Sunday, September 20, 2026 |   The Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost
Those who are sent as “laborers for his vineyard” (Matt. 20:1) depict the wide diversity of vocations to which the disciples of Christ Jesus are called. Whatever our particular stations in life may be, we are called to live and serve by faith in His promises. Our labors do not merit anything before Him, for He is already generous to one and all without partiality. In mercy, He has chosen to bear “the burden of the day and the scorching heat” on our behalf, to make us equal to Himself and to give us what belongs to Him, that is, the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 20:12–15)…
PINNACLE LUTHERAN CHURCH | Disciples Live in Their Vocations by Grace through Faith in Christ

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OPENING HYMN: #783 vs. 1, 5 & 6 – Take My Life and Let It Be
HYMN: #827 vs. 1 & 4 – Hark the Voice of Jesus Calling
CLOSING HYMN: #869 vs. 1, 2 & 5 – With the Lord Begin Your Task

PINNACLE LUTHERAN CHURCH

Sunday, September 20, 2026 – 10:00 a.m.

The Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

+ AS WE GATHER +

Disciples Live in Their Vocations by Grace through Faith in Christ

Those who are sent as “laborers for his vineyard” (Matt. 20:1) depict the wide diversity of vocations to which the disciples of Christ Jesus are called. Whatever our particular stations in life may be, we are called to live and serve by faith in His promises. Our labors do not merit anything before Him, for He is already generous to one and all without partiality. In mercy, He has chosen to bear “the burden of the day and the scorching heat” on our behalf, to make us equal to Himself and to give us what belongs to Him, that is, the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 20:12–15). This way of the Lord is foolishness to the world and foreign to our thoughts, but He draws near, so that “he may be found” (Is. 55:6), “have compassion” and “abundantly pardon” (Is. 55:7). So it is that we are found in Christ Jesus, and He is honored in our bodies, “whether by life or by death” (Phil. 1:20), by “fruitful labor” (Phil. 1:22) or by suffering. It is by faith in His forgiveness that our works are “worthy of the gospel” (Phil. 1:27).

PRELUDE MUSIC

WELCOME and ANNOUNCEMENTS

OPENING HYMN: #783 vs. 1, 5 & 6 – Take My Life and Let It Be

INVOCATION – p151

P   In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C   Amen.

CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION

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

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    In the mercy of almighty God, Jesus Christ was given to die for us, and for His sake God forgives us all our sins. To those who believe in Jesus Christ He gives the power to become the children of God and bestows on them the Holy Spirit. May the Lord, who has begun this good work in us, bring it to completion in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.    C         Amen.

+ SERVICE OF THE WORD +

INTROIT – Psalm 116:12-13, 15-16; antiphon: v. 17

(spoken responsively as marked)

I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord.
What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me?
I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.
O Lord, I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant. You have loosed my bonds.
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.
I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord.

Amen.

KYRIE – p.168

P     In peace let us pray to the Lord.

P     For the peace from above and for our salvation let us pray to the Lord.

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.

P     For this holy house and for all who offer here their worship and praise let us pray to the Lord.

P     Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord.

HYMN OF PRAISE: – This Is the Feast – p. 171

A     This is the feast of victory for our God. Alleluia.

SALUTATION and COLLECT OF THE DAY – p. 172

P          The Lord be with you.

P    Let us pray. 

Lord God, heavenly Father, since we cannot stand before You relying on anything we have done, help us trust in Your abiding grace and live according to Your Word; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

OLD TESTAMENT READING – Isaiah 55:6-9

⁶“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; ⁷let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
⁸For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. ⁹For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

A    This is the Word of the Lord.

C     Thanks be to God.

GRADUAL – Psalm 34:9, 19, alt

(spoken in unison)

Fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing!
Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. Amen

EPISTLE –Philippians 1:12-14, 19-30

        ¹²I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, ¹³so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. ¹⁴And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. . . .

        ¹⁹for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, ²⁰as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. ²¹For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. ²²If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. ²³I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. ²⁴But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. ²⁵Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, ²⁶so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.

        ²⁷Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, ²⁸and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. ²⁹For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, ³⁰engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

A    This is the Word of the Lord.

C    Thanks be to God.

Stand

Alleluia and Verse – p 173

HOLY GOSPEL – Matthew 20:1-16

P      The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the twentieth chapter.

       ¹[Jesus said:] “The kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. ²After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. ³And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, ⁴and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ ⁵So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. ⁶And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ ⁷They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ ⁸And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ ⁹And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. ¹⁰Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. ¹¹And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, ¹²saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ ¹³But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? ¹⁴Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. ¹⁵Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ ¹⁶So the last will be first, and the first last.”

P         This is the Gospel of the Lord.

HYMN: #827 vs. 1 & 4 – Hark the Voice of Jesus Calling

SERMON: “The Last Will be First” – Matthew 20:1-16

NICENE CREED – p. 174

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty,
      maker of heaven and earth
      and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
      the only-begotten Son of God,
      begotten of His Father before all worlds,
      God of God, Light of Light,
      very God of very God,
      begotten, not made,
      being of one substance with the Father,
      by whom all things were made;
      who for us men and for our salvation came down from     heaven

            and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary
      and was made man;
      and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate.
      He suffered and was buried.
      And the third day He rose again according to the    Scriptures
      and ascended into heaven
      and sits at the right hand of the Father.
      And He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead, whose kingdom will have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Spirit,
      the Lord and giver of life,
      who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
      who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped
     and glorified,
      who spoke by the prophets.
      And I believe in one holy Christian and apostolic Church,
      I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins,
      and I look for the resurrection of the dead
      and the life + of the world to come. Amen.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH

After each petition:                                             At conclusion:

P  ..Lord, in Your mercy:                         P   one God, now and forever.

C   hear our prayer.                              C   Amen.

OFFERING

OFFERTORY p. 159

+ Service of the Sacrament +

PREFACE – p. 177

P    The Lord be with you.

P    Lift up your hearts.

P    Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

PROPER PREFACE

P    It is truly good, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and saying:

SANCTUS – p. 178

PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING – p. 178

P  Blessed are You, Lord of heaven and earth, for You have had mercy on those whom You created and sent Your only-begotten Son into our flesh to bear our sin and be our Savior. With repentant joy we receive the salvation accomplished for us by the all-availing sacrifice of His body and His blood on the cross.

Gathered in the name and the remembrance of Jesus, we beg You, O Lord, to forgive, renew, and strengthen us with Your Word and Spirit. Grant us faithfully to eat His body and drink His blood as He bids us do in His own testament. Gather us together, we pray, from the ends of the earth to celebrate with all the faithful the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom, which has no end. Graciously receive our prayers; deliver and preserve us. To You alone, O Father, be all glory, honor, and worship, with the Son and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C    Amen.

LORD’S PRAYER – p. 179

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 WORDS OF OUR LORD        

P   Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said: “Take, eat; this is My + body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me.”

       In the same way also He took the cup after supper, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying: “Drink of it, all of you; this cup is the new testament in My + blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

PAX DOMINI – p. 180

P    The peace of the Lord be with you always.

AGNUS DEI – p. 180

DISTRIBUTION

POST-COMMUNION CANTICLE – Thank the Lord – p. 181

Post-Communion Collect – p. 183

P    Let us pray.

We give thanks to You, almighty God, that You have refreshed us through this salutary gift, and we implore You that of Your mercy You would strengthen us through the same in faith toward You and in fervent love toward one another; 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 – p. 183

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.

CLOSING HYMN: #869 vs. 1, 2 & 5 – With the Lord Begin Your Task

SENDING WORDS

P      Go in peace! Serve the Lord!

C     Thanks be to God!

POSTLUDE MUSIC

Creative Worship for the Lutheran Parish, Series C, Quarter 3. Copyright © 2022 Concordia Publishing House. All rights reserved. Used by permission.