August 16th, Sermon & Ministry Resources
"The God Who Won't Let Go" (Romans 11:1-2a,29-32)
Lectionary Readings — Proper15 — August 16, 2026
Genesis 45:1-15; Psalm 133; Romans 11:1-2a,29-32; Matthew 15:(10-20),21-28
Call to Worship (based on Romans 11:1–2a, 29–32)
Leader: Has God rejected his people? Has he forgotten the ones he foreknew?
People: By no means! The Lord is faithful, and he has not let go.
Leader: The gifts of God are not loans to be recalled;
People: the calling of God is irrevocable, and his promises stand.
Leader: We were once strangers, disobedient and far off;
People: but mercy reached us, and mercy made us his own.
Leader: What we could not earn, God freely gave;
People: what we did not deserve, God poured out in mercy.
Leader: He has gathered the whole world in its need,
People: that he might open his hand in mercy to all.
Leader: So we come not as those who have climbed, but as those who have been carried;
People: not as the deserving, but as the deeply loved.
Leader: Come, let us worship the God whose mercy will not let us go;
People: to him be glory, whose gifts and calling never fail. Amen.
Opening Prayer (based on Psalm 133)
Let us pray:
Gracious Father, your word reminds us how very good and how pleasant it is when your people dwell together in unity. This morning we confess that we long for that unity and too often fall short of it. We have let small things divide us; we have nursed quiet grudges and guarded our own corners; we have made strangers of the very people you have made our family.
Pour out on us again the oil of your Spirit—the anointing that ran down over Aaron, from his head to the collar of his robe, covering him completely. Let your grace run over this whole body, from the oldest among us to the youngest, leaving no one untouched and no one standing outside the blessing.
Send the dew of heaven on this dry ground. As the dew of Hermon falls on the mountains of Zion, refresh what has grown weary among us, soften what has grown hard, and make us tender toward one another once more.
For you have promised that where your people dwell together in unity, there you command your blessing—life forevermore. So command your blessing here, Lord. Knit us together in the love of Christ, that a watching world might see not our divisions but your Son. We ask it in his name. Amen.
[NOTE to Paid subscribers — scroll down for the full manuscript sermon]
Sermon Outline: "THE GOD WHO WON’T LET GO"
Based on Romans 11:1–2a, 29–32
I. A People God Won’t Reject (vv. 1–2a)
II. A Promise God Won’t Retract (v. 29)
III. A Mercy God Won’t Restrict (vv. 30–32)
Full Manuscript Sermon Below for Paid Subscribers
