Isaiah 51:1-6 "Listen to me, all who hope for deliverance—all who seek the Lord! Consider the quarry from which you were mined, the rock from which you were cut! 2Yes, think about your ancestors Abraham and Sarah, from whom you came. Abraham was alone when I called him. But when I blessed him, he became a great nation." 3The Lord will comfort Israel again and make her deserts blossom. Her barren wilderness will become as beautiful as Eden—the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found there. Lovely songs of thanksgiving will fill the air. 4"Listen to me, my people. Hear me, Israel, for my law will be proclaimed, and my justice will become a light to the nations. 5My mercy and justice are coming soon. Your salvation is on the way. I will rule the nations. They will wait for me and long for my power. 6Look up to the skies above, and gaze down on the earth beneath. For the skies will disappear like smoke, and the earth will wear out like a piece of clothing. The people of the earth will die like flies, but my salvation lasts forever. My righteous rule will never end! (NLT) Psalm 138. L. I give you thanks, O Lord, with all my heart; I will sing your praises before the gods. C. I bow before your holy Temple as I worship. L. I will give thanks to your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness, C. because your promises are backed by all the honor of your name. L. When I pray, you answer me; you encourage me by giving me the strength I need. C. Every king in all the earth will give you thanks, O Lord, for all of them will hear your words. L. Yes, they will sing about the Lord's ways, for the glory of the Lord is very great. C. Though the Lord is great, he cares for the humble, but he keeps his distance from the proud. L. Though I am surrounded by troubles, you will preserve me against the anger of my enemies. C. You will clench your fist against my angry enemies! Your power will save me. L. The Lord will work out his plans for my life—for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever. C…Don't abandon me, for you made me. (NLT) The second lesson Romans 12:1-8 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask? 2Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is. 3As God's messenger, I give each of you this warning: Be honest in your estimate of yourselves, measuring your value by how much faith God has given you. 4Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5so it is with Christ's body. We are all parts of his one body, and each of us has different work to do. And since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others. 6God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out when you have faith that God is speaking through you. 7If your gift is that of serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, do a good job of teaching. 8If your gift is to encourage others, do it! If you have money, share it generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. (NLT) The Gospel Lesson Matthew 16:13-20 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 Christ, the Son of the living God." 17 Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, 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 warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ. (NIV)