Trinity Sunday, 2026
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):
O Lord our protector, how exalted is your Name in all the world!
The Special Prayer For Today (let us pray aloud):
Almighty and everlasting God, you have given to us your servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of your divine Majesty to worship the Unity: Keep us steadfast in this faith and worship, and bring us at last to see you in your one and eternal glory, O Father; who with the Son and the Holy Spirit live and reign, 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 Trinity Sunday, 31st May 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>
There is an old story about Saint Augustine of Hippo walking by the sea while trying to understand the Holy Trinity. He saw a child scooping water from the ocean into a small hole in the sand.
Augustine asked, “What are you doing?”
The child replied, “I am trying to put the whole ocean into this hole.”
Augustine smiled and said, “That is impossible.”
And the child answered, “Yes, and so is trying to fit the mystery of God into your human mind.” <PAUSE>
Today we celebrate one of the deepest mysteries of the Christian faith: that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Three Persons — yet one God. Distinct, yet perfectly united. Different, yet acting together with one heart, one purpose, one love.
And in today’s Gospel, Matthew 28:16–20, Jesus gives us a glimpse into that divine mystery.
The risen Jesus gathers his disciples on a mountain in Galilee. Matthew tells us something very honest and very human:
“Some doubted.”
I love that line because it reminds me that faith is not always neat and certain. Even standing before the risen Christ, some disciples struggled. They worshipped — and doubted … BUT … Jesus does not reject them.
Quite the opposite - he gives them a mission.
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
Notice that Jesus does not say “names.” He says “name”. Singular. ONE God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
The Trinity is not three gods competing with each other. Nor is it one God pretending to wear three different masks. The Trinity is a relationship of eternal love: the Father loving the Son, the Son loving the Father, and the Holy Spirit flowing between them in perfect unity. What is also critical here is that, as we celebrated at Pentecost last week, that means you and I are also in this relationship because The Holy Spirit descends upon us and enters our hearts with overflowing love. <PAUSE>
The Holy Trinity tells us that relationship is at the very centre of our human reality.
We are created in the image of a God who is not distant but with whom we have an intimate, loving relationship and love reflects the very nature of God. <PAUSE>
But today’s Gospel is Christ telling us that our faith is not only about understanding God. It is also about participating in God’s mission.
Jesus sends the disciples outward: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.”
The disciples who once hid in fear are now sent into the world and Jesus does not send them alone.
The Father sends the Son.
The Son sends the disciples.
The Holy Spirit descends and enters hearts to empower the mission.
The Holy Trinity is totally involved in bringing grace to the world. <PAUSE>
Sometimes Christians can think that going out on this mission means having all the answers.
NO - not at all. The disciples clearly did not have all the answers. Some were still doubting!
Yet Jesus still entrusted them with His mission.
That should encourage us because it means:
We do not need perfect faith for God to use us.
We do not need theological brilliance for God to work through us.
We simply need … willingness.
God’s people are meant to reflect the Trinity. Remember, as I said at Pentecost, Not in uniformity … but … IN UNITY.
In a divided world, we who are part of the immensely diverse family that we call “Christians” should be a sign that unity is possible.
Not because we all think alike.
Not because we never disagree.
But because love is greater than division. PAUSE>
Then Jesus ends with one of the most comforting promises in all Scripture:
“and remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
The disciples are sent into an uncertain future. They will face persecution, hardship, and fear. Some will give their lives for the Gospel.
But Jesus promises his presence even :
When you are exhausted, Christ is with you.
When you are grieving, Christ is with you.
When you are doubting, Christ is with you.
When you are joyful, Christ is with you.
When you cannot see the way forward, Christ is still with you.
The Trinity is not just a doctrine to be explained. It is a life into which we are invited.
We are invited into the love of the Father, the grace of the Son, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. <PAUSE>
So on this Trinity Sunday, perhaps the invitation is not to try to explain the mystery of The Holy Trinity but rather to accept the invitation into relationship and to live within it.
To receive the love of the Father.
To follow the Son.
To walk in the Spirit.
Then we become people who carry that divine love into a fractured world.
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:
Let us pray to our God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Father God, all-powerful, whose Spirit helps us in our weakness and guides us to Your Son in our prayers, we pray for faith communities and for the world.
<longer silence for personal reflection>
One God, three Persons, be near to the people of the world formed in Your image, close to the world Your love brings to life.
We remember all who bear the responsibility of leadership, for heads of state, ambassadors and political advisers; let Your will for our world be accomplished through the decisions they make and give them a vision of peace and reconciliation for You, Lord can find a way when men and women are lost.
<short silence> Lord, in your Mercy: Hear our Prayer
One God, three Persons, help us to be gentle, with others and with ourselves.
Give us, we pray, the calm that makes for consideration and the respect for others that makes us courteous. Take from us hard words and the cynical look.
Let us be to others as we would wish them to be to us when we fail, forgive us and when they fail, heal us.
<short silence> Lord, in your Mercy: Hear our Prayer
One God, three Persons, comfort through your Holy Spirit all who are in sorrow or need, sickness or adversity.
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
One God, three Persons, Your love reaches beyond the grave. At the end of our days on earth be with us and with those we love and with those whom we love and have gone before us.
We pray now for those who have recently died and those bereaved by their passing.
We especially raise before you at this time our recently departed brother Michael and William (England), Pablo (Mexico), and Beth (USA).
We pray for all the faithful departed, may they now rest in eternal peace as they most surely have risen in glory.
<Short silence> Lord, in your Mercy: Hear our Prayer
One God, three persons, in a moment of silence we pray for ourselves, our families, friends, for all whom we love and for our personal ministries.
Make us worthy of the sacrifice and resurrection of Your Son.
(Short Silence) Lord, in Your mercy: hear our prayer
One God, three Persons, we ask You to lead us into the coming week, help us to believe that You are close by us, keep us from making mistakes and help us never to disappoint 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.
