FREELTON STRABANE UNITED CHURCH
To Live Our Discipleship With Integrity And Grace
Horseshoe Falls Regional Council
Advent 3
December 14 2025
Rev. Will Wheeler BA M. Div. E-mail: [email protected]
Organist : Joan Simpson
New Paragraph
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: Come with gladness!
All: We gather with joy!
One: Embrace the season of light.
All: We are hugged by glee!
One: Greet abundant life.
All: We eagerly seek to praise the Lord of living.
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 sorrow weigh as a millstone around societies neck.
All Joy is Lost is the darkness of sorrow.
One, Still into the darkness the light of Joy breaks in in the promise of a child who shall be the light to the world. Hope can be a means to know peace. In the peace with can find Joy.
All We place this measure of Joy to begin to bring balance back to the world.
One We light this Candle a Candle of Joy 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 sorrow there is Joy God, you know that we do not always feel happy. Sometimes we feel sad. Sometimes we are worried. Sometimes we feel lonely. Touch us with your strong and joyful spirit, we pray, so that laughter , warm and delight may fill our hearts and souls. Help your joy run deeper than all our sorrow as we know your gifts of new life today and always. In the name of Jesus, joy to the world amen.
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 Joy?
All In the word.
One Then let us once more with joy in our hearts hear God word taken from the Old Testament at Isaiah 35: 1-10
One In this time of expectation may we find direction in Gods teaching in Christ our Lord Our Gospel is taken from of Gospel Matthew 11: 2-11
This is the word of the Lord
All Thanks be to God
Balance has been the theme of our Advent season. Creating balance can be hard. I can remember being in school and being somewhat board with what ever the teacher might be speaking of and working very hard to balance my pencil on my finger.
The weeks leading up to Christmas are full. I think we should bring back the full twelve days of Christmas so we can recover from getting ready for Christmas.
I do try to practice what I preach. In the midst of sermonizing, and worship writing I have been deliberate about making sure the tree is lit and I spend a little quality time just being in the moment. Trying to find and embrace the slow time.
To reflect to calm to be. To hear the story in all the ways that it can be told. There is a wonderful British Comedy
The Vicar of Dibley. One of my Favs. The story of a Church of England Vicar who is a women, in a small town of interesting people. Interesting is polite. The parish decides on a live nativity in a barn.
The Vicar head up the Christmas prep and the play. A little practice with the cast on Method acting
Hugo to Alice. What are you cooking? Alice replays loaves fishes old family recipe.
Then in a second take on telling the story Alice and Vicar take a run at.
Vicar hello Mary. Alice: Hello Joe, cup of tea? And I’m pregnant. Vicar: hello wait a minute whose the father you little scrupper . Alice: I don’t know I was in the lew angel of the lord our God came and said that I would have a baby who would be the Savoir of all human kind
Vicar: Oh Mary so sorry. Alice: Don’t touch me I’m going to Bethlehem on my own
Honestly the reason it was a silent night was that Joseph didn’t make reservations.
Todays Gospel is the annunciation. This women, about her everyday tasks finds herself in the presence of an Angel. Not just any angel the arch angel Gabriell. I like how the gospeler kind of smooths out the language.
But she (Mary) was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Really? Perplexed? More like get my smelling salts. Then the rest, the whole overshadowed by the Holy Spirit, Son of God, Cousin with child. Yes smelling salts. But in this huge overwhelming moment Mary gives that unconditional yes to God and God begins to transform the world. With a message of peace, of hope of joy and love.
An angel interrupted her day and her life was changed.
The Angel becomes the overture to the A great story. As the Vicar of Dibley states It’s the Greatest story ever told.
Consider. This small innocent child who will carry the weight of humanity on his shoulders And comes to preach a simple message of love
As Mary Struggles with how God has changed her life so does John struggle in wanting to know if Jesus is the one. And he asks his straightforward question.
John the prophet, proclaiming the coming of God. Then wonders if his own cousin could be the person. Could this be the person that will transform the world
When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?”
We to may at times struggle. Are we ready for Christmas. I don’t mean the baking the shopping the wrapping Are we ready to have God interrupt our lives, change everything we know. Are we ready to experience the love of God Love that at times can be very challenging. Mary comes to know great Joy in her divine encounter and in time will know great pain.
We are not told what John’s reaction was when his disciples returned to him with Jesus answer. However here was the messiah the promised one of God. Joy must have touched his heart.
We can be like John, locked in the prison of Christmas preparedness, looking at the shopping list and then the price tags and thinking I should be out of Christmas debt in time to shop for for Easter chocolates. In this modern prison once more God comes to us.
We each experience God in our own ways May we seek out the slow time. May we find the peace we need to hear God speak in our lives, so that we may say yes with meaning. May we strive for the balance. May we find hope in answering Gods call to be his people. Again, in the grand list of what needs to be done, in the shopping, in the travel planning may we take time to sit for a moment, to be with God in his preparing to come.
God’s love is coming into the world, an ancient love, a new love faith restored assuring us even in our questioning that may our Joy be complete in the simple knowing that we are not alone.
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
Dear God, in our hearts we know that yours is an ancient love that laid the foundation for all of creation. Yours is a new love of faith returning to the world. We like John and like so many others ask how can this be, can this be this ancient love, the new love that brings such hope. Can it be that into the darkness of this world, it’s pain it’s suffering there is a glimmer of Joy? With our hearts open to this possibility we come once more to offer our prayers. Prayers for our broken world. Prayers for all those that suffer the many pains of this life. Prayers for those who are a part of our lives that we have committed to walk with. We name those family, friends that are dear to our hearts. Today we also name our joys, the joy of family and friendship. The small things that bring us contentment that bring a smile. May we own the joy in our lives. We offer you our own personal prayers in this time in the silence of our hearts. In our hearts we know that yours is an ancient love that laid the foundation for all of creation. That Yours is a new love of faith returning to the world. That yours is a love that hears our prayers and in your time and your way will answer. We offer together the prayer of comfort that we share 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 We praise you with our offerings, gracious God, and honour you with our gifts. Take control of our lives in ways that will draw us nearer to you, yet increase our sense of responsibility
toward your other children. Amen.
Sending Forth and Blessing.
One: Go out to the world with a new outlook; God is ruling in our midst.
All: We will take the promises of God to a needy world; share good news with friends and co-workers.
One: God will direct your paths during the week ahead and provide all that you need to face its choices.
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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