| Prelude
Greeting and Welcome
Lighting of the Candles
Hymn of Invocation – The Lord’s My Shepherd, I’ll Not Want (LSB 710)
The Lord’s my shepherd, I’ll not want; He makes me down to lie In pastures green; He leadeth me The quiet waters by.
My soul He doth restore again And me to walk doth make Within the paths of righteousness, E’en for His own name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk in death’s dark vale, Yet will I fear no ill; For Thou art with me, and Thy rod And staff me comfort still.
My table Thou hast furnishèd In presence of my foes; My head Thou dost with oil anoint, And my cup overflows.
Goodness and mercy all my life Shall surely follow me; And in God’s house forevermore My dwelling place shall be.
+ Preparation +
Invocation P: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit C: Amen.
Opening Sentences – Psalm 67:1-5, 7 P: May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face to shine upon us, C: that Your way may be known on earth, Your saving power among all nations. P: Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You! C: Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for You judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. P: Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You! C: God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear Him!
Confession and Absolution P: It is good and right that we should make confession of our sins and hear the words of absolution that assure us of God’s forgiveness. The section on “Confession” in the Small Catechism written by Dr. Martin Luther instructs and directs us with these words: C: Confession has two parts. First, that we confess our sins, and second, that we receive absolution, that is, forgiveness, from the pastor as from God Himself, not doubting, but firmly believing that by it our sins are forgiven before God in heaven. P: Humble yourselves then before God, confess your sins to Him, and implore His forgiveness. C: O almighty God, merciful Father, I, a troubled and penitent sinner, confess to You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You and justly deserved Your present and eternal punishment. By nature I am a sinful creature. By thought, word, and deed I have continually transgressed Your law. For the sake of the sufferings and death of Your Son, Jesus Christ, be gracious and merciful to me, a penitent and contrite being. Forgive me all my sins and grant me the power of Your Holy Spirit that I may amend my sinful life. P: God be gracious to you and strengthen your faith. C: Amen. P: 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 + Son and of the Holy Spirit. C: Amen. P: Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely and may your lives reflect His forgiveness. Be at peace! C: Amen.
+ Word +
First Reading – Isaiah 55:6–9 “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let 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. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
P: This is the Word of the Lord. C: Thanks be to God.
Epistle – 2 Corinthians 13:1–14 This is the third time I am coming to you. Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. I warned those who sinned before and all the others, and I warn them now while absent, as I did when present on my second visit, that if I come again I will not spare them—since you seek proof that Christ is speaking in me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by the power of God. Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test. But we pray to God that you may not do wrong—not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed. For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. Your restoration is what we pray for. For this reason I write these things while I am away from you, that when I come I may not have to be severe in my use of the authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down. Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
P: This is the Word of the Lord. C: Thanks be to God.
Holy Gospel – Matthew 20:1-16 P: The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the twentieth chapter. C: Glory to You, O Lord.
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ And 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.’ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, saying, ‘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.’ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ So the last will be first, and the first last.”
P: This is the Gospel of the Lord. C: Praise to You, O Christ.
Catechism – The Third Article P: The Third Article of the Apostles’ Creed outlines the work of the Holy Spirit and presents the ways in which the Spirit commends the love of God to us and for us and in us in this world and in the one that is to come. C: 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. P: What does this mean? C: I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian Church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers. On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ. This is most certainly true.
Children’s Hymn – Create in Me (LSB 956)
Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Thy presence; And take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation; And uphold me with Thy free spirit. Amen.
Children’s Message – Ryan Philpot
Hymn of the Day – Have No Fear, Little Flock (LSB 735)
Have no fear, little flock; Have no fear, little flock, For the Father has chosen To give you the Kingdom; Have no fear, little flock!
Have good cheer, little flock; Have good cheer, little flock, For the Father will keep you In His love forever; Have good cheer, little flock!
Praise the Lord high above; Praise the Lord high above, For He stoops down to heal you, Uplift and restore you; Praise the Lord high above!
Thankful hearts raise to God; Thankful hearts raise to God, For He stays close beside you, In all things works with you; Thankful hearts raise to God!
Sermon
Prayers
+ Celebrating birthdays this week: 24 – Tori Williams; 25 – Sandy Faeth, Chris Schaefer; 26 – Bob Jacobson; 28 – Gerry Lucas, John Steele; 29 – Marilyn Young, Tamara Schumacher; 30 – Tracey Ortstadt, Cheryl Kight, Miriam Lee + Wedding anniversaries: 26 – John & Miriam Lee, Matt & Katie Dawdy; 28 – John & Sharon Willmann; 29 – Matt & Laura Grossenheider
Special Celebrations and Needs: + Church family members: Hank Schlichter, diagnosed with inoperable stomach cancer; Jan Hurley, undergoing radiation and chemotherapy; Ken Kight, battling cancer + Friends of our congregation: Linda, friend of a member, upon her breast cancer diagnosis; Gary Schouten, cousin of Valerie Wehmueller, fighting kidney cancer; Rebecca Guion, daughter-in-law of Mary Guion, in the hospital + Those who are homebound or in nursing facilities: Twylah Atwood, Mary Aufderheide, Jules Bush, Frank & Sharon Gaal, Mary Guion, Jerry & Jane Keathley, Jim & Judy Thielker, Shirley Williams | 
