St Ansgar Lutheran Church, London

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Sunday Morning

We invite you to join us for the following worship services:

Sundays
10:30 a.m. Worship service

Hand sanitizer will be available at the entrance and other locations in the church for
your use.

Washrooms will be available for use.

In the service: The service will be shown on the screen. The offering will not be gathered and presented, but there will be an offering plate at the back of the sanctuary where you can put your offering as you enter or leave. Pastor David distributes the communion wafers and an Assisting Minister distributes wine or grape juice in individual glasses.

We have coffee and fellowship time available again in Luther Hall after the service.

We will continue to evaluate our worship service procedures on a monthly basis.

THIRTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, AUGUST 23 2026

St. Ansgar Lutheran Church, Outline for Worship (with sermon)
August 23, 2026 – Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Based on ELW Setting Four

GATHERING

WELCOME & ANNOUNCEMENTS

BRIEF ORDER FOR CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS
P: Blessed be the holy Trinity, one God, whose compassion endures forever. ☩
C: Amen.

P: Let us confess our sin to God.

Silence is kept for reflection.

P: Compassionate God,
C: we confess to you all our sins.
Our burden is heavy, and we cannot free ourselves.
In your mercy, call us back to you.
Your yoke is easy and your burden is light.
Restore us to dwell in your peace. In Christ’s name we pray.
Amen.

P: Jesus says, “Come to me, all who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens,
and I will give you rest.”
In the name of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, your sins are forgiven. Rest ☩
in God’s love.
C: Amen.

ENTRANCE HYMN - The Church’s One Foundation (ELW #654)

GREETING
P: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion
of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
C: And also with you

KYRIE
A: In peace, let us pray to the Lord.
C: Lord, have mercy.

A: For the peace from above, and for our salvation, let us pray to the Lord.
C: Lord, have mercy.

A: For the peace of the whole world, for the well-being of the Church of God,
and for the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord.
C: Lord, have mercy.

A: For this holy house, and for all who offer here their worship and praise,
let us pray to the Lord.
C: Lord, have mercy.

A: Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord.
C: Amen.

HYMN OF PRAISE (ELW p. 149)
P: This is the feast of victory for our God. Alleluia.
C: Worthy is Christ, the Lamb who was slain,
whose blood set us free to be people of God.
Power and riches and wisdom and strength,
and honour and blessing and glory are his.
This is the feast of victory for our God. Alleluia.
Sing with all the people of God
and join in the hymn of all creation:
Blessing and honour and glory and might
be to God and the Lamb forever. Amen.
This is the feast of victory for our God,
for the Lamb who was slain has begun his reign.
Alleluia. Alleluia.

PRAYER OF THE DAY
P: Let us pray.
P: O God, with all your faithful followers of every age, we praise you, the rock of
our life. Be our strong foundation and form us into the body of your Son, that we
may gladly minister to all the world, through Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.
C: Amen

WORD

FIRST READING: Isaiah 51:1-6
1 Listen to me, you that pursue righteousness, you that seek the LORD. Look to
the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug.
2 Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you; for he was but one
when I called him, but I blessed him and made him many. 3 For the LORD will
comfort Zion; he will comfort all her waste places, and will make her wilderness
like Eden, her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness will be
found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song. 4 Listen to me, my people, and
give heed to me, my nation; for a teaching will go out from me, and my justice
for a light to the peoples. 5 I will bring near my deliverance swiftly, my salvation
has gone out and my arms will rule the peoples; the coastlands wait for me, and
for my arm they hope. 6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth
beneath; for the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a
garment, and those who live on it will die like gnats; but my salvation will be
forever, and my deliverance will never be ended.

A: The word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.

PSALM: Psalm 138
1 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with my whole heart;
before the gods I will sing your praise.
2 I will bow down toward your holy temple and praise your name, because
of your steadfast love and faithfulness;
for you have glorified your name and your word above all things.
3 When I called, you answered me;
you increased my strength within me.
4 All the rulers of the earth will praise you, O Lord,
when they have heard the words of your mouth.
5 They will sing of the ways of the Lord,
that great is the glory of the Lord.
6 The Lord is high, yet cares for the lowly,
perceiving the haughty from afar.
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you keep me safe;
you stretch forth your hand against the fury of my enemies; your right hand shall
save me.
8 You will make good your purpose for me;
O Lord, your steadfast love endures forever; do not abandon the works of
your hands.

SECOND READING: Romans 12:1-8
1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to
present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is
your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed
by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God--
what is good and acceptable and perfect. 3 For by the grace given to me I say to
everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think,
but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that
God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and not all
the members have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in
Christ, and individually we are members one of another. 6 We have gifts that
differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; 7
ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; 8 the exhorter, in exhortation;
the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in
cheerfulness.

A: The word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
C: Alleluia. Lord, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life. Alleluia.

GOSPEL
P: The Holy Gospel according Matthew 16:13-20
C: Glory to you, O Lord.

13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his
disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" 14 And they said, "Some
say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the
prophets." 15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 16 Simon Peter
answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." 17 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. 18 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. 19 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." 20 Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to
tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

P: The Gospel of the Lord.
C: Praise to you, O Christ.

SERMON
Matthew 16:13-20
The sermon for today has been prepared by Deacon Michelle Collins, Assistant
to the Bishop of the Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario Synod of the ELCIC.
Grace, mercy and peace to you in the name of the one who calls, gathers, and
sends us into the world. Amen.
I am Deacon Michelle Collins, and I serve as the Assistant to the Bishop in the
Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario Synod. Once again, I want to extend my
thanks to all those who have participated in this year’s Summer Sermon Series,
as well as to the congregations and communities who have taken the
opportunity to listen to and learn from a variety of voices across the church this
summer.
In our gospel reading today, the temperature is rising around Jesus as he
begins making his way towards Jerusalem. Stories are being told about who he
is and what he can do, which are leading to assumptions and judgements about
his authority—what right he has to do the things he’s been doing. Our text tells
us that the setting for this passage is Caesaria Philippi, a city where the
authority of the Roman Empire was strong. And what is it that Jesus has been
doing? He’s been feeding crowds. He’s been walking on water and approaching
people in their fear and confusion. He’s been healing the sick without hesitation
and without consideration of common social norms. In a word, Jesus has been
stirring things up, and people are starting to notice.
And so Jesus takes a minute to check in with his disciples to get a sense of their
experience of him. He asks them a question that seems fairly mundane on the
surface: who do people say that I am? Is he checking on his reputation? Is he
trying to gauge the level of threat from those who are resistant to his message?
Why does Jesus ask this question?
Well, let’s go back a minute. A few weeks ago we heard the story of Jesus
approaching the disciples when they were on the boat. They think they’re seeing
a ghost, and Jesus says, “It is I, do not be afraid.” Peter responds by saying that
if he is who he says he is, he should prove it by inviting Peter out of the boat
onto the water. Jesus invites Peter, and Peter responds...and then gets
overwhelmed by the reality of the waves and sinks. But Jesus reaches down
and lifts him out of the water, and those who are on the boat make a declaration
of belief about Jesus being the Son of God.
So now why is Jesus asking about who others say he is? Haven’t the disciples
had enough proof? Haven’t they made their declaration? Why does he keep
asking?
Well, I think it’s because Peter and the other disciples continue to need the
question. Jesus asks them to articulate who they say he is not because Jesus
needs to be reminded, but because they need to remember. He’s not Elijah.
He’s not Moses or one of the other prophets. He is the Messiah, Son of the
living God. How they answer this question will inform how they respond to
resistance and division. How they answer this question—not just this time, but
every time it is asked—will shape who they are as a community.
Can you think of a time when you have been asked to articulate who you think
Jesus is? In the church, perhaps it feels like a question we shouldn’t have to
answer. We should already know, and others should too. But the reality is that
it’s a question we are faced with each and every day as we navigate the various
voices in our context that compete for our loyalty and allegiance. And it is a
question we each have to answer for ourselves more than one time, as our
experiences of life inform our understanding of our faith, and vice versa. Neither
our tradition, our congregations, our parents, nor our heritage can answer the
question Jesus asks us: but how about you, who do YOU say that I am?
And of course, Peter, being the brash one that he is, jumps in with an answer:
you are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. And Jesus says, “yes. That IS
who I am.” And then he tells Peter that he did not come up with that answer
himself; it is a result of an ongoing relationship. His understanding of Jesus
comes from a relationship with the God who not only spoke through prophets in
history, but is now speaking to and through those who follow Jesus. This was
one of the reminders, perhaps, that the disciples needed. Jesus is not the son of
a static God, but the son of a LIVING God.
And it’s a reminder that we need today. Because we do not serve a static God
who only spoke to prophets in our history. We serve a God who continues to
speak to and through us, who continues to enter into our human experience with
a word of hope and with a reminder of new life. We serve a God who sees the
unique reality of our struggles, and who joins us in those moments of doubt and
confusion. In this gospel reading, Jesus reminds us that our understanding of
who he is comes out of a living and active relationship with the God who speaks
a relevant word to us today. This God continues to form and build the church,
the assembly that is the body of Christ in the world.
When Peter responds to Jesus, Jesus commends him and calls him “the rock.”
And this, if you remember anything about Peter, is a bit ironic because Peter is
often the weakest example of steady, unmovable, quiet confidence. Peter is
messy, impulsive, with a flair for the dramatic. But Jesus says it is on this rock
that the church will be built.
Now, a few important things to note. When Jesus says, “on this rock I will build
my church,” the word used for church is the word “ekklesia,” which means
“assembly.” So right away, there’s this tension—Peter is called a rock, but on
the rock will be an assembly, not a structure. And while Peter is called the rock
on which the assembly will be built, remember that Jesus already said that
Peter’s faith emerges out of relationship with God. So Peter is the rock but is not
without flaws, and the church being built is a community, not an institution, and
the one doing the building is the Son of the Living God, not just another prophet.
So we don’t have a confident confession of faith that comes from an individual
with a flawless spiritual record. And we don’t have the beginning of an institution
that will never fail or fall. Instead, we get an invitation into a community, an
ekklesia, of people who are in relationship with the Father in Heaven, who are
stumbling their way into a confession of faith that is not always evident from their
actions.
I don’t know about you, but that sounds much more like the church I’m familiar
with. And that sounds more like a community I want to be part of. I’d much
rather be part of a community that knows itself to be flawed than a community
that perceives itself to be faultless. I’d rather be part of a community that is
wrestling with the question of who Jesus is for them, in their particular moment,
rather than a community that is only recycling answers from decades and
generations past. I’d rather be part of a community that admits that whatever
faith we are able to articulate emerges out of a living and active relationship with
God.
And if what Peter said is true—that Jesus is the Son of the Living God, and if
what Jesus said is true—that on that confession will be built the assembly of
God’s people, then we as the church have the authority--and in fact the
mandate--to face the powers and forces in our time that seek to bind people in
different ways. We have the authority to work for release and renewal.
Jesus is the beloved Son of the living God, who continues to enter into
relationship with those who are seeking and discerning. The invitation into that
relationship becomes the foundation on which our communities are built. On this
rock we become communities that are open to diversity. On this rock we
become communities that advocate for justice and stand with those who are
being oppressed. On this rock we become communities that share the
expansive love of God with the world.
Friends, we are being asked this question today as a church—as an ekklesia.
Who do we say that Jesus is? This is a question that we answer out of our
context, based on what we hear God saying to us today. In this reading Jesus
reminds us that as important as the question of his identity is, it is also important
to remember that our response to that question comes from an ongoing
relationship with the Living God who speaks a relevant word to us today as God
continues to form and build the ekklesia.
If you know the story of the movie The Lion King, you know that Simba is faced
with the question of who he thinks he is in the midst of a season of disruption
and disorientation. When Simba remembers that he is the son of the rightful
king, he finds the strength and courage to return to his home and face his evil
uncle in a violent battle that restores him to the throne. As beloved children of
the living God, knowing who we are as the ekklesia does not lead us into
prestige and privilege. Instead, it leads us into the margins of our world where
death and hopelessness are threatening to take hold.
Wherever we are in assembly today, and whatever questions may be facing us
that feel like a threat to our future, my prayer is that we remember together that
we gather in ekklesia, beloved community. We are first of all deeply loved by the
God of creation, and no external or internal threat will ever change that. And I
hope that we remember that the same God who loves us gives us the faith to
confidently claim what is possible when we gather to love God and serve our
neighbour. God has given us the authority to continue to be built on the rock of
our foundation—the living, active force of love that calls life into existence, forms
creation in the divine image, and gives of itself to defeat the forces of death, so
that all may come to know life in its abundance. And that makes all the
difference. Amen.

HYMN OF THE DAY – My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less (ELW #597)

APOSTLES’ CREED
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
A: With bold trust in God’s unfailing provision, we pray for the church, those in
need, and all of God’s creation.
A: God of our church, send forth your Spirit as we pray for our Bishops Larry and
Carla. Empower them with your wisdom to lead the church. We also pray for the
Thames Ministry area, especially our Pastor David and the people of our St.
Ansgar congregation. Merciful God,
C: receive our prayer.

A: God, our rock, you are the foundation on which the church is built. Strengthen
and encourage your faithful people everywhere they gather, that they boldly
proclaim your word of life to all the world. Merciful God,
C: receive our prayer.

A: You spoke and all creation came into being. Field and forest, wetland and
wilderness - - all reveal your glory. Sustain and nourish your creation and
teach us to be wise stewards of all you have made. Merciful God,
C: receive our prayer.

A: You bring deliverance to nations and peoples. Come to the aid of nations
experiencing war, conflict, disease, famine, and disaster. Guide the work of
relief agencies and peacemaking organizations. Merciful God,
C: receive our prayer.

A: You regard the lowly and hear us when we cry out to you. Be present among
all who struggle with addiction, housing insecurity, incarceration, and mental
illness, that they know they are not alone. Hear our prayers for all who are in
any need today. We pray especially for Beth, Jean, Mary Margaret, Kristine,
Karen, Emma, Cathy, Lene, Lyra, Bud, Pastor Bob, Margaret, Johnny, and those
others who are in our hearts. Merciful God,
C: receive our prayer.

A: You draw together people with differing gifts. Lift up the many and varied gifts
and talents of this congregation and strengthen the bonds of fellowship that all
may be united as the body of Christ. Merciful God,
C: receive our prayer.

A: Merciful God, we pray for peace as war continues in Ukraine and in the
Middle East. Shelter all living in fear; protect those seeking refuge in
neighbouring countries; sustain families separated by the horrors of war;
tend to those who are injured; comfort all who mourn their dead.
Direct your people into the way of peace. Merciful God,
C: receive our prayer.

A: Your steadfast love endures forever. We give thanks for the faithful who died
in the hope of this promise. Strengthen us in faith until the day we join them at
your eternal banquet. Merciful God,
C: receive our prayer.

A: Receive our prayers and answer, O God, as you have promised. All this we
ask in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
C: Amen.

PEACE
P: The peace of Christ be with you always.
C: And also with you.

LORD’S PRAYER
P: Lord, remember us in your kingdom and teach us to pray.
C: 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, and the power, and the glory,
forever and ever. Amen.

SENDING

BLESSING
P: Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer, + one God, bless, heal, and hold you today
and always.
C: Amen.

SENDING HYMN – We All Are One in Mission (ELW #576)

DISMISSAL
A: Heaven has come near. Go, share the good news!
C: Thanks be to God.

DISMISSAL HYMN – The Lord Now Sends Us Forth (ELW #538)
Verse 1
The Lord now sends us forth
with hands to serve and give,
to make of all the earth
a better place to live. Repeat (2X)

Verse 2
The angels are not sent
into our world of pain
to do what we were meant
to do in Jesus' name;
that falls to you and me
and all who are made free.
Help us, O Lord, we pray,
to do your will today. Repeat (2X)