Bulletin for September 29, 2024
Please join us for worship in person or on YouTube at 10:00 am
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Through Faith, we walk on the path Jesus set for us.
The people of St. Paul’s
Belong … Believe … Love … Listen … Lead
WE APPROACH OUR GRACIOUS GOD
PRELUDE
WELCOME MV2 Come All You People (2x) (1L)
WORDS OF WELCOME & ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF TREATY
LIFE & WORK OF THE CONGREGATION
CALL TO WORSHIP
Our faith story begins in a garden
where God set humanity to grow and flourish.
Our faith story ends in a garden
a return to paradise, where we can grow and flourish.
God the Gardener invites us to come together,
to sing and to pray, to listen and to speak, to grow together in faith
As we respond to God’s invitation let us greet our neighbours with words and signs of Christ’s peace
WE GREET EACH OTHER WITH THE PEACE OF CHRIST
LIGHTING THE CHRIST CANDLE
In the beginning God spoke into the chaos and said: “Let there be light”
And there was light.
We light this candle to remind us that the light called forth by God continues to shine in God’s Creation
As we watch it glow may we grow in wisdom and love.
As people of God we centre ourselves for worship
OPENING PRAYER
Creator God, as we gather, your greatness is all around us. We come with gratitude for your love, mercy, and compassion offered freely for all. We praise you and give you thanks that you are faithful in your promises. You have plenished the earth enough so that all will be satisfied. We thank you for the harvest of our gardens and crops that feed us.
We come to you, O God, with praise and thanksgiving for your promises of enough for all. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen
LORD’S PRAYER
Gathering Hymn VU296 This is God’s Wondrous World (PD)
WE SHARE AS GOD’S CHILDREN THE BIBLE’S STORY IN WORD AND IN SONG:
A TIME FOR THE YOUNG AT HEART
PRAYER FOR & ASSURANCE OF GRACE
God of life, in the beginning, you gave us a garden.
Where the tree of life grew. Where we were invited to live in community with you and all creation.
In the end, in the midst of the New Jerusalem, there will be a garden.
Where the tree of life will grow. Where the river of life will flow. Where we are welcomed back into paradise.
In between we search for the garden.
Looking for signs of paradise in a world where paradise sometimes seems far from real.
Gardener God,
In grace lead us to find the gardens in our lives, reveal where paradise lies waiting to be found.
And when that seems impossible,
remind us of another garden,
where your grace and power were revealed in the face of death and disaster,
where resurrection returned paradise to the world.
Gracious God, reveal your grace and power and life to us
throughout our lives. Amen.
SCRIPTURE LESSONS
Genesis 8:1-22
Revelation 22:1-5
SERMON Paradise is a Garden?
A MOMENT OF REFLECTION
(trusting that God is at work in our midst we allow the words we have heard to settle and stir in our souls)
How Has the Creator Touched Your Life this Week?
Hymn VU295 The Earth and All Who Breathe (1L)
WE EXPRESS OUR GRATITUDE TO GOD AND PREPARE FOR MINISTRY IN THE WORLD
THE OFFERING
Planned Giving – What is That?
The Invitation:
Sung Dedication VU537 Your Work, O God, Needs Many Hands (PD)
Sharing of Celebrations and Concerns
Prayers of the People
Hymn MV135 Called By Earth and Sky (1L)
