Service Sunday January 4, 2026
HIGHLAND HILLS UNITED CHURCH
Minden, Ontario
All are Welcome!
Epiphany Sunday
Worship Leader: Rev. Max Ward
Music Director: Melissa Stephens
(For a Printer Friendly PDF version click this link)
The Gathering
WELCOME & ANNOUNCEMENTS:
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF LAND:
We give thanks for the First Peoples who welcomed our ancestors to this territory with hospitality, and we acknowledge that we are on the traditional territory of the Michi-Saagig and Anishinaabeg peoples. We give thanks for the ancestors, the elders, and our Indigenous siblings, who helped us to live in this part of our world, and we thank them for their care of creation. Our spirits are gathered, our hearts and minds are ready! Let us worship God!
THE APPROACH
CALL TO WORSHIP:
One: Where shall we go?
ALL: We seek the Holy One.
One: How shall we get there?
ALL: We’ll journey together.
One: How will we find the right path?
ALL: By asking those who have gone before. By listening to the word of God. By following the star.
One: Ane we’ll find the Christ child?
ALL: And even more.
One: But can we do that?
ALL: Yes! And we, too, are Wise Ones, living our lives in God’s way, living our lives in love’s way.
One: Living our lives…
ALL: and worshipping our God.
One: Alleluia!
ALL: Alleluia!
Written by Richard Bott, Grace U.C., Burlington, Ont.
Gathering, Pentecost 2 2025, p.37. Used with permission
HYMN: “As with Gladness Men of Old” VU #81
1 As with gladness men of old
did the guiding star behold,
as with joy they hailed its light,
leading onward, beaming bright,
so, most gracious Lord, may we
evermore your splendour see.
2 As with joyful steps they sped,
to that lowly manger bed,
there to bend the knee before
Christ, whom heaven and earth adore;
so may we with eager pace
ever seek your throne of grace.
3 As they offered gifts most rare
at that manger crude and bare,
so may we with holy joy,
pure and free from sin's alloy,
all our costliest treasures bring,
Christ, to you, our heavenly King.
4 Holy Jesus, every day
keep us in the narrow way;
and, when earthly things are past,
bring our ransomed souls at last
where they need no star to guide,
where no clouds your glory hide.
5 In the heavenly country bright
none shall need created light;
you its light, its joy, its crown,
you its sun which goes not down;
there for ever may we sing
hallelujah to our King.
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: “In the Darkness Shines the Splendour” VU #92
1 In the darkness shines the splendour
of the Word who took our flesh,
welcoming, in love's surrender,
death's dark shadow at his crèche.
Bearing every human story,
Word made flesh reveals his glory.
2 Light of nations, veiled in history,
born of woman's flesh and blood,
calling to the depths of mystery
restless hearts that seek the good.
Healing every human story,
Word made flesh reveals his glory.
3 Broken bread, sustaining us in sorrow,
wine poured out to toast our joy;
exodus and new tomorrow,
life's full promise to enjoy!
Gladdening every human story,
Word made flesh reveals his glory.
4 All God's people, sing in jubilation
of the birth that sets us free,
telling of the revelation:
Jesus, God's epiphany.
Celebrate the human story!
Word made flesh reveals our glory.
THE WORD
Scripture: Matthew 2:1-12
Leader: Hear and listen to what the Spirit is saying to the church.
ALL: Thanks be to God.
MESSAGE:
“Three Kings Seek The King”
OUR RESPONSE
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE and
THE LORD’S PRAYER: sung VU#960
HYMN: “When Heaven’s Bright with Mystery” VU #93
1 When heaven's bright with mystery
and science searches nature's art,
when all creation yearns for peace
and hope sinks deep in human hearts,
appear to us, O Holy Light;
lift from our eyes the shades of night.
2 When Herod barters power and lives
and Rachel's weeping fills the night,
when suffering's mask marks every face,
and Love's a refugee in flight,
reveal to us your word of grace
and make us witness to your peace.
3 When fragile faith, like desert wind,
blows dry and empty, hope erased,
when withered grass and fading flower
proclaim again our day's brief space,
breathe on the clay of our despair
and work a new creation there.
4 When heaven's bright with mystery
and stars still lead an unknown way,
when love still lights a gentle path
where courts of power can hold no sway,
there with the Magi, let us kneel,
our gifts to share, God's world to heal.
AFFIRMING MOMENT
PRESENTATION OF OUR OFFERINGS
OFFERTORY PRAYER: In Unison
There is so much that needs doing, O God, and we have no magic wand to get it done without effort, and no gold, frankincense, and myrrh to finance our efforts. Here is our offering, but we also present our lives so that, in your grace, all of our offerings may meet the needs to which they are directed. Give us wisdom and courage as we seek to offer all that we are in your work. Amen.
Written by Beth W Johnston, Bridging Waters, P.C., Nipawin, Sask.
Gathering, Pentecost 2 2025, p.38. Used with permission
SUNG BLESSING: (VU #87 vs 2)
Refrain
'I am the light of the world!
You people come and follow me!'
If you follow and love you'll learn the mystery
of what you were meant to do and be.
2 To find the lost and lonely one,
to heal the broken soul with love,
to feed the hungry children with warmth
and good food,
to feel the earth below, the sky above! Refrain ©
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.
