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“REFECTIONS”

THIRD AVENUE UNITED CHURCH
WELCOMES YOU TO WORSHIP


Sunday, March 29, 2024
GOOD FRIDAY


ORDAINED MINISTER:  Rev. Jo-Ann Hills

MUSIC MINISTRY:   Ilene Wettergreen

HANDBELL DIRECTOR:  Kathleen Link

SCRIPTURES READER: 

ACKNOWLEDGING TERRITORY:
We are gathered today to worship on land that is treaty 6 people. For thousands of years, they have lived on this land, honouring the Creator and living with respect for creation. We acknowledge their stewardship of the land and their relationship with the land and its plants and animals, and the lakes and streams with their life forms throughout the ages. We accept the responsibility we have to nurture and protect this legacy.
     Used with permission from Gathering: Lent/Easter 2023; Jeanne Wilson

WELCOME, TIME OF CELEBRATION OF BIRTHDAYS, ANNIVERSARIES, ANNOUNCEMENTS:

LENTEN CANDLE LITURGY  (The Christ candle is lit)
Light the candle at the beginning of the service.
We light this candle today as a symbol of the love and grace that saturated the life of our brother and guide, Jesus Christ. It shines in this place. It shines in and through us. It shows us the way on this difficult day.

Sung Response:Don't Be Afraid”  # 90 MVU
“Don't be afraid. My love is stronger, my love is stronger than your fear. Don't be afraid. My love is stronger and I have promised, promised to be always near.”

1.  Call to Worship:
Today is a day to remember shadowed times and places.
Sadness and grief surface when we enter this gloomy day.
Yet, we know that death does not have the last word.
It is Good Friday and, in the mystery of God's love, a day of hope.

2.  Opening Prayer:
Anointed One, so grateful are we for your willingness to experience such pain and suffering for our sakes. Humbled are we by the depth of your sacrifice. Incredibly blessed is all of creation to be so loved. It is our prayer that no more people should suffer as you suffered, that no more people should be unjustly tried as you were tried, tortured as you were tortured, killed as you were killed. May those who thirst not receive bitter offerings but be truly quenched with water and the Word. May those who are alone and afraid be embraced by new families. We wait for your embrace in our silent prayer…
(a time of silence)
Amen.

3.  Hymn:Go To Dark Gethsemane”  # 133 VU
1.  Go to dark Gethsemane,
you that feel the tempter's power;
your Redeemer's conflict see;
watch with him one bitter hour;
turn not from his grief away;
learn from him to watch and pray.

2.  See him at the judgement hall,
beaten, bound, reviled, arraigned;
see him meekly bearing all;
love to all his soul sustained.
Shun not suffering, shame, or loss:
learn from Christ to bear the cross.

3.  Calvary's mournful mountain view;
there the Lord of glory see,
made a sacrifice for you,
dying on the accursed tree.
“It is finished,” hear his cry:
trust in Christ and learn to die.

4.  Prayer of Confession
Heavenly God, as we think about Pilate succumbing to the cries of the crowd and condemning Jesus to death despite his own beliefs, we reflect on our own lives. We recognize that we don't always follow our hearts and sometimes give in to the noise of the crowd around us. We experience group think at work, in our volunteer duties, and in our communities. We pray now to ask for your strength to fill us with the resolve to do what is right and to not always take the easy route. Help us to join with those around us in our own community and in the larger world to find useful solutions in a world full of hunger, pain, illness, war, and poverty. Together may we take the route of justice and compassion, becoming a crowd that calls for life and is noticed for proclaiming hope. We ask all this through your son, Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray, "Our Father…"

THE LORD'S PRAYER

Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom
and the power, and the glory,
forever and ever. AMEN.

5.  Offering Invitation and Prayer:
Endless Giving God, we gather today to remember the gift you gave the world. You love us so much that you allowed the political powers to crucify Jesus. We can hardly imagine such an atrocity. And yet we know the story doesn't end on Good Friday. That is why we dare to offer our gifts. We know that our offerings, even on this day, are an Easter message.
We give because we hope and love. Receive them and convert them into new life. Amen.

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

E-transfers can be sent to: thirdaveunited@sasktel.net
answer to security question is: “payment”

6.  Extinguish the Christ Candle:
The Light shows us the way, but we have come to the end of a road. It shines in and through us, but our fear diminishes its flame. It shines in this place, when we let it.
Today, as a symbol of the love and grace the world sought to snuff out, we extinguish this candle.

WE LEAVE THE SANCTURAY IN SILENCE FOR LOGIE HALL TO SHARE IN FELLOWSHIP WITH COFFEE AND HOT CROSS BUNS.


Scripture Readings, Reflection and Prayer

  • Scripture Lesson:  The Gospel of John 18:  1 - 40 [NRSV]
    The Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus
    Jesus before the High Priest
    The High Priest Questions Jesus
    Peter Denies Jesus Again
    Jesus Before Pilate
    Jesus Sentenced To Death


  • Scripture Lesson:  The Gospel of John 19:  1 - 41 [NRSV]
    The Crucifiction of Jesus
    Jesus Side is Pierced
    The Burial of Jesus

EASTER DAY
        March 31, 2024:
          Isaiah 25:6-9;  Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24;
        John 20:1-18;  Mark 16:1-8 .


“Archived Videos”



“Live Stream” Broadcast Team:
Kenneth Holliday
Graeme Hoover
Raymond Humenny
Ken Smart

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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!