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“The Journey Home”
THIRD AVENUE UNITED CHURCH
WELCOMES YOU WORSHIP!
Order of Worship
March 30, 2025
“FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT”
ORDAINED MINISTER: Rev. Jo-Ann Hills
Worship Leader: Linda Emberley
ORGANIST / PIANIST: Ilene Wettergreen
HANDBELL DIRECTOR: Kathleen Link
OFFICE COORDINATOR: Jodi Hargreaves
SCRIPTURES READER: Irene Sack
ACKNOWLEDGING TERRITORY:
We acknowledge that this land on which we gather for worship is the traditional land of the people of Treaty 6 and the homeland of the Metis. We acknowledge that we live on this land as people who have agreed to share the care and use of this land as a result of a treaty that outlined the rights and responsibilities associated with our place in this land. May we be people who remember this with thanksgiving and respect. Adapted and used with permission from Gathering: Peter Chynoweth
CALL TO WORSHIP: L. Wherever you are, God Says, P. Welcome home! L. Wherever you have been, God says to you, P. Welcome home! L. Whatever you have done, God says to you, P. Welcome home! L. In the midst of temptation, anxiety, or confusion, God says to you, P. Welcome home! L. Whether you feel you deserve it or not, God says to you, P. Welcome home! L. Come, let us worship God.
Hymn: “Let Us Build a House” MV 1
1. Let us build a house where love can dwell and all can safely live,
a place where saints and children tell how hearts learn to forgive.
Built of hopes and dreams and visions, rock of faith and vault of grace;
here the love of Christ shall end divisions:
All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.
2. Let us build a house where prophets speak, and words are strong and true,
where all God's children dare to seek to dream God's reign anew.
Here the cross shall stand as witness and as symbol of God's grace;
here as one we claim the faith of Jesus;
All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.
3. Let us build a house where love is found in water, wine and wheat;
a banquet hall on holy ground, where peace and justice meet.
Here the love of God, through Jesus, is revealed in time and space;
as we share in Christ the feast that frees us:
All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.
4. Let us build a house where hands will reach beyond the wood and stone
to heal and strengthen, serve and teach, and live the Word they've known.
Here the outcast and the stranger bear the image of God's face;
let us bring an end to fear and danger:
All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.
Prayer of Approach: (in unison)
God of creation, you care for each and every one of your creations, from the land and air to the birds, animals, marine life, and the ones you have created in your own image, humankind. When we hurt, you hold us. When we are alone, you come to us. When we are lost, you welcome us home. We gather now to remember with thanksgiving these gifts of grace. We ask you to touch our hearts and open our spirits to your word as we receive your call to action now. Amen.
Theme Time: “Letters to God”:
Hymn:“Give to Us Laughter” VU 624
1. Give to us laughter, O Source of our life.
Laughter can banish so much of our strife.
Laughter and love give us wholeness and health.
Laughter and love are the coin of true wealth.
2. Give to us laughter as sign of deep joy;
let us in laughing find Christian employ,
joining with stars and with bright northern lights,
laughing and praising and sharing delights.'
3. Why do we worry that we will lose face?
Why act like king for the whole human race?
Often in family, and often with friend,
laughing at pride causes anguish to end.
4. Even in sorrow and hours of grief,
laughter with tears brings most healing relief.
God, give us laughter, and God, give us peace,
joys of your presence among us increase.
SERMON:“The Journey Home”
Offering and Offertory Hymn: VU 540
Grant us, God, the grace of giving,
with a spirit large and free.
That ourselves and all our living
we may offer faithfully.
Prayer of Dedication: (in unison) Bless these gifts, generous God, that they may be used to find your children - children who wander in hunger, children who long to come home. Through our gifts, may all who wander set off for home, and may we celebrate and rejoice in their homecoming. 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”
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND LORD'S PRAYER VU 960
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.
Commissioning and Benediction:
Three Fold Amen
SCRIPTURE LESSONS
Old Testament Reading:
Joshua 5: 9 - 12
Epistle Reading:
2 Corinthians 5: 16 - 21
Psalm Reading: Psalm 32 page 759 VU (with refrain) Refrain: “Be glad in God you righteous. Rejoice, O saints, rejoice.””
Gospel of Luke 15: 11b - 32 Two Sons
Next Sunday: Fifth Sunday in Lent April 6, 2025: Isaiah 43:16-21; Psalm 126; Philippians 3:4b-14; John 12:1-8.
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