Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost October 25, 2020

Today’s Theme for Worship: Our heavenly King has gone to great lengths to bring lasting joy and happiness into our lives. He spared no expense in preparing the feast of our salvation, not even the life of his one and only Son.

Opening Hymn: 283 Speak, O Savior; I Am Listening

1 Speak, O Savior; I am list’ning, As a servant to his lord.

Let me show respect and honor To your holy, precious Word,

That each day, my whole life through, I may serve and follow you.

Let your Word e’er be my pleasure And my heart’s most precious treasure.

2 Oh, what blessing to be near you And to listen to your voice!

Let me ever love and fear you; Let your Word still be my choice.

Many hardened sinners, Lord, Flee in terror at your Word,

But to all who feel sin’s burden You give peace and words of pardon.

3 Lord, your words are waters living Where I quench my thirsty needs.

Lord, your words are bread life-giving; On your words my spirit feeds.

Lord, your words will be my light Through death’s cold and dreary night;

Yes, they are my sword prevailing And my cup of joy unfailing.

4 As I pray, dear Jesus, hear me; Let your words in me take root.

May your Spirit e’er be near me That I bear abundant fruit.

May I daily sing your praise, From my heart glad anthems raise,

Till my highest praise is given In the endless joy of heaven.

Text: Anna Sophia of Hesse-Darmstadt, 1638-83, abr.; tr. composite.

P: The grace of our Lord + Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you.

C: And also with you.

Confession of Sins

P: We have come into the presence of God, who created us to love and serve him as his dear children. But we have disobeyed him and deserve only his wrath and punishment. Therefore, let us confess our sins to him and plead for his mercy.

C: Merciful Father in heaven, I am altogether sinful from birth. In countless ways I have sinned against you and do not deserve to be called your child. But trusting in Jesus, my Savior, I pray: have mercy on me according to your unfailing love. Cleanse me from my sin, and take away my guilt.

P: God, our heavenly Father, has forgiven all your sins. By the perfect life and innocent death of our Lord Jesus Christ, he has removed your guilt forever. You are his own dear child. May God give you strength to live according to his will.

C: Amen.

P: In the peace of forgiveness, let us praise the Lord.

♬ Oh Taste And See

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good.

Bless-ed are they who take re-fuge in him.

Your Word, O Lord, is e-ter-nal;

it stands firm in the heav-ens.

Your faith-ful-ness con-tin-ues for-ev-er.

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good.

Bless-ed are they who take re-fuge in him.

Prayer of the Day

P: Let us Pray.

Grant, O Merciful Lord, to your faithful people pardon and peace that they may be cleansed from all their sins and serve you with a quiet mind; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. C: ♬ Amen.

First Lesson: Isaiah 25:6-9

Isaiah pictures the joyous blessings of salvation as a festive banquet that the LORD has prepared for all people.

⁶On this mountain

the Lord of Armies will prepare for all peoples

a banquet of rich food,

a banquet of aged wines,

with the best cuts of meat,

and with the finest wines.

⁷On this mountain

he will destroy the shroud that covers all peoples,

the burial cloth stretched over all nations.

⁸He has swallowed up death forever!

The Lord God will wipe away the tears from every face.

He will take away the shame of his people throughout the earth.

For the Lord has spoken.

⁹On that day it will be said,

“Look, here is our God!

We waited for him, and he saved us!

This is the Lord!

We waited for him.

Let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation!”

Special Music The King of Love My Shepherd Is
Congregation joins with Special Music on Verses 3 and 6.

1 The King of love my shepherd is, Whose goodness fails me never;
I nothing lack if I am his, And he is mine forever.

2 Where streams of living water flow, My Savior gently leads me;

And where the verdant pastures grow, With food celestial feeds me.

3 Confused and foolish oft I strayed, But yet in love he sought me

And on his shoulder gently laid And home, rejoicing, brought me.

4 In death’s dark vale I fear no ill With you, dear Lord, beside me;

Your rod and staff my comfort still, Your cross before to guide me.

5 You spread a table in my sight, A banquet here bestowing;

Your oil of welcome, my delight; My cup is overflowing!

6 And so through all the length of days Your goodness fails me never.

Good Shepherd, may I sing your praise Within your house forever!

Text: Henry W. Baker, 1821-77, alt.

Arr. Koine´

Second Lesson: Philippians 4:4-13
“Rejoice in the Lord always!” Paul urges the Philippians to put into practice everything he taught them.

⁴Rejoice in the Lord always! I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. ⁶Do not worry about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if anything is excellent, and if anything is praiseworthy, think about these things. ⁹The things that you learned, received, heard, and saw in me: Keep doing these things. And the God of peace will be with you.

¹⁰I rejoice greatly in the Lord now that you have revived your concern for me once again. Actually, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. ¹¹I am not saying this because I lack anything; in fact, I have learned to be content in any circumstances in which I find myself. ¹²I know what it is to live in humble circumstances, and I know what it is to have more than enough. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, while being full or hungry, while having plenty or not enough. ¹³I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

These words are written that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Gospel: Matthew 22:1-14

Jesus teaches the parable of the wedding banquet. After those who were invited refused to come, the king then sent out his servants to invite all to come, and in this way “the wedding hall was filled.”
Jesus spoke to them again in parables. He said, ²“The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. ³He sent out his servants to summon those who were invited to the wedding banquet, but they did not want to come.

⁴“Then he sent out other servants and said, ‘Tell those who are invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and my fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet!’

⁵“But those who were invited paid no attention and went off, one to his own farm, another to his business. ⁶The rest seized the king’s servants, mistreated them, and killed them. ⁷As a result, the king was very angry. He sent his army and killed those murderers and burned their town.

⁸“Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. ⁹So go to the main crossroads and invite as many as you find to the wedding banquet.’ ¹⁰Those servants went out to the roads and gathered together everyone they found, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. ¹¹But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. ¹²He said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wearing wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless. ¹³Then the king told the servants, ‘Tie him hand and foot and throw him into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ ¹⁴For many are called, but few are chosen.” C: ♬ Praise be to you, O Christ!

Hymn of the Day: 376 Jesus, Your Blood and Righteousness

1 Jesus, your blood and righteousness My beauty are, my glorious dress;

Mid flaming worlds, in these arrayed, With joy shall I lift up my head.

2 Bold shall I stand in that great day-Who can a word against me say?

Fully through you absolved I am From sin and fear, from guilt and shame.

3 Lord, I believe your precious blood, Which at the very throne of God

Forever will for sinners plead, For me-e’en for my soul-was shed.

4 Lord, I believe were sinners more Than sands upon the ocean shore,

You have for all a ransom paid, For all a full atonement made.

5 When from the dust of death I rise To claim my mansion in the skies,

E’en then this shall be all my plea: Jesus has lived and died for me.

6 Jesus, be worshiped endlessly! Your boundless mercy has for me,

For me and all your hands have made, An everlasting ransom paid.

Text: Nicolaus L. von Zinzendorf, 1700-60, abr.; tr. John B. Wesley, 1703-91, alt.

Sermon

Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth.

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 is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there 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 everlasting. Amen.

Offering Prayer

Electronic Giving! You can give your offerings from your smartphone with the GivePlusChurch app, which can be downloaded for free at Google Play or the App Store. You can also give at holytrinitylutheranwyoming.com by clicking the Offerings link at the top of the page or scan the QR code below. If you have any questions about any of these options, please contact Dave Conrad at dconrad765@gmail.com or 616-406-7172

Prayer of the Church

Lord’s Prayer

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.

Hymn: 565 There Still Is Room

1 There still is room! His house is not yet filled;

Not all the guests are there.

Oh, bring them in! Their hunger shall be stilled

With bread, yes, bread to spare.

Go, call them from the lanes and byways,

From winding roads and crowded highways.

There still is room! There still is room!

2 There still is time! The Master’s voice still rings,

And all his heralds plead:

“Oh, hide beneath the shelter of his wings

Against the time of need.”

The gracious call is still extended;

The day of grace is not yet ended.

There still is time! There still is time!

3 Now is the time! How fast the moments fly!

How soon each hour is gone!

You virgins, hear and heed the midnight cry;

Look for the break of dawn.

The Bridegroom comes; prepare to greet him.

Rise! Trim your lamps! Go out to meet him!

Now is the time! Now is the time!

Text: German hymn, 17th century; tr. William M. Czamanske, 1873-1964, alt.

Prayer and Blessing

P: O Lord God, our heavenly Father, pour out the Holy Spirit on your faithful people. Keep us strong in your grace and truth, protect and comfort us in all temptation, and bestow on us your saving peace, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

P: Almighty God, we thank you for teaching us the things you want us to believe and do. Help us by your Holy Spirit to keep your Word in pure hearts that we may be strengthened in faith, guided in holiness, and comforted in life and in death, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C: ♬ A-men.

P: Brothers and sisters, go in peace. Live in harmony with one another. Serve the Lord with gladness.

The Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you.

The Lord look on you with favor and + give you peace.

C: ♬ A-men, A-men, A-men

Closing Hymn: 265 This Is the Feast of Victory

Refrain: