Worship on the General Assembly and Communion Sunday
10:00 am June 07, 2026
Minister: The Rev. Brad Childs Music Director: Binu Kapadia
Vocalist: Lynn Vaughan Reader: Joel Sheridan Elder: Shirley Simpson
We gather to worship God
Music prelude
Greeting
L: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you
P: and also with you
Lighting of the Christ candle
Welcome and announcements
Preparation for worship
Call to worship:
L: Come, all who are called by God!
P: We come, trusting in the One who calls us forward.
L: Leave behind what holds you, and follow the God of promise.
P: We follow in faith, for God’s mercy makes us whole.
L: Let us worship the Lord!
Opening praise: Forever God is faithful
Prayers of approach and confession
Creator, Christ and Spirit, In you, all things work together for good and are redeemed. Your presence breaks into our lives in transformative ways and you touch us with wonder.
In response to your goodness and glory, we offer you thanks with our prayers, praise with our hearts, and honour with our lives, this day and every day, now and always.
In confidence of your grace and kindness, O God, and out of a desire to begin again with you and one another, we confess to you our sins:
God of mercy, whose loving kindness endures forever: we confess that often we have failed to receive and give love;
to care for others as we care for ourselves;
to pardon and to accept pardon.
We remember good intentions that were not put into actions;
harsh words said in anger;
selfish purposes that caused pain and
persistent pride that would not yield.
Hear us, O Lord, as in this silence, we make our confession to you…
As a very imperfect people we come to you, our God and ask your forgiveness, knowing that in you we are made free.
Response: We come to ask your forgiveness
Assurance of God’s grace
God is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Know that you are forgiven and be at peace with God, with yourself and with one another.
We listen for the voice of God
Song: God, we praise you for the morning vss 1,2,4,5 (436)
Scripture: Romans 4:13-25 & Matthew 9:9-13,18-26
Response: Glory to the Father
Message: Credited as Righteousness
The Apostle Paul, in Romans chapter 4, takes us back to Abraham—the father of our faith—and says, “Look here. This is how grace really works.”
Paul writes: “What does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness’” (Romans 4:3). Those words come from Genesis 15, long before Abraham was circumcised, long before the Law was given at Sinai, and long before he had done the great deeds we remember him for.
Think about that timing. Abraham wasn’t declared righteous because he had a perfect track record. He was still a man with flaws and failures. Yet when he simply took God at His word—when he believed the promise that God would make him the father of many nations despite his old age and Sarah’s barrenness—God credited righteousness to his account.
Paul drives the point home with a powerful contrast. He says if a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. The employer owes him. That’s how the world works. You perform, you get paid. But Our God does not work that way. We are not rewarded for what we do, but because we are loved.
God justifies the ungodly. Not the cleaned-up, not the impressive, not the ones who’ve got their act together. The ungodly. The sinner. The person who knows they fall short.
If righteousness or a special place in heaven could be earned by keeping the law or piling up good deeds, then grace would be unnecessary. Salvation would be a paycheck. But Paul says that’s not the gospel. The gospel is better. It’s the announcement that God has done for us what we could never do for ourselves.
Abraham’s story proves it. He was justified by faith before he had religious credentials, before impressive obedience, before any outward sign. His righteousness was a gift, credited by God, received by simple trust.
So what does this mean for you and me?
It means you can stop performing for God. Stop trying to earn what can only be received. The pressure is off. The wage system is closed. In its place stands the open door of grace.
If you’re sitting here today feeling ungodly—aware of your failures, your doubts, your hidden struggles—hear the good news: God specializes in justifying people just like you. He doesn’t wait for you to become righteous before He loves you. He credits Christ’s perfect righteousness to your account the moment you believe.
For those who have believed, live in the freedom this brings. Serve not to earn God’s favor, but because you already have it. Love, forgive, and obey—not as a worker earning wages, but as a child who is already credited with perfect righteousness.
May we all, like Abraham, believe God. And may it be credited to us as righteousness—not by our works, but by His amazing grace. Amen.
Sharing by one of the refugee families Dayspring has helped settle in Canada,
Song: God forgave my sin (774)
We respond to serve God
Our time of giving
Prayers of the people
God of our past and our future,
we come with grateful hearts, trusting that you walk with us through all the seasons of our lives.
You create a future for us, calling each of us to use our individual abilities and opportunities to make a difference.
Thank you that we all have a place and a purpose in your world.
Guide all who are graduating this year to use their knowledge, learning and lives in service to you and your world. Let them hear your call and find their calling.
We pray today for those who face danger and despair in these times:
We remember before you those living with hunger, and all those caught up in unrest and violence beyond their control.
Keep a brief silence
We pray for all those working to relieve suffering in these lives and bring justice and peace:
We pray for your church in this place, in this region/town/city and around the world.
Guide it so that it is clear in its proclamation, gracious in its service, bold in its advocacy and humble in its discernment.
Especially, we pray for the General Assembly that begins its deliberations today.
Give its moderator, commissioners and all who serve the Assembly a strong sense of your guidance.
We pray for all those facing fear or frustration, wrestling with sorrow or discouragement in any area of their lives:
For those who live with illness or pain….
For those bearing chronic conditions or disability….
For those who know the grief and change of bereavement….
Keep a brief silence.
And we pray for all those who work to bring healing and comfort and agencies that offer support and care to those who suffer:
We pray for all who feel helpless or hopeless in this present time:
For those around us facing unemployment, struggling to make ends meet…
For those caught up in the pain of misunderstanding or broken relationships…
And for those working through situations of conflict at home or at work…
Keep a brief silence
We pray for all who offer guidance and support in the midst of such difficulties
and for those who have skills in reconciliation or mediation:
God of healing and hope,
Guide our congregation to engage each day with faithfulness.
Where we need correction, show us a new way;
where we need love and encouragement, inspire us. Amen.
Passing the peace
The Sacrament of Holy Communion
Invitation
Come to the Lord’s Table.
This is not a table for the perfect or the proud. It is a table for sinners who know they need grace. Just as Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness, so we come not trusting in our own works or goodness, but in the finished work of Jesus Christ.
Here God declares His ungodly people “not guilty.” Here the bread and the cup proclaim that Christ’s body was broken and His blood was shed for the forgiveness of our sins. All who are trusting in Jesus alone—whether you have walked with Him for many years or have come to Him today—are welcome.
Come, not because you must earn a place, but because Christ has already made a place for you. Come and receive the gift of grace by faith.
Song: Jesus calls us here to meet him (528)
The Communion Prayer
Gracious God, our Heavenly Father, We thank You that You justify the ungodly by faith and not by works. We praise You for the promise You made to Abraham and for the greater promise fulfilled in Your Son, Jesus Christ.
As we come to this Table, we remember that our righteousness is not our own. It has been credited to us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
Send Your Holy Spirit upon us and upon these gifts of bread and wine, that they may be for us the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Feed us with His presence, unite us to Him and to one another, and strengthen us to live as people who have been declared righteous by grace.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Words of Institution
On the night He was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.”
In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
These are the gifts of God for the people of God.
Sharing of the Bread and Wine
Song: One bread, one body (540)
Prayer after Communion
Lord, We thank You for this sacred meal. We rejoice that by faith we have received the benefits of Your broken body and shed blood. As Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness, so our faith in You has united us to Your perfect righteousness.
Strengthen us now to walk in the freedom and joy of grace. Help us to live no longer for ourselves but for Him who loved us and gave Himself for us.
Send us out as witnesses of Your amazing grace. In Your name we pray. Amen.
Song: Sent forth by your blessing (775)
Sending out with God’s blessing
Go in faith into whatever the week ahead may hold, sure that Christ walks with you. And may the God who made us, the Christ who mends us, and the Spirit who gives us life bring you joy and peace, now and always.
Response: The blessing
A moment with another refugee family that Dayspring has helped settle in Canada
Music postlude
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Numbers in brackets after a song/hymn indicate that it is from the 1997 Book of Praise of the Presbyterian Church in Canada. Those and other songs are being used in accordance with the specifications of Dayspring’s licensing with One License (3095377) and CLC (A735555).
The Rev. Brad Childs retains the copyright (© 2026) on all original material in this service. As far as Brad Childs is aware, all of the material that has not been attributed to others is his own creation or is in the public domain. Unacknowledged use of copyrighted material is unintentional and will be corrected immediately upon notification being received.
Video recordings of the Sunday Worship messages can be found here on our YouTube Channel.