Service Sunday August 16, 2026
HIGHLAND HILLS UNITED CHURCH
Minden, Ontario
SUNDAY, August 16, 2026
All are Welcome!
Worship Leader: Rev. Max Ward
Music Director: Melissa Stephens
Watch a video recording of the whole service below using YouTube
(For a Printer Friendly PDF version click this link)
(For Rev. Peter’s Musings PDF version click this link)
THE GATHERING
WELCOME & ANNOUNCEMENTS
FOCUSING ON THE LIGHT OF CHRIST
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF TERRITORY In Unison
As we gather here on the ancestral territory of the Nishnaabeg,
let us be thankful that God/Creator is with us, calling us to be ministers of reconciliation as light for all God’s people.
THE APPROACH
CALL TO WORSHIP:
One: We live in the moment, and in the past. We struggle to read what is the future.
All: It is a challenge, and it is a form of grace that God has given us. We need to celebrate the diversity that is within us, and around us. We need to seek understanding of how all things are essential unity.
One: So let us open to thoughts that challenge and heal, as we wrestle with conflict, questions, and uncertainty.
Written by Jim McKean, Orillia, Ont.
Gathering, Pentecost 1 2026, p.40. Used with permission.
HYMN: “O for a World” VU #697
1 O for a world where everyone
respects each other's ways,
where love is lived and all is done
with justice and with praise.
2 O for a world where goods are shared
and misery relieved,
where truth is spoken, children spared,
equality achieved.
3 We welcome one world family
and struggle with each choice
that opens us to unity
and gives our vision voice.
4 The poor are rich, the weak are strong,
the foolish ones are wise.
Tell all who mourn: outcasts belong,
who perishes will rise.
5 O for a world preparing for
God's glorious reign of peace,
where time and tears will be no more,
and all but love will cease.
OUR MISSION STATEMENT: Spoken in Unison
Highland Hills is an inclusive and supportive community of faith that follows the ways and teachings of Jesus Christ. We offer worship, education, pastoral care and outreach for all. With a belief in God, we strive to include people of all sexual orientations, gender identities, ages, differing abilities, colour, ethnicity, cultural identity, and economic circumstances, participating in all aspects in the life of the church. As a community of faith, we publicly declare a commitment to social justice initiatives, care for the earth, and equity for everyone. We will be intentional and explicit in welcoming and providing a safe space for all.
MINISTRY OF MUSIC
LEARNING TOGETHER
HYMN: “Spirit, Open My Heart” MV #79
Refrain
Spirit, open my heart to the joy and pain of living.
As you love may I love, in receiving and in giving,
Spirit, open my heart.
1. God, replace my stony heart
with a heart that’s kind and tender.
All my coldness and fear
to your grace I now surrender. Refrain
2. Write your love upon my heart
as my law, my goal, my story.
In each thought, word, and deed,
may my living bring you glory. Refrain
Refrain
Spirit, open my heart to the joy and pain of living.
As you love may I love, in receiving and in giving,
Spirit, open my heart.
3. May I weep with those who weep,
share the joy of sister, brother.
In the welcome of Christ,
may we welcome one another. Refrain
THE WORD
Scripture: Genesis 21:1 - 7 & Matthew 15:21 - 28
Leader: Hear and listen to what the Spirit is saying to the church.
ALL: Thanks be to God.
MESSAGE
“A Mother’s Concern”
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: “In Christ There Is No East or West” VU #606
1 In Christ there is no east or west,
in him no south or north,
but one great family of love
throughout the whole wide earth.
2 In him shall true hearts everywhere
their high communion find;
his service is the golden cord
close binding humankind.
3 Join hands, then, people of the faith,
whate'er your race may be;
all children of the living God
are surely kin to me.
4 In Christ now meet both east and west,
in him meet south and north;
all Christ-like souls are one in him
throughout the whole wide earth.
PRESENTATION OF OUR OFFERINGS
YOUR GENEROSITY MATTERS
OFFERTORY PRAYER: In Unison
As we consider what to give for our offering, each of us sits alone in our living room, our office, our den, our kitchen, removed from one another’s physical presence yet connected in a community committed to following your purpose in this changing world. Bless what we offer – from all our resources of time, of talent, and of treasure – for the transformation of the world through love. Amen.
Written by Gord Dunbar, Kincardine. Ont.
Gathering, Pentecost 1 2026, p.49 Used with permission.
SUNG BLESSING Christ Has No Body Now but Yours
MV #171 vs 4
Refrain
Christ has no body now but yours, no hands but yours.
Here on this earth, yours is the work,
to serve with the joy of compassion.
Through ev’ry gift, give back to those in need;
as Christ has blessed, so now be his blessing,
with ev’ry gift a benediction, be to the people of God. 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.
Sermon 16 August 2026
“A Mother’s Concern”
Genesis 21:1-7 & Matthew 15:21-28
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.
A mother with a fidgety seven-year-old boy told me how she finally got her son to sit still and be quiet.
About halfway through the sermon, she leaned over and whispered,
“If you don’t be quiet, Rev. Max is going to lose his place and will have to start his sermon all over again!”
Let’s hope not!
I can still remember Amanda’s reaction when she found out she would become a mother for the first time.
I was still at Emmanuel College in my final year and I was getting ready to graduate.
She had been to the clinic to have a pregnancy test done.
The test came back negative and we were so disappointed but Amanda knew that a baby was on the way.
She went for another test that came back positive.
Amanda and I were very excited and the nurse on the other end of the line could tell.
She just laughed and said we made her day.
If a young woman got so excited at the birth of her first child, I can only imagine Sarah’s joy in our Old Testament lesson.
We know she laughed the first time God told Abraham that Sarah would bear a child.(Genesis 18)
She thought it was a joke that a woman in her 90’s who had never had a child would bear a son.
But God had said it would happen, so it happened.
Sarah laughed again.
She laughed so hard that she named her son “Laughter” and to this day people still laugh with her.
Motherhood is a joyful thing.
The stories of Amanda and Sarah are only the tip of the iceberg.
I am sure that if we took the time, all the mothers on this Zoom worship call or here in the sanctuary, could tell their own stories of their joy at the birth or adoption of their children.
And many women, some of whom have never had any children of their own, have experienced the joy of mothering children placed in their care.
Children can give a mother such great joy.
They can also give them such pain and worry.
When a child is sick or hurt, it seems worse on the mother than if she herself were sick or hurt.
I remember when Emily, now known as E, was seriously ill with her first epilepsy seizures.
E was only 9 years old.
We rushed E to the Minden hospital and then off to Peterborough the next day and then by ambulance to Sick Kids in Toronto that evening.
Amanda and I were worried sick for E.
That is what I imagine it was like for the woman in our lesson from Matthew.
She was a Canaanite woman and all it says is that her daughter was tormented by a demon.
We have no indication of the details of her torment but we know that her mother came to Jesus.
She had seen her daughter suffer and she suffered with her.
So, she chose to seek out this Jewish healer she had heard about from Galilee.
Now Jesus’ response to her is a little disturbing.
At first, he ignored her and his disciples asked him to send her away because she was so persistent.
Then he told her to leave him alone and in essence called her a dog because of her race.
These events make Jesus seem indifferent to her pain and even racist.
This is a unique story because the Canaanite mother not only challenges Jesus but upbraids him soundly for the thinness of his generosity.
When Jesus is so often portrayed as meek, mild, and extremely kind, what does it mean for us as his disciples when he is so mean to her and literally calls her less than a dog?
What does it mean for us when an outsider both challenges and teaches Jesus that he can do better?
Far from having it all figured out, Jesus learns from this woman, who is not afraid to stand up to him and advocate for her daughter.
Jesus is someone we can truly relate to, whose faith, theology, and understanding of relationships is evolving and growing constantly over time.
Who might we need to learn from in the church?
Who is upbraiding us and challenging our beliefs about ourselves as Christians?
That is your homework to think about this week!
Who might we need to learn from in the church?
Who is scolding us and challenging our beliefs about ourselves as Christians?
Back to our story, finally after Jesus said he had come to feed the children and not the dogs the mother responded to him,
“But even the dogs eat what is fallen from the table.”
At this Jesus replied the way we would normally expect.
With her faith made plain for all to see he says,
“Oh, woman, your faith is something else.
Let it be done as you wish.”
Her daughter was healed!
Mother’s today, both biological and spiritual, face a similar situation.
Our children are tormented by demons on all sides.
There is violence and drugs.
There are all kinds of dangers.
Even good children are not immune to the possibilities of being injured or killed.
Violence in our schools is just the beginning.
There is much to be worried about these days, especially as a parent.
Many people pray for the children.
I wish all mothers would too.
I wish all mothers would follow the example of the Canaanite woman.
All mothers should go to Jesus and ask him to save their children from the demons that torment them.
To save them from dangers and violence and greed and drugs and war and materialism.
But sometimes it seems, from a human perspective, that Jesus is not listening.
So many quit praying.
Yet the Canaanite woman didn’t quit.
She kept on asking Jesus for help.
She persisted and pleaded, until finally Jesus responded.
(pretend to lose my place…)
Oh, where was I?
shuffle pages
I guess I’ll have to start over!
Just joking with you all!
Just this week, at Diner’s Club, a woman approached me.
She had very good news.
Her daughter, who had stage three cancer, was declared cancer free after her treatment.
She wanted to thank me.
I said, “No problem.
Glad I could help cure cancer…”
…No, I didn’t say that!!!
I was dumbfounded, as I usually am when people surprise me in that way.
I should have said loudly, “to God be the Glory!”… but as you know, I’m not that quick thinking either.
We shared a quiet moment of thankfulness looking into each other’s eyes as small tears welled up and maybe that was the best response after all.
Don’t quit praying for your children, both those in your immediate family and those in the family of God.
Jesus is listening.
Follow the example of the Canaanite woman.
Even if you feel Jesus is ignoring you, don’t stop!
Jesus hears you and not only does he hear you, but he feels your pain and loss as much as you do.
I can’t guarantee you that your children will not suffer.
I CAN guarantee you that Jesus will be with you through thick and thin.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
Inspired By: Rev. Alex Stephenson
Edited By: Rev. Max Ward
