Worship Leader: Dennis Giesbrecht
Speaker: Lori Unger
Music: Audrey Wichert
Technical Team: Bob Loewen/ Stephanie Hanna
Ushers: Doreen & Jeff
We gather:
VT 42 Could it be that God is singing
VT 514 I Saw a Tree by the Riverside
Welcome & Announcements
We hear:
Scripture Reading: Proverbs 8:22-31
Giving with Gratitude
Children’s Time
Hymn VT 44 We Long to Know Her
Scripture Reading: Psalm 104 (excerpts)
Sermon: Lori Unger
We reflect & rejoice:
Summer Hymn VT #721 Christ be in Your Senses
Congregational Prayer
Prayer – Responsive Reading VT 1048 Let the rain come and wash away
Benediction & Hymn VT 428 Praise with Joy the World’s Creator
Lobby Time (in person & online)
Scripture Readings
Proverbs 8: 22-31
YHWH gave birth to me at the beginning, before the first acts of creation.
I have been from everlasting, in the beginning, before the world began.
Before the deep seas, I was brought forth,
before there were fountains or springs of water;
before the mountains erupted up into place, before the hills I was born-
before God created the earth or its fields, or even the first clods of dirt.
I was here when the Almighty created the heavens, and set the horizon just above the ocean,
set the clouds in the sky, and established the springs of the deep,
gave the seas their boundaries and set their limits at the shoreline.
When the foundation of the earth was laid out,
I was the skilled artisan standing next to the Almighty.
I was God’s delight day after day, rejoicing at being in God’s presence continually,
rejoicing in the whole world and delighting in humankind.
Psalm 104
Bless YHWH my soul!
YHWH, my God, how great you are!
Clothed in majesty and glory, wrapped in a robe of light,
you stretch the heavens out like a tent.
You lay the beams for our palace on the waters above;
you use the clouds as your chariot and ride on the wings of the wind;
you use the winds as messengers and fiery flames as attendants.
You fixed the earth on its foundations so it can never totter,
and wrapped it with the deep as with a robe, the waters overtopping the mountains.
At tour rebuke the waters bolted, fleeing at the sound of your thunder,
cascading over the ,mountains into the valleys, down to the reservoir you made for them;
you imposed boundaries they must never cross so they would never again flood the land.
You sent spring rushing in ravines, running down between mountains,
supplying water for wild animals and attracting the thirsty wild donkeys;
the birds of the air make their nests by these waters and sing among the branches.
From your palace you water the highlands until the ground is sated by the fruit of your work;
you make fresh grass grow for cattle and plants for us to cultivate to get food from the soil-
wine to cheer our hearts, oil to make our faces shine, and bread to sustain our life.
The trees of YHWH drink their fill;- those cedars of Lebanon, where birds build their nests
and on the highest branches, the stork makes his home.
For the wild goats there are the high mountains, and in the crags the rock badgers hide.
You made the moon to tell the seasons, and the sun knows when to set:
you bring darkness on, night falls, and all the forest animals come out-
savage lions roaring for their prey , claiming their food from God.
The sun rises, they retire, going back to lie down in their lairs,
and people go out to work, to labour again until evening.
YHWH, what variety you have created, arranging everything so wisely!
The earth is filled with your creativity!
There’s the vast expanse of the Sea, teeming with countless creatures,
living things large and small, with the ships going to and fro
and Leviathan who you made to frolic there.
All creatures depend on you to feed them at the proper time.
Give it to them- they gather it up.
Open your hand- they are well satisfied.
Hide your face- they are terrified.
Take away their breath- they die and return to dust.
Send back your breath- fresh life begins and you renew the face of the earth.
Glory forever to YHWH!
May you find joy in your creation!
You glance at the earth and it trembles;
you touch the mountains and they smoke!
I will sing to you all my life,
I will make music for my Gd as long as I live.
May these reflections of mine give God as much pleasure as God gives me!
May the corrupt vanish from the earth and the violent exist no longer!
Bless YHWH, my soul!
Alleluia!
Listen to the service here.
Listen to the sermon here.