Service Sunday July 12, 2026
HIGHLAND HILLS UNITED CHURCH
Minden, Ontario
All are Welcome!
Worship Leader: Rev. Max Ward
Music Director: Melissa Stephens
Watch a video recording of the whole service using YouTube below
(For a Printer Friendly PDF version click this link)
THE GATHERING
WELCOME & ANNOUNCEMENTS
FOCUSING ON THE LIGHT OF CHRIST
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF TERRITORY In Unison
Since time immemorial, Indigenous peoples have occupied and cared for this land, the country we call Canada, from coast to coast to coast. In naming this land upon which we live, specifically Haliburton Highlands and environs, we acknowledge this land as the traditional home of the Mississauga and the Ojibwe Anishnabek peoples and others who journeyed here.
As a community of faith, we seek to build right relations with the first Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples, to learn from them, and to live on the land with respect and gratitude for its Creation and Creator. This is our Commitment. Amen
Written by Bill Perry, Bellville, Ont.
Gathering, Pentecost 1 2026, p.37. Used with permission.
THE APPROACH
CALL TO WORSHIP:
One: Welcome to this service in the midst of summer warmth and colour
All: We have come, excited to experience God’s Word in scripture.
One: We are here to praise our Creator and give our thanks.
All: We have come to raise our spirits to the heavens in song.
One: We are here to offer prayers for a better world for everyone.
All: We gather here as one community to worship together and be reminded to love one another.
One: We have come as one family of God, eager to be prompted in the ways of holy goodness and loving-kindness.
All: Come, let us worship God.
Written by Rosemary Godin, Sydney, N.S.
Gathering, Pentecost 1 2026, p.39. Used with permission.
HYMN: “I Was There to Hear Your Borning Cry” VU #644
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.
OPENING PRAYER: Spoken in Unison
It is a blessing to come together to worship you, Holly God. It is wonderful to encounter our friends at church once again, to anticipate making new friends here, and to gather with so many who wish to follow the path that Jesus has laid out for us.
Our hearts are uplifted by the experience of our voices joined together, in addressing you, in singing your praises and in praying.
MINISTRY OF MUSIC
WELCOMING NEW MEMBERS
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
The church is a community of people with varied gifts, united by the Holy Spirit. We gather to celebrate God’s presence, to discern God’s truth, and to follow the way of Jesus. By our baptism, we are made members of Christ’s church. We exercise this membership in the denomination to which we belong, which for us is the United Church of Canada, and within the context of a local community of faith. We now welcome into this community of faith several people who are already members of the church of Jesus Christ.
PRESENTATION
On behalf of the Highland Hills United Church’s congregation, I present the following persons whom we welcome into the membership of this community of faith:
Mary Taylor, by Profession of Faith as a new Adherent (she is already a member at her home church)
Barbara Chynoweth, by transfer from Hope United Church in Norland
Della Chynoweth, by transfer from Hope United Church in Norland
Margaret Thompson, by Profession of Faith
Henry Thompson, by Profession of Faith
Alfie Thompson, by Profession of Faith
Anna Thompson, by Profession of Faith
Isabella Thompson, by Profession of Faith
COMMITMENT OF NEW MEMBERS
One: Friends, as members of the Church of Jesus Christ, you do not come to us as strangers, but as sisters and brothers in the Lord. We welcome you to the worship and work of this part of the people of God. We are richer for your presence among us. In order that the community of faith might understand your intentions, I ask you:
One: Will you enter into the life and work of this community of faith, supporting it with your gifts, and sharing in its mission?
I will, with God’s help.
THE WELCOME OF THE CONGREGATION
As a sign that we stand together as the Body of Christ in this community of faith, let us, the members and adherents of Highland Hills United Church, express our welcome and affirm our mutual ministry in Jesus Christ.
ALL: As your brothers and sisters in Christ, we rejoice in the gifts that you bring to us. We promise you our continuing friendship and support, as we live out the mission and ministry of this church together.
PRAYER OF CONSECRATION
Thank you, Lord, for calling us and setting our feet on the way. Walk with us on this shared journey, as we move into an unknown future. We trust that even though we cannot see our destination, we know that we are not alone in the hills and valleys of life. May we continue to grow together, as we serve with joy and gladness. Amen.
WELCOME
In the name of Jesus Christ, we welcome you all to the privileges and responsibilities of membership in our community of faith. We give thanks for your witness among us.
HYMN: “We Are One” VU# 402
1 We are one as we come,
as we come, joyful to be here,
in the praise on our lips
there's a sense that God is near.
We are one as we sing,
as we seek, we are found;
and we come needful of God's grace
as we meet, together in this place.
2 We are one as we share,
as we share brokenness and fear,
in the touch of a hand
there's a sense that God is here.
We are one as we care,
as we heal, we are healed;
and we share warmth in God's embrace
as we pray together in this place.
3 We are one as we feast,
as we feast, peace becomes the sign;
in the bread and the wine
there's a sense of love divine.
We are one as we come,
as we feed, we are fed;
and we feel God's refreshing grace
as we meet at table in this place.
4 We are one as we hear,
as we hear, heart and hand unite;
in the word we receive
there's a sense that God is light.
We are one as we leave,
as we love, we are loved;
and we seek justice in God's ways
as we move together from this place.
THE WORD
Scripture: Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
Leader: Hear and listen to what the Spirit is saying to the church.
ALL: Thanks be to God.
MESSAGE
“Sowing Seeds of Love”
Listen to an audio recording below or read the Message at the bottom of this page.
OUR RESPONSE
CANDLE LIGHTING LITURGY
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE and
THE LORD’S PRAYER: spoken VU#921
HYMN: “Sent Forth By God’s Blessing” VU #481
1 Sent forth by God's blessing, our true faith confessing,
the people of God from this dwelling take leave.
The supper is ended, O now be extended
the fruits of this service in all who believe.
The seed of Christ's teaching, receptive souls reaching,
shall blossom in action for God and for all.
God's grace did invite us, God's love shall unite us
to work for the kingdom and answer its call.
2 With praise and thanksgiving to God ever living,
the tasks of our everyday life we will face.
Our faith ever sharing, in love ever caring,
embracing God's children of each tribe and race.
With your feast you feed us, with your light now lead us;
unite us as one in this life that we share.
Then may all the living with praise and thanksgiving
give honour to Christ and the name that we bear.
PRESENTATION OF OUR OFFERINGS
OFFERTORY PRAYER: In Unison
In response to your call to give of ourselves, we bring these offerings to you. Where it truly represents us and our gifts, accept and multiply them in your love and grace. Amen.
Written by Beth W Johnston, Collaborative Ministry, River Philip and Springhill, N.S...
Gathering, Pentecost 1 2026, p.48. Used with permission.
SUNG BLESSING MV #150 vs 4
4 Spirit God: be our breath, be our song.
Blow through us, bringing strength to move on.
Through change, through challenge, we’ll greet the new dawn…
Spirit God, be our song.
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 12 July 2026
“Sowing Seeds of Love”
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
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.
One day Jesus was teaching a great crowd.
This crowd was made of many different kinds of people: professionals and labourers, men and women, young and old.
The disciples had seen this all before.
A huge crowd but many of them would drift away after the excitement was over.
In fact this day the disciples were checking out the crowd.
They were looking the people up and down trying to figure out who would fall away and who would follow.
Matthew, being good at math was even figuring odds on who would accept Jesus and who would reject him.
Oddly enough Matthew seemed to be the only one favouring the tax collector in the front row.
Everyone favoured the groups from the fishermen’s convention were the best prospects.
No one suspected the preachers or the big business owners would become followers though.
Jesus knew what the disciples were doing because he told them a parable that might have gone something like this today:
One day a farmer went out to plant his field.
The farmer turned on the planter as soon as he left the barn.
Some of the seeds landed on the asphalt road he went down to get to the field.
And the birds had a feast.
Some of the seeds fell on the gravel road.
They grew but didn’t have much root.
So when the sun got hot and there wasn’t much rain, they wilted.
Some of the seeds fell in the ditch by the road.
There was good soil down there!
But there were already a bunch of weeds growing there too.
So when the seeds sprouted they were quickly choked out.
Finally the farmer got to the field and the seeds landed in good soil.
They grew and grew.
They had deep roots and plenty of water and little or no weeds.
And the farmer had a bumper crop that year.
Now Jesus’ disciples understood the surface meaning of the Parable.
Even though they were tax collectors and fishermen, they understood the concept of how plants grow.
They understood how the seeds, which fell on the road or path, could be eaten up and how the other young plants would die because of weeds or lack of water.
But they had trouble understanding how these seeds were like the Kingdom of God.
They didn’t understand the parable’s spiritual point.
So they asked Jesus to explain the parable.
And thankfully, Jesus did explain.
There is no telling how many different interpretations there would be today if he hadn’t.
The explanation Jesus gave really clears the parable up and makes its application easier.
The different soils represent the different ways that people receive the message of the Gospel: the Good News that God loves us all.
But people react differently to this message of love.
The seeds represent the Message of the Gospel.
There are really two levels that we can apply this message to our lives.
The first we will call the cosmic level.
On the cosmic level God is the sower.
And God sows the seeds everywhere.
That means God sends the good news to everyone no matter who they are.
When Jesus came, he preached the good news for all to hear.
He even taught outcasts and tax collectors.
You see Jesus knew that it is impossible for people to judge what is beneath the surface of another.
A seemingly hard exterior may hide soft fertile soil and someone who seems receptive may actually have a hard heart.
So Jesus proclaimed the good news to everyone.
The Pharisees and Sadducees heard, but most of their hearts were hardened like a well-worn path.
The “system” and all of its rules told them that Jesus was a blasphemer, a Sabbath breaker and not the Messiah.
That system ate up the good news.
Jesus called Judas, a religious zealot, to be his follower.
And he followed for a while.
But when times got tough he fell away and betrayed Christ.
His roots were not deep enough because his own greed and self-love got in the way.
Jesus offered the kingdom to a rich young ruler who was begging for it.
He would do anything for the kingdom, or so it seemed.
But he cared more for his wealth than God.
And like the weeds, the cares of this world choked out the Gospel.
And Jesus called tax collectors like Matthew and Zacchaeus.
Even though they were professional traitors they became loyal to Christ.
No one would have expected it, but Jesus did.
And their deeds produced fruit for the kingdom.
Aren’t you glad that God sows the seed everywhere no matter what the soil looks like on the surface?
After all some of us were pretty rocky soil, or so it seemed.
To look at us, our prospects may not have looked great.
Who would have thought about calling you and me to be growers of love?
But that is what God did.
And the glorious thing is that God keeps sowing the seeds.
God keeps throwing seeds at soil that hasn’t produced before.
Some of us have let our relationship with Christ wither because of our busyness or preoccupations.
But God is gracious and keeps giving us his love and over time the roots of his love may overcome the obstacles in our lives, if we will only let them.
That is the cosmic level.
The second level is the earthly level.
On this level you and I are the sowers.
Christ, the master of the garden has given us some seeds and told us to spread them.
Some people would think that we should only spread them in the best of soil.
That would seem logical.
But God tells us to spread his love everywhere, even where the prospects of its growth are not great.
Way back when I was a student Intern in London, I volunteered at an out of the cold program one night in a big church.
There was a soup kitchen where we all ate supper and then room for people to sleep inside.
There were some pretty hard people who came in there.
And we would graciously give them soup and sandwiches.
Most were polite but some were thankless and even rude.
I heard a story of a woman that came in one day.
She said she had eaten there when she had no food.
Her situation was better now yet she had no money to give.
But she gave what she had; she sang.
And her beautiful voice echoed in that church hall.
All the people in that soup kitchen may have felt lower than low but her voice lifted everyone up.
God’s love sown in her heart by loving actions had brought forth a harvest of gratitude.
Some would have said we were wasting our time on those losers.
But God knew better.
God tells us to spread the seed of God’s love everywhere.
Sometimes it will be stolen or it will die.
But we should not worry about the results; we should just be faithful to our God and love others.
God loves all humanity.
Not just those who are religious or receptive.
God loves everyone.
Everyone means just that, Everyone.
Not just the ones who live in nice houses and neighborhoods.
Not just the ones who are nice and polite to everyone.
Not just the ones who have time, talent, and money to give to the church.
God loves everyone - even you and me!
Spread the seed of God’s love to everyone.
Don’t say, “Oh they’re not the church type.”
Or “We shouldn’t help them because they will never come to our church.”
Maybe they won’t accept the love of God, but our actions of love may help them see that God loves them.
Spread God’s love to everyone without prejudice.
The harvest may not always be impressive, but the Lord of the harvest will always be proud.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
