August 23rd, Sermon & Ministry Resources
"A Living Sacrifice" (Romans 12:1-8)
Lectionary Readings — Proper16 — August 23, 2026
Exodus 1:8-2:10; Psalm 124; Romans 12:1-8; Matthew 16:13-20
Call to Worship (based on Romans 12:1-8)
Leader: By the mercies of God, who has given us everything in Christ,
People: we come to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.
Leader: This is our true and spiritual worship—not an hour, but a life;
People: not a song alone, but our whole selves laid on the altar.
Leader: Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world;
People: but be transformed, Lord, by the renewing of our minds.
Leader: We are many, and our gifts are many;
People: yet we are one body in Christ, members of one another.
Leader: To some you have given teaching, to some giving, to some leading, to some mercy;
People: let each of us offer our part with diligence and cheerfulness.
Leader: Knit us together, that the watching world might see your Son;
People: and let our worship rise from the whole of our lives.
Leader: Come, let us worship the God of mercy with everything we are;
People: body and mind, gift and service, now and always. Amen.
Opening Prayer (based on Psalm 124)
Let us pray:
Almighty God, if you had not been on our side, where would we be this morning? When trouble rose up against us and the waters threatened to close over our heads, you were our help. When the flood would have swept us away, you held us. We confess that we so easily forget how many times you have already delivered us, and we come now to remember and to give you thanks.
We have escaped, Lord, like a bird from the snare of the fowler. The trap that was set for us is broken, and we have flown free—not by our own cleverness, not by our own strength, but because you reached down and loosed us. Every breath we breathe this morning is a gift from a God who refused to give us up as prey.
So we will not boast in ourselves today. We will boast in you. Our help is in your name, O Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth—the same hands that flung the stars into place are the hands that have carried us through every danger we have known and every danger we never even saw.
Be our help again in the week ahead. For the ones among us facing floods of their own this morning—grief, fear, illness, temptation—be the side they stand on, the rock beneath their feet, the One who breaks the snare. And bring us all safely home to you at the last. We ask it in the strong name of Jesus our Lord. Amen.
[NOTE to Paid subscribers — scroll down for the full manuscript sermon]
Sermon Outline: "A LIVING SACRIFICE"
Based on Romans 12:1-8
I. The Surrendered Life (vv. 1–2)
II. The Sober Mind (v. 3)
III. The Serving Body (vv. 4–8)
Full Manuscript Sermon Below for Paid Subscribers
