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November 23, 2025: Reign of Christ Sunday

Rev Brian Goodings

Sunday, November 23, 2025

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November 23rd, 2025

Reign of Christ Sunday

Find this service at www.graceunitedthornbury.ca/live

Leading us today in Worship:
Guest Minister: Rev. Dr. Brian Goodings
Director of Music: Dr. Christopher Burton
Lay Reader: Kelly Adam

Leader: regular font ~ All: bold font ~ Sung words: bold italics.
Asterisk * Indicates when the congregation may stand if able.

We Gather

Scripture for meditation
Then he said, “Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Luke 23: 42

PRELUDE: Selected Hymns - C. Burton

WELCOME

A Stewardship Second
The Kin(g)dom of God is within you. Share it! Spread it! Live it!

LIGHTING the CHRIST CANDLE
With grateful hearts we light this Christ candle,
so that, with our hearts full of love and light
we might enter into the spirit of worship with joy.
May it be so!

HYMN: VU #400 (2x)
Lord, listen to your children praying,
Lord, send your Spirit in this place;
Lord, listen to your children praying,
Send us love, send us power, send us grace!

OUR COMMITMENT to SAFER SPACE & ACKNOWLEDGEMENT of the LAND
We believe all people are made in the image of God and are entitled to dignity and respect. At Grace United Church we try to offer a safer, inclusive and generous space for all who are seeking a faith community. We offer full participation of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities, all races, ages and abilities in the life and work of the ministry.
Grace United Church is situated on the traditional territory of the Saugeen Ojibway Nation. We acknowledge that they are the first stewards of this land and we respect their histories and past and present cultures. We will work to recognize and remove barriers to reconciliation.

Poem of Faith (Victor Hugo)
Be like the bird, who
Halting in her flight
On limb too slight
Feels it give way beneath her
Yet sings…
Knowing she hath wings

*HYMN: VU #399 “God, Whose Love is Reigning o’er Us”
1. God, whose love is reigning o’er us,
source of all, the ending true;
hear the universal chorus
raised in joyful praise to you:
Hallelujah, hallelujah,
worship ancient, worship new.

2. Word of God from nature bringing
springtime green and autumn gold;
mountain streams like children singing,
ocean waves like thunder bold:
Hallelujah, hallelujah,
as creation’s tale is told.

3. Holy God of ancient glory,
choosing man and woman, too;
Abr’am’s faith and Sarah’s story
formed a people bound to you.
Hallelujah, hallelujah,
to your covenant keep us true.

4. Covenant, new again in Jesus,
Star-child born to set us free;
sent to heal us, sent to teach us
how love’s children we might be.
Hallelujah, hallelujah,
risen Christ, our Saviour he!

5. Lift we then our human voices
in the songs that faith would bring;
live we then in human choices
lives that, like our music, sing:
Hallelujah, hallelujah,
joined in love our praises ring!

CALL to WORSHIP
The kingdom of Christ is coming because:
Somewhere, someone practices kindness- even in an unkind world.
Somewhere, someone shares while other hoard,
Somewhere, someone refuses to hate, even though others hate them,
Somewhere, someone is patient – and tends to the needs of neighours-in-creation,
Somewhere, someone returns goodness for violence,
Somewhere, someone serves others with a loving heart,
Somewhere, someone is calm in a storm of panic,
Somewhere, someone believes a better world is here already.
O God…let that someone be “me”

*HYMN: VU #374 “Come and Find the Quiet Centre”
1. Come and find the quiet center
in the crowded life we lead,
find the room for hope to enter,
find the frame where we are freed:
clear the chaos and the clutter,
clear our eyes, that we can see
all the things that really matter,
be at peace, and simply be.

2. Silence is a friend who claims us,
cools the heat and slows the pace,
God it is who speaks and names us,
knows our being, touches base,
making space within our thinking,
lifting shades to show the sun,
raising courage when we’re shrinking,
finding scope for faith begun.

3. In the Spirit let us travel,
open to each other’s pain,
let our loves and fears unravel,
celebrate the space we gain:
there’s a place for deepest dreaming,
there’s a time for heart to care,
in the Spirit’s lively scheming
there is always room to spare!

Theme Conversation

We Listen

SCRIPTURE READINGS
In Scripture God calls us by name…

Psalm 46 VU #770 (Refrain #2)
God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth should quake,
and the mountains fall into the depths of the sea,
though the waters of the sea rage and foam,
and the mountains tremble at the tumult.
Refrain:
A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing.

There is a river, whose streams make glad the city of God,
sanctifying the dwelling of the Most High.
God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved.
God will help at the break of day.
Nations are in tumult, empires are shaken;
for God speaks and the earth melts away.
Refrain:
A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing.

Come and see what God has done,
the wonders wrought upon the earth.
God makes wars to cease in all the world,
God breaks the bow and snaps the spear,
and burns the shields in the fire.
Be still and know that I am God,
exalted among the nations, exalted in the earth.
The God of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.
Refrain:
A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing.

Epistle: Colossians 1: 11-20 (Kingdom)
May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, so that you may have all endurance and patience, joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son,in whom we have redemption. the forgiveness of sins.
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation,for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him.He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together.He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything.For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.

Gospel: Luke 23: 33-43 (Crucifixion)
When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. And they cast lots to divide his clothing.And the people stood by watching, but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messia of God, his chosen one!”The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wineand saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!”There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”
One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.”Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom.”He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

RESPONSE: *VU # 567 “Will You Come and Follow Me” v.1
Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?
Will you go where you don’t know and never be the same?
Will you let my love be shown, will you let my name be known
will you let my life be grown in you and you in me?

ANTHEM: “Let My Spirit Always Sing”- S. E. Murray/J. Marshall

SERMON: “Chance of Light Reign” Rev. Brian Goodings

*HYMN: VU #278 “In the Quiet Curve of Evening”
1. In the quiet curve of evening,
in the sinking of the days,
in the silky void of darkness, you are there.
In the lapses of my breathing,
in the space between my ways,
in the crater carved by sadness, you are there.
You are there, you are there, you are there.

2. In the rests between the phrases,
in the cracks between the stars,
in the gaps between the meaning, you are there.
In the melting down of endings,
in the cooling of the sun,
in the solstice of the winter, you are there.
You are there, you are there, you are there.

3. In the mystery of my hungers,
in the silence of my rooms,
in the cloud of my unknowing, you are there.
In the empty cave of grieving,
in the desert of my dreams,
in the tunnel of my sorrow, you are there.
You are there, you are there, you are there

We Respond

INVITATION to the OFFERING
Do you see it? Can you hear it, or feel it, or smell it? God is up to something. The Kin(g)dom is so close. And you are invited to be part of it. In the way you live, the way you care, the way you give. So, let’s live boldly and care generously and give extravagantly.

PRAYER of DEDICATION of OUR OFFERINGS
Week by week and year by year, we believe it is getting closer. Let your Kin(g)dom come, O God. Let your will be done in us, and through us, and through these gifts. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen

Dedication: VU #540
Grant us God the grace of giving,
with a Spirit large and free,
That our selves and all our living
we may offer faithfully.

Donate online: www.graceunitedthornbury.ca, select “Donate”
or contact the office by email: accounting@graceunitedthornbury.ca
or phone: 519-599-2438 to arrange a cheque pick-up, or an e-transfer.
Mail: Grace UC, 140 Bruce St. S. PO Box 219, Thornbury, ON N0H 2P0
or Offering Plate at the back of the sanctuary.

Tap your debit card at the door of the church, or Donate to Grace United Church Thornbury through CanadaHelps.org. Our account is set up with them now and it is easy to register. Tax receipts are given automatically at the time of giving. Care, Prayer, Share

PASTORAL PRAYER &The LORD’S PRAYER: (VU 910)

What’s up at Grace?

We begin our service in the name of Christ!

*CLOSING HYMN: VU #563 “Jesus, You Have Come to the Lakeshore”
1. Jesus, you have come to the lakeshore
looking neither for wealthy nor wise ones;
you only asked me to follow humbly.
Refrain:
O Jesus, with your eyes you have searched me,
and while smiling, have spoken my name;
now my boat’s left on the shoreline behind me;
by your side I will seek other seas.

2. You know so well my possessions;
my boat carries no gold and no weapons;
you will find there my nets and labour.
Refrain:
O Jesus, with your eyes you have searched me,
and while smiling, have spoken my name;
now my boat’s left on the shoreline behind me;
by your side I will seek other seas.

3. You need my hands, full of caring
through my labours to give others rest,
and constant love that keeps on loving.
Refrain:
O Jesus, with your eyes you have searched me,
and while smiling, have spoken my name;
now my boat’s left on the shoreline behind me;
by your side I will seek other seas.

4. You, who have fished other oceans,
ever longed for by souls who are waiting,
my loving friend, as thus you call me.
Refrain:
O Jesus, with your eyes you have searched me,
and while smiling, have spoken my name;
now my boat’s left on the shoreline behind me;
by your side I will seek other seas.

*COMMISSIONING
Our service now continues as we go forth into the world which God loves.
Let us do so remembering that life is short, and we do not have too much time to gladden the hearts of those who travel the way with us.
So be swift to love and make haste to be kind and just.
Now may the blessing of God: Creator, Christ, and ever-present Spirit be with us all this day and forevermore. Amen.

*SUNG BENEDICTION: “Go Now in Peace”
Go now in peace. Never be afraid.
God will go with you each hour of every day,
Go now in faith, steadfast, strong and true,
Know God will guide you in all you do.
Go now in love, and show you believe.
Reach out to others so all the world can see.
God will be there, *within, around, above.
Go now in peace, in faith and in love.
Amen, amen, amen.