Trinity 7 Pentecost 8 Sunday, 19/07/2026
SENTENCE FROM SCRIPTURE:
You are acquainted, Lord, with all my ways. (Psalm 139)
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
O God of power and might,
all good things belong to you:
sow in our hearts the love of your name,
and make us grow in the life of faith;
nurture the things that are good,
and tend them with your loving care;
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
[Both readings by David Kerr]
FIRST READING Genesis 28.10–19a
10 Jacob left Beer-sheba and went towards Haran. 11 He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place.
12 And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 And the LORD stood beside him and said, ‘I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; 14 and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. 15 Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.’ ✝
16 Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, ‘Surely the LORD is in this place – and I did not know it!’ 17 And he was afraid, and said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.’ 18 So Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. 19 He called that place Bethel.
SECOND READING Romans 8.12–25
12 Brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh – 13 for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ 16 it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ – if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
18 I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; 20 for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labour pains until now; 23 and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen?
25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
Hymn:
GOSPEL
Matthew 13.24–30, 36–43 ,
read by Kay Solaja
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew, Chapter 13 beginning at verse 24
Glory to Christ our Saviour
24 Jesus put before the crowd another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain then the weeds appeared as well. 27 And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, “Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?” 28 He answered, “An enemy has done this.” The slaves said to him, “Then do you want us to go and gather them?” 29 But he replied, “No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them.
30 Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’ 36 Then Jesus left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, ‘Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.’ 37 He answered, ‘The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; 38 the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, 42 and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!’
Give thanks to the Lord for his glorious Gospel
Praise to Christ our Lord.
SERMON by Rev Chris Wren
Our readings invite us to look beyond appearances and to trust that God is at work even when life seems uncertain, difficult, or incomplete.
In the first reading, Jacob is on a journey, alone and vulnerable. He lies down in the wilderness with a stone for his pillow. Yet it is precisely there, in that place of fear and uncertainty, that God reveals Himself. Jacob sees a ladder reaching from earth to heaven, and he hears God’s promise: “I am with you.” When he awakens, he realizes that what seemed like an ordinary place was actually holy ground.
How often do we overlook God’s presence in our own lives? We may wait for dramatic signs, yet God often meets us in the ordinary moments, in our daily struggles, responsibilities, and relationships. Even in our darkest nights, heaven is not far away. God remains with us.
Saint Paul, in Romans, reminds us that we are not slaves living in fear but beloved children of God. Yet being children of God does not mean freedom from suffering. Paul speaks of creation itself groaning in expectation, longing for the fullness of redemption. We know this groaning. We see it in sickness, conflict, injustice, and personal disappointment. But Christian hope is not wishful thinking. It is the confident trust that God is leading all creation toward glory. We live between promise and fulfillment, waiting with patience and faith.
This hope helps us understand Jesus’ parable of the weeds among the wheat. The servants want to pull up the weeds immediately, but the master tells them to wait. Good and evil grow side by side in the world. We often become impatient and ask, “Why doesn’t God act now?” Yet God is patient. He gives time for repentance, conversion, and growth.
The parable also challenges us personally. Before focusing on the weeds around us, we should ask what is growing within our own hearts. Are we allowing the seeds of faith, love, forgiveness, and kindness to flourish? God does not give up on us. He patiently nurtures the wheat He has planted.
Today, let us remember Jacob’s discovery, Paul’s hope, and Jesus’ patience. God is present even in difficult places. God’s promise is greater than our suffering. And God’s kingdom is growing, often quietly and unseen.
May we live as children of hope, trusting that the Lord who began His work in us will bring it to completion.
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
Heavenly Father, at the end of the sixth day you saw everything that you had made and “it was very good”. Forgive us for the way we have mistreated your creation, for the pollution we have caused, for the way we have used your bounty for our own purposes without regard to the needs of others. As we see the results of our actions and of our neglect give us a new vision of a world whose resources are available fairly to all, show us how to retrieve the wrong we have done and strengthen us as we work to bring this about
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer
Heavenly Father, hear our prayer for all who live in the midst of conflict and for those who are working to bring peaceful solutions to the many war torn areas of your world. We pray for the people of Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, Syria and the millions of others whose lives are torn apart by warring factions. Strengthen them in their daily lives and give humanity to those who would deny them the basic necessities of life. We pray for all who are working to bring about peace, that they will have patience and understanding and that as peacemakers they will indeed be blessed
Lord in your mercy
Hear our prayer
Heavenly Father, we pray for the people of Venezuela, for all who have lost family, friends and neighbourhoods, for those who survived but will live with life changing injuries. We thank you for the work of the relief agencies and all who went to help. As Venezuela slips from the headlines may the aid it needs be provided
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer
Heavenly Father, we pray for the church throughout the world and especially in those areas where belief in you brings persecution. May those who live with that threat know of our prayers and concern for them. Give church leaders at all levels wisdom and courage to present the truths of the Gospel to the society in which they live
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer
Heavenly Father, we pray for all who are finding life difficult because of illness, grief, abuse or addiction. Give them comfort and knowledge of your healing touch. We pray for all who care, as a job or because of their relationship with the individual. Give them strength and patience.
We pray individually for those we know
Lord, in your mercy
