Worship Leader: Mike Mundell Music Director: Tim Hallman, B.Mus., B.Ed.
May 31, 2026 - 10:30 a.m.
Trinity Sunday
Welcome / Announcements / Celebrations
Call to Worship
A new pastor asked God: "What can I teach people, especially older Christians?" God answered: "You cannot, but I can."
Acknowledging the Territory
Lighting the Christ Candle
Lighting the Rainbow Candle
Hymn: VU 395 “Come In, Come In and Sit Down”
Prayer of Approach/The Lord's Prayer
God of delight, You wisdom sings your word at the crossroads where humanity and divinity meet. Truly you are a holy marvelous God, your majesty and beauty are beyond our imagining. The amazing variety of this world in which we live reminds us of your infinite creativity and loving presence. Where we seek to live apart from your presence and power, forgive us. Where we distance ourselves from others, have mercy upon us. Where we suffer the pain of division grant us the gift of your peace. Now let us pray together the words Jesus has have taught us saying... Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be Thy name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen
Hymn: VU 639 “One More Step Along the World I Go”
Scripture:
John ch 7 verses 37-39
Psalm 104 verses 24-34, 35b
Anthem: VU 345 “Come, Children, Join to Sing”
Prayer for Illumination: May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts and minds be acceptable in Your sight. Amen
Sermon: “Pentecost Completes the Holy Trinity”
Today is Trinity Sunday. The first Sunday after Pentecost Sunday. Pentecost is the 7th Sunday after Easter and it celebrates the promise by Jesus that a faith helper will come and reside inside each one of us. Thus completes the Holy Trinity of God the Father, the Son Jesus and the promised help in the Holt Spirit. There are three primary symbols of Pentecost, which represent the descent of Holy Spirit on the apostles. They are wind, fire and the dove.
Wind (or breath) symbolizes the invisible, powerful and life giving presence of the Holy Spirit recalling the "sound of rushing violent wind" that filled the room in the house where the apostles had gathered. It also says in Acts chapter 2 that tongues of fire separated and came to rest on each one of them.
Fire represents the transforming, purifying energy of the spirit and God's guiding presence manifesting as "tongues of fire" that rested on the heads of the apostles.
And the dove is a long standing Biblical image symbolizing peace, purity and a new beginning. It specifically represents the Holy Spirit descending with gentleness and bringing unity to the church.
The feast of the Tabernacles lasted 7 days. On the last and greatest day, the eighth day, they had a closing assembly where all the teachers were sitting. Jesus stood up drawing special attention to his message and said in a loud voice: "If anyone is thirsty, let them come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within them". Jesus was preparing those present for the time He will soon be arrested and depart from them and be glorified. As Jesus states the Holy Spirit will come as a helper later on but his glorification will come by way of His crucifixion, resurrection and exaltation. The fullness of the Spirits work in the apostles and us, depends on Jesus prior work of salvation. This is God's greatest love gift to us that he would send his only son, not to condemn the world but to save the world through Him.
And how can we ever measure God's love for us? In Psalm 104 the Psalmist praises God, giving thanks for the earth and all it's creatures. The water that sustains them and us, grass for cattle and plants for man to cultivate, for the cedars where the birds make their nests. All look to God for their food at the proper time. By God's benevolent care this blessed earth is a zoological garden that flourishes. The Psalmist closes for all of us with a grateful heart saying "I will sing to the Lord all my life. I will sing praise to my God as long as I live and may my meditation be pleasing to Him. He speaks for all of us: May "our" meditations be pleasing to Him.
In John ch 20 verse 21 Jesus gives us all the great commission: "As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." When I read that I found myself wondering if I could ever fulfill what Jesus is asking us to do. And I know my sinful nature will get in the way of reaching out to others as I know I should. I remember being baptised as an adult and hearing all the things I was and am directed to do as a new born Christian and to be faithful to His church. And I remember, as I agreed to each directional question, I was instructed to say "Yes, with God's help."
The Holy Spirit is that help and it has many gifts, and many fruit for each one of us to strengthen us and give us new life as we walk our Christian walk.
The gifts of the Spirit are divine abilities given to believers for service and the building up of the church. The fruit of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control are inward character traits produced by the Holy Spirit that reflect Christlikeness. In short, gifts are about what you do and the fruit is who you are.
We all know people in our lives that demonstrate the audible and visible attributes of a true Christian life. Rather than 9 separate fruits, the Bible describes them as a single, collective fruit produced by the Holy Spirit in a believer's heart. We cannot be perfect in all so as we break them down and as we describe these "fruit" I want you to think of a person or persons that comes to your mind who is delightfully strong in each individual one.
1. Love. The unconditional, sacrificial care and devotion for others. Can you think of someone like that?
2. Joy: Deep, abiding gladness that isn't dependent on circumstances.
3. Peace: A tranquil heart and harmonious relationships.
4. Patience: Enduring steadfastly under pressure and being slow to anger. I wonder how I look to others when I am under pressure.
5. Kindness: Compassionate and helpful actions towards others.
6. Goodness: Moral excellence and integrity in one's life.
7. Faithfulness: Loyalty, reliability and trustworthiness.
Can you think of someone you who you can trust completely?
8. Gentleness: Humility, meekness and mild disposition.
9: Self-control: The ability to govern one's desires, impulses and actions.
I can think of many people in each description that come to mind for me and I am humbled when I think of how much more "room for growth" I have in these Godly attributes that represent the character of Jesus Christ. But then none of us are perfect but God still loves us through it all.
As I share with you this real life story it is my hope you can think of a person in your childhood who was strong in spirit. As a child growing up with my 8 brothers and sisters we all shared life with our next door neighbour on a rural road near Washburn, Ontario. Do you know where that is? It is actually the second lock on the Rideau Canal system going north from Kingston. The first 4 locks are at Kingston Mills and the next lock is only one called Lower Brewers or Washburn. Our next door neighbour was Annie Mundell. She was a great aunt, a sister to my grandfather. She was a nurse by profession, never married until she was eighty, tended her flower and vegetable gardens as she kept her home neat, tidy and clean. I never remember a time when she would not welcome any one of us children as we ventured across the road to her home. She would feed us her homemade cookies and a pitcher of freshi to drink as we listened to her soft quiet voice giving us compliments and asking about our lives. I remember the day my parents purchased a used bicycle for my birthday and I could hardly wait for my dad to get it out of the back seat of our car so I could ride over and show Aunt Annie my bike. I will never forget her saying to me when I arrived: "Michael, that is one of the nicest bicycle's I have ever seen." Years later, as an adult, I was reading the history of our church and I came across Aunt Annie's name as a member of a Bible study so many years before. She had the fruit of the spirit and I hope you can remember someone just like that in your life.
In this season of Pentecost may the Holy Spirit of love inspire us to look for the opportunity to reach out to someone, somewhere with some act of concern or give an uplifting comment that will remind us of the gifts and fruit we enjoy by simply believing in the God of all love in our life. We have so much to be thankful for. To God be the Glory. Amen
Hymn: VU 343 “I Love to Tell the Story”
Offering
Offering Hymn VU 541 “Praise God from Whom all Blessings Flow”
Offering Prayer: (unison) Dear Lord, please accept our offerings of time talents and treasures. May they all be used to further Your kingdom of love here in this place and out into our individual worlds, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
The New Creed VU 918 (unison)
Prayers of the People:
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for life itself. Thank you for coming into our hearts and making us the person we are, unique in all of the world. What we offer of ourselves is the manifestation of who You created in us. Let us be a blessing to others in our own personal way. We remember those who we have known and loved who have gone on to Glory, those who were friends or co-workers and have left this world for a better one and we are also reminded of those who share in our lives right now. Many family members and health care workers bring to us a kindness and caring that helps us over the bumps in life and we are grateful.
We pray this day for people who are suffering with life, be it physical mental or spiritual. We ask that You bless them all with your love for them. We pray specifically today for_____________________We ask you place your loving arms around all those who struggle. Our loved ones who come to mind, let them know your power and healing touch in their lives as you have done in ours. We ask for a change of heart to those who feel war is the only way to succeed in life. As we age we see more clearly how the world works and we thank God for the Holy Bible that teaches a better way with Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour. We pray for our families and the gift of their love, for food on our tables and a comfortable place to live and sleep. Our blessings are sweet and plentiful and we appreciate it all. As we leave to begin a new week give each of us the opportunity to plant a seed of hope to make a positive difference in someone’s life simply by the words we say or the things we do. We also remember God’s son. In all our trials, born to be our friend. The one who was sacrificed for the forgiveness of our human failings and brings us to a new life in Him with the help of the Holy Spirit, a life of faith, hope and love, and the greatest of these is love. God be with us this day. AMEN
Hymn: VU 657 “He Leadeth Me”
Benediction: Now may the love and peace of God, that goes beyond our human understanding, live in your hearts and minds this day and all days evermore. Amen
Hymn: “Go Now in Peace”
"A Village Church With A Heart For The World"
Christ United Church
12 Perth St., Lyn, ON, K0E 1M0
(613)498-0281 (Phone) (613)498-2589 (Fax)
lynunitedchurch@cogeco.net www.lynunitedchurch.com Follow on Twitter: @Ch1United