Dear friends,

THIS SUNDAY Mr. Samuel Farrugia will be leading us in worship. 

SUNDAY MARKS THE THIRD WEEK OF ADVENT, where we’ll light the Candle of Joy, also known as the Shepherd Candle, that reflects the joy that comes through Jesus’ incarnation and his redeeming grace. 

“WHAT DO YOU EXPECT FROM GOD?”  The God of the Bible is somewhat of a wily God – he seems to enjoy surprises and plot twists.  The New Testament claims that he did indeed keep all the promises made to his people, and yet as he did so, he upended all expectations for how he would prove faithful to Israel.  God sends his Son into the world to redeem it – surely the most important event in the history of humanity – and yet when this divine dénouement occurs, no one realizes what is happening.  Those who do pay attention to the death of Jesus misinterpret it, except for the centurion in charge of the proceedings on Calvary (cf. Mk. 15:39).  How ironic!  As Jesus expires on the cross, the only person who realizes who he is…is the soldier who nailed him there!  Instead of the Creator God acting in an overwhelming, inexorable, undeniable display of divine power and glory, he saves the world secretly – albeit under everyone’s noses (and redefines “power” and “glory” as he does so).

OUR CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE will be led by our Interim Moderator Rev. Dr. Roland De Vries on Wednesday, December 24 at 7:30 PM.  Everyone is invited downstairs to join in fellowship after the service as we enjoy some mulled apple cider and home baked treats as we celebrate the birth of our Saviour.

Order of Service

Prelude
Welcome
Lighting of the Advent candle. The candle of Joy.
Hymn 119: “Hope is a star” (vs 3)
Call to Worship
Hymn 374: “O for a thousand tongues to sing” (vs 3 & 4 en français)
Prayer of Adoration
Prayer of Confession
Declaration of Grace
The Lord’s Prayer
Sunday School Christmas Pageant
Hymn 109: “All earth is waiting”
Responsive Reading: Psalm 24:1-8
Gloria Patri
1st Lesson – Isaiah 52:7-10 (en français BFC – English on the screen)
2nd Lesson – 1 Peter 1:8-12
Gospel Lesson – Luke 24:13-27
Sermon: “What did you expect?”
Confession of Faith – The Apostles’ Creed
Hymn 787: “The kingdom of God is justice and joy”
Offering and Offertory
Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession
Hymn 110: “Come, thou long expected Jesus”
Benediction
Go now in peace
Postlude

Dear friends,

THIS SUNDAY Mr. Romulus Rhoad will be leading us in worship.  Romulus is from Grimshaw, Alberta.  He finished his undergraduate studies at the University of Alberta and is now pursuing a Master’s of Divinity degree at Presbyterian College in Montréal, seeking ordination as a minister of word and sacrament.  For his entire life Romulus has been a Presbyterian, and as the son of a Presbyterian minister, he has followed his dad wherever he was called (Romulus was born in Indiana and has moved a lot), and now, God-willing, he has been called to the same vocation.

TOMORROW, IN THE LITURGICAL CALENDAR, IS CHRIST THE KING SUNDAY.  As Canadians, we still have a king, although he is far and distant, and without any true power.  So, when we call Jesus Christ our king, what do we mean?

Order of Service

Prelude
Welcome
Call to Worship
Hymn 299: “Holy, holy, holy” (vs 2&4 en français)
Prayer of Adoration
Prayer of Confession
Declaration of Grace
The Lord’s Prayer
Children’s Time
Hymn 332: “How great thou art” (vs 3 en français)
Responsive Reading – Psalm 61
Gloria Patri
Hebrews 1: 1-12 (en français BFC – English on the screen)
Daniel 2: 25-45
Sermon: “The Sovereign God”
Confession of Faith – The Nicene Creed
Hymn 274: “Crown him with many crowns” (vs 3&4 en français)
Offering and Offertory Prayer
Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession
Hymn 324: “Great is thy faithfulness” (vs 2 en français)
Benediction
Go now in peace
Postlude

friends,

THIS SUNDAY Samuel Farrugia will be leading us in worship. 

SOMEONE ONCE SAID, “Jesus promised his disciples 3 things – that they would be completely fearless, absurdly happy and in constant trouble.”  The virtue among the four “cardinal virtues” that we’re going to look at today is courage (the others are temperance, justice and wisdom).  If Jesus is our example of virtue, we have to ask: Did Jesus need courage?  He was Jesus after all.  He’s God, right?  Of course, the crazy thing about Jesus – as the Gospels present him – is that he makes us rethink our idea of “God”.  Paul told the Corinthians that both the power and the wisdom of God were revealed… as Jesus hung on the cross (cf. 1 Cor. 1:18-25).  What kind of God is that!?  So, all this to say that Yes, Jesus needed courage because he was indeed human; indeed, this is a rather disturbing thing – if Jesus was human and yet succeeded in being who he was, that means that it is within the realm of possibility that I, human that I am, can walk his path.

Order of Service

Prelude
Welcome
Call to Worship
Hymn 411: “Stand up and bless the Lord”
Prayer of Adoration
Prayer of Confession
Declaration of Grace
The Lord’s Prayer
Children’s Time
Hymn 782: “Isaiah the prophet has written of old”
Responsive Reading – Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16
Gloria Patri
1st Lesson – Jeremiah 1:4-8, 17-19 (en français BFC – English on the screen)
2nd Lesson – 2 Peter 1:3-8
Gospel Lesson – Matthew 10:16-31
Sermon: “Called to Courage”
Confession of Faith – The Apostles’ Creed
Hymn 763: “To show by touch and word”
Offering and Offertory
Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession
Hymn 732: “O day of peace that dimly shines”
Benediction
Go now in peace
Postlude

Dear friends,

THIS SUNDAY Edythe Arnott will be leading us in worship.

THE OLD TESTAMENT READING is from the book of Habakkuk. The prophet Habakkuk’s story is both encouraging and challenging – but very relevant to the year 2025.

Order of Service

Prelude
Welcome
Call to Worship
Hymn 321: “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty” (vs 2&4 en français)
Prayer of Adoration
Prayer of Confession
Declaration of Grace
The Lord’s Prayer
Children’s Time
Hymn 497: “Word of God, across the ages”
Responsive Reading – Psalm 32 (with choral refrain)
Gloria Patri
2 Thessalonians 1: 1-4, 11-12 (en français BFC – English on the screen)
Habakkuk 1: 1-4, 2: 1-4
Sermon: “Habakkuk’s Story”
Confession of Faith – The Apostles’ Creed
Hymn 672: “Jesus calls us, o’er the tumult”
Offering and Offertory
Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession
Hymn 462: “All my hope on God is founded”
Benediction
Go now in peace
Postlude

Dear friends, 

THIS SUNDAY the Rev. Linda Faith Chalk will be leading us in worship.

SAMUEL JOHNSON HAS SAID OF PRAYER that it does not need proof outside itself because its proofs are within.  It is in the nature and function of man, like breathing, eating and drinking, and he practices it as part of his very being.  Luke tells us up front that our parable is a parable about prayer.  It is equally a parable about sheer grace but the main characters are coming at each other from opposite life experiences and expectations. “What will He find?”  That is the question that Jesus asks at the end of the parable.  We need to keep asking the same question.

Order of Service

Prelude
Welcome
Call to Worship
Hymn 299: “Holy, Holy, Holy” (vs 3&4 en français)
Prayer of Adoration
Prayer of Confession
Declaration of Grace
The Lord’s Prayer
Children’s Time
Hymn 496: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet”
Responsive Reading – Psalm 119: 97-104
Gloria Patri
1st Lesson – Jeremiah 31: 31-34 (en français BFC – English on the screen)
2nd Lesson – 2 Timothy 4: 1-5
Gospel Lesson – Luke 18: 1-8
Sermon: “What will He find?”
Confession of Faith – The Apostles’ Creed
Hymn 497: “Word of God, across the ages”
Offering and Offertory
Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession
Hymn 685: “How firm a foundation”
Benediction
Go now in peace
Postlude

Dear friends, 

THIS THANKSGIVING SUNDAY, our Interim Moderator, the Rev. Dr. Roland De Vries will once again be leading us in worship.  It is always very special to celebrate this Thanksgiving holiday, and also to approach it from the point of view of our faith in Christ.

OUR SERMON FOR THIS SUNDAY will focus on a story that will be very familiar to us—the story of the one healed man who returned to give thanks to Jesus for his healing.  We will try to read this story in a fresh way, with new meanings discovered.  It is a question of what we see in the story.

Order of Service

Prelude
Welcome
Call to Worship
Hymn 422 “Sing a new song unto the Lord”
Prayer of Adoration
Prayer of Confession
Declaration of Grace
The Lord’s Prayer
Children’s Time
Hymn 807 “We plough the fields and scatter” (vs 2&3 en français)
Responsive Reading: Psalm 65
Gloria Patri
Luke 17:11-19 (en français BFC – English on the screen)
Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7, 10-14
Sermon: “What do you see?”
Confession of Faith: Living Faith 2.1.1 – 2.1.2
Hymn 39: “God of mercy, God of Grace”
Offering and Offertory
Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession
Hymn 457: “Now thank we all our God.”
Benediction
Go now in peace
Postlude