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SUNDAY 23RD AUGUST 2026 11.00 a.m.
MORNING WORSHIP
(THIRTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST)
Welcome
Call to Worship
Hymn 113 God the Father of Creation (Cwm Rhondda)
1 God the Father of Creation,
source of life and energy,
your creative love so shapes us
that we share your liberty.
Teach us how to use this freedom
* loving children all to be.
2 Jesus Christ our Lord and brother,
in your cross we see the way
to be servants for each other,
caring, suffering every day.
Teach us patience and obedience
never from your path to stray.
3 Holy Spirit, love that binds us
to the Father and the Son,
giver of the joy that fills us,
yours the peace that makes us one,
teach our hearts to be more open
as we pray ‘God’s will be done.’
4 Members of our Saviour’s body,
here on earth his life to be,
though we stand as different people,
may we share the unity
of the Father, Son and Spirit,
perfect love in Trinity.
* The last line of each verse is repeated.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 532 Lord, you have come to the seashore
(Pescador De Hombres)
1 Lord, you have come to the seashore,
neither searching for the rich nor the wise,
desiring only that I should follow.
O Lord, with your eyes set upon me,
gently smiling, you have spoken my name.
All I longed for I have found by the water,
at your side I will seek other shores.
2 Lord, see my goods, my possessions;
in my boat you find no power, no wealth.
Will you accept, then, my nets and labour?
3 Lord, take my hands, and direct them.
Help me spend myself in seeking the lost,
returning love for the love you gave me.
4 Lord, as I drift on the waters,
be the resting-place of my restless heart,
my life’s companion, my friend and refuge.
Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 56:1, 6-8
1 Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness,
you who seek the Lord.
Look to the rock from which you were hewn
and to the quarry from which you were dug.
2 Look to Abraham your father
and to Sarah, who bore you,
for he was but one when I called him,
but I blessed him and made him many.
3 For the Lord will comfort Zion;
he will comfort all her waste places
and will make her wilderness like Eden,
her desert like the garden of the Lord;
joy and gladness will be found in her,
thanksgiving and the voice of song.
4 Listen to me, my people,
and give heed to me, my nation,
for a teaching will go out from me
and my justice for a light to the peoples.
5 I will bring near my deliverance swiftly;
my salvation has gone out,
and my arms will rule the peoples;
the coastlands wait for me,
and for my arm they hope.
6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens
and look at the earth beneath,
for the heavens will vanish like smoke,
the earth will wear out like a garment,
and those who live on it will die like gnats,
but my salvation will be forever,
and my deliverance will never be ended.
Epistle Reading: Romans 12: 1-8
1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, on the basis of God’s mercy, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable act of worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.
3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members and not all the members have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. 6 We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; 7 ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; 8 the encourager, in encouragement; the giver, in sincerity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.
Anthem: Cantique de Jean Racine Fauré (1845-1924)
Verbe, égal au Très-Haut, notre unique espérance,
Jour éternel de la terre et des cieux ;
De la paisible nuit nous rompons le silence,
Divin Sauveur, jette sur nous les yeux !
Répands sur nous le feu de ta grâce puissante,
Que tout l’enfer fuie au son de ta voix ;
Dissipe le sommeil d’une âme languissante,
Qui la conduit à l’oubli de tes lois !
O Christ, sois favorable à ce peuple fidèle
Pour te bénir maintenant rassemblé.
Reçois les chants qu’il offre à ta gloire immortelle,
Et de tes dons qu’il retourne comblé !
O Word, equal of the Most High,
Our sole hope, eternal day of earth and the heavens,
We break the silence of the peaceful night.
Divine Saviour, cast Thine eyes upon us!
Shed the light of Thy mighty grace upon us.
Let all Hell flee at the sound of Thy voice.
Dispel the slumber of a languishing soul
That leads it to the forgetting of Thy laws!
O Christ, be favourable unto this faithful people
Now gathered to bless Thee.
Receive the hymns it offers unto Thine immortal glory
And may it return laden with Thy gifts.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 16: 13-20
13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist but others Elijah and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
Hymn 502 Take my life, Lord, let it be (Nottingham)
1 Take my life, Lord, let it be
consecrated, glad, and free;
take my moments and my days,
let them flow in ceaseless praise.
2 Take my hands, and let them move
at the impulse of your love;
take my feet, that I may run
bearing news of Christ your Son.
3 Take my voice, and let me sing
always, only, for my King;
take my intellect and use
every power as you shall choose.
4 Take my will — your will be done,
may my will and yours be one;
take my heart — it is your own,
it shall be your royal throne.
5 Take my love — my Lord, I pour
at your feet its treasure-store;
take myself, and I will be
all for you, eternally.
Sermon
Anthem: Drop, drop, slow tears
Gibbons (1583-1625)
Drop, drop, slow tears, and bathe those beauteous feet
Which brought from heaven the news and Prince of peace;
Cease not, wet eyes, his mercies to entreat;
To cry for vengeance sin doth never cease.
In your deep floods drown all my faults and fears:
Nor let his eye see sin, but through my tears.
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 561 Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
(Blessed Assurance)
1 Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God;
born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.
This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Saviour all the day long.
This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Saviour all the day long.
2 Perfect submission, perfect delight,
visions of rapture burst on my sight;
angels descending bring from above
echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
3 Perfect submission, all is at rest,
I in my Saviour am happy and blest;
watching and waiting, looking above,
filled with his goodness, lost in his love.
Benediction & Choral Amen
Organ Postlude: Finale from Symphonie VI – Widor
Retiring Offering
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