August 8, 2021 – Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost
Find this service at www.graceunitedthornbury.ca/live
Leading us today in Worship
Minister: Rev. Christine Smaller
Music Director: Dr. Christopher Burton
Scripture Reader: Norine Baron
~ Leader: regular font ~ All: bold font ~ Sung words: bold italics
PRELUDE:
From the FitzWilliam Virginal Book
GREETING: (2 Cor 13:13)
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
And also with you.
WELCOME:
CALL TO WORSHIP:
Healing God, we come together in our brokenness, to call to you in your mercy, to make us whole again.
Wholeness–giving God, listen to our prayers, we pray.
Restoring God, we gather to worship you, even as we hopefully seek to be renewed and restored again.
God, our Quiet-Centre, listen to our prayers this day.
Foundational God, we come to praise and thank you! In the depths of your Holy Being we find peace and rest.
God – our Beginning and our End, we hope always in you.
Amen.
OPENING PRAYER:
O Lord our God, we come to you, seeking to rise up from the depths and agony of despair. Please listen, our Saving God— we need your help and blessing.
Lord, through the tenderness of your mercy towards us we have learned to worship you— and to revere your Holy Name; therefore, we place our entire trust and hope in you, our Trustworthy God.
We gather to offer you our thanks, for we know that you offer us your unfailing love and mercy that is beyond our understanding. You know our longing for forgiveness, and you offer us your presence - which blesses us from God’s overflowing store of mercy, hope, freedom and joy. Amen.
HYMN: VU 582 There’s a Spirit in the Air
1. There’s a spirit in the air,
telling Christians everywhere:
praise the love that Christ revealed,
living, working in our world.
2. Lose your shyness, find your tongue,
tell the world what God has done:
God in Christ has come to stay.
Live tomorrow’s life today!
3. When believers break the bread,
when a hungry child is fed,
praise the love that Christ revealed,
living, working, in our world.
4. Still the spirit gives us light,
seeing wrong and setting right:
God in Christ has come to stay.
Live tomorrow’s life today!
5. When a stranger is not alone,
where the homeless find a home,
praise the love that Christ revealed,
living, working, in our world.
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION: (Lay Reader)
Holy One, we know that you constantly breathe new life into every word of scripture. Help us hear the Living Word you share with us today.
SCRIPTURE: (Lay Reader)
John 6:35, 41-51 (NRSV)
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”
So the people grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
Ephesians 4:25-5:2 (NRSV)
So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil. Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
RESPONSE:
The word of God for the people of God.
Thanks be to God.
MUSICAL INTERLUDE:
Improvisation on a Hymn: C. Burton
SERMON
HYMN: VU 194 Filled with the Spirit’s Power
1. Filled with the spirit power, with one accord
the infant church confessed its risen Lord.
Oh holy spirit, in the church today
no less your power of fellowship display.
2. Now with the mind of Christ set us on fire,
that unity may be our great desire.
Give joy and peace; give faith to hear your call,
and readiness in each to work for all.
3. Widen our love, good spirit, to embrace
with your compassion all the human race.
Like wind and fire with life among us move,
till we are known as Christ’s and Christian prove.
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
THE LORD’S PRAYER (Spoken, traditional words, VU 921)
As a child turns to a loving caregiver who watches over them, we turn in prayer to you, O God, who are our heavenly parent, our mother,
Our Father, who art in Heaven…
PASSING THE PEACE OF CHRIST
The Peace of Christ be with you.
And also with you.
Think of one person with whom you would like to share the peace of Christ.
You can also share the peace by typing in the chat box.
MUSIC for PASSING the PEACE:
Sarabande G.F. Händel
INVITATION TO THE OFFERING:
With no interest in convicting or punishing one another, we practice accountability and solidarity. We hope for violent systems to be seen for what they are and exchanged for what could be. We want networks of interdependence to be cherished and supported. Let us bring our offerings to God and commit to such care for each other.
DEDICATION OF THE OFFERING:
Steadfast Spirit, forgive us when our understanding of liberation is too narrow. Reveal the forces that cause us to act out of alignment with our deepest convictions. We dedicate these offerings to the expansive radical love of God, that our actions may align with our heart’s desire. Amen.
A single stone placed in the offering plate honours all our gifts.
Donate by contacting the office at: Phone: 519-599-2438
or Email: accounting@graceunitedthornbury.ca to arrange a cheque pick-up, or an e-transfer
Mail: Grace UC, 140 Bruce St. S. PO Box 219, Thornbury, ON N0H 2P0
More ways to give: Care, Prayer, Share
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
HYMN: VU 568 Dear Lord, Lead Me Day by Day
1. Dear Lord, lead me day by day;
make me steadfast, wise, and strong;
happy most of all to know that my dear Lord loves me so.
Refrain
Praise to God, fount of love,
praise from morn till the set of sun;
praise at home, praise in church;
praise to God everywhere on earth.
2. Dear Lord, lead me day by day;
make me follow and obey
faithfully your words of life, that your love ever abide.
Refrain
Praise to God, fount of love,
praise from morn till the set of sun;
praise at home, praise in church;
praise to God everywhere on earth.
3. Now with confidence I sing
joyous praises to our God,
and with upright heart I give tender care and sympathy.
Refrain
Praise to God, fount of love,
praise from morn till the set of sun;
praise at home, praise in church;
praise to God everywhere on earth.
SENDING:
SUNG BLESSING: 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.
* alternate words: watching from above
POSTLUDE:
Knut Luråsens Halling 1 E. Grieg
*****
RESOURCES USED:
LITURGY SOURCES:
The following are used with permission:
- Call to Worship: © 2012 Joan Stott – "The Timeless Psalms" RCL Psalm Year B, used with permission.
- Opening Prayer: © 2011 Joan Stott – ‘The Timeless Psalms’ RCL Psalms Year A. Used with permission.
- Invitation/Dedication of the Offering: © 2021 enfleshed August 8, 2021
If no attribution, prayers have been written by C. Smaller
HYMNS and SUNG VERSES
- VU 582 There’s a Spirit in the Air Words: Brian Wren 1969, Music: John Wilson, 1969, Words, music copyright © 1979 Hope Publishing Company, Used by permission, One License #608577
- VU 194 Filled with the Spirit’s Power Words: J.R. Peacey 1969, Music: George William Warren 1894, Words copyright © 1978 Hope Publishing Company. Music Public Domain
- VU 568 Dear Lord, Lead Me Day by Day Words: Francisca Asuncion 1983, Music: Philippine folk melody, arr. by Francisca Asuncion 1983. Words and arrangement copyright © 1983 The United Methodist Publishing House, Used by permission, One License #608577
- “Go Now in Peace.” Words by Don Besig and Nancy Price. © 1988 Harold Flammer Music, Inc. Alternate words used with permission. Used by permission, One License, #608577.
Scripture Passage from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission.
Prelude: from the FitzWilliam Virginal Book
Interlude: Improvisation on a Hymn: C. Burton
Passing of the Peace: Sarabande G.F. Händel
Postlude: Knut Luråsens Halling 1 E. Grieg
(all public domain)
