After Pentecost | Sunday 16 Aug 2026
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Opening:
Keep your Church, O Lord,
by your perpetual mercy; and
because without you the frailty of our nature
causes us to fall, keep us from all things hurtful,
and lead us to all things profitable for our salvation;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
“Dear woman,” Jesus said to her,
“your faith is great. Your request is granted.”
(Matthew 15:28)
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There’s a wideness in God’s mercy | Choirs of Belfast Cathedral | Granta Vale Churches, St Mary’s, Weston Colville
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OT Reading: Isaiah 56:1; 6-8 (NLT)
Blessings for All Nations
56:1 This is what the Lord says:
“Be just and fair to all.
Do what is right and good,
for I am coming soon to rescue you
and to display my righteousness among you….
56:6 “I will also bless the foreigners who commit themselves to the Lord,
who serve him and love his name,
who worship him and do not desecrate the Sabbath day of rest,
and who hold fast to my covenant.
+ I will bring them to my holy mountain of Jerusalem
and will fill them with joy in my house of prayer.
I will accept their burnt offerings and sacrifices,
because my Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations.
+ For the Sovereign Lord,
who brings back the outcasts of Israel, says:
I will bring others, too,
besides my people Israel.”
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Psalms: Psalm 67 – O God, Let All the Nations Praise You! | Francesca LaRosa
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NT Reading: Romans 11:1-2a; 29-32 (NLT)
God’s Mercy on Israel
11:1 I ask, then, has God rejected his own people, the nation of Israel? Of course not! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham and a member of the tribe of Benjamin.
11:2a No, God has not rejected his own people, whom he chose from the very beginning….
11:29 For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn. Once, you Gentiles were rebels against God, but when the people of Israel rebelled against him, God was merciful to you instead. Now they are the rebels, and God’s mercy has come to you so that they, too, will share in God’s mercy. For God has imprisoned everyone in disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone.
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Healer | by Kari Jobe / Choose to LIVE
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Gospel Reading: Matthew 15: 21-28 (NLT)
The Faith of a Gentile Woman
15:21 Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Gentile woman who lived there came to him, pleading, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter is possessed by a demon that torments her severely.”
+ But Jesus gave her no reply, not even a word. Then his disciples urged him to send her away. “Tell her to go away,” they said. “She is bothering us with all her begging.”
15:24 Then Jesus said to the woman, “I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of Israel.”
+ But she came and worshiped him, pleading again, “Lord, help me!”
15:26 Jesus responded, “It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.”
+ She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their masters’ table.”
15:28 “Dear woman,” Jesus said to her, “your faith is great. Your request is granted.” And her daughter was instantly healed.
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His Mercy Is More | Keith & Kristyn Getty
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Almighty God, you have not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities; grant that we, who for our evil deeds deserve to be punished, by the might of your grace may mercifully be relieved; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
O God, almighty and merciful, you heal the broken-hearted, and turn the sadness of the sorrowful to joy, Let your fatherly goodness be upon all whom you have made.
+ Remember in pity all those who are this day destitute, homeless, elderly, or forgotten. Bless the multitude of your poor. Lift up those who are cast down. Mightily befriend innocent sufferers, and sanctify to them the endurance of their wrongs.
+ Cheer with hope all who are discouraged and downcast, and by your heavenly grace preserve from falling those whose poverty tempts them to sin. Though they be troubled on every side, suffer them not to be distressed; though they are perplexed, save them from despair.
+ Grant this, O Lord, for the love of him who for our sakes became poor, your Son our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
O God, our heavenly Father: Pour out your Spirit on your Church, that we may fulfill his command to preach the Gospel to all people. Send forth laborers into your harvest; defend them in all dangers and temptations; and hasten the time when the fullness of the Gentiles shall be gathered in, and faithful Israel shall be saved; through your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Closing: FaithandWorship.com | John Birch
The Lord bless us, and preserve us from all evil,
and keep us in eternal life.
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Peanut Gallery 