12TH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST 08-16-2026 10:00AM Worship

12TH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
08-16-2026 10:00AM Worship (in person and online)

+ We Rejoice in God’s Presence +

OPENING SONG: “COME, WE THAT LOVE THE LORD” Brown #135
THE OPENING RITE (based on today’s First Reading and Gospel):
L Our time of confession is an opportunity for us to try to see ourselves as God sees us and then to allow God’s mercy to
change us. So let us confess before God and one another. [A brief silence is kept.]
O God, you have said that your house shall be called a house of prayer for all people.
O God, your love is extended far and wide, even to “foreigners” and “Canaanites” in today’s Scripture lessons.
C We confess that we aren’t nearly as inclusive.
Sometimes we want – not only our friends, our relatives, our neighbors, and our coworkers –
but also our churches
to look just like us,
to act just like us,
to think just like us,
to be just like us,
and every difference either horrifies or threatens us.
Forgive us our boundaries and our stereotypes, our conditions and our condemnations, our fine lines and
our narrow minds, our inability and our unwillingness to grow in love for others. Amen.
L The Bible reminds us that — in Christ – there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, or any other
distinction between believers who are supposedly “in” and those rejected would-be believers who are considered “out”.
The truth, my friends, is that all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. So each of us, every one of us, can merely
take our place on our knees – shoulder to shoulder and side by side with all the other sinners – clinging to God’s mercy
and celebrating God’s grace. Today God embraces and loves you through his Son and our Lord (+) Jesus Christ.
PRAYER OF THE DAY (together):
God of all peoples, you reach out with mercy and love to embrace all who call upon you.
If Jesus could have a change of heart and mind this morning, then so can we!
Teach us as disciples of Jesus to continue to invite, include, welcome, and serve everyone.
Give us clean hearts, open minds, and arms with a long reach. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
+ We Rejoice in God’s Saving Word +

FIRST READING: ISAIAH 56:1, 6-8
[God’s house is to be a place of prayer for all, even foreigners and outcasts. Humility, righteousness and obedience define who
belongs to the Israelite community – not race, nationality, or any other category.]
SONG SELECTION: Ida Swindle
SECOND READING: ROMANS 11:1-2a, 29-32
[God’s salvation in Christ has not abandoned and rejected Israel. The call and gifts of God are irrevocable… and God has mercy
upon all.]
GOSPEL VERSE: “Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me. Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me.
Break me, melt me, mold me, fill me. Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me.”

HOLY GOSPEL: MATTHEW 15:10-28
[Jesus teaches that sometimes people look, act, talk, and pretend “holy”… but fall far from the true heart and will of God. Then he
is tested by his own teaching when an “outsider” – pagan and unclean – approaches him and begs for help. Even the “dogs” can
eat the crumbs that fall from God’s table!]
THE SERMON: Pastor Neil or Pastor Gwen
SONG RESPONSE: “PASS ME NOT, O GENTLE SAVIOR” Brown #150

THE PRAYERS… We pray for NEW LIFE in the Spirit and for the MISSION of the Church to the world!
+ We Rejoice in God’s Nourishing Meal +
THE PEACE GREETING… We offer words and signs of GOD’S LOVE alive and real among us!
OFFERING… God proclaims in Isaiah, “Maintain justice, and do what is right, for soon my salvation with come.”
In the Sanctuary, place your offering in the offering plate or scan the QR code on the screen.
At home, mail a check or money order to St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, 2169 74th
Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19138 or scan the QR code on the screen. You can also contribute
online through bit.ly/stpetersgiving and set up a one-time donation or a recurring weekly gift to
the categories you select. Or you can text Give+ at 833-914-0896 and follow the instructions for
your contribution. Thank God, praise God, and serve God with your faithful giving.
SONG SELECTION: Ida Swindle
OFFERING SONG: “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God, born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.

THIS IS MY STORY, THIS IS MY SONG,
PRAISING MY SAVIOR ALL THE DAY LONG! [sing the chorus 2 times]
We are God’s people, we are Christ’s Church, called by God’s Spirit into the world.
We have God’s power from heaven above, we’ll share God’s justice, mercy and love!”

OFFERING PRAYER led by the Communion Assistant:
Lord God, we thank you for making a way out of no way in our life! During this summer may we dedicate
our leisure and our work, our rest and our travel, our service and our spending, our health and our
wealth, our worship and our witness to glorify You and to extend your Kingdom to others.
Someone somewhere is in need of your Good News. Amen.
THE PREFACE AND THE EUCHARISTIC WORDS:
L The Lord be with you. C And also with you.
L Lift up your hearts! C We lift them up in love for God!
L Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. C It is right to give God our thanks and praise.
L Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful… C … and set us on fire with your love! Alleluia!
THE EUCHARISTIC WORDS by the Celebrant, who recalls and re-enacts Jesus’ Holy Meal.
THE LORD’S PRAYER (spoken)
COMMUNION AND BLESSINGS… All believers in Christ are welcome at the Lord’s Table! You may come up by the center
aisle and kneel or stand at the altar. Get an empty glass as you come up if you want wine from the chalice; we will also
have a tray of pre-poured glasses of grape juice at the altar. You may return to your seats by the side aisles. CHRIST
OFFERS US PEACE, POWER, AND PROMISE FOR FAITHFUL LIVING AND FERVENT LOVING!
COMMUNION SONGS: Brown #123 Brown #214
THE COMMUNION BLESSING by the Celebrant after all have communed.
POST-COMMUNION PRAYER by the Communion Assistant.

+ We Rejoice in Our Mission +
THE BENEDICTION by the Pastor…We are sent forth to be and become the BODY OF CHRIST for the world!
CLOSING SONG: “COME AND GO WITH ME TO MY FATHER’S HOUSE” Brown #141

Lord, show me your way, teach me to love, and give me the

courage.