Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. ~John 6.68  

The Community Gathers (life and work of the church)

Acknowledgment of Land    

Call to Worship
Sing praises to God, you faithful, give thanks to God’s holy name!
Weeping may linger for a night, but joy comes in the morning.
God turns our weeping to dancing and clothes us in gladness.
May we praise God & not be silent! Thanks to you O God, forever! Amen

Prayer of Approach

Hymn: VU 226  For the Beauty of the Earth (tune VU 81)

For the beauty of the earth,
for the glory of the skies,
for the love which from our birth
over and around us lies,
God of all, to you we raise
this our hymn of grateful praise.

For the beauty of each hour
of the day and of the night,
hill and vale, and tree and flower,
sun and moon, and stars of light,
God of all, to you we raise
this our hymn of grateful praise.

For the joy of human love,
brother, sister, parent, child,
friends on earth and friends above,
for all gentle thoughts and mild,
God of all, to you we raise
this our hymn of grateful praise.

For each perfect gift sublime
to our race so freely given;
graces human and divine,
flowers of earth and buds of heaven.
God of all, to you we raise
this our hymn of grateful praise.

Words: Folliott Sandford Pierpoint 1864 Music: alternate tune (Dix) Conrad Kocher, 1838; adapt. William H Monk 1861; descant Alan Gray, 1920 Words and music: Public Domain.

One: The Lord is our refuge and strength:
All: O come let us worship

Jubilate (said responsively):
Be joyful in the Lord, all you lands;
serve the Lord with gladness and come before his presence with a song.
Know this: The Lord himself is God;
he himself has made us, and we are his; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and call upon his name.
For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting;
and his faithfulness endures from age to age

Children’s Time: “This Little Light of Mine”

The Proclamation of the Word
Hebrew Scripture:  Genesis 29: 15-28
Psalm 105: 1-11, 45b
The Epistle: Romans 8: 26-39  

One: The Holy Gospel of our Lord, Jesus Christ according to Matthew
All: Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ
The Gospel: Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52  
One: The Gospel of Christ  
All: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ

Sermon: “Finding a bit of Shade”  

Affirmation of Faith  (A New Creed)
We are not alone, we live in God’s world.  
We believe in God:who has created and is creating,
who has come in Jesus, the Word made flesh,
to reconcile and make new,
who works in us and others by the Spirit.

We trust in God.

We are called to be the Church: to celebrate God’s presence,
to live with respect in Creation, to love and serve others,
to seek justice and resist evil, to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen,
our judge and our hope.
In life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us.
We are not alone. Thanks be to God.  

Offertory Hymn:  VU 356  Seek Ye First  

Seek ye first the kingdom of God
and God’s righteousness,
and all these things shall be added unto you.
Hal-le-lu, hal-le-lu-jah.  

Ask and it shall be given unto you;
seek and you shall find;
knock and the door shall be opened unto you.
Hal-le-lu, hal-le-lu-jah.  

We do not live by bread alone,
but by every word
that proceeds from the mouth of God.
Hal-le-lu, hal-le-lu-jah. 

Words and Music: Karen Lafferty 1972 Words, Music, Descant: © 1972 Maranatha! Music (Administered by The Copyright Company). All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Used by permission.  

VU 542 We give you but your own, what e’er the gift may be; all that we have is yours alone, We give it gratefully.

Public domain. Words: William Walsham How, 1858; Music: Johann Balthasar König, 1738; adapted William Henry Havergal, 1847  

Prayer over the Gifts  

Intercessions & Thanksgiving
In our Shared Ministry Church Cycles of prayer, we pray for…
The church / The authorities
The World / The Local Community
Those in need / The departed and those who grieve  

We call to mind our concerns and commitments, and join our prayers for peace and well-being to the prayers of the whole church as they are offered this day for the whole world. …  

Collect: (from A Disciples Prayer Book, p.11)  

The Lord’s Prayer (spoken in our mother tongue)

Hymn: VU 651   Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah  

Guide me, O thou great Jehovah,
pilgrim through this barren land. 
I am weak, but thou art mighty,
hold me with thy powerful hand. 
Bread of heaven, bread of heaven,
feed me till I want no more,
feed me till I want no more.  

Open now the crystal fountain,
whence the healing stream doth flow;
let the fire and cloudy pillar
lead me all my journey through. 
Strong deliverer, strong deliverer,
be thou still my strength and shield,
be thou still my strength and shield.

When I tread the verge of Jordan,
bid my anxious fears subside;
death of death and hell's destruction,
land me safe on Canaan's side: 
Songs of praises, songs of praises
I will ever give to thee
I will ever give to thee.

Words: William Williams, 1745; English translation: Peter Williams and William Williams 1771 Music: John Hughes, 1905 Copyright: Public Domain.  

Blessing 

Threefold Amen and Dismissal

Rev. Alastair’s Quote of the Day: The Christian life cannot be known apart from the context of relationships.” ~ Michael Battle   

Announcements:

Reprinted and podcast with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-720359. All rights reserved.

• Bible Study this week, Tuesday 5pm Zoom (contact Rev. Alastair if you’re interested in joining)
• Note that bible study will not be taking place for the month of August.
• Mission Focus is Kairos Canada
• Rev. Alastair on holiday from Aug 1 to Aug 22