Service Sunday February 1, 2026
HIGHLAND HILLS UNITED CHURCH
Minden, Ontario
All are Welcome!
Worship Leader: Rev. Max Ward
Music Director: Melissa Stephens
Watch a recording of the whole service using YouTube below.
(For a Printer Friendly PDF version click this link)
The Gathering
WELCOME & ANNOUNCEMENTS:
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF LAND:
We begin this time of worship by acknowledging that we are meeting on the territory of the Anishnaabeg people. This territory has been inhabited by Indigenous peoples from the beginning. We thank all the generations of Indigenous people who have taken care of this territory and been its stewards for thousands of years. We give thanks for the countless ways they have assisted the settler peoples who came to inhabit the territory. We also recognize the contributions Métis, Inuit, and other Indigenous peoples have made in shaping and strengthening this region, the provinces, and Canada as a whole. Meegwetch. All my relations.
THE APPROACH
CALL TO WORSHIP:
One: We are beloved ordinary people following Jesus.
ALL: We are messy, perfectly imperfect people following Jesus.
One: We have invited Jesus into our hearts and into our lives.
ALL: Welcome to our messy, imperfectly imperfect worship of our God who loves us.
One: Welcome to our messy, perfectly imperfect community of faith.
ALL: Come, let us worship!
Written by Susan Girard, Riverview U.C., Antikokan, Ont.
Gathering, Pentecost 2 2025/26, p.43. Used with permission
HYMN: “Lord, Prepare Me to Be a Sanctuary” MV #18 – repeat 4 times
Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary,
pure and holy tried and true; with thanksgiving,
I’ll be a living sanctuary for you.
A NEW CREED: Spoken in Unison
We are not alone; we live in God’s world.
We believe in God: who has created and is creating,
who has come in Jesus, the Word made flesh,
to reconcile and make new, who works in us and others by the Spirit.
We trust in God.
We are called to be the church: to celebrate God’s presence,
to live with respect in Creation, to love and serve others,
to seek justice and resist evil, to proclaim Jesus crucified and risen,
our judge and our hope. In life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us. We are not alone. Thanks be to God.
MINISTRY OF MUSIC
LEARNING TOGETHER
HYMN: “Tell Me the Stories of Jesus” VU #357
1 Tell me the stories of Jesus I love to hear,
things I would ask him to tell me if he were here:
scenes by the wayside, tales of the sea,
stories of Jesus, tell them to me.
2 First let me hear how the children stood round his knee,
and I shall fancy his blessing resting on me;
words full of kindness, deeds full of grace,
all in the lovelight of Jesus' face.
3 Tell me, in accents of wonder, how rolled the sea
tossing the boat in a tempest on Galilee!
And how the Master, ready and kind,
chided the billows and hushed the wind.
4 Into the city I'd follow the children's band,
waving a branch of the palm tree high in my hand;
one of his heralds, yes, I would sing
loudest hosannas! Jesus is king!
5 Show me that scene in the garden of bitter pain;
and of the cross where my Saviour for me was slain.
Sad ones or bright ones, so that they be
stories of Jesus, tell them to me.
THE WORD
Scripture: Micah 6:1-8 & Matthew 5:1-12
Leader: Hear and listen to what the Spirit is saying to the church.
ALL: Thanks be to God.
MESSAGE:
“The Beatitudes – a Philosophy for Life”
Listen to an audio recording of the Message below or read it at the bottom of this page.
OUR RESPONSE
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE and THE LORD’S PRAYER: sung VU#960
HYMN: “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” VU #664
1 What a friend we have in Jesus,
all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
all because we do not carry
everything to God in prayer.
2 Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged;
take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful,
who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
take it to the Lord in prayer.
3 Are we weak and heavy laden,
cumbered with a load of care?
Christ the Saviour is our refuge;
take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do our friends despise, forsake us?
Are we tempted to despair?
Jesus' strength will shield our weakness,
and we'll find new courage there.
PRESENTATION OF OUR OFFERINGS
OFFERTORY PRAYER: In Unison
Our efforts to respond to Jesus’ call are lived out in our daily life, tossed into the mix with your grace, promise, and vision, Loving God. Without that mix being agitated by your presence, O God, all our efforts shrink . Here are our efforts, symbolized in our gifts of money; receive them and bless them. Take us into your hands and gently shape us into growing discipleship. Amen
Written by Lynn McCaw, Wall Street U.C., Brockville, Ont.
Gathering, Pentecost 2 2025, p.46. Used with permission
SUNG BLESSING: (VU #701) 1 What does the Lord require of you?
What does the Lord require of you?
2 Justice, kindness,
walk humbly with your God.
3 To seek justice, and love kindness,
and walk humbly with your God. ©
SENDING FORTH:
A Time of Fellowship
© Music Reproduced with permission under License number A-605748, Valid for: 26/10/2025 - 25/10/2026; One License - Copyright Cleared Music for Churches.
Sermon 1 February 2026
“The Beatitudes – a Philosophy for Life”
Micah 6:1-8 & Matthew 5:1-12
Gracious God, be with us today in this place, in the Scriptures and in our words.
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts praise your Holy name. Amen.
Some years ago, a news article was published entitled:
“How Do You Measure Up As A Person?”
The article stated that some extensive research had been conducted on the standards for measuring a person.
The criteria were quite interesting and I thought that I might list them for you all here this morning just to see how you measure up.
#1 Your ability to make and conserve money.
#2 The cost, style and age of your car.
(This is my favorite) #3 How much hair you have.
#4 Your strength and size.
#5 The job you hold and how successful you are at it.
#6 What sports you like. Superbowl Sunday next week!
#7 How many clubs you belong to.
#8 Your aggressiveness and reliability.
Jesus Christ also once set down eight principles for the measurement of a person.
His standards stand in stark contrast to the aforementioned.
There would appear to be a wide gulf between the popular image of the successful person and what God sees as the successful person.
Here’s what happened: Jesus had just started his ministry and was gaining in popularity.
Large crowds were gathering.
He had just picked out his disciples.
And in the quiet of the rolling grassy hills of northern Israel by the Sea of Galilee, Jesus delivered a sermon to a multitude.
Hundreds and hundreds of human faces.
The crowd represented a cross section of humanity.
There were rich and poor, young and old, doubtless varied races, those who were astute business men and those who were failures.
In fact, the crowd that Jesus spoke to that day represented the world in miniature.
Yet, as different as they all were, Jesus understood that they were all on the same quest.
They were all after the same thing.
They all wanted happiness.
Well, we are just like them aren’t we?
Isn’t that what we want for ourselves?
Isn’t that what we ultimately want for our children? Happiness.
The problem is that we have trouble grasping the true nature of happiness.
The true nature of happiness so often seems to elude us.
You see, we often think that happiness deals with our outer circumstances.
We think that truly happy people are the ones who have achieved outer success.
Thus, our beatitudes read more like this…
Blessed is the one who makes a fortune.
Blessed is the one who earns six figures.
Happy is the one who has a palace in the city and a summer home by the lake.
Blessed is the one who has won the applause of friends.
Blessed is the one who is recognized as a darling of society.
But on this special day Jesus shared with the disciples, the multitude gathered there and, indeed, with all of history, the concept of happiness.
Let’s look a little closer at the Beatitudes again.
This version of the Bible has re-worded the Beatitudes in such a way that makes them much easier to understand.
Traditional words like righteousness are spelled out or defined more clearly in the “Message” version of the Bible.
For example, “You’re blessed when you care.
At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.”
To me, this is one of the defining messages of Jesus.
“Love one another” is another way to say it.
Also, another way of saying it is the main message from the book of Micah, “do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with your God”
To me, doing justice means striving for an active faith.
An active faith in which we work out the meaning of faithfulness.
First, we must do whatever we can to educate ourselves.
Then we need to speak out against injustice and share our own personal stories.
Jesus, from what little we know of him, was educated in the ways of the Torah and the temple.
The gospels reveal to us the times when he was brave enough to speak out against injustice and love one another.
In his beatitudes, Jesus affirms that striving for justice.
He is speaking out for the poor, the marginalized and the victims of injustice.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
Or in this version…
“You’re blessed when you work up an appetite for God.
He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.”
Someone who always seeks to live justly, who treats everyone else as he/she would like to be treated, with fairness, kindness, integrity and love.
In the Beatitudes of Jesus, we are given a window into how life is to be, and can be, lived.
We are given a glimpse of true happiness – true happiness for oneself and true happiness for all.
The beatitudes are Matthew’s way of telling us about the character of the spirituality of Jesus.
The beatitudes are a way of life or a philosophy.
The following is the philosophy of Charles Schulz, the creator of the 'Peanuts' comic strip.
Listen carefully but you don't have to actually answer the questions; just ponder on them.
1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America pageant.
4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.
6. Name the last decade's worth of Super Bowl winners.
How did you do?
The point is none of us remember the headliners of yesterday.
These are no second-rate achievers.
They are the best in their respective fields but the applause dies, awards tarnish, achievements are forgotten.
Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.
Here’s another quiz. See how you do on this one:
1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.
4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.
5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.
Easier?
The lesson:
The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money...or the most awards.
They simply are the ones who care the most.
This story points out to us that what may seem simple at the time may make a huge difference in the life of someone else.
It also shows us that sometimes the simplest of actions can be a means of true happiness for another.
We see the Beatitudes as a text about discipleship; the ‘how to..’ of the Christian life.
Yet the Beatitudes are not just about how we are called to live, but how Jesus lived.
Jesus lived the way that he preached.
He spoke out against injustice.
He spoke out against poverty.
He spoke out against discrimination.
We are called to follow the way of Jesus as Christians.
Jesus put his faith into action and advocated for the marginalized.
We too are compelled to put our faith into action and speak out against intolerance.
Let’s make a lasting difference following the life of Jesus and we will find true happiness.
Thanks be to God.
