for February 15, 2026
Before Worship Begins
A Brief Shared Moment
Before we begin, we invite you into a short moment of reflection.
If you are comfortable, turn to one person near you.
Take a moment to consider this question:
Think of a time you realized something important only after it had already happened. What did you notice too late—or not notice at all?
You don’t need to explain the whole story. A sentence or two is enough.
If you would rather not speak, you are welcome to listen quietly. Listening is also participation.
After a minute or so, we will begin worship together.
Preparing to Pray
As we prepare to pray,
take a breath.
Notice the calm that does not depend on you.
You are welcome to be here as you are.
Let us pray.
Opening Prayer
Seeing More Than We Expected
God of light and mystery,
we come with open hands
and unfinished understanding.
Slow us down.
Clear our vision.
Teach us to pay attention to your movement.
Where we rush,
steady us.
Where we assume,
surprise us.
Where we feel small or ordinary,
meet us.
Open our eyes to more than we expect.
Open our hearts to what you are already doing.
We do not come to explain or control,
but to listen,
to wonder,
to worship.
Be present with us now,
and shape us through this time together.
In the name of Christ Jesus, amen.
Grace Spoken
God’s faithfulness always precedes our action.
Hear the good news.
When the people stood before the mountain,
the Lord said to Moses,
“Come up to me.”
(Exodus 24:12)
And when the disciples were overwhelmed by fear,
Jesus came and touched them, saying,
“Get up and do not be afraid.”
(Matthew 17:7)
The psalm reminds us:
“The Lord our God is holy,”
and yet the Lord is one
“who answered them.”
(Psalm 99:5–6)
In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven.
In Christ, fear gives way to grace.
In Christ, we are invited to rise and walk forward renewed.
Thanks be to God.
Response to God’s Grace
O Lord of the heavens and the earth,
you invite us closer,
and we hesitate.
You show us more than we expect, and we look away. We fear being transformed.
We confess that we prefer what is familiar to what might change us.
We fear being wrong.
We fear losing control.
So we settle for partial seeing
and quiet avoidance.
We rush past what is holy
when it feels inconvenient or unclear.
Forgive us, O God.
Touch us where fear has taken root.
Lift us where we have grown small.
Teach us again how to listen.
In the silence,
we offer what we cannot fix
and what we are still becoming.
(Silence)
Meet us with mercy.
Lead us by grace.
And open our eyes
to more than we expect.
Amen.
Passing of the Peace
An Embodied Sign of God’s Grace in Christ Jesus
In the story of the Transfiguration,
the disciples are changed not only by what they see, but by who stands beside them.
The peace of Christ reminds us
that God is present not only in moments of glory, but in one another.
As you share the peace today,
look again at the people around you—
not as strangers or roles,
but as companions on the way God is shaping.
The peace of Christ be with you.
And also with you.
(Share Christ’s peace in ways fitting to your community.)
Scripture
Seeing God in Unexpected Ways
Today’s readings take us to the edge of mystery—to mountains, cloud, and voice.
They remind us that God is often revealed not in explanations,
but in presence.
As we listen,
we listen for more than information.
We listen for what we may not expect.
Let us hear the Word of God.
Reading may be shared by multiple voices.
Congregations may choose whether it is beneficial to read all or some of the scripture readings.
Reflection
When God Shows More Than We Can Explain
In each of these readings,
people are shown something they cannot fully explain.
Moses enters the cloud.
The disciples glimpse glory and fall silent.
The psalm reminds us that God reigns—yet listens.
Nothing is resolved on the mountain.
No one leaves with all the answers.
But they do leave changed.
Faith, here, is not about understanding everything.
It is about learning to see more—
and to follow what we cannot yet name.
As we reflect together,
we make room for what we did not expect to notice—and may not yet fully understand.
Shared Reflection
Take time to reflect together. Let the conversation unfold. As a Christian community, you may want to start this discussion during worship, and finish it over a meal, bible study, or community time later in the week. Alternatively, these questions can easily be transformed into a sermon.
You are free to listen quietly, to speak honestly, or to pass.
Leaders may wish to choose two or three questions rather than using them all.
When We Expect Very Little
These questions are not about what we believe in theory, but about what we quietly expect in practice.
Have you ever noticed yourself managing expectations so you won’t be disappointed—or unsettled?
When you come to worship or participate in the life of the church, what do you honestly expect to happen?
In what ways have you learned—perhaps without meaning to—not to expect God to move, heal, challenge, or interrupt your life?
Where does faith feel more like routine than risk right now?
What feels safer to expect from God: comfort or change? Why do you think that is?
When God Does More Than We Expect
The scriptures today describe moments when God does not simply affirm what people expect, but unsettles and reshapes them.
If God were to move more than expected in your life or community,
what might be interrupted—or undone?
In today’s readings, what moment feels most surprising or disruptive to you?
Moses enters the cloud without knowing what will happen next.
The disciples see Jesus changed before them and are overwhelmed.
What do these stories suggest about how God actually meets people?
Where do you notice a gap between what you tend to expect from God
and what these scriptures describe?
Which part of God’s movement feels most uncomfortable:
the mystery, the loss of control, or the call to listen differently?
When Everything Comes Together
At the center of the Transfiguration is not spectacle,
but clarity.
Moses and Elijah appear beside Jesus—
the law and the prophets, standing with him.
And then the voice speaks:
“This is my Son… listen to him.”
The moment says something simple and decisive:
Everything God has been doing—
through commandments,
through prophets,
through promises and warnings—
comes together in Jesus.
God is not adding more demands.
God is not piling on new obligations.
God is showing us who God is.
In Jesus, God’s purpose is not to burden us,
but to heal what is broken,
restore what is lost,
and save what cannot save itself.
The disciples fall down in fear,
not because they are being judged,
but because they are seeing more than they expected.
And Jesus does not lecture them.
He touches them and says,
“Get up. Do not be afraid.”
This is the turning point:
God’s glory is not pressure.
God’s voice is not condemnation.
God’s presence is meant to draw us toward life.
Many people experience religion as pressure—to be better, do more, or get things right.
Where have you felt that kind of pressure in your life, whether in faith or elsewhere?
In this story, God does not give the disciples a list of new demands.
Instead, God points to Jesus and says, “Listen to him.”
What feels different about guidance that comes through a person rather than a set of rules?
Can you think of a time when seeing someone clearly—who they were, what they stood for—helped things make more sense for you?
When the disciples are afraid, Jesus does not correct them or push them harder.
He comes close and says, “Do not be afraid.”
What kind of authority responds that way?
If faith were less about carrying more obligation
and more about being healed, restored, or set free,
what would change about how you relate to it?
Living the Gospel Together
Practicing What We Have Seen
We do not live this story all at once.
We practice it in small, ordinary ways—learning to see more than we expected.
On the mountain, the disciples are not given more instructions.
They are given a clearer vision of who Jesus is.
Because God has shown us who God is in Jesus—not adding pressure, but drawing people toward life—we are invited to pay attention differently.
The invitations below are not about doing more for God.
They are about noticing what becomes possible
when we trust that God is already at work.
Prayerfully choose one invitation for the week ahead,
or name another small practice that fits your life.
These are not requirements, but experiments in attention.
Invitation 1 — Practice Listening
This week, choose one moment to listen without fixing, correcting, or rushing.
Listen to another person,
to your own thoughts,
or to the quiet itself.
As you listen, ask:
What might Jesus be saying or showing me here—
not through volume, but through presence?
Invitation 2 — Practice Seeing Differently
Choose one ordinary person, place, or task this week and slow down.
Look again at what you usually pass by.
Pay attention to what you’ve been missing.
Ask yourself:
Where might Christ be meeting me in this moment—
in ways I didn’t expect or recognize before?
Invitation 3 — Practice Letting Go
Notice one expectation you are carrying—about yourself, about God, or about how things should go.
For one day, practice setting it down.
Ask yourself:
If I trust that Jesus is already at work,
what do I no longer need to control?
You may wish to hold a brief silence, asking God for courage and clarity to practice one of these invitations—
not perfectly, but faithfully.
Affirmation of Faith
The Scots Confession, 1560
Paragraph 1, in Modern Language
In the Transfiguration, we are reminded that God is always more than we can fully understand or control. This confession gives voice to that mystery and invites us to trust the God who meets us beyond our expectations.
We trust in one God alone.
This is the God we hold to,
the God we serve,
the God we worship,
and the God in whom we place our trust.
God is beyond time and limit—
greater than we can measure or fully understand,
not confined to what we can see,
yet fully alive and powerful.
God is one—
complete in strength, wisdom, and goodness.
This God created everything that exists,
what we can see
and what we cannot.
And this same God continues to hold the world together,
guiding and sustaining all things with care.
Prayers of the People
What We Did Not Expect
As we enter this time of prayer, we remember that prayers do not always need big words.
Sometimes prayers are pictures.
Sometimes they are questions.
Sometimes they are things we are still trying to understand.
Children and adults are invited to take part in this prayer together.
If you wish, take a card or a piece of paper.
Children may draw a picture.
Adults may write a word or a short phrase.
You might draw or write:
- something that surprised you,
- something you are worried about,
- something you are hoping God will help with,
- or something you don’t fully understand yet.
There are no right or wrong prayers.
As quiet music is played, you are invited to come forward and place your card in the bowl at the front (or near the candle, cross, or other sign of God’s presence).
Children are welcome to come forward with an adult or on their own, if they feel ready.
If you would rather stay in your seat, you may hold your prayer quietly in your hands. That is prayer too.
If you need help, someone in the church can assist you.
Instrumental music or a simple song is played.
(Silence is kept. People may come forward as they are ready.)
When everyone who wishes has had time, the music continues softly.
Let us pray.
God of light and love,
you know us completely.
You know what we drew,
what we wrote,
and what we are still figuring out.
You meet us when we feel curious,
when we feel confused,
and when we feel afraid.
Help us see more than we expect.
Help us trust you when things are unclear.
Help us remember that we are not alone.
When we are scared,
say to us again,
“Do not be afraid.”
Hold all these prayers—
from the youngest to the oldest—
and shape us through your care.
We rest in your love.
In Jesus name, we pray, amen.
(Music may continue briefly, or fade into silence before the Lord’s Prayer.)
The Lord’s Prayer
We pray together, saying:
(The Lord’s Prayer is prayed in the words familiar to the community.)
Communion (Optional)
A Table That Unites Us in Christ
Invitation to the Table
On the mountain, the disciples caught a glimpse of glory—and they were afraid.
They did not understand what they were seeing.
They did not know what it would mean.
And Jesus came close to them and said, “Do not be afraid.”
This table is an extension of that moment.
Here, we do not come because we understand everything.
We come because Christ meets us where we are.
Here, glory is not distant or overwhelming.
It is given to us in ordinary bread and cup—signs we can touch, receive, and trust.
At this table, Jesus is not far above us, but present with us.
If you are carrying questions, you are welcome.
If you are uncertain or still learning to see, you are welcome.
If you long to know God more clearly, you are welcome.
Come, not because you have seen enough, but because Christ invites you to come closer.
The table is ready.
(Communion may be celebrated according to the practice of the community.)
Sending
As you go from this place, remember that the God who reveals glory does not leave us overwhelmed or alone.
When fear rises, when understanding feels incomplete, when the world looks unchanged—
“Jesus came and touched them, saying,
‘Get up and do not be afraid.’”
(Matthew 17:7)
Go in that assurance.
Go attentive, go trusting, ready to see more of Christ than you expected.
Reflections for Later
For Newcomers
If you are new here, you may still be figuring out what you think about faith—or whether church has a place for you.
This service centers on a simple truth:
God often meets people before they understand what is happening.
You do not need to have clarity, confidence, or certainty to belong.
Questions, curiosity, and quiet attention are faithful ways to begin.
If something today surprised you, unsettled you, or stayed with you longer than expected, that may be part of how God meets people—not all at once, but gently, over time.
For Those Rooted in This Community
If this community has shaped your life for many years, today’s scriptures offer a quiet invitation: to look again.
Familiar stories can still reveal something new.
Long-standing faith can still be surprised.
The Transfiguration reminds us that God’s presence is not exhausted by what we already know.
Faithfulness is not only about holding steady, but about remaining attentive.
There may still be more to see—in Christ, in one another, and in how God is at work among us now.
For Churches Without a Pastor
If you are worshiping without a regular pastor, it can be easy to wonder whether something essential is missing.
The Transfiguration tells a different story:
God meets people through shared attention, listening, and trust—not through one role or voice.
This community’s willingness to gather, listen, and discern together is not a temporary substitute for ministry.
It is ministry.
God’s presence does not wait for ideal conditions.
It meets people where they are—and often shows more than they expected.
You are not incomplete.
You are being formed, together, in ways that matter.
Suggested Songs (Optional)
Songs may be sung, listened to, or replaced with silence, depending on the needs and gifts of the community. Participation matters more than perfection.
Lord, Whose Love Through Humble Service (GTG 767)
When the Poor Ones (GTG 762)
Christ of the Upward Way (GTG 344)
Jesu, Jesu, Fill Us with Your Love (GTG 203)
God of the Poor (GTG 443)
O Day of Peace (GTG 450)
Will You Come and Follow Me (The Summons) (GTG 726)
Here I Am, Lord (GTG 69)
Need Help?
Follow the link for tips and pointers to help you lead and design worship using this resource.
Rights and Use
© Church Commons. 2026
Written by Rev. Matthew J. Skolnik. All rights reserved.
These materials may be used and adapted for worship and educational purposes within Christian communities. They may not be sold or redistributed for commercial purposes without permission.
Resource Details
Date: February 15, 2026
Scripture: Exodus 24:12-18, Psalm 99, 2 Peter 1:16-21, Matthew 17:1-9
Theme: Seeing More Than We Expected
Lectionary: RCL Year A