks be to God!

MINISTRY OF MUSIC
Evening Prayer - E. Humperdinck/ C. Burton

SERMON
Key Teachings: “When Love isn’t Quite Enough”

We Respond

*HYMN: VU#595
Sister Let Me Be Your Servant

1. We are pilgrims on a journey,
fellow travellers on the road;
we are here to help each other
walk the mile and bear the load.

2. Sister, let me be your servant,
let me be as Christ to you;
pray that I may have the grace to
let you be my servant too.

3. I will hold the Christ-light for you
in the night-time of your fear;
I will hold my hand out to you,
speak the peace you long to hear.

4. I will weep when you are weeping,
when you laugh I’ll laugh with you;
I will share your joy and sorrow,
till we’ve seen this journey through.

5. When we sing to God in heaven,
we shall find such harmony,
born of all we’ve known together
of Christ’s love and agony.

6. Brother, let me be your servant,
let me be as Christ to you;
pray that I may have the grace to
let you be my servant too.

INVITATION to the OFFERING
Even if the ways of God seem so mysterious as to be unknowable, still at least we get glimpses and hints. Generosity. Love. Justice. Mercy. Passion. Each of these is also a way we can be closer to God, like all of our offerings of time and generosity, and this offering of money we now make.

PRAYER of DEDICATION of our OFFERINGS
Holy One, we offer these gifts because we want to know you better and be closer to you. Please bless all of our giving with your presence. Amen

Donate online: www.graceunitedthornbury.ca, select “Give”
or contact the office by email: accounting@graceunitedthornbury.ca
or phone: 519-599-2438 to arrange a cheque pick-up, or an e-transfer.
Mail: Grace UC, 140 Bruce St. S. PO Box 219, Thornbury, ON N0H 2P0
or Offering Plate at the back of the sanctuary.

Tap your debit card at the door of the church, and Donate to Grace United Church through CanadaHelps.org. Our account is set up with them now and it is easy to register. Tax receipts are given automatically at the time of giving.

Care, Prayer, Share

What’s Up at Grace?

We Go Out

*HYMN: VU#510
We Have This Ministry

1. We have this ministry
and we are not discouraged;
it is by God’s own power
that we may live and serve.
Openly we share God’s word,
speaking truth as we believe,
praying that the shadowed world
may healing light receive.
We have this ministry, O God, receive our living.

2. O Christ, the tree of life,
our end and our beginning,
we grow to fullest flower
when rooted in your love.
Brothers, sisters, clergy, lay,
called to service by your grace,
different cultures, different gifts,
the young and old a place.
We have this ministry, O God, receive our giving.

3. The yoke of Christ is ours,
the whole world is our parish;
we daily take the cross,
the burden and the joy.
Bearing hurts of those we serve,
wounded, bruised and bowed with pain,
Holy Spirit, bread and wine,
we die and rise again.
We have this ministry, O God, receive our loving.

*COMMISSIONING

*SUNG BENEDICTION
Go Now in Peace

Go now in peace. Never be afraid.
God will go with you each hour of every day,
Go now in faith, steadfast, strong and true,
Know God will guide you in all you do.
Go now in love, and show you believe.
Reach out to others so all the world can see.
God will be there, *within, around, above.
Go now in peace, in faith and in love.
Amen, amen, amen.