TWENTIETH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST October 18, 2020
ORDER OF SERVICE: LSB DS3, p. 184
THE HYMNS: 726, 891, 792
THE SERMON TEXT: Isaiah 45:1-7
OPENING HYMN: “Evening and Morning” (LSB 726)
Evening and morning,
Sunset and dawning,
Wealth, peace, and gladness,
Comfort in sadness:
These are Thy works; all the glory be Thine!
Times without number,
Awake or in slumber,
Thine eye observes us,
From danger preserves us,
Causing Thy mercy upon us to shine.
Father, O hear me,
Pardon and spare me;
Calm all my terrors,
Blot out my errors
That by Thine eyes they may no more be scanned,
Order my goings,
Direct all my doings;
As it may please Thee,
Retain or release me;
All I commit to Thy fatherly hand.
Ills that still grieve me
Soon are to leave me;
Though billows tower,
And winds gain power,
After the storm the fair sun shows its face.
Joys e’er increasing
And peace never ceasing:
These shall I treasure
And share in full measure
When in His mansions God grants me a place.
To God in heaven
All praise be given!
Come, let us offer
And gladly proffer
To the Creator the gifts He doth prize.
He well receiveth
A heart that believeth;
Hymns that adore Him
Are precious before Him
And to His throne like sweet incense arise.
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION
[The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their Baptism.]
P: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen
P: Beloved in the Lord! Let us draw near with a true heart and confess our sins unto God our Father, beseeching Him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to grant us forgiveness.
P: Our help is in the name of the Lord
C: who made heaven and earth.
P: I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord,
C: and You forgave the iniquity of my sins.
[Silence for reflection on God’s Word and for self-examination.]
P: O almighty God, merciful Father,
C: I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You and justly deserved Your temporal and eternal punishment. But I am heartily sorry for them and sincerely repent of them, and I pray You of Your boundless mercy and for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor, sinful being.
P: Upon this your confession, I, by virtue of my office, as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God unto all of you, and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
[Stand]
THE INTROIT (all): Psalm 121:1-4; Antiphon: Psalm 121:5
The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
GLORIA PATRI ~ Glory be to the Father (Sung)
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
KYRIE ~ Lord Have Mercy (Sung)
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
GLORIA IN EXCELSIS ~ Glory to God in the Highest (LSB 187) (Sung)
Glory be to God on high: and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.
We praise Thee, we bless Thee, we worship Thee,
We glorify Thee, we give thanks to Thee, for Thy great glory.
O Lord God, heavn’ly King, God the Father Almighty,
O Lord, the only begotten Son, Jesus Christ;
O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father,
That takest away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us.
Thou that takest away the sin of the world, receive our prayer.
Thou that sittest at the right hand of God the Father, have mercy on us.
For thou only art holy; Thou only art the Lord.
Thou only, O Christ, with the Holy Ghost,
Art most high in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
SALUTATION and COLLECT OF THE DAY
P: The Lord be with you.
C: And with thy spirit.
P: Let us pray. O God, the protector of all who trust in You, have mercy on us that, with You as our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C: Amen.
[Sit]
BOOK OF CONCORD: Apology Article XV: Human Traditions in the Church
Paul writes to the Colossians that traditions have "an appearance of wisdom" (2:23). Indeed, they have. Good order is very fitting in the Church, and is for this reason necessary. Human reason, because it does not understand the righteousness of faith, naturally imagines that such works justify people because they reconcile God. Common people thought this, and among us ceremonies have grown in the monasteries. Human reason thinks bodily exercises, such as fasts, are services that justify. The look of wisdom and righteousness in such works tricks people. When people want to imitate the saints, they imitate, for the most part, the outward exercises. They do not imitate their faith.
After this look of wisdom and righteousness has deceived people, then countless evils follow. The Gospel about the righteousness of faith in Christ is clouded over, and empty confidence in such works succeeds. Then God's commandments are clouded over. These human works are preferred more than the works of God's commandments (one's own calling, management of a family, married life, and bringing up of children). Compared with those ceremonies, the latter are judged to be ungodly, so that they are exercised by many with doubting consciences. For it is known that many have left married life to welcome these human ceremonies as better and holier.
OLD TESTAMENT READING: Isaiah 45:1-7
1 Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,
whose
right hand I have grasped,
to subdue nations before him
and
to loose the belts of kings,
to open doors before him
that
gates may not be closed:
2 “I will go before you
and
level the exalted places,
I will break in pieces the doors of bronze
and
cut through the bars of iron,
3 I will give you the
treasures of darkness
and
the hoards in secret places,
that you may know that it is I, the Lord,
the
God of Israel, who call you by your name.
4 For the sake of my
servant Jacob,
and
Israel my chosen,
I call you by your name,
I
name you, though you do not know me.
5 I am the Lord, and there is no other,
besides
me there is no God;
I
equip you, though you do not know me,
6 that people may know,
from the rising of the sun
and
from the west, that there is none besides me;
I
am the Lord, and there is no other.
7 I form light and
create darkness;
I
make well-being and create calamity;
I
am the Lord, who does all these things.
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
EPISTLE READING: 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace to you and peace.
2 We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8 For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. 9 For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C. Thanks be to God.
[Stand]
ALLELUIA (Sung)
C: Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia.
P: The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the twenty-second chapter
C (Sung): Glory be to Thee, O Lord.
HOLY GOSPEL: Matthew 22:15-22
15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. 16 And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone's opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. 17 Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” 18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? 19 Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. 20 And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21 They said, “Caesar's.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” 22 When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.
P: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C (Sung): Praise be to Thee, O Christ.
[Sit]
HYMN OF THE DAY: “O Light Whose Splendor” (LSB 891)
O Light whose splendor thrills and gladdens
With radiance brighter than the sun,
Pure gleam of God’s unending glory,
O Jesus, blest Annointed One;
As twilight hovers near at sunset,
And lamps are lit, and children nod,
In evening hymns we lift our voices
To Father, Spirit, Son: one God.
In all life’s brilliant timeless moments,
Let faithful voices sing Your praise,
O Son of God, our Life bestower,
Whose glory lightens endless days.
SERMON
[Stand]
APOSTLES' CREED
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried.
He descended into hell.
The third day He rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven
and sits and the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
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.
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
After each petition:
P: Lord, in Your mercy,
C: Hear our prayer
LORD'S PRAYER
BENEDICTION
P: The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you.
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.
C: Amen. Amen. Amen.
CLOSING HYMN: “New Songs of Celebration Render” (LSB 792)
New songs of celebration render
To Him who has great wonders done;
Love sits enthroned in ageless splendor;
Come and adore the mighty One.
He has made known His great salvation
Which all His friends with joy confess.
He has revealed to ev’ry nation
His everlasting righteousness.
Joyfully, heartily resounding,
Let ev’ry instrument and voice
Peal out the praise of grace abounding,
Calling the whole world to rejoice.
Trumpets and organs, set in motion
Such sounds as make the heavens ring;
All things that live in earth and ocean,
Make music for your mighty King.
Rivers and seas and torrents roaring,
Honor the Lord with wild acclaim;
Mountains and stones, look up adoring,
And find a voice to praise His name,
Righteous, commanding, ever glorious,
Praises be His that never cease:
Just is our God, whose truth victorious
Establishes the world in peace.