St. Andrew's United Church, New Richmond

St. Andrew's United Church, New Richmond We have been a community of fellowship and worship for the past 180 years.

06/08/2026

21 June 2026 @ 10:00: Father’s Day: Family Service
28 June 2026 @ 11:00: Church Picnic and BBQ

06/08/2026

Hosea 6:1-11 – Confess and let it go!

Greetings:
 Hymn Sing:
o VU 409 (Morning has broken)
o VU 574 (Come, let us sing of a wonderful love)
 Celebration Bear
 Welcome & Announcements:
o Important dates:
 07 June 2026 @ 10:00: Food Bank Sunday
 21 June 2026 @ 10:00: Father’s Day: Family Service
 14 or 28 June 2026 @ 11:00: Church Picnic and BBQ
o ?

Lighting of the Christ candle
 We are at the beginning of Ordinary Time:
o It begins the day after Pentecost and continues to Advent.
o The word "ordinary" here does not mean “routine” or “not special.”
o Instead, it refers to the "ordinal numbers" (first, second, third, etc.) used to name and count the Sundays (such as the Third Sunday after Pentecost).
o This term comes from the Latin ordinalis, meaning "numbered" or "ordered," and tempus ordinarium, “measured time.”
 In recent years, certain denominations and congregations have been using other names for this time of year:
o The Season after Pentecost
o The Time of God’s Kingdom
 It doesn’t matter what it is called because the focus of this time stays the same:
o The purpose of this season is to support new disciples and the whole congregation in living out the gifts and callings discerned during the Easter Season and commissioned on the Day of Pentecost.
o Thus, Ordinary Time, or the Time of God’s Kingdom or The Time after Pentecost, is very closely linked to Pentecost:
 It flows from it.
 It is all about the Spirit sending us on the Missio Dei.
 Or in other words – How the Kingdom of God becomes visible through the church:
• Compassion and Charity
• Witnessing
• Community Development
 Colours and Symbols:
o Colour - Green
o Symbols - Ship, Tree, Crown, Sceptre
 Festive time of year:
o 3 Seasons:
 Season of Mercy/Compassion (Caring for those in need) – August
 Season of Creation – September
 Season of Thanksgiving – October
 Season of Completion – November
o Celebration days:
 Trinity Sunday – First Sunday of Ordinary Time
 Thanksgiving - 08 October
 Reformation Sunday - 29 October
 Remembrance Day – 05 November
 Sunday of Christ the King / Reign of Christ - 26 November
 As we light the Christ candle, let us proclaim that the Kingdom of God is here on earth as it is in heaven in silent prayer.

Call to worship:
 God is calling us together to worship.
We come to this place, not as perfect people, but as those invited by grace.
Through faith in Jesus, God made us righteous and welcomes us.
We come not to prove our worth, but to receive God’s mercy.
God calls us not only to confess our sins, but also to leave them behind.
Lord, help us to say and do what is right!
Come, let us worship the God who forgives, renews, and transforms us.
Let us worship the God who calls us exactly as we are!

Prayer of Approach:
 Righteous God,
we come before you through faith in Jesus Christ,
grateful that You made us righteous.
As we worship today,
may everything we do bring You glory.
We offer you thanks with our prayers,
praise with our hearts,
and honour with our lives.
Teach us that true confession is more than words;
it is a changed life that honours You.
May your Kingdom come here today as it is in heaven.
Amen.

Hymn of praise:
 VU 665 (Pass me not, O Gentle Saviour)

Opening prayer

Service of the Word

Old Testament Reading:
 Hosea 6:1-11 – 1“Come, let us return to the Lord.
He has torn us to pieces
but he will heal us;
he has injured us
but he will bind up our wounds.
2After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will restore us,
that we may live in his presence.
3Let us acknowledge the Lord;
let us press on to acknowledge him.
As surely as the sun rises,
he will appear;
he will come to us like the winter rains,
like the spring rains that water the earth.”
4“What can I do with you, Ephraim?
What can I do with you, Judah?
Your love is like the morning mist,
like the early dew that disappears.
5Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets,
I killed you with the words of my mouth—
then my judgments go forth like the sun.
6For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.
7As at Adam, they have broken the covenant;
they were unfaithful to me there.
8Gilead is a city of evildoers,
stained with footprints of blood.
9As marauders lie in ambush for a victim,
so do bands of priests;
they murder on the road to Shechem,
carrying out their wicked schemes.
10I have seen a horrible thing in Israel:
There Ephraim is given to prostitution,
Israel is defiled.
11“Also for you, Judah,
a harvest is appointed.

Sermon:
Introduction:
 There is a certain genre of church music that is very prevalent in the southern and western parts of South Africa, called “Koortjies” (it translates to “little chorus”):
o They are cornerstones of South African religious culture.
o Koortjies are upbeat, repetitive, and driven by energetic clapping and dancing.
o They usually consist of four lines that are repeated over and over again.
o The Koortjies are an expression of joy, resilience, and faith.
o They are generally used to build spiritual momentum during a service, often accompanied by communal dancing and spirited expressions of praise.
 One of the most popular Koortjies is called: “Confess, confess and let go.”
o The lyrics are as follows:
 “Confess, confess and let go.
Confess, confess and let go.
Confess, confess and let go.
You must confess and let go.”
 The reason I mention this Koortjie is because it is the theme I saw in our Scripture readings for today.
Body:
 Hosea 6, Verses 1-3 – Israel encourages each other to repent:
o The opening summons to repent is found in other parts of the Bible, and it shows Israel’s sincerity.
o The language used in these verses is on par with the religious practices of that time and is theological sound.
o Israel is honest and explicit in their repentance:
 They recognize that God’s judgment against them was because of their sins
 They also expressed a desire to know God as the Book of Hosea calls them to do:
• They want to know God in a relationship with God and experience God’s love.
o In verse 2, Israel acknowledges that they are experiencing God’s judgment, but they believe that because of their repentance, God would figuratively bind up their wounds and transform their lives.
 And God will do it very soon, as it is expressed through the metaphor of two and three days.
o And in verse 3, the people declare that God will come to them as sure as the dawn, showers, and spring rain appear on earth.
 They use beautiful images for God based on God’s creation, expressing that God will restore them after God’s judgment.
o If these words were found elsewhere in the Old Testament, we wouldn’t even think that Israel was insincere.
 They were honest and sincere in their repentance.
 And they expected that God would forgive and restore them very soon.
 Verses 4-5 – God’s frustration and judgment:
o Verse 4 continues this metaphor of the morning sun and the rain to describe how Israel’s love is nothing but morning mist and dew, which disappear as soon as the sun comes up.
 The people expect a flood of healing from God.
 But God experiences their repentance and love as nothing but mere vapour.
 Their confession lacks substance and commitment.
o The verse shows God’s frustration with Israel:
 It can be clearly seen in the repeat of the words:
• “What can I do with you…”
• We can almost see God in this verse as an exasperated parent faced with the dilemma over the behaviour of their children.
• You can hear how God expresses intense feelings concerning the broken relationship with Israel and how God doesn’t stop trying to repair the relationship.
o Verse 5 shows what God decided to do:
 God sent prophets to proclaim God’s judgment.
 You can hear the harshness of God’s judgments in the metaphors of “cut you to pieces” and “killed you with the words from my mouth.”
 The prophets had declared God’s judgment for a long time.
 There was ample opportunity for repentance.
 But a pattern has been in place for too long.
• Israel for too long has sinned and then confessed, but they never stopped their sins.
 Israel does not lack in belief or sincerity but, rather, in practice.
 Verses 6 – What God really requires:
o What does God really require from Israel?
 “For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.”
o God requires honest worship that is reflected in our everyday lives.
 Israel’s repentance through their burnt offerings was sincere, but they didn’t show mercy to those around them, and their lack of trust in God was seen in how they still worshiped idols and trusted in other nations instead of God.
 They confessed, but they did not let their sin go.
 When we confess, it implies that we will stop doing the sins that we confess:
• That is exactly what happened in our New Testament Scripture:
• Jesus called Matthew, a tax collector, to follow Him:
o And as Jesus ate with Matthew, the Pharisees accused Jesus of eating with sinners.
o But then Jesus quotes Hosea 6:6, implying that the Pharisees are committing the same sins as their forefathers, but that Matthew did it the right way:
 Matthew confessed and let it go!
• We see the same thing in our Psalm Scripture of today:
o Psalm 50 can be seen as a courtroom drama where God is the judge.
o And as judge, God is calling the whole earth to witness as God makes an assessment of Israel.
o The basis for this evaluation is the difference between empty religious rituals and authentic, heartfelt obedience and thanksgiving that gives honour to God.
o God is justice, and we must worship God in thankfulness and be blameless as our lives honour God.
o Verses 7-11 – Humans’ tendency to do evil:
 These verses say that from the beginning, humans have broken their covenant with God and have been unfaithful to God.
 Verses 8-11 are a list of all the sins that Israel is committing.
• Instead of confessing and stopping committing sins, Israel just kept on hurting others.
 There is an element of despair in these verses for me:
• Especially if we keep verse 4 in mind.
o Verse four expresses God’s exasperation and frustration because no matter what God does, humans never change.
o And in verse 7, God makes it clear that from the beginning, it is a trait of humans that we will break our covenant with God, and we will be unfaithful to God.
 But, in Hosea 3:5, God promises that a new King will come from the line of David who will break this cycle:
o Jesus came and brought the restoration that Israel prayed for in verses 1-3, and which the whole book of Hosea talks about.
o And as our New Testament Scripture says, if we believe, as Abraham believed in God, in what Jesus did on the cross, we will be made righteous.
 We will receive the restoration Israel sought.
 We will know God as Israel wished to know God.
 Our sins will be forgiven.
 What happens after that?
o Psalm 50 answers that question:
 We must worship God in thankfulness and be blameless as our lives honour God.
 Our thankfulness must translate into lives that are blameless and which honour God.
• Thus, if we do sin, which we all do, we must confess and let it go.
 Hosea 6 is a cautionary warning for us today.
o True repentance involves changing our actions and not merely empty religious ritualistic penitence.
o We must confess and let go.
 Because we must live lives of thankfulness that honour God:
o Or, in other words, our actions must show others who God is.
o If we live a life that shows others who God is, then we are actively participation in growing the Kingdom of God.
 We are then living out our calling that God gave us:
• To make disciples of all nations.
• To grow the Body of Christ.
• To make God’s Kingdom visible here on earth as it is in heaven.
 We are then actively participating in the Missio Dei.
 But, if we keep doing the same sins over and over and over again, even though we are very sincere in our repentance here on Sunday mornings in the service, the following will be true:
o Our repentance will be empty.
o We will not be honouring God.
o We will not get to know God more and more.
o And we will not be effective disciples of God.
Conclusion:
 We have to confess, and let go!
Amen!

Response to the Word:
 Confession:
o Our Just God,
You made us righteous in your eyes,
and all You require is that we live lives of thankfulness that honour You.
And yet, Lord, despite our thankfulness,
we confess that we do not always live as thankful people.
We confess that sometimes we ask for forgiveness,
yet hold on to habits and attitudes that do not bring glory to You.
Forgive us for the ways we have honoured You with our words
but not with our actions.
Through your grace,
please cleanse us, renew us,
and help us to let go of our sin and follow You more faithfully.
Amen.
 Assurance of Pardon:
o Thanks be to God!
Jesus came to restore sinners to God.
Through his death,
He took our sins so that we might be put right with God.
Through faith in Jesus Christ,
we are forgiven, accepted, and made righteous.
Therefore, let go of your sin,
receive God's mercy, and walk in the new life Christ has given you.
Thanks be to God for forgiveness, renewal, and grace!
 Praise Hymn:
o VU 508 (Just as I am)

Mission and Service Stories

Prayers of the people

Offertory:
 Invitation to Offering
 Offertory Hymn:
o VU 541 (Praise God from Whom all blessings flow) x1
 Memorials:
o A gift was given to St. Andrew's Memorial Fund in memory of Sheila Fessenden from her cousin, Graeme Brake.
o A gift was given to St. Andrew's Memorial Fund in memory of a dear friend, Ted Meredith, from Lorraine Fallow.
o A gift was given to St. Andrew's Memorial Fund in memory of Ted Meredith from Delilah Hardy.
 Prayer of Dedication

Final Hymn:
 VU 685 (We turn to You)

Commissioning:
 God has made us righteous through faith in Jesus Christ.
We will live lives that bring glory to God.
God sends us out to do more than speak of repentance.
We will let go of our sins and follow Christ.
God sends us into the world to make God's Kingdom visible.
We will serve God with our words and our actions.
Go now and may your lives worship God in thankfulness
and be blameless as your lives honour God.
With God's help, we will say and do what honours God.

Blessing:
 May God, the Creator, who is righteousness, guide your steps each day.
May God, the Son, who has made you righteous through faith,
guide you to follow in his example of a life that honours God.
May God, the Spirit, give you the strength to let go of sin
and live a life that brings glory to God.

Sending out Hymn:
 VU 422 (God be with you till we meet again) v3

06/01/2026

07 June 2026 @ 10:00: Food Bank Sunday
21 June 2026 @ 10:00: Father’s Day: Family Service
14 or 28 June 2026 @ 11:00: Church Picnic and BBQ

06/01/2026

The Trinitarian God creates and recreates!

Greetings:
 Hymn Sing:
o BB 56 (Tell me the old old story)
o BB 122 (Have Thine own way)
 Celebration Bear
 Welcome & Announcements:
o Important dates:
 31 May 2026 @ 10:00: Trinity Sunday
 07 June 2026 @ 10:00: Food Bank Sunday
 21 June 2026 @ 10:00: Father’s Day: Family Service
 14 or 28 June 2026 @ 11:00: Church Picnic and BBQ
o The Search Committee and the Official Board would like your input on the future ministry in St. Andrew's United Church. The surveys were distributed during the service on 10 May. If you haven’t received a Survey yet, please indicate to the Ushers. We kindly request that you complete the survey and return it to the church by 21 June 2026.
o ?

Lighting of the Christ candle
 We are at the beginning of Ordinary Time:
o It begins the day after Pentecost and continues to Advent.
o The word "ordinary" here does not mean “routine” or “not special.”
o Instead, it refers to the "ordinal numbers" (first, second, third, etc.) used to name and count the Sundays (such as the Third Sunday after Pentecost).
o This term comes from the Latin ordinalis, meaning "numbered" or "ordered," and tempus ordinarium, “measured time.”
 In recent years, certain denominations and congregations have been using other names for this time of year:
o The Season after Pentecost
o The Time of God’s Kingdom
 It doesn’t matter what it is called because the focus of this time stays the same:
o The purpose of this season is to support new disciples and the whole congregation in living out the gifts and callings discerned during the Easter Season and commissioned on the Day of Pentecost.
o Thus, Ordinary Time, or the Time of God’s Kingdom or The Time after Pentecost, is very closely linked to Pentecost:
 It flows from it.
 It is all about the Spirit sending us on the Missio Dei.
 Or, in other words – How the Kingdom of God becomes visible through the church:
• Compassion and Charity
• Witnessing
• Community Development
 The first Sunday of Ordinary Time, today, is Trinity Sunday:
o We focus on the mystery of the Holy Trinity
o We thus start Ordinary Time by focusing on how the Triune God moved into the world towards humans.
o We ended Easter by celebrating the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We recognized the link between the coming of the Spirit and the church being sent on the Missio Dei.
o We start Ordinary Time, which celebrates the church on the Missio Dei by considering how the different Persons of God play a role in the Missio Dei.
 As we light the candle, let us ponder what the Holy Trinity means for us in silent prayer.

Call to worship:
 On this Trinity Sunday, we are called to praise the Triune God:
Creator, Son, and Holy Spirit!
Let us praise the Triune God!
We are called to wade into the depths of the divine mystery of God,
the One-in-Three and Three-in-One.
Let us worship the Triune God!
We are called to ponder the interconnectedness of the Triune God,
to marvel at the divine dance of partnership and cooperation.
Let us pray to the Triune God!

Prayer of Approach:
 Triune God,
You are Three in One and One in Three.
Creator God, we worship You as the Creator of all,
Redeemer God, we praise You as the One through whom all things were made,
Indwelling God, we pray to You as the One who brings life and renews us.
We come into Your presence to worship You.
to praise You, to listen for your Word,
to immerse ourselves in who You are!
Open our hearts and our minds
to your presence here today.
Creator, Son, and Holy Spirit, receive our worship.
Amen.

Hymn of praise:
 VU 315 (Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty)

Opening prayer

Recap – Who is the Triune God?
 Imagine yourself in a conversation with someone, and out of the blue, that person asks you why we worship three “gods.”
o What would you answer that person?
o Take a moment, please, to think about how you would explain our one and only Triune God to that person.
 How can 1+1+1=1?
 We believe in One God, but at the same time, we believe in the Creator, the Son and the Spirit.
o How is this possible?
 To help us make sense of this conundrum, our theology, in a nutshell, describes the Holy Trinity as follows:
o One Being, Three Persons.
 To make it easier for us to understand this concept, we use the following images:
o How a normal person can have three different roles in life.
 I am a minister, but I am also a husband, and I am a son as well.
• I am one person, but I have three different roles towards different people and situations, each with its own responsibilities.
o Triangle
o Egg
o Tree
o Apple
o Trinity Triangle
 I totally agree with that description and examples, but I prefer the following:
o One God, Three different ways that God shows love to us.
 So, the Holy Trinity is One God who shows love in three different ways:
o God the Creator – Created us and cares/provides for us.
o God the Son – Saved us.
o God the Spirit – God in us now and forever guiding us.
 That is, in a nutshell, what we believe about God: One God but three different ways God loves us.
 So, we are here to experience how the Triune God loves us in three different ways.
 Let us ask God to show God’s love in the service today

Praise Hymn:
 VU 320 (Mothering God, You gave me birth)

Service of the Word

Old Testament Reading:
 Genesis 1:1-2 – 1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

New Testament Reading:
 2 Corinthians 13:11-13 – 11Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.
12Greet one another with a holy kiss. 13All God’s people here send their greetings.
14May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

First Gospel Reading:
 Matthew 28:16-20 – 16Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Second Gospel Reading:
 John 1:1-3 – 1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning. 3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

Sermon:
Introduction:
 Strap in – We are going to dive very deep into what we believe about God today.
o Today we are moving from mother’s milk, as Paul said, to steak and chips!
Body:
 Why did God create the universe?
o Please take a moment to think about that.
o So that God may love us and we can love God back.
o Paul calls God in our New Testament Scripture the God of love.
 We all know when the Creator started playing a role in humanity’s history:
o Genesis 1:1 says that “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
o God, the Creator, started playing a role in humanity’s history in the beginning!
 But when did the Son and the Spirit start to play a role in humanity’s history?
o Did the Son start to play a role in humanity’s history when He was born 2000 years ago?
o Did the Holy Spirit only start to play a role in humanity’s history 50 days after Jesus left, when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the disciples?
o Please take a moment to think about that.
 Would it surprise you if I say that all three Persons of the Trinity played a role in humanity’s history during the creation?
 All three Persons of the Trinity played a role in creating us so that God can love us.
o Genesis has two creation stories:
 The first one describes the creation of the earth, and the second describes the creation of humans.
 And, depending on how you view and translate the original Hebrew, the Holy Spirit plays a role in both creation stories:
• The Hebrew word used in Genesis 1 for the Spirit is “ROAG”.
o “ROAG” can be translated with “breath” and “wind” as well as “spirit.”
• The word used in Genesis 2 for the air that was blown into Adam is also “ROAG.”
o In a sense, we can thus say that the Creator created Adam’s body while the Spirit gave the body life.
 We saw this same concept in Lent when our Scripture was Ezekiel 37, the dry bones in the valley:
• The bones came together, but there was no life until God breathed “ROAG” into the bodies.
• The Spirit gives life.
o John 1 starts the same as Genesis 1: “In the beginning…”
 With this, John makes two things very clear:
• Jesus, described by John as the Word, was there in the beginning before creation.
• And that Jesus is God.
 And in verse 2, John emphasis that the Word was with the Creator in the beginning before creation.
 After establishing the facts just stated, John then moves on to the next fact:
 Everything was created through the Word:
• John emphasizes this fact by repeating himself:
o First in the positive:
 “Everything through Him came to be.”
o And then in the negative:
 “And without Him not even one came to be.”
o The Word is God and was there before creation, and everything was created through Jesus.
 I wholeheartedly believe that all three Persons of the Holy Trinity played a role in creation:
o The Creator created
o Everything created was created through the Word, meaning the Son.
o The Spirit is the one who gave life to what the Triune God created.
 It is one Triune God who creates, but each person in the Trinity played a different role in creation:
o The Creator created, through the Son, and the Spirit brought it to life.
o All three Persons of the One Holy Trinity played a role in creating humans so that we may be loved by God.
 Same answer, but different question: Why did Jesus come to earth to die on the cross?
o Please take a moment to think about the answer.
o For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
 All three Persons of the Trinity played a role in recreating us so that we can love God back.
o Sin prevented us from loving God back.
o That is why the Creator sent the Son to die for us.
 And like I said last week:
• When Jesus died, the curtain between the Holies of holies and the rest of the temple tore in two as a symbol of the fact that sin didn’t prevent us from being in God’s presence anymore.
• Jesus died so we may be recreated to love God back.
• The Creator sent the Son so that we may be recreated through what Jesus did on the cross.
o But before the Son left, Jesus promised us the Spirit:
 Last week, when we looked at Acts 2, we said that the Holy Spirit specifically came in the form of the wind and fire to draw everyone to where the disciples were.
• And we said that when 3000 people in the crowd became believers, they received the Holy Spirit.
• We further said that we believe that the Holy Spirit is in everyone who believes, so they may grow the Body of Christ as Matthew 28 says.
 In a way, we can thus say that the Holy Spirit brings us to a point where we have no choice but to believe and then the Holy Spirit lives in us to equip us to make disciples of all nations.
• The Holy Spirit is actively participating every day in our recreation process.
 I wholeheartedly believe that all three Persons of the Holy Trinity played a role in recreation:
o The Creator sent the Son, and the Son sent the Spirit to recreate us so we may love God back and to continue to recreate us so that we also may be sent.
Conclusion:
 All three Persons of the Triune God have always played a role in God’s history with humanity, showing us that God loves us and ensuring that we love God back:
o The Creator created, through the Son, and the Spirit brought it to life.
o The Creator sent the Son, and the Son sent the Spirit to continue the recreation process so that we may love God back.
Amen!

Response to the Word:
 VU 322 (O God, whose first creative word)
 Prayer

Mission and Service Stories

Prayers of the people

Offertory:
 Invitation to Offering
 Offertory Hymn:
o VU 539 (God of all good) v3
 Memorials:
o A gift was given to St. Andrew's Memorial Fund in memory of Hawley Campbell from Connie Martin and Ruth Catalano.
 Prayer of Dedication

Final Hymn:
 VU 313 (God, whose almighty word)

Commissioning:
 Go now in the love of God the Creator,
who created life and still makes all things new.
Creator God, recreate our lives through Your love.
Go in the love of God the Son,
through whom all things were made and through whom we receive new life.
Redeemer God, may we love as You love us.
Go in the love of God the Spirit,
the breath of life who fills and renews us each day.
Indwelling God, breathe Your life into us as You continue to recreate us.
The Creator, Son, and Holy Spirit send you out in love and with peace.
Amen! Thanks be to God!

Blessing:
 May God the Creator,
who created life in love,
fill you with the wonder of being God’s beloved creation.
May Jesus Christ the Son,
through whom all life was made and renewed,
lead you to live each day in His saving love.
May the Holy Spirit,
the breath of life and the gift of God’s love,
remind you of God’s love for you every day.

Sending out Hymn:
 VU 481 (Sent forth by God’s blessing) v1-2

05/25/2026

The Search Committee and the Official Board would like your input on the future ministry in St. Andrew's United Church. The surveys were distributed during the service on 10 May. If you haven’t received a Survey yet, please indicate to the Ushers. We kindly request that you complete the survey and return it to the church by 21 June 2026.

05/25/2026

31 May 2026 @ 10:00: Trinity Sunday
07 June 2026 @ 10:00: Food Bank Sunday
21 June 2026 @ 10:00: Father’s Day: Family Service
14 or 28 June 2026 @ 11:00: Church Picnic and BBQ

05/25/2026

Acts 2:1-13 – The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament and the New Testament

Greetings:
 Hymn Sing:
o BB 73 (Softly and tenderly)
o BB 11 (Beautiful garden of prayer)
 Celebration Bear
 Welcome & Announcements:
o Important dates:
 24 May 2026 @ 10:00: Pentecost Sunday with Holy Communion
 24 May 2026 @ 11:00: Social Time
 31 May 2026 @ 10:00: Trinity Sunday
 07 June 2026 @ 10:00: Food Bank Sunday
 21 June 2026 @ 10:00: Father’s Day: Family Service
 14 or 28 June 2026 @ 11:00: Church Picnic and BBQ
o The Search Committee and the Official Board would like your input on the future ministry in St. Andrew's United Church. The surveys were distributed during the service on 10 May. If you haven’t received a Survey yet, please indicate to the Ushers. We kindly request that you complete the survey and return it to the church by 21 June 2026.
o ?

Lighting of the Christ candle
 Easter Season doesn’t begin and end with Easter Sunday:
o Easter Season starts with Easter Sunday and ends with Pentecost.
o Based on the Jewish festivals of Pesach (Passover) and Shavuot (Pentecost).
 Passover was celebrated by the Jews in spring:
• First lambs were born, and first wheat was in the fields.
• These were then dedicated to God.
o For Christians, it became the Feast of New Life – Jesus was the first to rise from the dead.
 Pentecost 50 days later in high summer:
• Wheat now plentiful
• It is the final celebration of Easter
o For Christians, the coming of the Holy Spirit confirmed Jesus' work.
 Special Celebration Days:
o Easter
o Ascension
o Pentecost
 Pentecost commemorates the outpouring of the Holy Spirit:
o Happens 10 days after Ascension.
 Symbolizes the time the disciples waited for Jesus' promise that He would send someone in His place.
 The disciples had to process what had happened to them all in the last three years.
 Thus, the ten days leading up to Pentecost are a time of anticipation.
 The emphasis in Pentecost falls on two things:
o The establishment of the first church in Jerusalem, due to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, celebrates the church's birth.
o Following Jesus' words in Acts 1:8, Pentecost has a strong missional character.
 Symbols and colours:
o Colour is red – flames
o Fire
o Dove
o Wind
 Lighting the Christ-candle:
o As we light the candle on Pentecost,
we celebrate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit,
May this candle shine in our midst to remind us
of the Holy Spirit’s guidance in our mission to witness the resurrection!

Call to worship:
 Come, people of God—come and worship!
The Holy Spirit gathers us here to guide us in our worship.
The Holy Spirit is here, moving and working among us.
We come to receive the Spirit’s abundant and gracious gifts.
In the past, the Holy Spirit came upon specific people, for specific tasks, for specific times.
But now Your Spirit is poured out on all Your people!
Jesus calls all who are thirsty to come and receive living water.
Fill us, Holy Spirit, as we worship You today.
The Spirit gathers us—young and old, different yet one in Christ.
Holy Spirit, move among us now, as we gather to worship.

Prayer of Approach:
 Holy Spirit,
Today we celebrate the day You arrived.
We shall rejoice and be glad in it!
In the past, You came upon chosen people for special moments and sacred tasks.
But through Jesus Christ,
You are now poured out on all Your people,
filling us with living water and many gifts for Your service.
As we come into this time of worship,
quiet our hearts, open our lives, and fill us anew.
Speak through every prayer, song, Scripture, and word today,
so that we may draw near to You and faithfully serve You together.
Dwell among us, even though your presence may startle and unsettle us.
Amen.

Hymn of praise:
 VU 198 (Come, O Spirit, dwell among us)

Opening prayer

Introduction:
 In all my congregations, it has always been my job to ensure that those seeking confirmation in the congregation know exactly what they are promising during confirmation.
o This was especially true for the 17-year-olds in their final year in Sunday School.
 I had to ensure that they knew who God is and what God did for us, the covenant, the history of the church and what the church believes, their role as confirmed members, etc...
 I would always start the classes with who God is, what God did for us, what God is doing for us, and what God will continue to do for us.
o I would start with explaining the Holy Trinity.
o And then I would take each Person of the Trinity and explain their role and how God shows that God loves us through that Person of the Holy Trinity.
o When I talked about the Holy Spirit, I would always begin by describing the difference between the Holy Spirit's function in the Old Testament and the New Testament, as that shows exactly what the Holy Spirit does for us.
 And as I read the Scriptures for today, I kept seeing that same lesson plan in these Scriptures, and that is what we are going to focus on today.

The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament:
 Scripture Reading:
o Numbers 11:24-30 – 24So Moses went out and told the people what the Lord had said. He brought together seventy of their elders and had them stand around the tent. 25Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke with him, and he took some of the power of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied—but did not do so again.
26However, two men, whose names were Eldad and Medad, had remained in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but did not go out to the tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp. 27A young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”
28Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ aide since youth, spoke up and said, “Moses, my lord, stop them!”
29But Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” 30Then Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.
 Background of the Scripture:
o This little story is a part of the larger story of how God gave Israel quail in the desert.
o After Israel wailed and moaned about their lack of meat because they only had manna to eat, Moses got fed up with them and asked God why God chose him to lead this ungrateful group.
 This responsibility is getting too much for him.
o God then told Moses to assemble 70 elders who would start to share the leadership responsibilities, and that Israel should prepare themselves because God would provide them with meat.
 Moses again got stressed because he couldn’t contemplate where all this meat would suddenly come from.
o And then God said that God would give Moses a sign to show God’s power:
 God would give each of these 70 elders a part of the Holy Spirit that God gave to Moses, and they would prophesy.
 The words of Moses:
o Moses got his sign, and Israel got their meat.
o But the sign was more than even Moses could fathom:
 The 70 elders did prophesy, but only then and never again.
 But two other people also received the Holy Spirit and started to prophesy.
o The sign was so wonderful that Moses wished that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!
 The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament
o Just from this Scripture, it is clear that the Holy Spirit only came onto specific people for a specific task, and as soon as that task was done, the Spirit left.
 The Holy Spirit was on Moses to lead Israel to the Promised Land.
 The Holy Spirit came unto the elders and gave them the gift of prophesy as a sign to Moses, but after that, the Holy Spirit left.
o The Holy Spirit only came onto specific people, for a specific task, and for a specific time.
 Response?
o Holy Spirit, long ago, Moses wished that all God’s people would receive You.
In the Old Testament, You came upon specific people for specific tasks and for a specific time.
Now You, our Holy Spirit, lives in all Your people forever.
Thank You for dwelling within us, guiding us, and giving us strength to serve You.
Fill us with joy and thanksgiving, Holy Spirit. Amen.

What had to happen for the Holy Spirit to come?
 Scripture Reading:
o John 7:37-39 – 37On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 39By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
 Background of the Scripture:
o John 7 focuses on Jesus’ teaching in the temple in Jerusalem during the Festival of the Tabernacles, and how the Jews perceived Him and his teachings.
o And on the last day, Jesus said the words we just read.
o Jesus began by saying that we should come and drink from Him, which is important as water played a huge role during the ceremonies of the last day.
 At this festival that celebrates God’s provision to Israel in the desert, Jesus says that He is the living water that quenches all thirst and is the source of eternal life.
o And then John connects the living water to the Holy Spirit as he did previously in the gospel:
 The Living Water is the Holy Spirit that believers still have to receive!
 But the Holy Spirit only came AFTER Jesus was glorified:
o Jesus came to die for our sins.
 When Jesus died, the curtain between the Holies of holies and the rest of the temple tore in two as a symbol of the fact that sin didn’t prevent us from being in God’s presence anymore.
o God could thus be God in us and with us!
 Thus, because Jesus cleansed us from our sins, we could have the Holy Spirit in us and with us forever.
o The Holy Spirit thus had to come after Jesus did what He came to do and left.
 Difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament?
o In the Old Testament, the people were still filled with sin.
o But when God had a specific task for a person, that person was given the Holy Spirit to accomplish that specific task.
o And after the task was done, the Holy Spirit left.
o God could not be with humans forever because they were still burdened by sin.
o But because of what Jesus did, the Holy Spirit is with us forever, vs. the Old Testament, where the Holy Spirit only lived in a person for a specific time.
 Response?
o VU 207 (Spirit of God, unleashed on earth)

The Holy Spirit came:
 Scripture Reading:
o Acts 2:1-13 – 1When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
5Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11(both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”
13Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”
 Background of the Scripture:
o In Acts 1, Jesus told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit, who would give them the power needed to be the witnesses that He commissioned them to be.
o And in Acts 2, the Holy Spirit came in a spectacular fashion.
 God made sure that everyone in Jerusalem knew about the coming of the Holy Spirit:
o That is what has astounded me the last couple of years.
o When I was younger, I just assumed that the wind and the fire were symbols of the Holy Spirit.
o But what if God chose fire and wind specifically as the form in which the Holy Spirit would appear?
 Fire and wind are two things that immediately pull our attention to it.
 And Luke makes it clear that the noise of the wind drew everyone in Jerusalem to where the disciples were.
o I am 100% certain that God chose fire and wind specifically to draw all of Jerusalem to that spot, so that they all may hear Peter’s speech, which followed.
 Difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament?
o And after Peter’s speech, three thousand people became believers.
o And upon believing they received the Holy Spirit.
o Here we see that the Holy Spirit came on everybody who believed, vs. the Old Testament, where the Holy Spirit only came on specific people.
 Response?
o VU 195 (On Pentecost they gathered)

What did the Holy Spirit come to do?
 Scripture Reading:
o 1 Corinthians 12:1-13 – 1Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
4There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
7Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
 Background of the Scripture:
o The congregation in Corinth misused the gifts given to them by the Holy Spirit.
 They looked down on people with certain gifts or those who had fewer gifts than others.
 There was a hubris and maliciousness in the congregation.
o In 1 Corinthians 12-14, Paul teaches the congregation about the correct way the Gifts of the Holy Spirit should be used.
 One Spirit, but a variety of ways that the Spirit uses us:
o Paul starts the whole section by emphasizing that all the gifts came from ONE Holy Spirit.
o The ONE Holy Spirit gives us the gifts for ONE big mission:
 Growing the Body of Christ in the world, or in other words: Being witnesses of what Jesus did on earth.
o Various gifts are given to all believers for various tasks that all work towards the ONE mission.
o We are all equal, and we all have a role to play in building up the Body of Christ, and the Holy Spirit equips us with various gifts and talents to accomplish this.
 Difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament?
o Paul’s list of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit may give the idea that one person has one gift and another person another gift.
o But when we look at all the Scriptures about the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, and what we learned through the years as the church, we know that we all receive various Gifts for various tasks, vs. the Old Testament, where the Holy Spirit came on one person for one task.
 Response – Holy Communion:
o Preparing the table and distributing the signs:
 VU 371 (Open my eyes, that I may see)
 VU 382 (Breathe on me Breath of God)
 VU 376 (Spirit of the Living God)
o Invitation to the table:
 The United Church of Canada acknowledges that this table around which we gather is not actually ours.
• Jesus Christ is the Host, and He welcomes all.
• St. Andrew’s welcomes you in His name.
• We gather as Christ’s guests and friends to partake of this meal so that no one is turned away from God’s grace and love.
• When we eat the bread and drink of the cup, we do so with Christ and all his followers.
 We thus invite everyone who believes in the Triune God and knows that the Holy Spirit is living in them because of what Jesus did here on earth to join us in celebrating Holy Communion.
o Call to Give Thanks:
 The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
o Thanksgiving – Preface:
 Holy Spirit,
we know that in the times of the Old Testament,
You came upon chosen people for special tasks and moments.
Yet even Moses prayed that all Your people would receive You.
In Jesus Christ, that promise was fulfilled.
At Pentecost, You were poured out on all believers, filling Your people with living water, many gifts, and one faith.
Therefore, we join with all creation in praise:
o Sanctus – Song of Creation:
 Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of Your glory.
Hosanna in the highest!
Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest!
o Institution – Remembering Jesus at the Table:
 On the night before Jesus’ death, He took bread,
gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to His disciples, saying:
“Take and eat; this is My body given for you.
Do this in remembrance of Me.”
After supper He took the cup, saying:
“This cup is the new covenant in My blood,
poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Do this in remembrance of Me.”
Because Jesus’ body was broken, and his blood shed,
we were made righteous with God.
And therefore, the Holy Spirit came after Jesus left,
that through the bread and cup, we, though many, may be one in Christ
o Sharing of the bread and the cup:
 Sharing of the bread:
• The bread we break is the communion with the body of our Lord Jesus Christ.
• Take, eat, think about it and believe that his body was broken to achieve complete atonement for all our sins.
• Silent prayer
 Sharing of the cup:
• The cup of thanksgiving is the communion with the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.
• Take, drink, think of it and believe that his precious blood was shed as a sign of our renewed covenant with God.
• Silent Prayer
o Prayer after communion:
 Thanksgiving prayer
 Prayers of the People – remember pebbles’ prayers
 The Lord’s Prayer

Offertory:
 Invitation to Offering
 Offertory Hymn:
o VU 537 (Your work, O God, needs many hands) v1-2
 Memorials:
o A gift has been given to the St. Andrew's General Fund in loving memory: Brenda, Violet, Rodney (Buck), and Gary Harrison by Louise LeBlanc.
o A gift was given to St. Andrew's Memorial Fund in memory of Hawley Campbell from Frank and Peggy Campbell.
o A gift was given to St. Andrew's Memorial Fund in memory of Hawley Campbell from Christine Diotte.
o A gift was given to St. Andrew's Memorial Fund in loving memory of Richard Angus Hardy on his birthday, May 26th, from Delilah, Natalie and Nicole.
 Prayer of Dedication

Final Hymn:
 VU 194 (Filled with the Spirit’s power)

Blessing:
 May God the Creator,
who promised the Spirit long ago through Moses,
comfort and strengthen you through the Spirit.
May God the Son,
who poured out his blood so we may receive the living water of the Holy Spirit,
give you new life through the Spirit.
May the Holy Spirit,
once given to a specific person for a specific task for a specific time,
who now lives in all believers for a variety of tasks for all eternity,
strengthen you with many gifts to serve God faithfully.

Sending out Hymn:
 VU 586 (We shall go out with hope of resurrection) v1

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211 Perron Boulevard West
New Richmond, QC
G0C2B0

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