Third Avenue United Church

CANDLE LITURGY
Lighting a single candle symbolizing Christ as the light of the world has become a treasured tradition in our congregation, just as in many others.
We light the candle, symbolizing hope in our chaotic world.
Used with permission from Gathering Pentecost 1 2026; Laura J. Turnbull

SUNG RESPONSE: VU 359 “He Came Singing love” V3
3. He came singing hope
and he lived singing hope;
he died singing hope.
He arose in silence.
For the hope to go on
we must make it our song;
you and I be the singers.

1. CALL TO WORSHIP:
Time calls us to this place
to find comfort, to find caring, to love one another.
Time is a gift we are given each morning we rise.
It is our responsibility to use it wisely.
It is also our responsibility to use it gently.
To be, rather than always “to do.”
We are human creatures
and we come to this place to honour our Creator.
Come, sit, listen, and most importantly, BE in this place.
We have come answering God's call.
Used with permission from Gathering Pentecost 1 2026; Eric Hebert-Daly

2. OPENING PRAYER:
Creator of All, we awake each morning in the knowledge that you have granted us another day in which to live out our lives. Help us to appreciate this time and find joy in the moments of this day. Open our senses to experience the sunshine or the raindrops as gifts and to eat today savouring the tastes and textures. When we talk to a friend or a stranger and find common ground in sharing fears and anxieties, may we find a release and a freedom in knowing that others are in the same place, too. Help us to remember that while our earthly lives are but a flicker in time, you exist for eternity. The events in the world are also but a flicker in time, but you will always be our God. Amen.
Used with permission from Gathering Pentecost 1 2026; Sharon Winegarden

4. HYMN VU 409 “Morning Has Broken”
1. 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!

2. 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.

3. 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!

5. PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION
Life-giving God, feed us with your word of transformation. Enable us to experience it with clarity and excitement. Let us feast on your Good News of love and grace as we receive this message. May we be your enlivened people. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.
Used with permission from Gathering Pentecost 1 2026; Laura J. Turnbull

6. HYMN: VU 288 “Great is Thy Faithfulness”
1. 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 hast been thou forever wilt be.
Great is thy faithfulness!
     Refrain:
     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!

2. 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

3. 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

8. PRAYER OF YEARNING:
Merciful God, hear our prayer. Hear the cries of our hearts and the needs of our souls. When we are cast aside or falling apart, hold us in your arms of love. Help us sing once again of your love and proclaim your strength and grace. Show us signs of your goodness, your presence, and your love, over and over again. Teach our hearts that we never walk alone. In your mercy and grace, we pray. Amen.
From the Abingdon Worship Annual 2026.
Copyright @2025 by Abingdon Press. Used by permission

10. HYMN: VU 574 “Come, Let Us Sing of a Wonderful Love”
1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

11. PASSING OF THE PEACE:
Just as we have received God's peace through Christ Jesus, so now we are invited to offer God's peace to one another through the grace and love of Christ Jesus. May peace be the promise we offer to one another.
From the Abingdon Worship Annual 2025.
Copyright @2024 by Abingdon Press. Used by permission

12. INVITATION TO OFFERING:
As God has promised good to us, so God invites us to offer promises of goodness to others in need. May our offerings be blessings of healing and hope to a weary world.
From the Abingdon Worship Annual 2026.
Copyright @2025 by Abingdon Press. Used by permission

13. OFFERTORY: VU 540 “Grant Us, God the Grace”
Grant us, God, the grace of giving,
with a spirit large and free,
that ourselves and all our living
we may offer faithfully.

14. OFFERING PRAYER OF DEDICATION
Gracious God, you have blessed us as our Father, as our Mother, and as our companion and friend. Christ Jesus, you have blessed as a savior and teacher, and as a master and guide. We thank you for those who help us discover your patenting love, your guiding companionship, and your loving grace. Bless these gifts this day, that others might touch your loving presence in all of life. Amen. Amen.
From the Abingdon Worship Annual 2026.
Copyright @2025 by Abingdon Press. Used by permission

Please give by contributing online using “E-transfers” or PAR (Pre-Authorized Remittance) or by placing your offering in the plate.

16. HYMN: VU 387 “Loving Spirit”
1. Loving Spirit, loving Spirit,
you have chosen me to be,
you have drawn me to your wonder,
you have set your sign on me.

2. Like a mother, you enfold me,
hold my life within your own,
feed me with your very body,
form me of your flesh and bone.

3. Like a father, you protect me,
teach me the discerning eye,
hoist me up upon your shoulder,
let me see the world from high.

4. Friend and lover, in your closeness
I am known and held and blessed;
in your promise is my comfort,
in your presence I may rest.

5. Loving Spirit, loving Spirit,
you have chosen me to be,
you have drawn me to your wonder,
you have set your sign on me.

17. BLESSING:
Guided by God,
we go into the world.
Led by Christ,
we go with love and grace.
Strengthened by the Spirit,
we go to make the world a better place. Amen and Amen.
From the Abingdon Worship Annual 2026.
Copyright @2025 by Abingdon Press. Used by permission

Next Sunday: Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
        June 28, 2026:
         Genesis 22: 1 - 14   Psalm 13;
         Romans 6: 12 - 23;  Matthew 10: 40 - 42.

Note: Don't have a Bible? By Clicking on the button below, you can open a new window in an Online Bible. By entering the BOOK and CHAPTER, you will be able to look up the references in the sermon. Copy and paste will work as long as there is no other words between the book name and chapter number. Try it and Enjoy!