2025 - 03-30 FINAL HUC Lent 4.docx

March 30, 2025 – 11:00am

Congregation of Hope United Church

2550 Danforth Ave.

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Rev. Brian Stevens

Minister

Marc Michalak

Music Director

PRELUDE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THE LAND

It is with respect that we acknowledge the world views, spirituality and history of Canada’s First Peoples. Hope United is residing on the Ancestral lands of the Huron Weyandat Nation and the Treaty lands of the Seneca Nation and the Haudensaunee Confederacy. See the source image

We thank the Mississauga of the Credit and the Anishinabek Nations who are the current Protectors of this land. We also thank All Indigenous Canadians for sharing this land. We affirm our commitment to ensure that Hope United Church continues to live in Right Relations with all First Peoples. Let it be so.

(Loretta Gould)

VU # 400 “Lord, Listen to Your Children Praying” (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!

CALL TO WORSHIP

(Stephen Fearing)

Lent is a time of waiting for life.
   And yet there is living to do in the meantime.
            Abraham and Sarah waited long for a child.
        They longed for a son, an heir, a continuation of their lineage.
                    God called Abraham and Sarah to be patient;
                   As they were, Lent calls us to sit in a place of patient trust.
                            While we wait, we remember the words of the Psalmist:
                            The Lord is our light and our salvation.
                                    Whom shall we fear?
                                    The Lord is the stronghold of our life.
                                            Of whom shall we be afraid?
                                            Come, the Lenten journey continues…

MV # 161 “I Have Called You by Your Name”

“I have called you by your name, you are mine;
I have gifted you and ask you now to shine.
I will not abandon you; all my promises are true.
You are gifted, called, and chosen; you are mine.

I will help you learn my name as you go;
Read it written in my people, help them grow.
Pour the water in my name, speak the word your soul can claim,
Offer Jesus’ body given long ago.

I know you will need my touch as you go;
Feel it pulsing in creation’s ebb and flow.
Like the woman reaching out, choosing faith in spite of doubt,
Hold the hem of Jesus’ robe, then let it go.

I have given you a name, it is mine;
I have given you my Spirit as a sign.
With my wonder in your soul, make my wounded children whole;
Go and tell my precious people they are mine.”

See the source image

Lord, we thank you for your promise … where two or three are gathered you are there in the midst. We come to you with open hearts, and we welcome You amongst us today, as we celebrate the gift of life that you have lavished upon each of us. We ask that You open our ears so that we may hear your voice…

That you open our minds so that we may receive Your eternal wisdom… That you open our spirits so that we may know Your leading and guidance… That you open our hearts so that we may receive your wonderful love. We ask all this in the glorious name of Jesus. Amen.

LIGHTING OF THE CHRIST CANDLE

We light this candle… a symbol of peace… a symbol of Christ’s light in the world…a symbol that love is more powerful than the darkest of nights

May it burn brightly within us all. Amen.

“Touch Us With Your Light” (2x)

Light from this candle burning bright, Light our way through dark of night;

Help us find our way to you, Guide us, touch us with your Light, O Lord.

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Gracious God…as people called to be your presence in the world,

We search our hearts and ask your forgiveness

For opportunities not taken

For care not given,

Forgive us, we pray.

For sorrow not shared,

For joy not celebrated,

Forgive us, we pray.

For love not offered,

Forgiveness not extended,

Forgive us, we pray.

For those failings we cannot speak aloud,

Forgive us, we pray.

Gracious God, we seek your healing grace,

And ask forgiveness in the name of Jesus. Amen.

See the source image

ASSURANCE OF GRACE

(United Church of Canada)

Creator has sent us Jesus to teach us how to walk the good road. His life and death showed us that we must always work toward justice, peace, and love for all of creation no matter the cost. Ultimately, in God, we have been forgiven. There is nothing we can do to separate us from the absolute love of God that embraces us all. Let God’s peace fill your hearts, because when we follow Jesus, every day is a chance to start over again. God’s mercies are new every morning. Be at peace. Amen.

THE PEACE OF CHRIST

May the Peace of Christ be with you always.

And also with you.

FIRST READING Joshua 5 9-12

Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” So the place has been called Gilgal to this day. On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover.

The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate the produce of Canaan.

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God

Psalm 32 (VU #759)

Blessed is the one whose offenses are forgiven,
whose sins have been put away.

Blessed are those to whom God imputes no guilt,
and in whom there is no deceit. (R)

When I kept silence, my body wasted away
While I groaned all the day long.

For your hand was heavy upon me day and night
my strength dried up as in a summer drought.

Then I acknowledged my sin to you, my guilt I did not hide.

I said, “I will confess my sins to God”
And you forgave the guilt of my sin.

Therefore let all the faithful pray to you in time of trouble;

When great floodwater rises, it shall not come near them.

You are a hiding place for me;
you will preserve me from trouble;

You will surround me with shouts of deliverance. (R)

I will teach you and guide you in the way you should go.

I will keep you under my eye and instruct you.

Be not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding,

Whose course must be checked with bit and bridle.

Many pains are in store for the wicked,

But whoever trusts in God
is surrounded by steadfast love. (R)

GOSPEL READING – Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Then Jesus told them this parable:

The Parable of the Lost Son

Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.

After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’

So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

“Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

“‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

Hear the Good News of Christ!

Praise to you, O Christ.

VU #299 “Teach Me, God, to Wonder”

Teach me, God, to wonder, teach me, God, to see.

Let your world of beauty capture me.

Praise to you be given.

Love for you be lived.

Life be celebrated, joy you give!

Let me, God, be open, let me loving be.

Let your world of people speak to me.

Praise to you be given.

Love for you be lived.

Life be celebrated, joy you give!

Let me, God, be ready, let me be awake.

In your world of loving, my place take.

Praise to you be given.

Love for you be lived.

Life be celebrated, joy you give!

Teach me, God, to know you,

hear you when you speak,

see you in my neighbor when we meet.

Praise to you be given.

Love for you be lived.

Life be celebrated, joy you give!

Reflection: “Rediscovering…” Rev. Brian Stevens

Music Ministry

OFFERING PRAYER

(Joanna Harader - Spacious Faith)

God of the wilderness,
We give these offerings in gratitude,
rejoicing in the abundance of your gifts to us.
We give these offerings in faith,
trusting that you will provide for our needs.
We give these offerings in hope,
knowing you can use them to spread your love in this world.
And with these offerings, we give ourselves;
May we live with generous hearts, with open hands. Amen

Doxology

VU # 541– “Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow”

Praise God from whom all blessings flow

Praise God, all creatures high and low,

Give thanks to God in love made known

Creator, Word and Spirit One.

PRAYERS FOR THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD

Let us turn to God, the source of our help and strength.

the source of all good things,

We call out to you O Lord…