13th Sunday After Pentecost August 23, 2026 | Sunday Morning Worship | 9:30 a.m. PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION Living God, open our hearts and minds to your Word. As you spoke to Peter, speak to us. As you strengthened the Psalmist, strengthen us. As you called your people to transformed lives, call us again. Give us ears to hear, hearts to receive, and courage to follow wherever you lead. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. SCRIPTURE Matthew 16:13–20 | Psalm 138:3 | Romans 12:1-21 Matthew 16:13-20 Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah 13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” 14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah. Psalm 138:3 When I called, you answered me; you greatly emboldened me. Romans 12:1-21 A Living Sacrifice 1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Humble Service in the Body of Christ 3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. Love in Action 9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. L: This is the Word of the Lord. P: Thanks be to God. SERMON: "The Next Faithful Step” There are some questions that are easy to answer. • What did you have for breakfast? • What is your favorite color? • Where do you live? We don't have to think very hard about those answers. But every once in a while, someone asks us a question that makes us stop. A question where our answer says something about who we are. And in today's Gospel, Jesus asks one of those questions. He is with his disciples, and he begins by asking them what other people are saying: “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” The disciples have answers. • Some say John the Baptist. • Others say Elijah. • Still others say Jeremiah or one of the prophets. That's the easy question. They're just repeating what other people believe. But then Jesus changes the question. “But what about you?” And suddenly this isn't about everybody else anymore. “Who do you say I am?” I imagine there might have been a little silence; an awkward pause. Because now Jesus isn't asking for information. He's asking for commitment. He's asking them to put into words what they believe. Have you ever put in that position – to commit to something big in the moment? That can be scary. But Peter steps forward. We all know Peter, right? He’s usually the first one to speak up or have an opinion! He says: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Peter takes a courageous step. Sometimes we get the idea that courageous people aren't scared. But I don't think that's true. Courage isn't the absence of fear. Courage is choosing the next faithful step even when we are afraid. Peter didn't always get that right. This is the same Peter who would later deny knowing Jesus. The same Peter who stepped out of a boat onto the water—and then panicked when he saw the wind. Peter could be bold one moment and frightened the next. In other words, Peter was human. Just like us. And yet Jesus sees something in Peter. Jesus says: “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.” Peter's courage isn't simply something Peter manufactured inside himself. God is at work in him. And that brings us to Psalm 138. The Psalmist says: “When I called, you answered me; you greatly emboldened me.” Emboldened. (Encouraged | Heartened | Reassured | Bolstered | Supported) The Psalmist doesn't say,“I finally became strong enough.” Or,“I stopped being afraid.” Or,“I figured everything out.” He says: I called. God answered. And God gave me courage. That's very different. Christian courage isn't about convincing ourselves that we're strong enough to handle everything. It's about trusting that God is with us when we take the next step. That's exactly what our Kingdom Explorers are learning this week. Captain Compass' Explorer Tip for this week says: “When you're afraid, remember God is with you—then take the next step!” That's not only good advice for children. Some of us adults might need to put that on the refrigerator for ourselves. Because there are plenty of mountains in adult life too. • Sometimes courage is walking into a doctor's office. • Sometimes courage is having a conversation you've been avoiding. • Sometimes courage is admitting: “I was wrong.” • Sometimes courage is saying: “I'm sorry.” • Sometimes courage is asking: “Can you help me?” • Sometimes courage is standing beside someone who is being treated unfairly. • Sometimes courage is choosing kindness when everyone around us has chosen anger. • Sometimes courage is forgiving. • Sometimes courage is simply getting out of bed and facing another difficult day. And sometimes courage is doing exactly what Peter did: saying what we believe. Let’s go back to Jesus’ question: “Who Do You Say I Am?” Jesus' question didn't end with Peter. Every generation of Christians eventually has to answer it. “Who do you say I am?” Not: Who does your pastor say Jesus is? Not: Who did your parents say Jesus is? Not: What does your church say? Not even: What does the Bible say other people believed? Jesus makes the question personal. “Who do YOU say I am?” And answering that question isn't only about saying the right words. Because if we say Jesus is Lord, eventually that answer has to affect how we live. That's where Romans 12 enters the picture. Paul describes what a life transformed by Christ actually looks like. • “Love must be sincere.” • “Be devoted to one another in love.” • “Honor one another above yourselves.” • “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” • “Share with the Lord's people who are in need.” • “Practice hospitality.” And then Paul gets even harder: • “Bless those who persecute you.” • “Do not repay anyone evil for evil.” And finally: • “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Those last three can be real mountains. Because most of those things require courage. Five Courageous Steps Our Kingdom Explorers have a new Family Challenge this week. They're being challenged to take five courageous steps. And every time they take a courageous step, they'll mark another step up their mountain. And when all five are completed—they've reached the summit! But here's my challenge: Why should the kids have all the fun? What if the rest of us climbed the Mountain of Courage this week too? Think about your own life for a moment. What courageous step is God asking you to take? • Maybe there's a relationship that needs healing. Take a step. • Maybe there's someone who needs encouragement. Take a step. • Maybe God has been nudging you toward something new, and you've been saying, “I'm not ready.” Take a step. • Maybe you need to say out loud what Peter said in his own way: Jesus, I trust you. Take the next faithful step. You don't have to see the whole path. You don't have to know exactly how you'll reach the summit. You don't even have to feel particularly courageous. You just need enough faith for the next step. And here's perhaps the most important thing our Explorers—and all of us—need to remember: We don't climb this mountain alone. Psalm 138 doesn't say: “When I became brave enough, I climbed the mountain.” It says: “When I called, you answered me; you greatly emboldened me.” God is already on the mountain. God is beside us on the trail. God is there when our legs get tired. God is there when we stumble. God is there when we wonder whether we can keep going. And sometimes God gives us courage through the people climbing beside us. That's why Romans 12 talks so much about community. Be devoted to one another. Honor one another. Share with one another. Practice hospitality. Rejoice together. Mourn together. The Christian life was never meant to be a solo expedition. We should walk this path together. • When someone's tired, we encourage them. • When someone falls, we help them up. • When someone is afraid, we remind them: God is with you. And when someone reaches a difficult part of the trail, we don't shout from the summit: “Come on! What's taking you so long?” We walk back down a few steps and say: “I'll walk with you.” That's when we, the Church, are at our best. So, this week, whether you're one of our youngest Kingdom Explorers or you've been exploring God's Kingdom for fifty plus years, we're all invited to climb the same mountain. And as we climb, may we discover what Peter discovered, what the Psalmist discovered, and what followers of Jesus have discovered generation after generation: We are braver when we know who walks beside us. God is with us. So, Church—let's take the next faithful step. Amen.