Service Sunday July 27, 2025
HIGHLAND HILLS UNITED CHURCH
Minden, Ontario
SUNDAY, July 27th, 2025
All are Welcome!
Worship Leader: Rev. Max Ward
Music Director: Melissa Stephens
Watch a video recording of the whole service below.
(For a Printer Friendly PDF version click this link)
The Gathering
WELCOME & ANNOUNCEMENTS:
FOCUSING ON THE LIGHT OF CHRIST:
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF TERRITORY:
For thousands of years, Indigenous people have walked this territory. We acknowledge the traditional territory of the Mississauga and the Ojibwe Anishnabek peoples and their stewardship of this territory throughout the ages. May we also walk here with respect.
THE APPROACH
CALL TO WORSHIP:
One: As we gather for worship, we seek God’s direction for our lives.
ALL: May God lead and guide us.
One: As we lift our voices in song and praise, we seek Christ’s truth for our lives.
ALL: May Christ encourage us and inspire us.
One: As we seek to serve through our mission and ministry, we need the Spirit’s wise presence in our lives.
ALL: May the Spirit empower us and transform us.
Written by Bill Steadman, Goulais River U.C., Goulais River, Ont.
Gathering, Pentecost 1 2025, p.37. Used with permission.
HYMN: “Spirit of Life” VU #381 sung three times
Spirit of Life, come unto me.
Sing in my heart all the stirrings of compassion.
Blow in the wind, rise in the sea;
move in the hand, giving life the shape of justice.
Roots hold me close; wings set me free;
Spirit of Life, come to me, come to me.
A SONG OF FAITH: Read In Unison
The fullness of life includes moments of unexpected inspiration and courage lived out, experiences of beauty, truth, and goodness, blessings of seeds and harvest, friendship and family, intellect and sexuality, the reconciliation of persons through justice and communities living in righteousness, and the articulation of meaning. And so we sing of God the Spirit, who from the beginning has swept over the face of creation, animating all energy and matter and moving in the human heart.
MINISTRY OF MUSIC:
LEARNING TOGETHER:
HYMN: “Deep in Our Hearts” MV #154
1. Deep in our hearts there is a common vision;
deep in our hearts there is a common song;
deep in our hearts there is a common story,
telling Creation that we are one.
2. Deep in our hearts there is a common purpose;
deep in our hearts there is a common goal;
deep in our hearts there is a sacred message,
justice and peace in harmony.
3. Deep in our hearts there is a common longing;
deep in our hearts there is a common theme;
deep in our hearts there is a common current,
flowing to freedom like a stream.
4. Deep in our hearts there is a common vision;
deep in our hearts there is a common song;
deep in our hearts there is a common story,
telling Creation that we are one.
THE WORD
Scripture: : Luke 11:1-13
Leader: Hear and listen to what the Spirit is saying to the church.
ALL: Thanks be to God.
MESSAGE:
“Talk to Me”
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 A CONTEMPORARY INTERPRETATION OF THE LORD’S PRAYER:
God, who gives birth to the world, who gives us breath,
fill us with your light, and help us to usher in your reign
of love, justice, and peace here on earth.
Tune us to the harmony of the heavens; teach us to sing your name.
Grant us wisdom, hope, and compassion for all living things
and feed us what we need each day. Free us from what binds us,
as we release others from guilt and shame. Help us to focus on what is good, and to do what is right; teach us how to love. Renew our hearts, our minds, our strength, and make us whole and wholly yours. Amen
Written by Garrett P.J. Epp, Knox Metropolitan U.C., Edmonton AL
Gathering, Used with permission.
HYMN “Fairest Lord Jesus” VU #341
1 Fairest Lord Jesus, ruler of all nature,
O thou of God to earth come down:
thee will I cherish, thee will I honour,
thou my soul's glory, joy, and crown.
2 Fair are the meadows, fairer still the woodlands,
robed in the blooming garb of spring;
Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer,
who makes the troubled heart to sing.
3 Fair is the sunshine, fairer still the moonlight,
and fair the twinkling, starry host;
Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer
than all the angels heaven can boast.
4 All fairest beauty heavenly and earthly,
wondrously, Jesus, is found in thee;
none can be nearer, fairer or dearer
than thou, my Saviour, art to me.
PRESENTATION OF OUR OFFERINGS
OFFERTORY PRAYER:
Lord, we offer these gifts with open hands and open hearts, trusting that your love will transform them into acts of compassion, justice, and mercy, through the power of the Holy Spirit. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen
Written by Sandra Jenkinson, Sundridge P.C. and Trout Creek P.C., Sundridge, Ont.
Gathering, Pentecost 1 2025, p.47. 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: 26/10/2024 - 25/10/2025; One License - Copyright Cleared Music for Churches
Sermon 27 July 2025
“Talk to Me”
Luke 11:1-13
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.
My wife, Amanda and I, really take on a lot of responsibility for maintaining our marriage.
Sometimes Amanda and I will be sitting on the couch, and she will turn to me and say,
“Talk to me.”
She doesn’t tell me what to talk about.
There is no topic or subject provided.
She doesn’t request any specific information.
One time I had trouble finding something to talk about.
The weather was too boring and fishing season had not started.
So, we talked about furniture.
The idea is that we just relate to each other - that we talk for the sake of talking.
Amanda hasn’t had the same theological training that I have had, but she taught me something about relationships.
In a unique way she knew that communication was important.
Without it, any relationship will fall apart.
Especially a marriage, in today’s world.
Spouses need to be in touch with one another.
But communication is difficult to start if you are out of practice.
So, from time to time, Amanda will open up those lines even though they are not immediately needed to convey specific information.
She knows that sometimes it is important just to relate to one another.
That is true even if you are just talking about the weather or furniture.
It may seem meaningless on the surface, but that meaningless talk keeps the lines of communication open.
This maintenance of communications, is important to any relationship, not just a marriage.
Yet too often that aspect of our relationship to God is ignored.
Our relationship with God is the most important relationship to a Christian.
Yet many Christians have trouble talking to God.
Some don’t even know how to start.
By talking to God, I mean, prayer.
Without some exchange of words, that relationship will break down - not from God’s end but from ours.
That is probably why Jesus taught his disciples to pray.
In the teaching of the Lord’s Prayer, we have an example that can help us to learn to pray or to pray more earnestly.
The Lord’s Prayer teaches us a lot.
The first thing it teaches us is the kind of relationship we have with God.
When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, he told them to begin “Father.”
Immediately, this establishes the kind of relationship which the pray-er, the one praying, has to the pray-ee, the one being prayed to.
It is the relationship of a child to a parent.
We know that Jesus often referred to God as “Abba.”
“Abba” is the Aramaic word for a father, but it really doesn’t mean “father.”
The best translation is “Da-Da.”
“Abba” is what little children call their parents in Aramaic speaking regions.
Like “Da-Da,” “Abba” is easy for little children to produce.
We are like little children who have trouble producing the words we need to say to our Daddy in heaven.
So, Jesus taught his disciples through his example to pray “our Da-da in heaven.”
This point cannot be overemphasized.
We need to constantly remember what kind of relationship we have.
When we pray, we are not praying to some distant God off in the far reaches of the heavens.
Jesus didn’t say “Pray ‘Our illustrious ruler somewhere off in the universe.”
No, he said, “Pray ‘Our Daddy in heaven.”
The relationship we have with God is one of a small dependent child on their parent.
God is like a Mother or Father to us who cares for us.
God was the one who birthed us into existence.
God is the one who feeds us what we need.
God knows better than we do what that is.
God is the one who protects us and keeps us warm.
And when we make a mess of things, God is the one who changes our diapers… spiritually speaking.
The Lord’s prayer teaches us the basics of our relationship to God, but it also gives us a model for designing our prayer lives.
It contains all the aspects of prayer which it is important for maintaining the relationship we have with our Daddy in heaven.
First, it contains praise of God.
“Hollowed” or “Holy is your name” is praise of God.
The first petition or request is “Thy kingdom come.”
Matthew adds, “Thy will be done.”
Both make the point that in all our prayers our goal should be the fulfillment of God’s will in our lives.
And so, we make that our first prayer.
The prayer also contains a petition that God will give us the bread we need for each day.
Unfortunately, this is where many people’s prayer lives begin and end.
We just ask for what we want or think we need.
But asking God to provide the things we need to live is important.
It acknowledges the fact that we depend on God.
The Lord’s prayer also contains an element of confession.
We should ask God to forgive us of our wrong doings.
Forgiveness is not a one-time deal.
We still make mistakes from time to time and need God to forgive us.
There is nothing magical about the words of the Lord’s Prayer.
This is obvious in the fact that there are two versions of it recorded in the Bible.
The “Lord’s Prayer” that we say every Sunday or daily is the one found in Matthew.
But God’s Holy Spirit led Luke to record an abbreviated version.
Jesus did not intend that his disciples always pray the exact words he gave them.
Yet he did tell them to pray in that way.
Our prayer lives should be similar to the Lord’s Prayer.
It should contain elements of confession, petition and praise.
The prayer Jesus taught his disciples is a model for our prayer lives, but it is important to remember that prayer is just talking to God.
While I believe it is useful to use written prayers or forms of prayer like the Lord’s Prayer to aid our prayer life, prayer itself is just talking.
It is just like the conversations which you would have with someone you love.
Prayers don’t always need to have a clear purpose.
It is often the purposeless conversations that mean the most.
Husbands, how would you like it if your wife didn’t say a thing to you in the morning, just because she had no specific or important information to convey to you?
Wives, how would you like it if the only thing that your husband said to you in the morning was, “Give me my coffee, please.”
Try saying “Good morning God.”
Try talking about the weather.
Of course, God already knows what the weather is.
Yet that doesn’t mean God doesn’t want to talk about it.
Prayer doesn’t need to be done on your knees with your eyes closed.
Kneeling or bowing one’s head are good; that posture expresses reverence.
Closing one’s eyes blocks out other distractions.
Yet we can pray with our eyes open if we need or want to.
You can even pray when some pushy salesperson is getting on your nerves.
Try saying a prayer sometime when you are driving or walking.
That time can be well used strengthening your relationship with God.
When I was in college, I discovered the importance of this.
In order to keep up with my studies, I utilized every waking moment.
I discovered I was wasting about half an hour a day just walking places like to class or the cafeteria etc.
So I started talking to God.
After a few days I ran out of things to say and I started listening.
Try talking to God when you are walking your dog or driving to work or a medical appointment.
God is with us here today and is trying to establish a relationship with each of us, or to strengthen a relationship which already exists.
God is sitting next to each of us and God is saying “Talk to me”
God is not requesting specific information.
We don’t have any information God doesn’t already know!
Our heavenly Daddy is with us and is saying:
“Son, how was your day?”
“Daughter, it looks like sunny skies.”
“Child, I love you.”
God is saying “Talk to me.”
It’s your move.
Let’s talk to God.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
