FREELTON STRABANE UNITED CHURCH
To Live Our Discipleship With Integrity And Grace
Horseshoe Falls Regional Council
Advent 2
December 7 2025
Rev. Will Wheeler BA M. Div. E-mail: [email protected]
Organist : Joan Simpson
Call To Worship
Take this moment sign and space
Take my friends around
Here among us make the place
Where your love is found me
(Iona Abbey Music book pg 122)
Call to Worship:
One: Be it a lamb, a coin, or us .
All: God will find it.
One: In the crowded paths, in the lonely desert, in the midst of demanding life.
All: God finds us. God floods the world with light and hope, bringing the lost home and keeping us company on the Way.
One: The time is now for us to gather as your beloved community of faith.
All: We may not be sure what has brought us here today--but here we are: open, waiting, expectant, and almost ready.
One: Create in us hearts of courage and faith, to continue to stumble and dance our way to Bethlehem. Let us seek God in worship.
One To all things there is a season
All A time for every purpose Under heaven.
One For God in the wisdom of creation created all things to exist in Balance.
All For in balance we find the center and center is the divine light within each of us.
One Our world has lost its balance. . The Scales have tipped Despair, War, Sorrow, Hate weigh heavy. The burdens of conflict weigh as a millstone around societies neck.
All Peace is Lost is the darkness of Conflict .
One, Still into the darkness the light of Peace breaks in in the promise of a child who shall be the light to the world. Hope can be a means to know peace.
All We place this measure of Peace to begin to bring balance back to the world.
One We light this Candle a Candle of Peace to dispel the darkness, the light of the Divine shines at the center of all things.
Prayer.
God of creation. You created all things to be held in balance.
For where there is Conflict there is Peace. You Call us to search out you’re the balance you have created that we may use your. Help bringing peace in all its many forms, to work as your people in striving to restore the harmony of your peace in our lives and in the world in which we find ourselves.
All: (sung) In God we live and move and have our story.
In love God lives in us and makes us whole
O Jesus may we hear the Word that calls us near.
Your story makes a home within our soul.
Your story makes a home within our soul
One: Where do we find Peace?
All In the Word.
One Then let us listen for Gods Hope in the word taken from Romans 15:4-13
One: In this time of expectation may we find direction in Gods teaching in Christ our Lord Our Gospel is taken from Matthew 3:1-12
One: This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ
All Thanks be to our Lord the Messiah
This is the word of the Lord
All Thanks be to God
In ancient times when I was young, tree decorating was a family event. First the tree. It always seemed to magically appear in the house. Then came the supporting structure, The various strings and wires to and an assurance that when the cat’s went up the tree the tree would not necessarily fall over which of course did not ensure that the tree would necessarily fall over. My mom also had the end table lights tied to the tables for such said reasons relating to the cats. Scarlett is a wise choice. Now Dad was the lighting specialist. By this time he would have done the outside flood lights on the house carefully positioning them so that the light would create various different colours on our glitter popcorn ceiling. We would also have to drive to the next road over and look back across the fields to make sure it looked good from a distance. I am not sure that Dad showed as much care with the tree. But nothing could go on the tree until he sat down in his chair work completed. When Lightning was accomplished….Then came the ornaments. Most some sort of plastic, I’m not sure if this was because of me or the cats. The bottom of the tree was, well laden with ornaments up to about the middle. The highest I could reach. And lastly, the tinsel, the silver stringy stuff which was supposed to be placed but was more pitched to on to the tree, of which some you would in time find in a well placed cat hair ball. Magically by the next morning the tree would have had ornaments all the way to the top, the tinsel will have moved from pitched clumps to graceful strands of angel hair like gossamer over the whole trees and a matching pair of Santa jamies for me and my brother would be waiting for the evening photo session
The journey continues and here in my not so younger years, The out door flood lights have been replaced with LED solid and swirling colours placed in November when there is still a modicum of warmth . The still look pretty on the living room ceiling but the manse committee did say a hard no to glitter on the ceiling. I know where the tree comes from. The box in the basement which shockingly holds together year after year .
The hap hazardness of younger years of tree decorating is now replaced with military precision
There are various different things you need in your tree decorating kit. Patience. Those light strings can be somewhat frustrating. Hot chocolate. For some this might be something hot and somewhat alcoholic, Cookies still optional but recommended . The actual ornaments and a box of tissue. Tree decorating can be emotional. The tree which was decorated from the middle down is now more decorated from the middle up. A matter of perspective. I did invite people once to help me decorate the tree. I needed another day to redecorate the tree.
The evolution of our Christmas decorating speaks to our life journey, Given enough time the bins of decorations that no longer get used starts to grow like a stalagmite in the Christmas corner Things done differently. It is not bad it speaks to us changing and growing.
Our decorating, our trees the ornaments we set on the tree remind us of the journey.
John, Jesus’ second cousin on his mother’s side who is just a few months older than Jesus, life journey took him out to the wilderness, a place of enlightenment. John, by far the most colourful of the new testament people, (almost the cousin you don’t really want to admit is related) becomes a voice of God.
John the voice
John the voice that Calls us into relationship Call us into living in right relationship
His a voice that changed world and opened the way for Jesus’ voice to change the world. It is a voice that was heard in Ghandi, Martin Luther King Nelson Mandela All voices that changed the world
How can we be a voice of change?
How can we testify to the power of God in our lives and the life changing relationship which is found in following Jesus? How do we proclaim how the Holy Spirit is what guides our lives
John Wesley the founder of Methodism proclaimed a life with Christ and changed the face of the faith. In honouring our relationship with our history, but also honouring our everyday relationship with God we are called to proclaim Christ coming.
There are those that will say that what will save the church is the authentic witnessing of God’s presence in our lives and testifying to the power of holy spirit.
We are called to be that voice of faith. To tell our stories of faith, we are today the voice in wilderness. We are not expected to dress in the latest cut of camel or a stick to a high protein diet of locus with a side of honey, but we are called to be that voice in the wilderness of faith
The ornaments we set on the tree remind us of the journey. Our Journey
Now is the slow time (still not sure what that would look like). It is the time of long nights, sitting by in candle light, the wind outside playing around the house. The tree glowing while the lights on the outside of the house play like the Aura borealis. This first Sunday is gone, but hope is renewed, Today we seek the peace of the slow time. The Solstice is coming and light shall come once more into the world. Advent has come and the voice in the wilderness calls us to the slow time
May you find that moment to sit with a nice cup of something hot, in front of the tree, to ponder what God has shown you in your journey, but also calm you to continue the journey.
We are blessed with our relationship with God, We are blessed by those reminders in our lives of that God journey with us. May our lives reflect that relationship, may we find peace in knowing that God is with us and that we are not alone thanks be to God
Prayers of the people
Hear our prayer we humbly offer
Grant to us your peace O God
Hear our prayer we humbly offer
Grant to us your peace O God.
Prayers
God of our journey who lights our way in the wilderness, may we hear John’s words in the wilderness, to prepare and be ready. To be ready to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit which moves us towards kindness and a generous heart. May we see that even the smallest of gestures, a kind word a smile a look of understanding can make a moment of difference in someone’s life and they see that they are not alone. We hear our calling to be the voice of faith. May we tell our story of faith in how we live our everyday. Our faith is rooted in the strong belief that you hear our prayers. We offer prayers for the world in all of its brokenness. We can not begin to name the rough places that need to be made plain. We offer prayers for those that we journey with. Give us the courage to walk with them, to hold them and support them. We name them…. We offer you the names we hold in our hearts. We name our own fears, hopes, sorrows and joys. On this journey you are the light in the wilderness a lantern guiding the way. Hear our prayers and in time may they be answered in your way. We offer you the great prayer which binds us as one saying Our Father….
Offering
We give thee but thy own. The work of the Church continues and there are three ways you can continue to support that work. Consider using PAR, use the donate button on our Web Site or drop your gift at the Manse. Let us make our offering and give thanks.
One: Praise God who from all Blessing flow
Prayer This discovery of your blessings in our lives is cause for celebration. We give thanks, O God, for the gift of your presence and the gift of our faith. Accept the offerings we give in love. Amen.
Sending Forth and Blessing.
One: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing.
All: May we bear good fruit among all people and live in harmony with our sisters and brothers.
One: By the power of the Holy Spirit may you abound in hope
Blessing
One: May God the one who brings us comfort surround you, May Christ our Joy walk with you. May the Continued presence of The Holy Spirit illuminate our path and keep us safe until we can gather again in community. Amen
VU 4
God of all places present unseen
Voice in our silence song in our mist
Send us your people knowing and sure
Called to spread the word.
amen amen amen
Yesterdaywe honour our heritage.
Todaywe know that we are not alone,that we live in God's world.
Tomorrowwith God,we will discoverthe undiscovered country.
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