First Service
TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
Thankful Tribute
October 18, 2026
AS WE GATHER
There are certain “givens” in our earthly lives. In a letter written in 1789, American statesman Benjamin Franklin wrote: “In this world nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes.” Paying taxes is one of those unavoidable duties we have as citizens of our nation. Paul directed the Christians at Rome to pay “taxes to whom taxes are owed” (Romans 13:7) as part of their ongoing responsibilities. Jesus and His disciples also paid taxes (Matthew 17:24–27). While paying taxes may not be a joy-filled experience, giving from what God has given us to support the work done in our Lord’s name can be a source of joy as we bring an offering and come into His courts to “worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness” (Psalm 96:8–9).
+ PREPARATION +
HYMN Come, Thou Almighty King TLH 239
Come, Thou almighty King, Help us Thy name to sing,
Help us to praise! Father all-glorious,
O'er all victorious, Come and reign over us, Ancient of Days.
Come, Thou Incarnate Word, Gird on Thy mighty sword,
Our prayer attend; Come and Thy people bless
And give Thy Word success; Stablish Thy righteousness, Savior and Friend!
Come, holy Comforter, Thy sacred witness bear
In this glad hour. Thou, who almighty art,
Now rule in every heart And ne'er from us depart, Spirit of Power!
To the great One in Three Eternal praises be
Hence evermore! His sovereign majesty
May we in glory see And to eternity Love and adore!
INVOCATION
Pastor: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen.
OPENING SENTENCES
Pastor: Ascribe to the Lord, O clans of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!
People: The Lord is the strength of His people; He is the saving refuge of His anointed.
Pastor: Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.
People: May the Lord give strength to His people! May the Lord bless His people with peace!
Pastor: Ascribe power to God, whose majesty is over Israel, and whose power is in the skies.
People: To Him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION
Pastor: Let us now make confession of our sins to God, our heavenly Father.
People: O God our Father, we confess that we are by nature sinful, and we acknowledge that we have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed. We have transgressed Your law and have brought injury to the lives of others, and we have not always kept the commitments we have made or fulfilled the responsibilities entrusted to us. We do sincerely repent of our sins. Have mercy on us, O Lord. Grant us Your grace and full forgiveness in Jesus Christ, our Savior. By the renewing work of the Holy Spirit within us, lead us to amend our lives that each day we may grow in righteousness and in godly living to the glory of Your holy name.
Pastor: Our gracious God hears our pleas and accepts our prayers for the sake of Jesus Christ. To those who repentantly call upon Him, our Lord promises forgiveness, life, and salvation. As a called and ordained servant of Christ, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. As you believe, so may it be.
People: Amen.
HYMN OF PRAISE Praise to the Lord TLH 39 (vs 1 & 5)
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is Thy Health and Salvation!
Join the full throng: Wake, harp and psalter and song;
Sound forth in glad adoration!
Praise to the Lord! Oh, let all that is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him!
Let the Amen Sound from His people again;
Gladly for aye we adore Him.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Pastor: 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.
People: Amen.
OLD TESTAMENT READING Isaiah 45:1–7 (It is the Lord alone who rules the world.)
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.
EPISTLE 1 Thessalonians 1:1–10 (In Christ, God’s people lead exemplary lives of faith.)
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 22:15–22 (Teaching about giving what is due to Caesar and to God)
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.
CHILDREN’S MESSAGE
HYMN Holy God, We Praise Thy Name TLH 250
Holy God, we praise Thy Name. Lord of all, we bow before Thee.
All on earth Thy scepter claim, all in heav’n above adore Thee.
Infinite Thy vast domain, everlasting is Thy reign.
Hark, the glad celestial hymn. Angel choirs above are raising.
Cherubim and seraphim in unceasing chorus praising;
Fill the heav’ns with sweet accord; Holy, holy, holy Lord.
Lo, th’ apostles’ holy train Join Thy sacred name to hallow;
Prophets swell the glad refrain, And the white-robed martyrs follow
And from morn to set of sun Thro’ the Church the song goes on.
Holy Father, holy Son, Holy Spirit, three we name Thee,
Though in essence only one, undivided God we claim Thee.
And adoring, bend the knee while we own the mystery.
SERMON
CATECHISM The Second Article
Pastor: As we bring our thankful tribute to our Lord Jesus Christ through our worship, let us speak together the words of the Apostles’ Creed regarding our Savior, and in the words of the Small Catechism by Dr. Martin Luther confess what it means to have faith in God’s only Son.
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?
People: 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: With full confidence that our prayers will be heard by our loving God, we offer our petitions for the church, the world, and all people in need. For the church and for all gathered here together in worship, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Pastor: For the world in which we live and most directly for our nation, that we meet our various responsibilities and duties as citizens of our land, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Pastor: For the well-being of creation, for all coastlands and waters, for all fields and forests, and for our proper stewardship of the gifts given to us by our Creator as stewards of the earth, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Pastor: For the whole church, that it may grow and flourish even in those places where hardship or persecution is experienced by those who bear the name of Christ, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Pastor: For all those who are injured or ill at this time, for those dealing with special challenges, for the shut-in, the unemployed, and those who are grieving this day, [including . . .], that they would know the comfort of Christ and the support and love of His people, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Pastor: Remembering with gratitude those whose earthly lives are now completed and who dwell in light eternal, we ask that we be blessed by the memory of all who have fallen asleep in Jesus, looking forward to a grand reunion in the courts of heaven. Let us pray to the Lord:
People: Lord, have mercy and hear our prayer. Amen.