Song 1 – 10,000 Reasons

Hear God call you to worship:

Come, sing praises to God!
Rejoice in his presence!
For he is our God:
a Father to the fatherless,
and the defender of all who need protection;
the One in whom the lonely find a home,
and the prisoner finds release.
Bless the Lord,
the God of our salvation,
who sustains and strengthens us,
day after day!
      (based on Psalm 68:4-5, 19)

Let us worship our God together!

Song 2 – The Lord is My Salvation

Song 3 – This is Our God

Song 4 – How Deep the Father’s Love For Us

Our welcome team members will pass an offering basket during this song.

For information about giving online, please visit ucclife.fi/give or follow the QR code on the screen. You can also speak to our pastors or leaders for more information about giving and generosity. You can also ask the welcome team for more info on giving online, or giving specifically towards out Stewardship Campaign.

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow
Praise Him, all creatures here below
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

Amen

We come now to our time of confession, through prayer, to our gracious Father God. We invite you to join in spirit as we pray. 

Each section of the prayer will close with the phrase “Always you have loved us,” to which we invite you to say together with one voice “Forgive our weak-hearted response”.  The words will be on the screen if you would like to follow along – you can also close your eyes to listen, and join in with the response-phrase.

Prayer of Confession for Father’s Day
Gracious God,
you are the Creator of the ends of the earth,
and yet you call us your children.
You are greater than we can ever begin to imagine,
and yet you invite us to call you “Our Father”.
Always you have loved us:
forgive our weak-hearted response.

You do not keep us at arm’s length,
remote in your holiness,
but you reach out your hands in love,
wanting us to relate to you, one to one.
Always you have loved us:
forgive our weak-hearted response.

Gracious God,
Forgive us that we call you “Our Father”
but fail to live as your children.
We do not trust you as we should,
following instead our own desires.
We are reluctant to accept your will,
repeatedly disobeying your instructions.
We are slow to ask your guidance,
but quickly forget you and wander from your side.
We all too rarely thank you for what we have,
but all too often complain
when we do not receive what we ask for.
Always you have loved us:
forgive our weak-hearted response.

Gracious God,
We have returned your love by acting as spoilt children,
but you are always faithful.
Accept our thanks that
you refuse to give up on us,
working instead to draw us closer.
You are always there for us,
ready to welcome us back
and set us on our feet again.
Always you have loved us:
forgive our weak-hearted response.

Gracious God, our Father,
we praise and thank you for your undeserved goodness,
and help us to resolve today
to live more faithfully as your children
by the empowering and equipping
of your Holy Spirit in us.
Always you have loved us:
forgive our weak-hearted response.

Take our weakness, and give us your strength.
In the name of Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord.
Amen.

Assurance of Pardon
With the words of King David from Psalm 68:19-20, we declare our praise and thanks to God together:
Praise be to the Lord, to God our Saviour, who daily bears our burdens. Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death. 

Let us pray. 

A warm welcome to all, and especially to any visitors joining us today – if you’d like to get connected or find out more about UCC, please see our digital visitors card or speak to us after the service!

If you have children, they are welcome to join our Sunday school classes! 

The Scripture reading for today is taken from the book of 1 Samuel 5:1-12. Hear the Word of God:

^5:1 When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. ² Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up beside Dagon. ³ And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place. ⁴ But when they rose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord, and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon was left to him. ⁵ This is why the priests of Dagon and all who enter the house of Dagon do not tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.

⁶ The hand of the Lord was heavy against the people of Ashdod, and he terrified and afflicted them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory. ⁷ And when the men of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for his hand is hard against us and against Dagon our god.” ⁸ So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” They answered, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around to Gath.” So they brought the ark of the God of Israel there. ⁹ But after they had brought it around, the hand of the Lord was against the city, causing a very great panic, and he afflicted the men of the city, both young and old, so that tumors broke out on them. ¹⁰ So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. But as soon as the ark of God came to Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, “They have brought around to us the ark of the God of Israel to kill us and our people.” ¹¹ They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, that it may not kill us and our people.” For there was a deathly panic throughout the whole city. The hand of God was very heavy there. ¹² The men who did not die were struck with tumors, and the cry of the city went up to heaven.

This is the Word of the Lord.

The powerful and the victorious hand of YHWH (the LORD)
–1 Samuel 5:1-12

1. YHWH’s victory over man made idols. 
2. YHWH is sovereign over all people.
3. YHWH is holy.

Song 5 – My Hope is Built on Nothing Less

Song 6 – As the Deer

Our Father in heaven, 
hallowed be your name;
your kingdom come;
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven. 
Give us this day our daily bread. 
And forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who have sinned against us.
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. 
For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.
Amen.

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