October 22d, 2023, TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
We Are Recreated in the Image of God by the Cross of Christ Plotting against Jesus, the Pharisees attempted “to entangle him in his words” by asking about the payment of taxes to Caesar (Matt. 22:15). The Lord pointed to coins required for the tax, and He answered that we should “render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Matt. 22:21)….
PINNACLE LUTHERAN CHURCH | “A Trap?”
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OPENING HYMN: #875 Father, We Praise Thee
HYMN OF THE DAY: #461 I Know That My Redeemer Lives vs 1 – 4
CLOSING HYMN: # 922 Go, My Children, with My Blessing
PINNACLE LUTHERAN CHURCH
TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
website: www.pinnaclelutheran.org
“A Trap?”
October 22, 2023
+ AS WE GATHER +
We Are Recreated in the Image of God by the Cross of Christ
Plotting against Jesus, the Pharisees attempted “to entangle him in his words” by asking about the payment of taxes to Caesar (Matt. 22:15). The Lord pointed to coins required for the tax, and He answered that we should “render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Matt. 22:21). But if coins bearing the image of Caesar should be rendered to him, then man — who is made in the image of God — must be rendered to the Lord. That tax is paid for us by the Lord Jesus, the image of God in the flesh, by His self-offering on the cross. And from His cross, as the Lord’s anointed, He reigns as the true Caesar over all nations “from the rising of the sun and from the west” (Is. 45:6). The Lord once called and anointed Cyrus “to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings” (Is. 45:1). Now by the preaching of the Gospel, “in power and in the Holy Spirit” (1 Thess. 1:5), foreigners from all over the world are “turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God” (1 Thess. 1:9–10).
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
OPENING HYMN: #875 Father, We Praise Thee
INVOCATION
P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION Psalm 3:4, 8
P If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
C But if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Silence for meditation and reflection.
P Let us then confess our sins to God our Father.
C Most merciful God, we confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean. We have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We justly deserve Your present and eternal punishment. For the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. 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.
P Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins. 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 T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
+ Service of the Word +
INTROIT Psalm 121:1–4, 7–8; antiphon: v. 5 (spoken responsively as marked)
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.
Kyrie
P In peace let us pray to the Lord.
C Lord, have mercy.
P For the peace from above and for our salvation let us pray to the Lord.
C Lord, have mercy.
P For the peace of the whole world, for the well-being of the Church of God, and for the unity of all let us pray to the Lord.
C Lord, have mercy.
P For this holy house and for all who offer here their worship and praise let us pray to the Lord.
C Lord, have mercy.
P Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord.
C Amen.
HYMN OF PRAISE: Gloria in Excelsis LSB 154
A Glory to God in the highest, and peace to His people on earth.
SALUTATION and PRAYER OF THE DAY
P The Lord be with you.
C And also with you.
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.
OLD TESTAMENT READING Isaiah 45:1–7
1Thus 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,
3I 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.
4For 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.
5I am the Lord, and there is no other,
besides me there is no God;
I equip you, though you do not know me,
6that 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.
7I form light and create darkness,
I make well-being and create calamity,
I am the Lord, who does all these things.”
L This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
GRADUAL Psalm 91:11; 103:1 (spoken together)
He will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me, bless his holy name!
Epistle 1 Thessalonians 1:1–10
1Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ:
Grace to you and peace.
2We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 3remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5because 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. 6And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8For 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. 9For 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, 10and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
L This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
ALLELUIA, p. 156
HOLY GOSPEL Matthew 22:15-22
P The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the Twenty-Second chapter.
C Glory to You, O Lord.
15Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle [Jesus] in his talk. 16And 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. 17Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” 18But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? 19Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. 20And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21They 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.” 22When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.
P This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C Praise to You, O Christ.
HYMN OF THE DAY: #461 I Know That My Redeemer Lives vs 1 – 4
SERMON: “A Trap?”
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 at 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 T everlasting. Amen.
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
After each petition: P … Lord, in Your mercy:
C hear our prayer.
At conclusion: P … one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
OFFERING
OFFERTORY LSB 159
LORD’S PRAYER Matthew 6:9–13
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.
CLOSING PRAYER
P Let us pray.
O God, from whom come all holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works, give to us, Your servants, that peace which the world cannot give, that our hearts may be set to obey Your commandments and also that we, being defended from the fear of our enemies, may live in peace and quietness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
Benediction LSB 166
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 T give you peace.
CLOSING HYMN: # 922 Go, My Children, with My Blessing
DISMISSAL
Pastor: Go in peace as you serve the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God!
Creative Worship for the Lutheran Parish, Series C, Quarter 3. Copyright © 2022 Concordia Publishing House. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
