Metropolitan United Church
London Ontario, Canada
Sunday April 12, 2026
Easter II
Organ Prelude: Organ works by Pachelbel, Bach, Eberlin and Hurford
Welcome & Announcements
The Christ Candle
Call to Worship - The Grace
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
be with you.
All: And also with you.
Hymn VU#168 – The risen Christ
Opening Prayer
A New Creed: Let us declare our faith together:
We are not alone, we live in God’s world.
We believe in God: who has created and is creating, who has come in Jesus, the Word made flesh, to reconcile and make new, who works in us and others by the Spirit.
We trust in God.
We are called to be the Church: to celebrate God’s presence, to live with respect in creation, to love and serve others, to seek justice and resist evil, to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen, our judge and our hope.
In life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us.We are not alone.
Thanks be to God.
SanctusHoly, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty
God in three persons, blessed Trinity!
Circle Time
Anthem – - Choristers - When it was yet dark – Stephen Hatfield
Call to Confession
Confession
Assurance of Pardon
Responsive Reading – Psalm 16 – VU#738
Call for the Offering
Offertory Prayer
O Lord, giver of life and source of freedom
We know that all we have received is from your hand.
You call us to be stewards of your abundance,
the caretakers of all you have entrusted to us
Help us to always use your gifts wisely
and teach us to share them generously.
May our faithful stewardships bear witness
to the love of Jesus Christ in our lives. Amen.
Doxology (VU#541)
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.
VU#185 – You tell me that the Lord is risen
Pastoral & Lord’s Prayer
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory for ever, and ever,
Anthem – Christ the Lord is risen again – John Rutter
The Scriptures – 1 Peter: 1:3-9; 13-16
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, 7 so that the genuineness of your faith—being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Although you have not seenhim, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that was to be yours made careful search and inquiry, 11 inquiring about the person or time that the Spirit of Christ within them indicated, when it testified in advance to the sufferings destined for Christ and the subsequent glory. 12 It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in regard to the things that have now been announced to you through those who brought you good news by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look!
13 Therefore prepare your minds for action; discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed. 14 Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance. 15 Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; 16 for it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’
Message: A Living Hope
“By his great mercy, he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you...” 1 Peter 1:3b, 4; Reading vv. 3-9.
Rev. Dr. David McMaster
Hymn VU#165 – Come, you faithful, raise the strain
Commissioning & Benediction
Choral Amen
Musical Postlude: Symphony II: Finale – Charles Marie Widor
