CANDLE LITURGY:
We light this candle as a symbol
of our intention to be open and attentive to God's presence and guidance during our time of worship.
     Used with permission from Gathering Pentecost 1 2026; Christine Le Blanc

SUNG RESPONSE: VU 333 “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling”   Verse 1
1. Love divine, all loves excelling, joy of heaven to earth come down,
fix in us thy humble dwelling, all thy faithful mercies crown.
Jesus, thou art all compassion, pure, unbounded love thou art;
visit us with thy salvation, enter every trembling heart.

1. CALL TO WORSHIP:
Taking care...of one another.
Taking care...of the world.
Taking care...with each other.
Taking care...with the Word.
We are stewards of all God's things.
We are stewards of all God's gifts.
We are stewards of all God's Creation.
So we must take care.
In our living, in our sharing, in our acting, in our caring...
we worship God.
     Used with permission from Gathering Pentecost 1 2026; Richard Bott

2. OPENING PRAYER:
God of steadfast love, you set before us the call of faith and service. You give us reason to live in ways that both nurture us and challenge us. You assure us with your compassion and surprise us with your resolve. As your people, we seek to live with your purpose and to share your sensitivity. Be with us in our journey of faith, a journey we share with people around the world, as we celebrate all that Jesus taught us.  Amen.
     Used with permission adapted from Gathering Pentecost 1 2026; Bill Steadman

3. LEARNING TIME:

4. HYMN: 708 VU “My Lord, What a Morning”
Refrain:
My Lord, what a morning.
My Lord, what a morning.
My Lord, what a morning when the stars begin to fall.

1.  You'll hear the trumpet sound to wake the nations underground,
Looking to my God's right hand when the stars begin to fall.  Refrain

2.  You'll hear the sinner cry to wake the nations underground,
Looking to my God's right hand when the stars begin to fall.  Refrain

3.  You'll hear the Christian shout to wake the nations underground,
Looking to my God's right hand when the stars begin to fall.  Refrain

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.
     Used with permission from Gathering Pentecost 1 2026; Laura J. Turnbull

6. SCRIPTURE LESSON:
Genesis 28: 10 - 19a
Jacob's Dream at Bethel
10 Jacob left the town of Beersheba and started out for Haran. 11 At sunset he stopped for the night and went to sleep, resting his head on a large rock. 12 In a dream he saw a ladder that reached from earth to heaven, and God's angels were going up and down on it. 13 The Lord was standing beside the ladder[a] and said: I am the Lord God who was worshiped by Abraham and Isaac. I will give to you and your family the land on which you are now sleeping. 14 Your descendants will spread over the earth in all directions and will become as numerous as the specks of dust. Your family will be a blessing to all people.[b] 15 Wherever you go, I will watch over you, then later I will bring you back to this land. I won't leave you-I will do all I have promised. 16 Jacob woke up suddenly and thought, “The Lord is in this place, and I didn't even know it.” 17 Then Jacob became frightened and said, “What a frightening place! It must be the house of God and the gateway to heaven.” 18 When Jacob got up early the next morning, he took the rock that he had used for a pillow and stood it up as a place of worship. Then he poured olive oil on the rock to dedicate it to God, 19 and he named the place Bethel.

Responsive Reading Psalm 139: 1 - 12, 23 - 24 VU page 861
Refrain:  “God, you have searched me, you know me through and through.”

Your word is a lamp for my feet, and a light for my path.
O God, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar. You discern my path and the places I rest; you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue, you know it, O God, completely.
You guard me from behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.
It is beyond my knowledge; it is a mystery; I cannot fathom it.  Refrain

Where can I escape from your spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I lie down in the grave, you are even there.
If I take wing with the dawn and alight at the sea's farthest limits,
there also your hand will be guiding me your powerful hand holding me fast.
If I say, 'Let the darkness cover me and my day be turned to night,'
even darkness is not dark to you: the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you.  Refrain

It was you who formed my inward parts; you fashioned me in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully, wonderfully made.
Wondrous are your works; that I know very well.
My frame was not hidden from you when I was being fashioned in secret, intricately woven in the mystery of clay.
Your eyes saw my substance taking shape; in your book my every day was recorded; all my days were fashioned, even before they came to be. Refrain

How deep your designs are to me, O God! How great their number!
I try to count them but they are more than the sand.
I come to the end - I am still with you.
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my thoughts.
Watch closely, lest I follow a path of error
and guide me in the everlasting way.  Refrain

7.  REFLECTION:

8.  HYMN: VU 307 “Touch the Earth Lightly”
1.  Touch the earth lightly, use the earth gently,
nourish the life of the world in our care:
gift of great wonder, ours to surrender,
trust for the children tomorrow will bear.

2.  We who endanger, who create hunger,
agents of death for all creatures that live,
we who would foster clouds of disaster,
God of our planet, forestall and forgive!

3.  Let there be greening, birth from the burning,
water that blesses and air that is sweet,
health in God's garden, hope in God's children,
regeneration that peace will complete.

4.  God of all living, God of all loving,
God of the seedling, the snow and the sun,
teach us, deflect us, Christ reconnect us,
using us gently and making us one.

9. SCRIPTURE LESSONS:
Romans 8: 12 - 25
12 My dear friends, we must not live to satisfy our desires. 13 If you do, you will die. But you will live, if by the help of God's Spirit you say “No” to your desires. 14 Only those people who are led by God's Spirit are his children. 15 God's Spirit doesn't make us slaves who are afraid of him. Instead, we become his children and call him our Father.[a] 16 God's Spirit makes us sure that we are his children. 17 His Spirit lets us know that together with Christ we will be given what God has promised. We will also share in the glory of Christ, because we have suffered with him. 18 I am sure what we are suffering now cannot compare with the glory that will be shown to us. 19 In fact, all creation is eagerly waiting for God to show who his children are. 20 Meanwhile, creation is confused, but not because it wants to be confused. God made it this way in the hope 21 that creation would be set free from decay and would share in the glorious freedom of his children. 22 We know that all creation is still groaning and is in pain, like a woman about to give birth. 23 The Spirit makes us sure about what we will be in the future. But now we groan silently, while we wait for God to show that we are his children.[b] This means that our bodies will also be set free. 24 And this hope is what saves us. But if we already have what we hope for, there is no need to keep on hoping. 25 However, we hope for something we have not yet seen, and we patiently wait for it.

Matthew 13: 24 - 30, 36 - 43
Weeds among the Wheat
24 Jesus then told them this story: The kingdom of heaven is like what happened when a farmer scattered good seed in a field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, an enemy came and scattered weed seeds in the field and then left. 26 When the plants came up and began to mature, the farmer's servants could see the weeds. 27 The servants came and asked, “Sir, didn't you scatter good seed in your field? Where did these weeds come from?” 28 “An enemy did this,” he replied. His servants then asked, “Do you want us to go out and pull up the weeds?” 29 “No!” he answered. “You might also pull up the wheat. 30 Leave the weeds alone until harvest time. Then I'll tell my workers to gather the weeds and tie them up and burn them. But I'll order them to store the wheat in my barn.”
Jesus Explains the Story about the Weeds
36 After Jesus left the crowd and went inside,[b] his disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the story about the weeds in the wheat field.” 37 Jesus answered: The one who scattered the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seeds are the people who belong to the kingdom. The weeds are those who belong to the evil one, 39 and the one who scattered them is the devil. The harvest is the end of time, and angels are the ones who bring in the harvest.
40 Weeds are gathered and burned. That's how it will be at the end of time. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom everyone who does wrong or causes others to sin. 42 Then he will throw them into a flaming furnace, where people will cry and grit their teeth in pain. 43 But everyone who has done right will shine like the sun in their Father's kingdom. If you have ears, pay attention!

10.  REFLECTION:

11. HYMN VU 516 “Come, You Thankful People, Come”
1.  Come, you thankful people, come,
raise the song of harvest home!
All is safely gathered in,
safe before the storms begin;
God, our maker, does provide
for our needs to be supplied:
come to God's own temple, come,
raise the song of harvest home!

2.  All the world is God's own field,
harvests for God's praise to yield;
wheat and weeds together sown,
here for joy or sorrow grown;
first the blade, and then the ear,
then the full corn shall appear:
Harvest-giver, grant that we
wholesome grain and pure may be.

3.  For our God, one day, shall come,
and shall take this harvest home;
from the field shall in that day
all offences purge away;
giving angels charge at last
in the fire the weeds to cast;
but the fruitful ears to store
in the garner evermore.

4.  Even so, God, quickly come
to your final harvest home!
Gather all your people in,
free from sorrow, free from sin;
there for ever purified,
in your presence to abide:
come, with all your angels, come,
raise the glorious harvest home.

12. PRAYER OF YEARNING:
Abba God, as our heavenly parent, you have given us your words of direction to teach us how to live by eternal truths. Still, we struggle with the fleshly desires that slow our living into our most abundant lives. We ache for the breath of your compassion to restore us to spiritual health. Assist us to live in freedom instead of fear. Imbue our minds with deep compassion, that we may find fulfillment in caring for the world around us. Help us deal with the weeds of distrust, greed, anger, lust, isolation, jealously and egoism that manifest as abuses and the denigration of others. May we be increasingly strengthened as your children and shine like the sum in our hurting world.  Amen.
     From the Abingdon Worship Annual 2026.
     Copyright @2025 by Abingdon Press. Used by permission

13.  WORDS OF ASSURANCE:
God searches and knows you. God is familiar with all your ways. God loves you as a precious child, making you co-heirs of glory and multi-generational promises that free us from frustration and fill us with hope. Peace and hope are yours in the name of Christ.  Amen.
     From the Abingdon Worship Annual 2026.
     Copyright @2025 by Abingdon Press. Used by permission

14. HYMN: VU 421 “Lead On, O Cloud of Presence”
1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

15.  PASSING OF THE PEACE:
As we are loved beyond our wildest imaginations by the God who formed us from dust, may we share this mysterious abundant love with one another, as we share signs of peace this day.
     From the Abingdon Worship Annual 2025.
     Copyright @2024 by Abingdon Press. Used by permission

16. INVITATION TO OFFERING:
Let us embrace the promise of love through the gifts of our offering-love with God and love with the world-as we seek to further God's eternal work of acceptance, kindness, compassion, and forgiveness. Let us present our morning offering. .
     Used with permission from Gathering Pentecost 1 2026; Gill Le Fevre

17.  OFFERTORY: VU 541 “Praise God from Whom All Blessing Flow”
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
praise God, all creatures high and low;
give thanks to God in love made known:
Creator, Word and Spirit, One.

18.   OFFERING PRAYER OF DEDICATION:
Holy Harvester, you have been planting seeds of blessing and provision for thousands of years. In gratitude for all You have done, we give you thanks and praise. For the work you have called us to accomplish in this season, we give our prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. For the harvest yet to come, we pray for your direction and protection, that all we contribute may bring forth your fruitful bounty in the field of your heavenly dream.  Amen.
      From the Abingdon Worship Annual 2026.
      Copyright @2025 by Abingdon Press. Used by permission

19.  PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND LORD'S PRAYER

20. HYMN: VU 703 “In the Bulb There Is a Flower”
1.  In the bulb there is a flower;
in the seed, an apple tree;
in cocoons, a hidden promise:
butterflies will soon be free!
In the cold and snow of winter
there's a spring that waits to be,
unrevealed until its season,
something God alone can see.

2.  There's a song in every silence,
seeking word and melody;
there's a dawn in every darkness,
bringing hope to you and me.
From the past will come the future;
what it holds, a mystery,
unrevealed until its season,
something God alone can see.

3.  In our end is our beginning;
in our time, infinity;
in our doubt there is believing;
in our life, eternity.
In our death, a resurrection;
at the last, a victory,
unrevealed until its season,
something God alone can see.

21.  BLESSING:
The God whose love is unbounded and whose generosity is limitless goes with you on your way:
God, a friend, who knows the depth of our feeling, and the full extent of our fearing.
God, an encourager, who knows the scope of our talent and the store of energy we can summon up.
God, a challenger, who asks the significant questions, and will not be put off by superficial answers.
God, a loved one, with us in the tough times of life, yet celebrating with us when we discover joy.
God goes with us. God will never leave us. Thanks be to God! Amen.
     Used with permission from Gathering Pentecost 1 2026; David Sparks

22.  THREE FOLD AMEN:

Next Sunday:  Ninth Sunday after Pentecost
        July 26, 2026:
         Genesis 29: 15 -28    Psalm 105: 1 - 11, 45b;
         Romans 8: 26 - 39;  Matthew 13: 31 - 33, 44 - 52.

1. SATURDAY, July 18, 2026  Celebration of Life for Joan Bunce   2:00 PM   ALL ARE WELCOME!


2. SUNDAY, July 19, 2026  Eighth Sunday after Pentecost   10:45 AM   Rev. Jo-Ann Hills  “RECOLLECTIONS”  ALL ARE WELCOME!


3. SUNDAY, July 26, 2026  Ninth Sunday after Pentecost / COMMUNION   10:45 AM   Rev. Jo-Ann Hills  “RECOLLECTIONS”  ALL ARE WELCOME!


4. SUNDAY, August 2, 2026  Tenth Sunday after Pentecost   10:45 AM   Rev. Jo-Ann Hills  “RECOLLECTIONS”  ALL ARE WELCOME!