Freelton Strabane United Church
To live our discipleship with integrity and grace.
Horseshoe Falls Regional Council
Lent 4
Sunday, March 14 2026
Minister: Rev. Will Wheeler, B.A. M. Div. 905-659-3380 E-mail: [email protected]
Music Director Joan Simpson
Let us Gather together for worship.
Come touch our souls that we may know and love you
Your quiet presence all our fears dispel
Create a space for sprit to grow in us
Let life and beauty fill us,
Come touch and bless our souls.
Come touch us now, this people who are gathered,
To break the bread and share the cup of peace;
That we may love you with our heart our soul,
Our mind, our strength, our all,
Come touch us with your grace.
Call To Worship
One: Gather us in Holy God to this time, to this place.
All: Our eyes see dimly the ways of your holy spirit. We long to see clearly the pathway that you would have us travel
One: Come then and be in this place where Christ open’s our eyes to the ways of God’s Holy Spirit
All. We gather as a people whose God’s light is ever brightening our pathway so we may see our way. For this is the place we need to be.
Throughout these Lenten days and nights
we turn to walk the inward way
where meeting Christ our guide and light
we pray in hope his coming day
We bear the silence cross and pain
our human burdens human fear
Kept dark and deep until we see
the promise of the coming dawn
One: In the darkness, our fears come to own us
All The fears we press down into the boxes of our soul
One fear is the great destroyer.
All Fear separates us from the Divine within and without.
One Christ is the key that will open our boxed fears and free us.
All Our fear hides behind many things.
One Within the boxes of our fear there are our Failure to own our gifts that we have. We second guess ourselves and give way to fear “are my gifts good enough?” We fail to own our talents and so we do not use them. In holding back our talents we fail to help others and proclaim God’s love.
All Christ is the Key that will free us from our fears.
One We light this candle to dispel the darkness and place this key to open the box of our fears
Prayer of Confession.
God of continued Mercy we come to you holding the box of the talents and gifts that we have failed to use. We own that at times second guess our talents and so we do not share them. We let our fear once more cause us to question if we are good enough. You in your love have gifted us these talents, abilities to be able to make a difference in your world May your Spirit speak to our souls to give us such confidence to have faith in ourselves. to own our fears and let them go. We bring our own personal prayers of confession before you.
Sermon
Prayer
Lord as we ponder your words open our hearts that we may understand and know you. Amen
Jesus this week As he is walking along with the disciples the disciples see a man born blind and is asked “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
As I sat at my desk looking at the rain, missing the warm weather of the beginning of the week I wondered “Lord what sin have I committed that I should be plagued with pot holes on the 8th concession west that keep denting my rims.” Now I know someone of you have just said “oh no “ and yes there are some of you who are (let’s be honest) laughing. Yes this is the third time I have bent a rim on the 8th. One last March, then this February and this week. No I don’t drive to fast. Well? Maybe?
When we have a string of things go wrong it is easy to think That God, the universe is out for you. The reality is that universe does not care. God cares but more about our mental state sending us wisdom or patience of what ever we may need to face the challenges. God does not say. “Hmm it’s a slow day you know I am going to set out some pot holes to bend some tires. God in the Spirit that sits besides us and whisper. Just breath. It’s a rim. It can be fixed. All shall be well.
Some times we need to hear these words. We are blessed with the saints that surround us. This week there will be the feast day of Saint Patrick. There are a lot of legends that surround this Saint. One of the gifts that he gave us was what is known as Saint Patrick's Breast Plate. It is a poem which has been written into a hymn. They are words that remind us of God's presence in our lives.
I bind unto myself today
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same
The Three in One and One in Three.
I bind this day to me forever
By power of faith, Christ’s incarnation;
His baptism in the Jordan river,
His death on Cross for my salvation;
His bursting from the spicèd tomb,
His riding up the heav’nly way,
His coming at the day of doom
I bind unto myself today.
I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the star lit heaven,
The glorious sun’s life giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind’s tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea
Around the old eternal rocks.
I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need.
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, His shield to ward;
The word of God to give me speech,
His heav’nly host to be my guard.
Against the demon snares of sin,
The vice that gives temptation force,
The natural lusts that war within,
The hostile men that mar my course;
Or few or many, far or nigh,
In every place and in all hours,
Against their fierce hostility
I bind to me these holy powers.
Against all Satan’s spells and wiles,
Against false words of heresy,
Against the knowledge that defiles,
Against the heart’s idolatry,
Against the wizard’s evil craft,
Against the death wound and the burning,
The choking wave, the poisoned shaft,
Protect me, Christ, till Thy returning.
Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
I bind unto myself the Name,
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.
By Whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
Salvation is of Christ the Lord
May we set a side time in all that we have to do. In those moments when all seems to be wrong, and those moments that all seems to be right to contemplate the words of the Saints and once more know that we are not alone Thanks be to God Amen
Prayers of the people
When we shiver in despair when the chill of death comes near,
Hold us Spirit, calm our fear while the evening deepens.
Holy Light, warm our night warm the time of winter
Holy night warm our night warm the time of winter
God whose arms encircle us in our brokenness. Who weeps when our hearts are breaking. God who hears our sobbing cry when we feel alone in tide of humanity. God in all of our lostness you welcome us home regardless of how far we may have journeyed away from you. Hear our prayers. The prayers of our hearts. The prayers that carry our pain and hurt. The prayers that hold our joys and dreams. The prayers for a world so torn with conflict. The prayers for the displaced, the lost the hungry and sick. Send O God your Spirit to gently gather the broken pieces of our world and draw them once more into a loving wholeness. Send O God your Spirit upon us to draw together the fractured piece of our own lives so that we may know your joy and the love of your presence. To you great comforter surrounded by the love we know in this community of your people we offer our prayers and the great prayer which bind 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.
These gifts express our gratitude for your lavish outpouring of live in Jesus Christ and your generous provision for all our needs. We dedicate our tithes and offerings for us in the fields that are ripe for harvest. May these gifts along with our words and deed make an effective witness to Jesus Christ. 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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