The Virtual Service for October 18, 2020
Worship for Sunday, October 18, 2020
20th Sunday after Pentecost
GATHERING
Prelude music
Introduction to the day
When the Pharisees try to trap Jesus, he tells them to give the emperor what belongs to him and to God what belongs to God. To gather for worship reminds us that our ultimate allegiance is to God rather than to any earthly authority. Created in the image of God, we offer our entire selves in the service of God and for the sake of the world.
GATHERING SONG
God is Here! (ELW 526)
Cyril V. Taylor
Tune: ABBOT’S LEIGH
Performed and arranged by Robert Prester & Adriana Samargia
God is here! As we your people,
meet to offer praise and prayer,
May we find in fuller measure
what it is in Christ we share.
Here, as in the world around us,
all our varied skills and arts
wait the coming of the Spirit
into open minds and hearts.
Here are symbols to remind us
of our lifelong need of grace;
Here are table, font, and pulpit,
here the cross has central place.
Here in honesty of preaching,
here in silence, as in speech,
here, in newness and renewal,
God the Spirit comes to each.
Here our children find a welcome
in the Shepherd's flock and fold;
Here as bread and wine are taken,
Christ sustains us as of old.
Here the servants of the Servant
seek in worship to explore
what it means in daily living
to believe and to adore
to believe and to adore
CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS
Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God,
who creates, redeems, and sustains us and all of creation.
Amen.
Let us confess our sin in the presence of God and of one another.
Faithful God,
have mercy on us.
We confess that we are captive to sin
and cannot free ourselves.
We turn from your loving embrace
and go our own ways.
We pass judgment on one another
before examining ourselves.
We place our own needs before those of our neighbors.
We keep your gift of salvation to ourselves.
Make us humble, cast away our transgressions,
and turn us again to life in you
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
God hears the cries of all who call out in need,
and through his death and resurrection,
Christ has made us his own.
Hear the truth that God proclaims:
Your sins are forgiven in the name of ☩ Jesus Christ.
Led by the Holy Spirit, live in freedom and newness
to do God’s work in the world.
GREETING
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
And also with you.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Let us pray. . Sovereign God, raise your throne in our hearts. Created by you, let us live in your image; created for you, let us act for your glory; redeemed by you, let us give you what is yours, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
WORD
THE READING 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
A reading from 1 Thessalonians.
Most likely this letter is the first written by Paul. Paul gives pastoral encouragement and reassurances to new Christians living in an antagonistic environment. Their commitment of faith, love, and hope makes them a model for other new Christian communities.
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 always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly 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 and sisters beloved by God, that he has chosen you, 5because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of persons we proved to be among you for your sake. 6And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit, 7so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak about it. 9For the people of those regions report about us what kind of welcome we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God, 10and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming.
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
GOSPEL: Matthew 22:15-22
The holy gospel according to Matthew.
Glory to you, O Lord.
15Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap [Jesus] in what he said. 16So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. 17Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” 18But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? 19Show me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. 20Then he said to them, “Whose head is this, and whose title?” 21They answered, “The emperor’s.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 22When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.
The gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.
SERMON
A Test or an Opportunity?
Pastor Harkness
HYMN OF THE DAY
Lift Every Voice and Sing (ELW 841)
James W. Johnson
Performed and arranged by Robert Prester & Adriana Samargia
Lift every voice and sing, till earth and heaven ring,
ring with the harmonies of liberty;
Let our rejoicing rise, high as the listening skies,
let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
O, Sing a song full of the faith that the harsh past has taught us,
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us;
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun,
let us march on till victory is won.
Stony the road we trod, bitter the chastening rod,
felt in the days when hope unborn has died;
Yet with a steady beat, have not our weary feet,
come to the place for which our parents sighed?
O, We have come over a way that with tears has been watered,
We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered,
Out from the gloomy past, till now we stand at last
where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
Drawn together in the compassion of God, we pray for the church, the world, and all those in need.
A brief silence.
The response to “Lord, in your mercy,” is, ”Hear our Prayer.”
The Prayers conclude:
All these things and whatever else you see that we need, we entrust to your mercy; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
OFFERING
ANTHEM
Alleluia
Kerr
Handbell choir
OFFERING PRAYER
Blessed are you, O God, maker of all things.
You have set before us these gifts of your good creation.
Prepare us for your heavenly banquet,
nourish us with this rich food and drink,
and send us forth to set tables in the midst of a suffering world,
through the bread of life, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
LORD’S PRAYER
BENEDICTION
Mothering God,
Father, ☩ Son, and Holy Spirit,
bless you and lead you into the way of truth and life.
Amen.
DISMISSAL
Go in peace. Remember the poor.
Thanks be to God.
SENDING SONG
You Servants of God (ELW 825)
Charles Wesley
Performed and arranged by Robert Prester & Adriana Samargia
You servants of God, your Master proclaim,
and publish abroad his wonderful name;
the name, all-victorious, of Jesus extol;
his kingdom is glorious and rules over all!
Ascended on high, almighty to save,
yet still he is nigh, his presence we have.
The great congregation his triumph shall sing,
ascribing salvation to Jesus, our king!
Salvation to God who sits on the throne!
Let all cry aloud and honor the Son.
The praises of Jesus the angels proclaim,
fall down on their faces, and worship the Lamb.
Then let us adore and give him his right,
all glory and pow'r and wisdom and might,
all honor and blessing, with angels above,
and thanks never ceasing, and infinite love!
Postlude
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