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SUNDAY 16TH AUGUST 2026 11.00 a.m.
MORNING WORSHIP
(TWELFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST)
Welcome
Call to Worship
Hymn 69 Just as a father shows his love (Kilmarnock)
Psalm 103
1 Just as a father shows his love
to all his children dear,
so God bestows his love on those
who worship him in fear.
2 For God knows well how we were made,
remembers we’re but clay;
our days, like grass, pass quickly by,
a flower that fades away.
3 A wind blows, and the flower is gone,
its place is known no more;
but all the kindness of the Lord
for ever shall endure.
4 From age to age God’s love shall last
for those who do his will;
and righteousness he will extend
to children’s children still.
Call to Prayer
Prayers of Approach and the 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 debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power and the glory for ever,
Amen.
Theme for the day
Hymn 624 In Christ there is no east or west (McKee)
1 In Christ there is no east or west,
in him no south or north,
but one great fellowship of love
throughout the whole wide earth.
2 In Christ shall true hearts everywhere
their high communion find,
his service is the golden cord
close-binding human kind.
3 Come, brothers, sisters of the faith,
whate’er your race may be:
whoever does my Father’s will
is surely kin to me.
4 In Christ now meet both east and west,
in him meet south and north,
all Christ-like souls are one in him,
throughout the whole wide earth.
Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 56:1, 6-8
Thus says the LORD: Maintain justice, and do what is right, for soon my salvation will come and my deliverance be revealed.
And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD, and to be his servants, all who keep the Sabbath, and do not profane it, and hold fast my covenant–
these I will bring to my holy mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar, for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.
Thus says the Lord GOD, who gathers the outcasts of Israel: I will gather others to them besides those already gathered.
Epistle Reading: 11:1-2a, 29-32
I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin.
God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.
For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Just as you were once disobedient to God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, so also they have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they also may now receive mercy. For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all.
Anthem: O gladsome light, O grace
Bourgeois (c 1510-1561)
O gladsome light, O grace
Of God the Father’s face,
Th’eternal splendour wearing:
Celestial, holy, blest,
Our Saviour Jesus Christ,
Joyful in thine appearing.
Now ere day fadeth quite,
We see the evening light,
Our wonted hymn outpouring.
Father of might unknown,
Thee, his incarnate Son,
And Holy Spirit adoring.
To thee of right belongs
All praise of holy songs
O Son of God, lifegiver;
Thee, therefore, O Most High,
The world doth glorify,
And shall exalt for ever. Amen.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 15: 10-28
Then he called the crowd to him and said to them, “Listen and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.”
Then the disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?”
He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit.”
But Peter said to him, “Explain this parable to us.”
Then he said, “Are you also still without understanding?
Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach and goes out into the sewer? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.”
Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon.
Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” But he did not answer her at all.
And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed from that moment.
Hymn 187 There’s a wideness in God’s mercy (All for Jesus)
1 There’s a wideness in God’s mercy,
like the wideness of the sea;
there’s a kindness in his justice,
which is more than liberty.
2 There is no place where earth’s sorrows
are more felt than in God’s heaven:
there is no place where earth’s failings
have such kindly judgment given.
3 For the love of God is broader
than the grasp of mortal mind;
and the heart of the Eternal
is most wonderfully kind.
4 If our love were but more simple,
we would take him at his word;
and our lives be filled with glory
from the glory of the Lord.
Sermon
Anthem: God is a spirit Sterndale Bennett (1816-75)
God is a spirit, and they that worship him must worship him
in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
Dedication of our Offerings
{If able, please stand as the offering is brought forward and the congregation sings}
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. (CH4 807, Old 100th)
Prayer of Dedication:
Minister: Father, Son, and Spirit Holy,
we give you thanks and praise:
Congregation: We dedicate to you
our thoughts, our words,
our gifts, our deeds,
the working of our hands,
the thinking of our minds,
the loving of our hearts. Amen.
Prayers of Thanksgiving & Intercession
Intimations
Hymn 706 For the Healing of the Nations (Regent Square)
1 For the healing of the nations,
Lord, we pray with one accord;
for a just and equal sharing
of the things that earth affords.
To a life of love in action
help us rise and pledge our word.
2 Lead us forward into freedom,
from despair your world release,
that, redeemed from war and hatred,
all may come and go in peace.
Show us how through care and goodness
fear will die and hope increase.
3 All that kills abundant living,
let it from the earth be banned;
pride of status, race, or schooling,
dogmas that obscure your plan.
In our common quest for justice
may we hallow life’s brief span.
4 You, Creator-God, have written
your great name on humankind;
for our growing in your likeness
bring the life of Christ to mind;
that by our response and service
earth its destiny may find.
Benediction & Choral Amen
Organ Postlude: Postlude in d Stainer
Retiring Offering
(It is possible to donate via the website. All offerings towards the ongoing life of St Columba’s are very gratefully received. Thank you.
