09/19/26

As We Gather

On the surface, the parable of the laborers in the vineyard seems wrong. Shouldn’t the worker receive the wages he or she deserves for his or her time and labor? It offends our sense of fair play that one who worked less should receive the same as one who worked more. If you only focus on the perspective of the laborer, that might seem true, but if you focus on the generosity of the vineyard owner, you get a very different perspective. God’s mercy is not the reward for our labor but a pure gift of grace given to those who deserve none of His kindness. When you begin to look at this parable from that perspective, God’s abundant generosity becomes clear. The Lord does what none of us would do—forgives all our sins, no matter how great, and bestows upon us the mercy and salvation we did nothing to earn and could never deserve. How can anyone begrudge Him such generosity?

Children Activity Bags We value children in our worship services. If needed, there is a family room available for families with children. The family room has a diaper changing table, a closed-circuit TV to watch the worship service, toys and books for children. The family room is located across from the kitchen in the long hallway, the first door on the right, just past the bathrooms. There are “King’s Kids” bags with activities for children to help them worship. They are near the usher’s station on a small rack. Please return the bag to the rack after the service.

Holy Communion The Scripture teaches the Lord’s Supper is a precious gift of God in which Christ gives us His true body and blood (in a miraculous way), together with the bread and wine, for the forgiveness of our sins and the strengthening of our faith. Because the Bible teaches that this Sacrament may also be spiritually harmful if misused ( 1 Cor: 11:27), and that participation in the Lord’s Supper is an act of confession of faith, we ordinarily commune those who have been instructed in the teachings of our church and who have confessed their faith in these teachings. If you have a question, please speak to Pastor Ralph before the service. For those who prefer a non-alcoholic alternative, there is grape juice at the center of each tray. Those not receiving the Sacrament, including children, are invited to come to the altar, cross their arms over their chest, and receive a special blessing.

The First Doom: The Withdrawal of the Word   “Scripture considers the withdrawal of God’s Word from men the greatest plague and manifestation of God’s wrath. On the other hand, there is nogreater manifestation of grace than the sending of His Word.” What Luther Says # 4816

Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

September 20, 2026

Welcome 

Opening Hymn                         Hark, the Voice of Jesus Calling                                 LSB 827

Invocation, Confession and Absolution     (Portions of Psalm 67)

P:   We gather in the name and at the invitation of our great and gracious triune God;

C:   In the name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

P:   May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face to shine upon us,

C:   that Your way may be known on earth, Your saving power among all nations.

P:   Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You!

C:   Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for You judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth.

P:   Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You!

C:   God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear Him!

P:   Humble yourselves then before God, confess your sins to Him, and implore His forgiveness.

C: O almighty God, merciful Father, we come before you today admitting that we fall short of Your desire that we share the truth of Your love for all people. We neglect to tell of Jesus suffering and dying for everyone’s sin and that repentance and trust in Jesus is the only way to You. Help our unbelief and lack of witnessing to this end. For the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, be gracious and merciful to us that we may live in the freedom of our salvation and the gifts you have graciously given for our good and blessing. Amen.

(Silence for Meditation)

P:   God be gracious to you and strengthen your faith. As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C:   Amen.

P: Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely and may your lives reflect His forgiveness. Be at peace!

C:   Amen.

Hymn of Praise            All Christians Who Have Been Baptized         LSB 596  vs 1, 5-6                      

Prayer of the Day

All:  Lord Jesus Christ, our strength and support in all situations, grant us the power and presence of Your Holy Spirit that we may be strong and steadfast in all situations, joyfully witnessing to the power of Your love and continually learning of You in every season; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and rules with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

OT Lesson                    (The Word accomplishes all that God desires.)          Isaiah 55: 6-11

Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

NT Lesson                          (Paul writes that to live is Christ.) Philippians 1:12–18

¹² Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. ¹³ As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. ¹⁴ Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly. ¹⁵ It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. ¹⁶ The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. ¹⁷ The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. ¹⁸ But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. 

Gospel Lesson             (The parable of the laborers in the vineyard.)    Matthew 20:1–16

 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. ² He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. ³ “About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. ⁴ He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ ⁵ So they went. “He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. ⁶ About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’ ⁷ “ ‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. “He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’ ⁸ “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’ ⁹ “The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. ¹⁰ So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. ¹¹ When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ¹² ‘These men who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’ ¹³ “But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? ¹⁴ Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. ¹⁵ Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ ¹⁶ “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

Message Song                           O Church Arise (Arise Shine)                 Getty/Townend

O Church, arise, and put your armor on; Hear the call of Christ, our Captain.

For now the weak can say that they are strong, In the strength that God has given.

With shield of faith and belt of truth, We’ll stand against the devil’s lies;

An army bold, whose battle-cry is Love, Reaching out to those in darkness.

Our call to war, to love the captive soul,  But to rage against the captor;

And with the sword that makes the wounded whole, We fight with faith and valor.

When faced with trials on ev’ry side, We know the outcome is secure.

And Christ will have the prize for which He died, An inheritance of nations.

Chorus:    Arise, shine, for your Light has come  Arise, shine for the risen Son

Lift your eyes, we are His radiant bride. Arise, O Church , arise.

Come, see the cross, where love and mercy meet, As the Son of God is stricken;

Then see His foes lie crushed beneath His feet, For the Conqueror has risen.

And as the stone is rolled away  And Christ emerges from the grave,

This vict’ry march continues till the day  Ev’ry eye and heart shall see Him.

So Spirit come, put strength in every stride, give grace for every hurdle

That we may run with faith to win the prize, of a servant good and faithful.

As saints of old still line the way, retelling triumphs of His grace,

We hear the call and hunger for the day, when with Christ we stand in glory.

CCLI Song # 7065980 © 2016 S. D. G. Publishing | sixsteps Songs | Thankyou Music | Worship Together Music | Getty Music Publishing For use solely with the SongSelect® Terms of Use. All rights reserved. www.ccli.com CCLI License # 11390779

Message                                            The Kingdom Advances

1.       The call to    believe       and be    faithful     continues to go forth.

2.      Only through the Gospel does the Kingdom of God advance  personally        and collectively       .

3.      There is still time to get       on         board       .

Catechism                             The Third Article

C: I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

P:   What does this mean?

C: I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian Church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers. On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ. This is most certainly true.

Offering

Offertory                              Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow              LSB  805      

Prayers of the Church  

After each petition:

 P:  Lord, in your mercy,

 C:  hear our prayer.   

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.

The Lord’s Supper

Preface                                                                      page 194 in the hymnal

P:  The Lord be with you.

C:  ♪ And with thy spirit.

P:  Lift up your hearts.

C:  ♪ We lift them up unto the Lord.

P:  Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

C:  ♪ It is meet and right so to do.

P:  It is truly good, right, and salutary …. And with the host of heaven we sing:

Sanctus — Holy, Holy, Holy                                          page 195 in the hymnal

C:  ♪ Ho -ly, ho-ly, ho-ly Lord God of Sa – ba – oth. Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory.   

          Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest. Blessed is He, blessed is He, blessed is

          He who cometh in the name of the Lord.  Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest.

The Words of Institution (Jesus Institutes the Lord’s Supper)

Pax Domini—The Peace of the Lord                    page 197 in the hymnal

P:  The peace of the Lord be with you always.

C:  ♪ Amen.

Agnus Dei – Lamb of God                                                             page 198 in the hymnal                                      

C:  ♪ O Christ, Thou Lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world; have mercy upon us.

         O Christ, Thou Lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world; have mercy upon us.

         O Christ, Thou Lamb of God, that takes away the sin of the world; 

         grant us Thy peace.  A – men.

Distribution Hymn                         Lord, Take My Hand and Lead Me                 LSB  722

Nunc Dimittis                                                                                   page 211 in the hymnal        

C: ♪ O Lord, now let Your servant      Depart in heav’nly peace,    For I have seen the glory     Of Your redeeming grace:     A light to lead the Gentiles    Unto Your holy hill,    The glory of Your people,   Your chosen Israel.  All glory to the Father,   All glory to the Son,  All glory to the Spirit,    Forever Three in One;    For as in the beginning,    Is now, shall ever be,   God’s triune name resounding    Through all eternity.

 Post Communion Collect

All:  Heavenly Father, we thank You for having fed us with Your life-giving food. Strengthen us through the same, especially in times of challenge or persecution, and grant us a portion with the saints in light eternal. This we ask through Jesus Christ, our everlasting High Priest, who with You and the Holy Spirit are one God, world without end. Amen.

Benediction                                                                                                       

P:   The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord look upon you with favor and ✠ give you peace.

C:   Amen.

Sending Hymn of Praise                     Lift High the Cross                     LSB  837 vs 1, 4-6

Announcements
Dismissal

P:  Go in peace as you serve the Lord.

C:  Thanks be to God!

Postlude 

¹² Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”