This Sunday's 8 AM Service | Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church

First Service

TWENTY-FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

Entering into the Joy of Our Master

November 15, 2026

AS WE GATHER

The prophet Zephaniah calls for silence as the day of the Lord draws near. The Lord has prepared the sacrifice and invited His guests to witness what happens next (Zephaniah 1:7). The people believe that the Lord is apathetic and indifferent (v. 12), which has given them license to do as they please. The day is coming when the people will realize how wrong they are. Paul has a similar warning for the Thessalonians and anyone who believes that everything is fine just the way it is, especially those who act in the darkness (1 Thessalonians 5:2–4). Finally, Jesus describes the day of the Lord with the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14–30). In the end, the Lord will reveal the ways we have misjudged His character. Until then, He points us to the place where His most crucial character trait is revealed. It is the sacrifice of the only One worthy of hearing those words, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” so that you might be invited to enter into the joy of your Master.

+ PREPARATION +

HYMN Oh, Worship the King TLH 17 vs 1 – 3 & 6

Oh, worship the King All glorious above:
Oh, gratefully sing His pow’r and His love,
Our Shield and Defender, The Ancient of Days,
Pavilioned in splendor And girded with praise!

Oh, tell of His might, Oh, sing of His grace,
Whose robe is the light, Whose canopy space!
His chariots of wrath The deep thunder-clouds form,
And dark is His path On the wings of the storm.

This earth, with its store Of wonders untold,
Almighty, Thy power Hath founded of old,
Hath stablished it fast By a changeless decree,
And round it hath cast, Like a mantle, the sea.

O measureless Might, Ineffable Love,
While angels delight To hymn Thee above,
Thy humbler creation, Though feeble their lays,
With true adoration Shall sing to Thy praise.

INVOCATION

Pastor: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

People: Amen.

CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION Psalm 143:1

Pastor: Hear my prayer, O Lord;

People: give ear to my pleas for mercy!

Silent reflection on God’s Word and for self-examination

Pastor: Let us then confess our sins to God our Father.

People: Most merciful God, we confess that we have not lived as children of the light. We have fallen into complacency, forgetting who You are and who we are. We have grown comfortable in habits that do not honor You. We have buried what You have given us rather than loving our neighbor with those gifts. We have become complacent in our thoughts, our words, and our actions. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in Your will and walk in Your ways to the glory of Your holy name. Amen.

Pastor: Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins. God has not destined you for wrath but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. As a called and ordained servant of Christ and by His authority, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

People: Amen.

+ WORD +

PRAISE SONG Give Thanks with A Grateful Heart CH 170

Give thanks with a grateful heart; Give thanks to the Holy One;

Give thanks because He’s given Jesus Christ, His Son.

Give thanks with a grateful heart; Give thanks to the Holy One;

Give thanks because He’s given Jesus Christ, His Son.

And now let the weak say, “I am strong,”

Let the poor say, “I am rich,”

because of what the Lord has done for us.

And now let the weak say, “I am strong,”

Let the poor say, “I am rich,”

because of what the Lord has done for us.

Give thanks!

PRAYER OF THE DAY

Pastor: Let us pray. Almighty and ever-living God, You have given exceedingly great and precious promises to those who trust in You. Dispel from us the works of darkness and grant us to live in the light of Your Son, Jesus Christ, that our faith may never be found wanting; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

People: Amen.

OLD TESTAMENT READING Zephaniah 1:7–16 (The day of the Lord is near and coming quickly.)

7 Be silent before the Lord God! For the day of the Lord is near; the Lord has prepared a sacrifice and consecrated his guests. 8 And on the day of the Lord's sacrifice—“I will punish the officials and the king's sons and all who array themselves in foreign attire.
9 On that day I will punish everyone who leaps over the threshold, and those who fill their master's house with violence and fraud. 10 “On that day,” declares the Lord, “a cry will be heard from the Fish Gate, a wail from the Second Quarter, a loud crash from the hills. 11 Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar! For all the traders are no more; all who weigh out silver are cut off. 12 At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are complacent, those who say in their hearts, ‘The Lord will not do good,
nor will he do ill.’ 13 Their goods shall be plundered, and their houses laid waste. Though they build houses, they shall not inhabit them; though they plant vineyards, they shall not drink wine from them.” 14 The great day of the Lord is near, near and hastening fast; the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter; the mighty man cries aloud there. 15 A day of wrath is that day, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, 16 a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the lofty battlements.

EPISTLE 1 Thessalonians 5:1–10 (The Lord has not destined us for wrath but to obtain salvation through Jesus Christ.)

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.

HOLY GOSPEL Matthew 25:14–30 (The day of the Lord will be like a man who entrusts his servants with his property.)

14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servantsand entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

CHILDREN’S MESSAGE

HYMN Take My Life and Let it Be TLH 400

Take my life and let it be Consecrated, Lord, to Thee;
Take my moments and my days, Let them flow in ceaseless praise.

Take my hands and let them move At the impulse of Thy love;
Take my feet and let them be Swift and beautiful for Thee.

Take my voice and let me sing Always, only, for my King;
Take my lips and let them be Filled with messages from Thee.

Take my silver and my gold, Not a mite would I withhold;
Take my intellect and use Every power as Thou shalt choose.

Take my will and make it Thine, It shall be no longer mine;
Take my heart, it is Thine own, It shall be Thy royal throne.

Take my love, my Lord, I pour At Thy feet its treasure-store;
Take myself, and I will be Ever, only, all, for Thee.

SERMON

CATECHISM The Second Article

People: I believe 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 at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.

Pastor: What does this mean?

I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the virgin Mary, is my Lord, who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death,
that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity.

This is most certainly true.

GREETING/ANNOUNCEMENTS

OFFERING

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH

Pastor: As children of light, we cry out to the Lord who sees and hears us and deals bountifully with us in our time of need.
O Lord, our God, our dwelling place from generation to generation, You gather us around Your gifts of Word and Sacrament as we await the return of Christ. Thank You for entrusting us with these gifts, and help us to remain faithful in our waiting as we proclaim the Gospel to the world. Hear our prayer, O Lord,