St Clement Church Community Trinity 12 Service 23.8.26
Good morning to you as we celebrate our 12th Sunday of Trinity Service. I hope you’ve all had a good week and are enjoying the cooler weather. Hopefully the countryside and wildlife will soon recover from the drought, and we continue to pray for all who have lost their homes and livelihoods because of the fires caused by it.
We are holding a Eucharist in our church building at 10.15, this Service of the Word is for those who aren’t able to be with us in person, but will be worshipping with us in spirit.
Much love and prayers and may Christ’s love sustain you always.
Rev Di and family xx
Let us pray;
O Lord, open our eyes to see what is beautiful, open our minds to know what is true, and our hearts to seek what is good, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hymn: ‘Christ is Made the Sure Foundation’
Our prayers of Penitence
As we celebrate the holiness and goodness of God, we remember the shadows in our own lives:
Father God, we confess that we often take the gifts of your creation for granted and use them chiefly to further our own interests….
Lord, have mercy.
Saviour Christ, we confess that we easily fall into temptation and forget to seek your forgiveness….
Christ, have mercy.
Holy Spirit, we confess that we often close our minds to your influence, and fail to bear good fruit in our lives…
Lord, have mercy.
May Almighty God have mercy upon us, forgive us our failings, and bring us to everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Let us pray our Collect for the 12th Sunday after Trinity
God of constant mercy, who sent your Son to save us: remind us of your goodness, increase your grace within us, that our thankfulness may grow, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Readings: Isaiah 51.1-6 Romans 12.1-8
Hymn: ‘O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing’
Gospel: Matthew 16.13-20
(Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew
Response: ‘Glory to you O Lord.’)
Peter’s Declaration about Jesus
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’
And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’ 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. 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. 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.’ Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
(This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.)
Reflection
The Bible is full of questions, and trying to find answers to them can be an uplifting, as well as an uncomfortable, experience.
Jesus asks many questions of us, but none so important as the one featured in our Gospel reading today. A question that lies at the very heart of our understanding of the Christian faith and the church.
To put the reading into context, for Jesus, the time of his crucifixion is approaching, there’s not much time left to prepare his disciples, so he needs to see how much they have learnt and how much they understand.
They move away from the crowds to Caesarea Philippi, about 20 miles north of Galilee, and it was there that the scene of a great turning point in the ministry of Jesus took place, and in Peter’s understanding of who Jesus is.
‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” Jesus asked the disciples. Their response was to pay him a great compliment and compare him with some of the great prophets, including Elijah. To this day many Jews still expect the return of Elijah - and leave a chair vacant for him at their Passover celebrations. “and you, he said ......but who do you say that I am?”
No doubt everything went quiet at this point while they thought about their response, then Simon Peter makes his great discovery;
“You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
But he was still thinking in terms of a conquering Messiah, a warrior king who would sweep the Romans from Palestine and lead Israel to power. The idea of a suffering servant was far from Peter’s mind, the suggestion that Jesus would endure great suffering would seem to him to be a failure, a scandal and a disgrace. Only later, after the resurrection did he understand the full implication of the cross.
Throughout history many writers and great thinkers have tried to face the question of who Jesus is, and to capture Jesus’ significance for each generation.
The author Albert Schweitzer, in his book entitled; “Jesus” - says that he; “is the man who fits no formula,
our vocabulary cannot describe him because we try to force him to conform with our human standards”
At times, like Peter, the idea of a king reigning from a cross confuses us, and we might lose sight of the fact that the death of Jesus is a gift from God to reunite us with him.
Jesus came to bring the Kingdom of God into the hearts of ordinary people like us. Through dying on the cross he made it possible for our sins to be forgiven and for our hearts to be made clean.
In Jesus we see what God is like, what we might become, and, as we learn from our reading, making that discovery of who Jesus is, leads to a far greater understanding of what is to come.
With Simon Peter’s personal confession comes a personal response back from Jesus, Jesus reveals where Peter stands in the working out of God’s purpose and in the foundation of his church.
“And I tell you - you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church” Jesus called him “Petra” the rock, a word of tremendous praise, a word applied to Abraham. Abraham was the rock on which the nation and purpose of God were founded, so to call Peter a rock is therefore one of the greatest compliments that Jesus could make, and no Jew would ever use the phrase without thinking of God.
Jesus identifies Peter as the first member of his church, the first stone, the first man to recognise him as Christ.
In centuries to come there will be many stones added, but Peter was the first, and he promises him that the powers of evil will not prevail over his church.
Jesus also describes certain privileges and duties laid on him when he said; “I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven.’’
In the days to come, Peter will be the steward of the kingdom and unlock its doors to thousands of Jews and Gentiles. The New Testament gives many us examples, such as; the 3000 souls of Acts 2:14.
When Jesus said; “whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven - and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven”
Here Jesus tells Peter that the responsibility will fall on him to be a wise administrator, a guide who will help solve the problems and direct the work of the infant church and its growing fellowship.
The decisions that Peter will make will affect those that come after him and have far reaching consequences for us all.
For Peter, the realisation of who Jesus is wasn’t the end of his journey of discovery, but the beginning.
Through Jesus, Peter was, as Paul puts it, able to discern the will of God and discover what God had planned for him, it was to transform his understanding and his life.
But what about us? What can we learn from this passage?
The passage tells us that Jesus confronts, asks for our personal insight on who he is, our commitment to him and his church, and to express our understanding of the truth we have discovered to those around us.
The passage not only deals with the things of the church, but also things of salvation. Jesus promised that Peter would have the keys and open the door to the thousands that followed. But it isn’t just Peter who has the keys, every one of us has the responsibility of opening the door of the kingdom to others. We are all commanded to bear fruit and to use the gifts given to us by God to bring others to him.
Peter is the first one to recognise Jesus for who he is, the first of the fellowship that belong to him, and we are called to be the stones that follow, and together make a strong church.
We live in an uncertain world, people are looking for assurance and security, trying to find answers to their own problems, searching for the truth about life and death, looking for the answers that only God can provide.
Jesus calls us to proclaim the wonderful acts of God to others, to tell them that for all their questions there is only one answer; to discover Jesus Christ for themselves, and follow Him. Amen.
Hymn: ‘Just as I am, without one Plea’
Affirmation of our faith
Let us declare our faith in God:
We believe and trust in God the Father, source of all being and life, the one for whom we exist. We believe and trust in God the Son, who took our human nature, died for us and rose again. We believe and trust in God the Holy Spirit, who gives life to the people of God and makes Christ known in the world. This is the faith of the Church. This is our faith.
We believe and trust in one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Our Intercessions are written by Liz Davies
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 Peter the keys to the kingdom as a reward for his lively and outspoken faith and so became the bedrock of your Church here on earth.
Holy God, we pray for your Church and ask that it may always provide a solid foundation upon which we may anchor our lives. We especially pray for Christians who pay a heavy price for their faith; who daily experience hostility, from their governments, employers and neighbours, as a result of their identification with Christ.
We give thanks for our own Reverend Di and Father David who do so much to support and encourage us here at St Clement.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Creator God, you created us to be stewards of your creation, but we have chopped down forests, polluted the air, poisoned rivers and seas, destroyed the places where animals live and then pursued them to extinction. Help us choose our ways so that we can look after the world and to make it the way you want it to be.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
We pray for all those in many countries across the world, including our own, which have been faced with the power of nature this year – drought, fire and earthquake.
This year, we have experienced, unnaturally for us, such high temperatures, drought and wild fires. May there be support for all in those countries affected, from national, state and local agencies as well as the international hand of love and friendship in bringing aid and comfort to all those in need. We pray for all those who have lost their lives, been injured, lost their homes and businesses.
We pray for all those who work in the emergency services, and for those who offer comfort, relief and pastoral support at times of grief and shock. Lord, bless us with hope and strength, and bless all efforts to bring healing and peace.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Lord, we bring before you all those who received their exam results on Thursday. May they all receive the encouragement and support that they need to go on to productive and successful lives.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Father, help us to be reliable and honest in all that we do, to be friendly to all we meet in our daily lives. Help us always to give of our best, to work to our fullest and never to be ashamed to confess Your name.
In our leisure time, help us to play hard, but to play fair. Help us to win without boasting, and to lose graciously without making excuses.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Gracious God, we pray for all who are suffering in body, mind or spirit; for those who are lonely and distressed especially those tormented by mental health issues. We pray for healing and wholeness in their lives. We pray for ourselves. Help us to bring life and love, joy and hope to those who live in despair.
We especially remember at this time: Ken and Reverend Di, Sabie, Brian, May, Susan, Daphne and David, Dot, Pam and David, Mary, Michael and Patricia, Alison and Rob, Jeremy, Anita and Stephen, Callum and Elaine, Barbara, Roger and Helen, Lorrie, Jeanette and David, Kate, Katharine, Margaret, all those known to each of us and those who have no one to pray for them.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Merciful God, remember the souls of your servants now fallen asleep and for those who are saddened by their passing. Be with those in their loneliness and give them the faith to look beyond their present troubles to Your Son Jesus Christ who died and rose again and who lives for evermore. We remember those whose year’s mind occurs at this time.
May the Father’s hand keep us from stumbling; the footprints of Jesus give us confidence to follow, and the fire of the Spirit keep us warm and safe in our walk with God this day.
Rejoicing in the fellowship of St Clement, St Andrew and St Allen
Merciful Father: accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen
Gathering our prayers and praises into one, let us pray with confidence as Jesus taught us;
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 trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Hymn: ‘Tell out my Soul’
The Peace
We are the body of Christ. In the one Spirit we were all baptised into one body. Let us then pursue all that makes for peace and build up our common life. May the peace of God be always with us.
Amen.
Blessing
May God the Holy Trinity make us strong in faith and love, defend us on every side and guide us in truth and peace. And may the presence of God watch over us, the power of God protect us, those whom we love, and may we never forget that wherever we are, God is with us always, to the end of the age.
Amen.