Third Avenue United Church

CANDLE LITURGY: Greg & Cecelia Corcoran
Called into the wilderness, into the place of searching and temptation; how will we find our way out?
God's grace is always available to us, even in the shadow places. God's grace covers our shame.
Let us journey through the shadows toward the light.
(1 candle is extinguished.)
Used with permission from Gathering Lent/Easter 2014; Cindy Randall

Sung Response: VU 108 “Throughout these Lenten Days and Nights” Verse 1
1. Throughout these Lenten days and nights
we turn to walk the inward way,
where, meeting Christ, our guide and light,
we live in hope till Easter Day.

1. CALL TO WORSHIP:
As we enter this Lenten season, God renews God's promise to us. God promises to support us when life calls us to a tough decision.
Will we renew our promise to God?
God promises to travel with us through the places of testing.
Will we renew our promise to God?
God promises to show us the faithful and wise way.
Will we renew our promise to God?
God promises that when we fail or falter, God will not forsake us.
Will we renew our promise to God?
In the life and death of Jesus Christ, we know we are able to trust God's promises.
And so we recommit to our promise to trust God's leading in the hard places we encounter and in the hard places encountered in the life of our faith community.
Knowing that the promises of God are to be eternally trusted,
We come to worship.
Used with permission Gathering Lent/Easter 2026 David Sparks

2. OPENING PRAYER:
May your wilderness time, O Christ, inform our wilderness time, the wilderness time of this Lenten season and the wilderness times that we do not choose for ourselves. Help us to organize our thoughts and align them with God's love. Help us to breathe deeply of the breath of the Spirit. Help us to find your gift of living water. Help us to crack open and plant the dry seeds we have gathered so that spring can blossom with a plan that renews hope and purpose. Amen
Used with permission Gathering Lent/Easter 2026; Karen Boivin

4. HYMN VU 644 “I Was There to Hear Your Borning Cry”
1. I was there to hear your borning cry,
I'll be there when you are old.
I rejoiced the day you were baptized,
to see your life unfold.

2. I was there when you were but a child,
with a faith to suit you well;
in a blaze of light you wandered off
to find where demons dwell.

3. When you heard the wonder of the word,
I was there to cheer you on;
you were raised to praise the living Lord,
to whom you now belong.

4. If you find someone to share your time
and you join your hearts as one,
I'll be there to make your verses rhyme
from dusk till rising sun.

5. In the middle ages of your life,
not too old, no longer young.
I'll be there to guide you through the night,
complete what I've begun.

6. When the evening gently closes in
and you shut your weary eyes,
I'll be there as I have always been
with just one more surprise.

7. I was there to hear your borning cry,
I'll be there when you are old.
I rejoiced the day you were baptized,
to see your life unfold.

5. PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION:
Lord God, in this dry and dusty place, pour out the power of your Spirit so that your word may blossom in our lives, through Jesus Christ, our way in the wilderness. Amen.
Used with permission from Gathering Lent Easter 2026; Beth W Johnston

6. PRAYER OF CONFESSION:
Gracious God, we live in the sureness of your unconditional love and abundant mercy.
Merciful God, we come before you in prayer.
With heavy hearts, we bear the guilt of our transgressions and shortcomings.
Merciful God, we come before you in prayer.
In the spirit of openness and honesty and the willingness to seek repentance,
Merciful God, we come before you in prayer.
(A time of silent prayer)
Used with permission Gathering Lent/Easter 2026: Carol Frost

7. WORDS OF ASSURANCE:
Be assured of God's steadfast love and compassion. We are never alone, never left to struggle alone in whatever guilt we feel or burdens we carry. Our Merciful God forgives us, guides us, and holds us, now and always.
Thanks be to God.
Used with permission Gathering Lent/Easter 2026: Carol Frost

8. SUNG RESPONSE: VU 115 “Jesus Tempted in the Desert” Verse 4
4. When we face temptation's power,
lonely, struggling, filled with dread,
Christ, who knew the tempter's hour,
come and be our living bread.
By your grace, protect, preserve us
lest we fall, your trust betray.
Yours, above all other voices,
be the Word we hear, obey.

9. Affirmation of Faith: “The Nicene Creed” VU 920
We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God, begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary
and became truly human.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
in accordance with the Scriptures;
On the third day he rose again
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father [and the Son],
who with the Father and the Son
is worshipped and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism
for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

10. INVITATION TO OFFERING:
God of wonder, you have given us gifts, talents to be used and time to be shared. God of Creation, you have given us an abundant life, overflowing with the good things of earth. Whatever we have been given, grant that we may share in a caring and loving way. May we show our love for you as we present our morning offering.

11. OFFERTORY Tune Franconia (VU 542)
These Lenten gifts we bring,
Our living faith express.
We offer them most lovingly,
and thus our hearts are blessed.
O loving God receive,
these gifts we gladly give
That show our faith and hope and trust;
Your way we seek to live.
Used with permission from Gathering Lent Easter 2013

11. OFFERING PRAYER OF DEDICATION:
Generous God, we offer to you a portion of what you have given us: gifts of time, of talent, and of treasure, gifts that care for those of us too often on the margins, gifts to support our partners overseas and within Canada, gifts that seem small, but that have large effects in Jesus' name. Bless what we give for your purposes in the world, we pray. Amen
From the Abingdon Worship Annual 2025.
Copyright @2024 by Abingdon Press. Used by permission

Please give by contributing online using “E-transfers” or PAR (Pre-Authorized Remittance) or by placing your offering in the plate.

12. SACRAMENT OF COMMUNION:
Invitation to the table
This is the table for those who have felt God's stirring within them. You may come in certainty, with questions, in sorrow or joy. God has brought you to this place, and God will give you nourishment for body and soul. You are welcome here.
We are welcome here.

Communion Hymn MV 195 “Long Ago and Far Away”
Long ago and far away
Jesus lived and worked and prayed Healed the sick and the fearful and lonely lived his life to show us God's way.
Stretched his arms out as he said, Fill the cup and share the bread.
Remember me in love and joy and blessing.
Jesus gathered the children around him spoke of Love and the joy to be found told them stories of wisdom and wonder God's creation in all that's around.
Stretched his arms out as he said, Fill the cup and share the bread.
Remember me in love and joy and blessing.
Jesus called all his friends to be with him share the bread and the cup once again Life to you I will offer it gladly love will be with you right to the end.
Stretched his arms out as he said, Fill the cup and share the bread.
Remember me in love and joy and blessing. Stretched his arms out as he said, Fill the cup and share the bread. Remember me in love and joy and blessing.

Sacrament of Communion
God is with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts!
We lift our hearts to God.
Let us give thanks to God, our God.
We give God our thanks and praise!
We give you thanks and praise, God of all creation. You brought all things into being, with the breath of the Spirit, who flew over the waters of chaos and brought order: light, water, earth, plants, animals and humankind!
And you declared it was good. Very good.
You gave things new life, with the breath of the Spirit: the dry bones in the desert, the little girl, dead on her bed, Lazarus, who had been sealed up in his tomb, for three days! Whenever we turned away from you, whenever we forgot who you were, whenever we forgot who we were, you breathed your love into us and called us back to you, again and again and again!
And you declare it is good. Very good.
When the time was right, you sent Jesus, the One, born like us, to be one with us, to save us from ourselves. Born like us, to teach us with his words and his actions, his life and his death, that your love can overcome all wrong, all loss, all brokenness. So, with all creation, we shout our praise....
Holy, holy, holy, God, Creator of all that is, Everything shouts, “Thank you” Everything sings, “Thank you” Everything lives, “Thank you, loving God!”
On the night before Jesus was taken away to his death, he gathered with his disciples (whom he called friends). He gathered with people just like us. He took bread from the table, and after giving thanks to you, he broke it and gave it to those around him, saying, “Take this and eat it. This is my body given for you. Each time you eat this, remember me.” In the same way, he took a cup, saying, “This cup is my promise in my life's blood, poured out for forgiveness of sins. Each time you drink this, remember me.”
Blessed is the Holy One of Israel! We eat. We drink. We remember. And it is good. Very good!
Creator, Christ, and Spirit, three-in-one, and one-in-three, unite us in this promise, unite us as disciples, unite us through the bread and the cup.
In that unity, we give ourselves to you, committed to your service, for all your creation.
So may our life and our breath proclaim the mystery of faith:
Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
Breathe, O God, your Holy Spirit upon our bones and upon these gifts, that all who share in this bread and cup may be the body of Christ: alive, a light and a love in the world. Through Christ, with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory is yours, God most holy, now and forever.
And let the disciples say, "Amen!"
Amen.
Let the disciples sing, "Amen!"
Amen!
Let the disciples shout, "Amen!"
AMEN!
And as disciples of Jesus we say together the prayer he taught his friends... Our Father.....

Breaking of the Bread and the Pouring of the Cup
The body of Christ given for you.
Amen.
The Cup of blessing poured for you.
Amen
The gifts of God for the people of God.
Sharing of the Bread and cup

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
For what we have eaten, for what we have sipped, for what we have received- bread, wine, and life - thank you God! May this moment fill us and change us. May this moment fill and change your world. In Christ's name. Amen.

13. HYMN 652 VU “Be Still My Soul”
1. Be still, my soul, for God is on your side;
bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Trust in your God, your saviour and your guide,
who through all changes faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul, your best, your heavenly friend
through stormy ways leads to a peaceful end.

2. Be still, my soul, your God will undertake
to guide the future surely as the past.
Your hope, your confidence let nothing shake;
all now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul, life's tempests still obey
the voice that once the waves' wild fury stayed.

3. Be still, my soul, the hour is hastening on
when we shall be forever in God's peace;
when disappointment, grief and fear are gone,
love's joys restored, our strivings all shall cease.
Be still, my soul, when change and tears are past,
all safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

14. BLESSING:
As we travel this Lenten journey,
we know that God leads and guides us.
As we travel this Lenten journey,
we notice the stories of Jesus making choices for life and ministry.
As we travel this Lenten journey,
we dream and work with the Spirit for a world where peace and harmony are restored.
We leave this place in peace,
going to share the love of God. Amen.
Used with permission Gathering Lent/Easter 2026: Beth W

Next Sunday: Second Sunday in Lent
        March 1, 2026:
         Genesis 12: 1 - 4a   Psalm 121;
         Romans 4: 1 - 5, 13 - 17;  John 3: 1 - 17.

Note: Don't have a Bible? By Clicking on the button below, you can open a new window in an Online Bible. By entering the BOOK and CHAPTER, you will be able to look up the references in the sermon. Copy and paste will work as long as there is no other words between the book name and chapter number. Try it and Enjoy!