Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
What follows is a worship service which, I pray, you can participate in at a time(s) that are convenient to you. This 'service' will take about forty five (45) minutes.
I pray that you will feel called to ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE in this service.
The text that is in regular typeface (that is what you are reading at the moment) is to be read quietly, while the text that is in bold face (like you are reading right now) is meant to be read aloud.
Opening Hymn:
Let us continue by watching, and please do feel free to sing or read aloud the lyrics, as we commence our praise and thanksgiving.
When you are ready - click the "play" button on the video window, below:
A Call To Worship:
We meet in the name of God,
Creator of the universe,
source of true humanity,
mother and father of all. Amen.
An Assurance of Forgiveness:
(click the 'play' button below to listen)
The Sentence For Today (let us say aloud):
Our help is in the Name of the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.
The Special Prayer For Today (let us pray aloud):
Grant, O merciful God, that your Church, being gathered together in unity by your Holy Spirit, may show forth your power among all peoples, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Our first reading for today:
(click the 'play' button below to listen)
Our second reading for today:
(click the 'play' button below to listen)
Gradual Hymn:
Let us continue by watching, and please do feel free to sing or read aloud the lyrics, as we raise out voices in praise and thanksgiving.
When you are ready - click the "play" button on the video window, below:
Listen to David speak to this gospel
or, if you prefer, you can read the sermon, below:
Sermon for 13th after Pentecost, 23rd August 2026
Welcome brothers and sisters and peace be with you. MAY the words on my lips and the meditations in our hearts be acceptable in your sight O Lord, our strength and our Redeemer. <Amen>
I was once on a bus in Colombia travelling down the Andes from Bogota to the tropical village of Melgar. The journey was long, the road was winding, and the bus was crowded. As we descended, an elderly woman sitting across from me asked me where I was going and I told her.
She smiled and said, “Ah, I know that place. My family comes from there.” We began talking about the village, and I asked, “Do you know the people who live there?”
She laughed and replied, “Some of them, but knowing someone’s name doesn’t necessarily mean I know them.”
That reply has stayed with me for over forty years. It is SO true, we can know ABOUT someone without really KNOWING them … and that is exactly the issue at the heart of today’s Gospel - Matthew 16:13-20. <PAUSE>
Jesus asks His disciples a remarkably simple question, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
They give Him the answers they have heard. “Some say John the Baptist; others Elijah; and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
In other words, “People have different opinions about you, Jesus.”
Then Jesus makes the question personal. “But who do you say that I am?”
This is the question that changes everything because Jesus isn’t interested simply in what other people think about Him … He wants to know what we think. <PAUSE>
The disciples initial responses to Jesus’ questioning, John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, A prophet were not silly answers. They were genuine attempts to understand who Jesus was. The people had seen His miracles. They had heard His teaching. They had watched Him heal the sick, forgive sinners, feed the hungry and challenge the religious authorities. They knew Jesus was extraordinary … but they hadn’t yet understood exactly who He was.
Perhaps that is still true today. Ask people who Jesus is and you will get many answers. Some will say He was a great moral teacher. Others will say He was a revolutionary. Some will say He was a prophet. Others will say He was a wonderful example of compassion. Some will say Jesus is important historically, but not particularly relevant to their lives today … and some will simply say, “I don’t know.”
However, Jesus doesn’t leave His question there. He turns to His disciples and suddenly this isn’t a question about what other people believe … It becomes a question about us.
“BUT WHO DO YOU SAY I AM?”
Please, notice the word “you.” Not your parents. Not your priest, pastor or minister. Not your friends. Not the people on television or social media. Not the people who write books about Christianity. Not even the people with you in your faith community.
YOU. Who do YOU say Jesus is?
For me, this one of the most important questions anyone can ever face, because Christianity is not simply about knowing facts about Jesus. It is about encountering Jesus.
We can know the Christmas story. We can know the parables. We can know the Beatitudes. We can know the stories of the miracles. We can even know the words of Scripture … BUT eventually Jesus asks: “Who do you say that I am?”
Peter answers, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus tells Peter that this isn’t something he has worked out simply through human intelligence. It has been revealed to him by God … and so we see how Peter has moved from information to faith. From knowing ABOUT Jesus to recognising who Jesus really is. <PAUSE>
Peter’s answer is enormously important. “You are the Messiah.” The promised one. The one God’s people had been waiting for.
Peter goes even further, “The Son of the living God.” Jesus is not merely another prophet. Not merely another teacher. Not merely another religious leader. He is God’s Son.
It is this confession that becomes the foundation of the Christian faith. <PAUSE>
I would like us to notice something else. Peter doesn’t make this confession in a theological classroom. He makes it in the middle of ordinary life. They are travelling. They are talking. They are asking questions and suddenly Jesus asks the question that changes everything.
That is often how faith works. We may expect God to speak to us through spectacular experiences but sometimes the most important spiritual moments come through an ordinary question. A conversation. A sermon. A Bible passage. A moment of silence. A crisis. A decision.
Yes, somewhere in the middle of ordinary life, Jesus asks each of US, “Who do you say that I am?”
HOW WE ANSWER CHANGES HOW WE LIVE !!
Our confession isn’t simply a statement of belief. It has consequences.
To you and me - if Jesus really is the Messiah, the Son of the living God, then He cannot simply be an interesting figure from history. If Jesus is Lord, then He has a claim upon our lives. It changes:
the way we treat people,
the way we respond to those who hurt us,
how we deal with money and possessions,
how we respond to the poor,
how we think about forgiveness,
how we use our time,
what we do when nobody is watching, and
perhaps most importantly, it changes what we do when life becomes difficult.
You see, if Jesus is TRULY the Son of the living God, for you and me, then we never face life alone. <PAUSE>
So imagine Jesus standing or sitting among us this morning. He looks around this faith community. He looks at you. He asks the same question He asked His disciples nearly two thousand years ago and so, How would you answer?
Perhaps you might say: “You are my Saviour.” “You are my Lord.” “You are the one who forgives me.” “You are the one who gives me hope.” “You are the one who walks with me when I am afraid.” “You are the one who calls me to love even those I find difficult to love.” “You are the Son of the living God.”
Whatever words we use, the question demands more than an intellectual answer. Our answers should be reflected in our lives and the way we look at the world. <PAUSE>
Remember the elderly woman on that Colombian bus? Remember she said, “Knowing someone’s name doesn’t necessarily mean you actually know them.”
We can know Jesus’ name. We can know His stories. We can know His teachings. We can know the history surrounding His life, but, BUT Jesus invites us to something much deeper.
He invites us to know Him. To trust Him. To follow Him. To listen to Him. To walk with Him, and to make Peter’s confession our own, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
So, today, don’t worry too much about what everybody else says about Jesus, rather focus on His personal question “Who do you say that I am?” <PAUSE>
I pray that my answer and yours may, not only be on our lips but also in our lives, and that answer will be, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
I runga e te Ingoa o te Atua, te Matua, te Tama me te Wairua Tapu. <AMEN
Pause and Reflect
Just take a moment now to pause. Bow your head, close your eyes.
Allow these words of Holy Scripture and this interpretation of them today to speak to you.
An Affirmation of Our Faith
Let us affirm our faith by saying aloud, and together, "The Apostles Creed":
... and now let us pray for the Church, the World, and Ourselves, giving thanks for God's sacrifice and goodness.
Let us pray aloud, and together:
Everlasting God, we thank You for the gift of Your Son Jesus Christ and for revealing Him as Messiah and Saviour of the World. Thank you that Your Son gave St Peter the keys to the kingdom as a reward for his lively and outspoken faith and so became the bedrock foundation of Your people here on earth.
(Longer silence for personal reflection.)
Everlasting God, we thank you for our faith community leaders; locally and throughout the world. We pray too for the relationships across denominations and for all who preach Your word, inspire, lead and grow us as disciples as we reach out to those in need in our communities and in our world.
(Short Silence) Lord in your Mercy: Hear our prayer
Mighty God, we pray for all who carry civic and political responsibilities throughout the world. Help the leaders of the Nations put aside all selfish ambition as they seek to be the instruments of Your will for humanity and carry out Your desire for the welfare of all people which will culminate in glory to You and in happier human lives.
(Short Silence) Lord in your Mercy: Hear our prayer
Creator God, as earthquakes and wildfires threaten land, homes, and lives, we ask for Your protection and swift intervention. Guard every person in the path of the tremors and flames, strengthen rescuers and firefighters, turn the winds, and send the rain. Bring comfort to those who have lost homes or property, restore communities, and bring peace to hearts shaken by fear.
(Short Silence) Lord in your Mercy: Hear our prayer
Father God, may our closeness to family and friends make us never exclusive, shutting others out, but always inclusive, welcoming others. Encourage us in outgoing hospitality and keep us from becoming possessive with those we love.
(Short Silence) Lord in your Mercy: Hear our prayer
Loving God, we ask for Your wisdom to discern Your wishes and direction in our lives and ask for Your help to discern how to deal with others in our daily lives; those we live and work with; those we meet in shops and supermarkets; those with whom we share our roads and those who serve us. May we never be a "stumbling block" to those we meet in our daily lives.
(Short Silence) Lord in your Mercy: Hear our prayer
Gracious God, we pray for all who we know who are housebound and in nursing homes; those in hospitals, in recovery and rehabilitation. We thank you for our local hospitals, health centres and clinics and for all those working in sheltered accommodation and care homes.
Give the song of joy to all who are now on the road to recovery and recuperation and the song of thanks to all who helped them on that road.
We especially raise before You now all those who have asked for our prayers from around the world … those we know in New Zealand, in Singapore, in Argentina, in France, in Australia, in the US, in Canada, in Austria, in Ukraine, in China, in Germany, in the Czech Republic, and any others we now name aloud, or in the silence of our hearts, and those who are known only by You.
(Short Silence) Lord in your Mercy: Hear our prayer
Merciful God, we pray for all those departed this life and for those who are bereaved by their passing. Help us to be sympathetic, caring and loving with the bereaved and always ready to help practically and to pray diligently in their time of greatest need.
We pray for all the faithful departed, may they now rest in eternal peace as they most surely have risen in glory.
We especially raise before you at this time our recently departed sisters and brothers May (Australia), Genesis (Puerto Rica), Jeremy (Australia), Pedro (Colombia), Dylan (Wales).
(Short Silence) Lord in your Mercy: Hear our prayer
Holy God, we thank You that Your wisdom not only to enlighten us but also to transform and guide us as we go from these prayers and into our daily walk through life with You.
(Short Silence) Lord, in Your mercy: hear our prayer
Forth in the peace of Christ we go; Christ to the world with joy we bring; Christ in our minds, Christ on our lips, Christ in our hearts, the world’s true King.
Merciful father: accept these prayers for the sake of Your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN.
Remembering that we are confident to pray this day, and every day, because Jesus Christ continues to teach us:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
now and for ever. Amen.
Let us conclude our prayers by praying together and aloud:
God of mercy,
you have given us grace to pray with one heart and one voice,
and have promised to hear the prayers
of two or three who agree in your name,
fulfil now, we pray,
the prayers and longings of your people
as may be best for us and for your kingdom.
Grant us in this world to know your truth,
and in the world to come to see your glory. Amen.
The Blessing
May The Risen Lord Christ turn His face towards each and every one of you.
May He cause His light to shine upon you, and
may He grant you His peace, and
The blessing of Almighty God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
be with you and all of those whom you love,
on this day and forever more.
A Closing Hymn:
Let us conclude our worship today by watching, and please do feel free to sing or read aloud the lyrics, as we unite in another hymn our praise and thanksgiving.
When you are ready - click the "play" button on the video window, below:
The Dismissal
Go now, go out into the world
to love and serve The Lord.
Go in peace.
AMEN, we go in the name of Christ.
