Trinity 10 / Pentecost 11:

09/08/2026

SENTENCE FROM SCRIPTURE:

Sing to the Lord, sing praises to him. (Psalm 105)

HYMN-

GREETING

Grace and peace to you from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen

COLLECT FOR PURITY

Almighty God,
to whom all hearts are open,
all desires known,
and from whom no secrets are hidden:
cleanse the thoughts of our hearts
by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love you,
and worthily magnify your holy name;
through Christ our Lord. Amen.

SUMMARY OF THE LAW

Our Lord Jesus Christ said: The first commandment is this:
Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is the only Lord. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.”
The second is this: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these. Amen. Lord, have mercy.

CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION

God is love and we are God’s children. There is no room for fear in love. We love because God loved us first.
Let us confess our sins in penitence and faith.

SILENCE

God our Father,
we confess to you
and to our fellow members in the Body of Christ
that we have sinned in thought, word and deed,
and in what we have failed to do.
We are truly sorry.
Forgive us our sins,
and deliver us from the power of evil,
for the sake of your Son who died for us, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

ABSOLUTION

God, who is both power and love,
forgive you and free you from your sins,
heal and strengthen you by the Holy Spirit,
and raise you to new life in Christ our Lord. Amen.

GLORIA
sung by Dougie Byers

COLLECT

Open your merciful ears, O Lord,
to the prayers of your humble servants:
and, that you would graciously grant what we ask,
make us desire what is pleasing in your sight;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, world without end. Amen

PROCLAIMING & RECEIVING GOD’S WORD

FIRST READING
Genesis 37.1–4, 12–28
Read by David Kerr

¹ Jacob settled in the land where his father had lived as an alien, the land of Canaan. ² This is the story of the family of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was shepherding the flock with his brothers; he was a helper to the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father.

³ Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he had made him a long robe with sleeves. ⁴ But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him. ¹² Now his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock near Shechem. ¹³ And Israel said to Joseph, ‘Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.’ He answered, ‘Here I am.’ ¹⁴ So he said to him, ‘Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock; and bring word back to me.’ So he sent him from the valley of Hebron. He came to Shechem, ¹⁵ and a man found him wandering in the fields; the man asked him, ‘What are you seeking?’ ¹⁶ ‘I am seeking my brothers,’ he said; ‘tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.’ ^{✝ 17} The man said, ‘They have gone away, for I heard them say, “Let us go to Dothan.”’ So Joseph went after his brothers, and found them at Dothan. ¹⁸ They saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them, they conspired to kill him. ¹⁹ They said to one another, ‘Here comes this dreamer. ²⁰ Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; then we shall say that a wild animal has devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams.’ ²¹ But when Reuben heard it, he delivered him out of their hands, saying, ‘Let us not take his life.’ ²² Reuben said to them, ‘Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him’ – that he might rescue him out of their hand and restore him to his father. ²³ So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the long robe with sleeves that he wore; ²⁴ and they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it. ²⁵ Then they sat down to eat; and looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying gum, balm, and resin, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. ²⁶ Then Judah said to his brothers, ‘What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? ²⁷ Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.’ And his brothers agreed.

²⁸ When some Midianite traders passed by, they drew Joseph up, lifting him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.

SECOND READING
Romans 10.5–15
read by Peter Borrell

⁵ Moses writes concerning the righteousness that comes from the law, that ‘the person who does these things will live by them.’ ⁶ But the righteousness that comes from faith says, ‘Do not say in your heart, “Who will ascend into heaven?”’ (that is, to bring Christ down) ⁷ ‘or “Who will descend into the abyss?”’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). ⁸ But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart’ (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); ⁹ because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. ¹¹ The scripture says, ‘No one who believes in him will be put to shame.’ ¹² For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him.

¹³ For, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ ¹⁴ But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? ¹⁵ And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’

GRADUAL HYMN

GOSPEL READING:
Matthew 14.22–33
read by Kay Solaja

A reading from the Gospel according to Matthew, Chapter 14, beginning at verse 22
Glory to Christ our Saviour

Immediately after feeding the crowd with the five loaves and two fish, ²² Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. ²³ And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, ²⁴ but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. ²⁵ And early in the morning he came walking towards them on the lake. ²⁶ But when the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified, saying, ‘It is a ghost!’ And they cried out in fear.

²⁷ But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, ‘Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.’ ²⁸ Peter answered him, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’ ²⁹ He said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came towards Jesus. ³⁰ But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ ³¹ Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?’ ³² When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. ³³ And those in the boat worshipped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’

Give thanks to the Lord for his glorious Gospel
Praise to Christ our Lord.

SERMON
Online Reflection 9th August 2026

Today’s Gospel reading tells of Jesus walking on the water, at which, understandably because it’s the middle of the night and they’re witnessing a ghostly apparition, the terrified disciples cry out in fear. Then comes the revelation, “…It is I; do not be afraid.” [Matt 14 v 27] And with the recognition that this is Jesus, then comes worship, “Truly you are the Son of God.” [Matt 14 v 33].

Matthew describes for us a miracle – something which should not happen but does! It’s a word that we use loosely – in response to the wonderful, the beautiful, the awesome; a rainbow, inter-stellar space, the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly, the development of a child in the womb. Or in response to something that turns out unexpectedly, out of the ordinary or surprisingly – ‘It was a miracle they survived that car crash!’ But these are not miracles, if, by ‘miracle’ we mean something which happens in apparent contradiction to what we know and understand of the established rules and order of the universe. Here, of course, we do need to recognise how little we still have to learn and understand of those rules! But then miracle becomes an intervention by God to change those rules so that what can’t happen actually does – Jesus walks on water, stills a storm with a word; a blind man sees with a touch.

In response, some will say: ‘I can’t believe in an interventionist God who sets up the rules and then changes them in some situations for some people sometimes.’ Or: ‘Why doesn’t He intervene more often to prevent suffering, illness, natural disasters?’ And then there are those things that we can’t explain or understand except by using the word ‘miracle’ – and perhaps ‘miracle’ is the right word to use for the very fact of life itself and the fact that God, in His love is come to our world (intervenes!) in Jesus, His Son, living, dying and rising. That’s the miracle that we, and our world, cannot do without!

Having said all that, we do need to recognise that the miracles that Jesus performs and that the Gospels describe do not sit at the heart of the Gospel message. Take away all the miracles and the good news of God’s love for us and our world remains. The Gospels see the miracles as signs pointing us to who Jesus is and what He is come to do. So, Jesus walks on water – water, which at that time was thought to be the dwelling-place of the devil, of all that is evil. And so, Jesus is understood to be in control even of all that is evil, which inevitably leads to fear, but also to the recognition, the sign, that here is the One who is come to free us and our world from all that which separates us from God: “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Then, we are left with the invitation to faith and a message to live and proclaim. We are left with a person to follow – Jesus, not a wonder worker or magician, but the One who is the love of God for us, offering hope and life to us and to our world. And a message, which as the passage that we read from Paul’s letter to the Romans details, is for all, no-one left out, all included, all barriers broken down.

The invitation, the challenge, is to walk our life’s journey in faith and trust with Jesus, knowing ourselves loved and valued; and by what we say, by what we do and by who we are, to be His messengers, proclaiming that message of love for all, working to build His Kingdom of love, justice, truth and peace where we are. May we follow where He will lead.

Amen.

THE CREED

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
God from God,
Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one substance with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven;
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father.
With the Father and the Son,
he is worshipped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

PRAYERS

The theme of these intercessions is peace

Almighty God who has promised to hear the prayers of those who ask in faith:-

Let us say A Prayer for the Peace of the World

Almighty God,
from whom all thoughts of truth and peace proceed:
kindle, we pray, in the hearts of all, the true love of peace
and guide with your pure and peaceable wisdom
those who take counsel for the nations of the earth
that in tranquillity your kingdom may go forward,
till the earth is filled with the knowledge of your love;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

Lord in thy mercy

Hear our prayer

Father forgive

The hatred which divides nation from nation, race from race, class from class.

The covetous desires of people and nations to possess what is not their own.

The greed which exploits the work of human hands and lays waste the earth.

Our envy of the welfare and happiness of others.

Our indifference to the plight of the imprisoned, the homeless, the refugee.

The pride which leads us to trust in ourselves and not in God.

Be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Lord in your mercy

Hear our prayer

This month marks the 1991 occasion when Ukraine declared independence from the Soviet Union. I said a prayer 4 years ago for Ukraine and we are still praying for the country and its people.

Prince of peace,
Lord of light,
God of grace,
As we hear of war and invasion, we pray to you for peace.

In a world of conflict and violence, we pray for all who live in fear, especially today the people of Ukraine and all other areas of conflict in the world.

We lament with you,
And pray for peace.

Prince of peace,
Lord of light,
God of grace,
Show us how to pray for peace today

Lord in your mercy

Hear our prayer

A Time for Everything

To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven;

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace;

He hath made everything beautiful in his time

We pray for the future

Lord God, you call your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown; give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing whither we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us

We pray for all who are sick in mind, body or estate

For those known to us in this congregation

For those who have no faith and need our prayers

For those who do not know how to pray.

We bring to Jesus those who have died recently and those who have died over the years, but are still with us in spirit today and every day. May the Lord embrace them with his love and may they rest in peace.

Lord, in your mercy

Hear our prayer

Merciful Father
Accept these prayers for the sake of your son
Our Saviour Jesus Christ who taught us to pray together
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.
Do not bring us
to the time of trial
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power
and the glory are yours,
now and forever. Amen.

BLESSING

Christ the Son of God gladden your hearts with the good news of his kingdom; and the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always. Amen.

HYMN –

DISMISSAL

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord
In the name of Christ. Amen