Order of Service / Pentecost 6 / July 5, 2026

# Gathering Hymn This is God’s Wondrous World (#296 VU)

Welcome & Land Acknowledgement

Lighting the Christ Candle

Call to Worship

One: We gather in the presence of the God who has guided our ancestors in faith and still leads us today.

  All: We come to worship with grateful hearts and listening spirits.

One: God’s love moves through generations, not only in words, but in acts of courage, generosity, and trust.

  All: May this love take root in us, and may it bless those who come after us.

One: Let us worship God, whose steadfast mercy is from age to age.

All: We come with joy and hope.

Opening Prayer

*Opening Hymn The Church Is Wherever God’s People (#579 VU)

Prayer of Confessional and Renewal (Unison)

Faithful God, you have called your people to walk in your ways and to receive one another with dignity and care. Yet we confess that we do not always live as your people. You have entrusted us with faith, memory, community, and hope. Still, we sometimes fail to pass them on with patience and courage. Forgive us, O God. Renew us by your Spirit. Teach us the way of Christ, who makes room for all. Shape us into a community where the weary find rest and the stranger finds blessing. In silence, we bring to you our own confessions and our hope for a new beginning. (a time of silent confession) Amen.

Words of Assurance

One: God’s mercy is wider than our fear and stronger than our failure.

All: In Christ, we are forgiven and made new.

One: The Spirit restores us, teaches us, and leads us in the way of life.

All: We receive this grace with gladness. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Announcements and Minute for Mission

Time for God’s Children (I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy)

I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy

Down in my heart, down in my heart, down in my heart,

I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy

Down in my heart, down in my heart to stay.

And I’m so happy, so very happy;

I’ve got the love of Jesus in my heart.

And I’m so happy, so very happy,

I’ve got the love of Jesus in my heart.

Prayer for Illumination

Proclaiming the Scriptures

Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49 Rebekah welcomes Isaac as her husband.

Psalm 45:10-17 (VU p. 769) A song for the anointed ruler.

Matthew 11:25-30 My yoke is easy; my burden is light.

This is the Good News from the Bible.

  Thanks be to God.

Anthem

Sermon

*Hymn We Are Pilgrims on a Journey (#595 VU | vs. 1-4)

*Offering

*Offertory Hymn In Gratitude and Humbe Trust (#544 VU | tune: VU 518)

In gratitude and humble trust

We bring our best today

To serve your cause and share your love

With all along life’s way.

O God, who gave yourself to us

In Jesus Christ, your Son,

Teach us to give ourselves each day

Until life’s work is done

*Offertory Prayer (Unison)
 Generous God, all that we have comes from your hand: our lives, our relationships, our work, our faith, and the hope we carry for the future. Receive these gifts as signs of our gratitude and commitment. Use them for your work of healing, justice, and peace. May they help this church become a place of compassion, belonging, and faithful service. Amen.

Prayers of the People and Lord’s Prayer

*Closing Hymn I’m Gonna Live So God Can Use Me (#575 VU)

*Commissioning

One: Go now in the grace of the Holy One, who has guided every generation and still prepares the way before us.

All: We go with gratitude for the faith we have received and with courage to live it in our time.

One: Let the love of Christ shape your homes, your conversations, your choices, and your care for the world.

All: We will carry this love to those beside us, those beyond us, and those who will come after us.

One: Go in peace to practise faith with compassion, and hope.

All: We go to love, to serve, and to bear witness to grace from generation to generation. Amen.

*Commissioning Song I Am Sending You Light (#99 TLUS)

I am sending you light to heal you, to hold you.

I am sending you light to hold you in love. x2

No matter where you go, no matter where you’ve been;

You’ll never walk alone. I feel you deep within.

I am sending you light to heal you, to hold you.

I am sending you light to hold you in love. x2

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