Live Worship, February 15th, 2026 - Transfiguration of the Lord

The liturgical year unfolds as an invitation to live Jesus’ life across seasons: Advent shows God with us, Lent reminds that God is for us, Easter and Pentecost reveal God in us, and ordinary time calls believers to let God live through them. The Transfiguration story provides a vivid, surprising moment: Jesus’ face shines, Moses and Elijah appear, and a cloud proclaims, “This is my beloved; listen to him.” That mountaintop revelation exposes the disciples’ limited expectations and tempts them to hoard the holy by wanting to stay, to make tents, and to fix the moment in place.

The narrative contrasts mountaintop wonder with valley work. Spectacular experiences illuminate deeper truths but cannot replace the steady practice of faith in everyday life. The impulse to capture or perform the sacred—through words, photos, or rituals—risks carving life into sacred peaks and secular valleys. Instead, the mountain’s purpose lies in sending followers back down: the voice from the cloud insists on attention to Jesus’ words and on returning to the places where people hurt, argue, and need justice.

Scripture and prophetic witness ground the call to action. Micah’s question—what does the Lord require?—receives a clear answer: act justly, love kindness, and walk humbly with God. That ethic reframes justice as right treatment of human beings, not merely punitive systems. The Transfiguration’s light proves most potent when it fuels ordinary mercy—feeding the hungry, offering rest, forgiving, and caring for the least. Jesus’ repeated invitations—“Come to me,” “Do not be afraid,” “Follow me”—become the verbs of daily discipleship.

The real challenge asks for consent to follow Jesus back down the mountain. Life will bring losses, delays, and disappointments; God’s transformation often arrives in mundane routines, not only in spectacular moments. Listening becomes the spiritual labor: attending to Jesus’ voice in the marketplace, the classroom, the home, and the DMV. When that listening shapes actions—compassion, stewardship, peacemaking—the mountaintop light transfigures the valley and the ordinary becomes holy.

---

Key Takeaways

• 1. Mountaintop moments illuminate truth Powerful spiritual highs reveal unexpected dimensions of Jesus and disrupt tidy definitions of God. These moments expose complacency and expand imagination about divine possibility, but their purpose is to clarify what must be lived out afterward. The mountaintop calls people back into service, not into permanent retreat. [37:22]
• 2. Listen to Jesus in ordinary life The command “Listen to him” redirects attention from spectacle to steady practice: speech, mercy, and presence. Listening requires humility, patience, and the discipline to hear Jesus’ shape in daily choices rather than in dramatic signs alone. Over time, attentive listening reshapes reactions, priorities, and relationships. [44:41]
• 3. God’s justice requires right treatment True justice focuses on how people receive one another—neighbors, strangers, enemies—not on mere punishment or crime control. Practicing justice looks like advocating for the vulnerable, sharing resources, and restoring dignity in local, concrete ways. Such justice grows out of humility and consistent compassion. [46:36]
• 4. Carry transfiguration into the valley Transfiguration’s purpose proves vocational: the bright moment equips action in messy, ordinary places. Transformation that never descends becomes aesthetic only; transformation that returns carries light into daily grief, work, and routine. Living that descent requires consent to be ordinary and faithful. [50:58]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [08:48] - Announcements & Valentine’s Tea
• [09:15] - February Shopping Cart Mission
• [09:46] - Liturgical Year Explained
• [10:29] - Ash Wednesday Invitation
• [19:37] - Children Invited Forward
• [21:35] - Telling the Transfiguration Story
• [24:54] - God’s Voice: “Listen to Him”
• [37:22] - Mountaintop vs Valley Reflection
• [44:41] - The Call to Listen
• [46:36] - Micah: Justice, Kindness, Humility
• [50:58] - Bringing Transfiguration to Everyday Life
• [54:15] - Gratitude for Gifts
• [58:51] - Prayers, Joys, and Concerns
• [65:13] - The Lord’s Prayer and Benediction

Based on the sermon summary and transcript, the primary biblical text is the account of the Transfiguration. Additional passages alluded to include Micah 6:8 and various teachings of Jesus that were quoted in the latter part of the sermon.

Bible Reading

* Mark 9:2-8 (ESV):
And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only.

* Micah 6:8 (ESV):
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Observation questions

1. In the story of the Transfiguration, what was Peter's immediate reaction to the incredible event, and what did he propose to do?
2. What specific command did the voice from the cloud give to the disciples?
3. According to the prophet Micah, what three things does the Lord require?
4. After the cloud and the figures of Moses and Elijah were gone, who was left standing with the disciples on the mountain [45:01]?

Interpretation questions

1. Why might Peter's desire to build tents and stay on the mountain be a natural, yet misguided, human response to a powerful spiritual experience?
2. The command from the cloud is to "listen to him." In the context of the entire biblical narrative, what does it mean to truly listen to Jesus, beyond just hearing his words?
3. How does the definition of justice presented—as the right treatment of human beings rather than just punishment—change how we understand our responsibility to others [47:02]?
4. The mountain experience ended, and Jesus led them back down. What is the significance of the fact that the story doesn't end with them staying in that moment of awe but instead returning to the ordinary world below?

Application questions

1. What is a "mountaintop" spiritual high you've experienced that you were tempted to try and capture or make permanent? How did you feel when you had to come back down to normal life?
2. The voice from the cloud said, "Listen to him." In the routines of your daily life—at work, at home, running errands—what practical steps can you take to become a better listener to Jesus [44:41]?
3. Acting justly, loving kindness, and walking humbly with God can feel abstract. What is one concrete, local way you could "do justice" for a vulnerable person in your community this week, treating them with the rightness Micah describes [46:36]?
4. Where is a "valley" or "dingy" place in your life right now that feels particularly separated from God's presence? How could the truth that God is just as present there as on the mountain change your perspective in that place [42:24]?
5. Jesus’ words include “come to me,” “do not be afraid,” and “follow me.” Which of these invitations do you most need to hear and respond to in your current circumstances, and what would that response look like?
6. The purpose of the mountaintop is to equip us for the valley. How can a past moment of clarity or spiritual insight fuel your compassion and patience in a current ordinary or difficult situation [50:58]?