Ninth 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):
Give thanks to the Lord and call upon his Name; make known his deeds among the peoples.
The Special Prayer For Today (let us pray aloud):
O God, the protector of all who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us your mercy; that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we lose not the things eternal; 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 9th after Pentecost, 26th July 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 have learned a great deal from two great story-tellers in recent years. Bishop Kelvin Wright and Bishop David Coles were masters of this art. Both made it quite clear that stories:
Engage emotions and enhance memory.
Simplify complex concepts
Build connections
Encourage creative thinking
Promote empathy
In Jesus’ day, people often expected a teacher to explain everything clearly; but Jesus frequently chose parables, stories instead. Why?
Well, Jesus knew that parables, as I said above, do far more than inform the mind - they engage the heart. Jesus also knew that those who were open to God would find deeper understanding, while those who had already closed their hearts would simply hear another story.
Parables also have a remarkable power because they stay with us. We may forget a lecture, but we remember a story. We remember the father welcoming his lost son, the shepherd searching for one lost sheep, and the tiny mustard seed growing into a great tree. Long after the crowd had gone home, the stories continued working in their minds - and also in ours. <PAUSE>
Today I would like us to focus on two of the shortest parables Jesus ever told—the hidden treasure and the pearl of great value.
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field… Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls…” (Matthew 13:44-46)
A Treasure Hidden in a Field
Imagine an ordinary working man walking across a field. In Jesus’ day there were no banks, and people often buried valuables to keep them safe during wars or invasions. Perhaps the owner had died, and no one knew where the treasure lay.
As the man works, his shovel strikes something hard. He kneels down. He brushes away the dirt. His heart begins to race. It is treasure beyond anything he has ever imagined.
Suddenly everything changes.
He isn’t thinking about today’s work anymore. He isn’t thinking about tomorrow’s meal. He has found something so valuable that every other possession suddenly seems insignificant. So he sells everything he owns to buy that field. Notice something remarkable.
Jesus says he does this with joy. Not reluctantly. Not resentfully. Not because he has to. Because he has discovered something infinitely better. <PAUSE>
The Pearl of Great Value
The second parable is similar, but there is an important difference. The first man wasn’t looking for treasure. He stumbled upon it. The merchant, however, spent his life searching for fine pearls. He was an expert. He knew quality when he saw it. Then one day he finds the perfect pearl. The search is over. He too sells everything.
Once again, not out of despair but because he knows what he is gaining is worth infinitely more than what he is giving up. <PAUSE>
These two men represent two different ways people come to Christ.
Some discover Jesus unexpectedly. Perhaps they walk into a church because of a wedding. Perhaps they hear a hymn at a funeral. Perhaps they begin reading the Bible out of curiosity. Like the man in the field, they weren’t looking for God BUT but God was already looking for them.
Others are like the merchant. They spend years searching. Searching through philosophy. Searching through success. Searching through relationships. Searching through other religions. Searching for meaning. Eventually they discover that everything they were seeking is found in Jesus Christ. <PAUSE>
Whether we find Jesus Christ unexpectedly or after a lifetime of searching, the result is the same - - - we discover the greatest treasure imaginable. <PAUSE>
The “treasure” is not simply heaven after we die. The treasure is God’s Kingdom itself. It is knowing Christ. It is:
Forgiveness instead of guilt.
Hope instead of despair.
Purpose instead of emptiness.
Peace that survives life’s storms.
A relationship with the God who created us.
The Apostle Paul understood this perfectly.
After all of his achievements, he wrote that he counted everything else as loss “because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:10). Paul truly had found the treasure. <PAUSE>
Yet, Jesus does not pretend that coming to know Him costs nothing. Both men in the parables sold everything.
So it is for those who follow Jesus today - sometimes difficult choices are required. It may cost popularity. It may cost comfort. It may cost cherished habits. It may cost ambitions that pull us away from God.
However, notice that Jesus does not say the men made a bad bargain. Quite the opposite. When we exchange something valuable for something infinitely more valuable, we haven’t lost - we’ve gained and because everything changes and one little word stands out in the first parable … “joy”.
The man sold everything “in his joy”.
Christian faith is not about grim determination. It is not about dragging ourselves unwillingly into God’s Kingdom. Real discipleship grows out of joy, out of delight.
When we truly understand who Jesus is, obedience becomes an act of love rather than obligation. The early Christians often lost homes, possessions, freedom, and even their lives. Yet many faced these persecutions with remarkable joy because they knew what they possessed could never be taken away. <PAUSE>
These parables ask every one of us a searching question. What do we treasure most?
Our careers? Our savings? Our reputation? Our comfort? None of these things are wrong, but none of them can carry the weight of being life’s greatest treasure.
Everything we own eventually wears out. Every achievement fades. Even our strongest bodies grow older ….. only God’s Kingdom lasts forever.
Jesus invites us to build our lives on something that cannot be stolen, destroyed, or taken away. <PAUSE>
There is an old story about a tourist wandering through a tiny village. He noticed an elderly man living in a very simple house with only a table, a chair, a bed, and a few books. “Where is all your furniture?” the visitor asked. The old man smiled and replied, “Where is yours?” “I’m only passing through,” said the tourist. “So am I,” answered the old man. <PAUSE>
That is the wisdom of these parables. This world is not our final destination. We are travellers.
The only treasure that will still belong to us in eternity is the treasure we have found in Christ.
So whether you came to Jesus unexpectedly like the labourer, or after years of searching like the merchant, never lose sight of what you have found.
For the Kingdom of God is worth more than anything this world can offer and when we truly discover that treasure, giving our lives to Christ is no burden at all.
It is the wisest and the most joyful exchange we will ever make.
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, may the prayers of Your people throughout the world be attentive and expectant, ready to be set on fire again and again with the outrageous foolishness of loving, without exceptions and without limits.
(Longer silence for personal reflection.)
Creator God, may all that encourages the people of the world in goodness, honesty and compassion be blessed and grow; may all that encourages self-seeking and cruelty, prejudice and deceit wither and be exposed as the unsatisfying rubbish it is.
May we learn from one another's cultures and respect one another's differences.
(Short Silence) Lord in your Mercy: Hear our prayer
Father God, we thank You for the joy of human love, and for all those among whom we live and work. We pray particularly for loved ones who worry us with their health, or circumstances, or life direction. We pray for those among our friends and families who do not know you, or whose faith has been shaken.
(Short Silence) Lord in your Mercy: Hear our prayer
Loving God, we pray for all whose backgrounds make belief in a loving God laughable or terrifying.
We pray for all who suffer mental or emotional anguish and those who despair.
We pray for those facing another day of pain, another day of hunger, another day of fear.
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, gather into Your eternal kingdom all who have come to the end of this earthly life and rejoice to see you as you really are.
We remember all whom we love but can no longer see, and thank You for Your overarching love and undergirding faithfulness to us.
We pray too for those bereaved by the passing of their loved ones.
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 brother Enzo (Italy).
(Short Silence) Lord in your Mercy: Hear our prayer
Gracious God, we remember with gratitude all who gave up so much to bring the good news to our country and pray that with us it may continue to be spread until the whole earth knows of Your truth and love.
(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.
