CANDLE LITURGY
Too much pain in our world is caused by arrogance.
We can easily think we are the only ones who are right.
Let us be open to the holy in other people, the light of Christ shining in other people.
Let us rejoice that God's peace can be upon us all as we light the candle of Christ.
(Light the Christ candle.)
     Adapted/Used with permission Pentecost 2 Gathering 2025; Beth W Johnston

Sung Response: “When Pain of the World”  598 VU  V.5  ( Verse 1, please remain seated)
1. When pain of the world surrounds us with darkness and despair,
when searching just confounds us with false hopes everywhere,
when lives are starved for meaning and destiny is bare,
we are called to follow Jesus and let God's healing flow through us.

1. CALL TO WORSHIP:
Welcome to all as we join in worship this morning.
As sure as a prairie sunrise, we lift each other up, united.
We come together as faith-filled people.
As sure as a prairie sunset, all our prayers rest in the heart of God.
Let the seeds of our faith grow deep…
connecting us to the vast, rich soil of creation.
In our receiving and our believing, let us worship.
     Used with permission Pentecost 2 Gathering 2025; Don Sellsted

2. OPENING PRAYER:
Holy One, Creator of all that is good, may our hearts and minds be open today to your presence. May we thankfully acknowledge that you are pure goodness and strength for all Creation. You bring order out of chaos, gentleness and kindness in times of trouble, comfort to all who feel unlovable, and joy to those whose hearts are broken. You travel with us all our days and welcome us to journey with you. You, the One who designed us as we are, promise you will never leave us. We acknowledge in this time and this place that we are grateful. And together we all offer:  Amen
     Used with permission Pentecost 2 Gathering 2025; Rosemary Godin

3. LEARNING TIME:

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,
ike 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
As we receive the readings from your holy word, Gracious God, open us to greater understanding. We ask this in Christ Jesus.  Amen.
     Used with permission from Gathering: Pentecost 2: Mary Anderson

6. SCRIPTURE LESSON
Jeremiah 8: 18 - 9:1
God, I am very sad and afraid. 19 Listen to my people. Everywhere in this country, people are crying for help. They say, “Is the Lord still at Zion? Is Zion's King still there?” But God says, “The people of Judah worshiped their worthless foreign idols. That made me very angry! Why did they do that?” 20 And the people say, “Harvest time is over. Summer is gone, and still we have not been saved.” 21 My people are hurt, so I am hurt. I am too sad to speak. 22 Surely there is some medicine in Gilead. Surely there is a doctor in Gilead. So why are the wounds of my people not healed? 9 If my head were filled with water, and if my eyes were a fountain of tears, I would cry day and night for my people who have been destroyed.

Responsive Reading Psalm 79: 1 - 9  VU page 793
Refrain: “Help us, God of our salvation, for the glory of your name”

O God, the nations have entered your domain, defiled your holy temple and laid Jerusalem in ruins.
They have left your servants' bodies for scavenging birds, the flesh of your faithful ones for wild beasts.
Their blood was shed like water around Jerusalem, with none to bury them.
We have become the taunt of our neighbours, mocked and scorned by those around us.
How long, O God? Will you be angry forever?
Will your jealous wrath burn like fire?  Refrain

Pour out your rage on the nations that do not acknowledge you,
on the realms that will not call on your name;
for they have devoured Jacob and desolated Israel's home.
Do not hold the sins of past generations against us;
let your compassion come swiftly to meet us, for we are sunk very low.
Help us, O God our Saviour, for the glory of your name.
Deliver us and forgive our sin, for the honour of your name.  Refrain

7. REFLECTION:

8. HYMN: VU 678 “For the Healing of the Nations”
1.  For the healing of the nations, God, we pray with one accord;
for a just and equal sharing of the things that earth affords.
To a life of love in action help us rise and pledge our word.

2.  Lead us forward into freedom, from despair your world release;
that, redeemed from war and hatred, all may come and go in peace.
Show us how through care and goodness fear will die and hope increase.

3.  All that kills abundant living, let it from the earth be banned:
pride of status, race or schooling, dogmas that obscure your plan.
In our common quest for justice may we hallow life's brief span.

4.  You, Creator-God, have written your great name on humankind;
for our growing in your likeness bring the life of Christ to mind;
that, by our response and service, earth its destiny may find.

9. SCRIPTURE LESSONS
1 Timothy 2: 1 - 7
God Wants Us to Pray for Everyone
2 First of all, I ask that you pray for all people. Ask God to bless them and give them what they need. And give thanks. 2 You should pray for rulers and for all who have authority. Pray for these leaders so that we can live quiet and peaceful lives-lives full of devotion to God and respect for him. 3 This is good and pleases God our Savior. 4 God wants everyone to be saved and to fully understand the truth. 5 There is only one God, and there is only one way that people can reach God. That way is through Christ Jesus, who as a man 6 gave himself to pay for everyone to be free. This is the message that was given to us at just the right time. 7 And I was chosen as an apostle to tell people that message. (I am telling the truth. I am not lying.) I was chosen to teach those who are not Jews to believe and understand the truth.

Luke 16: 1 - 13
True Wealth
16 Jesus said to his followers, "Once there was a rich man. He hired a manager to take care of his business. Later, he learned that his manager was cheating him. 2 So he called the manager in and said to him, 'I have heard bad things about you. Give me a report of what you have done with my money. You can't be my manager anymore.' 3 "So, the manager thought to himself, 'What will I do? My master is taking my job away from me. I am not strong enough to dig ditches. I am too proud to beg. 4 I know what I will do! I will do something to make friends, so that when I lose my job, they will welcome me into their homes.' 5 "So the manager called in each person who owed the master some money. He asked the first one, 'How much do you owe my master?' 6 He answered, 'I owe him 100 jars[a] of olive oil.' The manager said to him, 'Here is your bill. Hurry! Sit down and make the bill less. Write 50 jars.' 7 "Then the manager asked another one, 'How much do you owe my master?' He answered, 'I owe him 100 measures[b] of wheat.' Then the manager said to him, 'Here is your bill; you can make it less. Write 80 measures.' 8 "Later, the master told the dishonest manager that he had done a smart thing. Yes, worldly people are smarter in their business with each other than spiritual people are. 9 "I tell you, use the worldly things you have now to make 'friends' for later. Then, when those things are gone, you will be welcomed into a home that lasts forever. 10 Whoever can be trusted with small things can also be trusted with big things. Whoever is dishonest in little things will be dishonest in big things too. 11 If you cannot be trusted with worldly riches, you will not be trusted with the true riches. 12 And if you cannot be trusted with the things that belong to someone else, you will not be given anything of your own. 13 “You cannot serve two masters at the same time. You will hate one master and love the other. Or you will be loyal to one and not care about the other. You cannot serve God and Money[c] at the same time.”

11. HYMN VU #575  “I'm Gonna Live So God Can Use Me”
1.  I'm gonna live so God can use me anywhere, Lord, anytime!
I'm gonna live so God can use me anywhere, Lord, anytime!

2.  I'm gonna work so God can use me anywhere, Lord, anytime!
I'm gonna work so God can use me anywhere, Lord, anytime!

3.  I'm gonna pray so God can use me anywhere, Lord, anytime!
I'm gonna pray so God can use me anywhere, Lord, anytime!

4.  I'm gonna sing so God can use me anywhere, Lord, anytime!
I'm gonna sing so God can use me anywhere, Lord, anytime!

12.  PRAYER OF CONFESSION:
Gracious God, we are your people, living and owning our place in a bent system and not the system Jesus points to. We confess the acts and words by which we fail to nurture Jesus' Way. We confess our failure to pick up the challenges of Jesus' Way. We confess our attraction to the bent system we are participants in and the comfort we find there. We confess our gifts for shrinking our words and actions to avoid love, relationships, hurt, compassion, friendship. We confess our ability to pass by on the other side.
(a time of silence to make these encompassing statements personal)
Gracious God, we thank you for receiving our confession and offering us the opportunity to start anew.  Amen.
     Used with permission Pentecost 2 Gathering 2025; Bill Perry

13.  WORDS OF ASSURANCE:
God's grace is over all and in all. By God's grace, our faithfulness is possible. By God's grace, we are renewed and can begin afresh each and every day.
Thanks be to God.  Amen.
     Used with permission Pentecost 2 Gathering 2025; Beth W Johnston

14.  SUNG RESPONSE: 513 VU “Give to Me, Lord, a Thankful Heart” verse 1 seated
1.  Give to me, Lord, a thankful heart
and a discerning mind;.
give, as I play the Christian's part,
the strength to finish what I start
and act on what I find.

15.  PASSING OF THE PEACE:
Christ's peace is found in hearts that are turned to God. Let us find deep and abiding peace, as we share a moment of grace with one another.
     From the Abingdon Worship Annual 2025.
     Copyright @2024 by Abingdon Press. Used by permission.

16.  INVITATION TO OFFERING:
We are called to participate in the healing of the world. Our offerings can enable this community and others to be what the church is called to be, offering healing and love. Let us present our morning offering.
     Used with permission Pentecost 2 Gathering 2025; Beth W Johnston

17. OFFERTORY VU 538 “For the Gift of Creation”
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.

18.  OFFERING PRAYER:
You call us to be wise with our riches, O God, that your realm may be blessed for the benefit of all. May we be found faithful in a little, that you may entrust us to be faithful in much. We offer you these gifts in gratitude for your love. May they bring your healing and light to those who need the balm of Gilead.  Amen.
     From the Abingdon Worship Annual 2025.
     Copyright @2024 by Abingdon Press. Used by permission.

19. PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND LORD'S PRAYER:

20. HYMN 713 VU “I See a New Heaven”
Refrain:
I see a new heaven. I see a new earth as the old one will pass away,
where the fountain of life flows and without price goes to all people who abide in the land.

1.  There, there on the banks of a river bright and free,
yielding her fruit, firm in her root, the Tree of Life will be.  Refrain

2.  There, there where death dies and our lives are born again,
body and soul, struggling but whole like flowers after the rain.  Refrain

3.  There, there where the darkness brings visions from above.
There where the night, bearing new light, reveals the promise of love.  Refrain

4.  There, there where we work with the love of healing hands.
Labour we must, true to our trust to build a promised new land.

21.  BLESSING:
May we know the abiding presence of God's love.
May we be guided by this unending love.
May we continue to be transformed and healed by this love.
In the name of the Creator, Son, and Spirit.  Amen.
     Used with permission Pentecost 2 Gathering 2025; Susan Girard

Next Sunday:  Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost
        September 28, 2025:
         Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15;   Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16;
         1 Timothy 6:6-19;  Luke 16:19-31.

1. SUNDAY, September 21, 2025  “Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost”   10:45 AM   Rev. Jo-Ann Hills  “RECOLLECTIONS”   ALL ARE WELCOME!


2. SUNDAY, September 21, 2025  “SUNDAY BRUNCH”  11:30 AM - 1:00 PM  ALL ARE WELCOME!


3. TUESDAY, September 23, 2025  Jubilation Handbell Ringers   If you are interested in ringing some bells, come out and give it a try;   6:30pm in the Choir Room.


4. SUNDAY, September 28, 2025  “Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost”   10:45 AM   Nora Borgeson  “RECOLLECTIONS”   ALL ARE WELCOME!


5. SUNDAY, October 5, 2025  “WORLD WIDE COMMUNION DAY”   10:45 AM   Rev. Jo-Ann Hills  “RECOLLECTIONS”   ALL ARE WELCOME!


6. SUNDAY, October 19, 2025  “SUNDAY BRUNCH”  11:30 AM - 1:00 PM  ALL ARE WELCOME!


7. SUNDAY, October 26, 2025  “ROAST BEEF FALL SUPPER”   5:00 - 7:00 PM   Take Out Meals Available by Pre-Order Only  “Phone: 306-445-8171”   ALL ARE WELCOME!
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