HOLY CROSS LUTHERAN CHURCH
EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY OF TRINITY
Sunday, October 3, 2021, 8:00 a.m.

Prelude

Greeting And Moment Of Fellowship

Entrance Hymn
Please stand for the last verse of the hymn.

O Bless the Lord, My Soul

Text and tune: Public domain

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

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	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	

P Give peace, O Lord, to those who | wait for you,*
C and let your prophets be proven | faithful.
P Hear the prayer of your | servants,*
C according to the blessing of Aaron upon your | people.
P I was glad when they | said to me,*
C “Let us go to the house | of the Lord!”
P Pray for the peace of Je- | rusalem!*
C May they be secure who | love you!
P For my brothers and com- | panions’ sake*
C I will say, “Peace be with- | in you!”
P For the sake of the house of the |Lord our God,*
C I will | seek your good.
P Glory be to the Father and | to the Son*
C and to the Holy | Spirit;
P as it was in the be- | ginning,*
C is now, and will be forever. | Amen.
P Give peace, O Lord, to those who | wait for you,*
C and let your prophets be proven | faithful.
P Hear the prayer of your | servants,*
C according to the blessing of Aaron upon your | people.

Kyrie	

This Is the Feast	

Salutation and Collect of the Day	
P	The Lord be with you.
C	And also with you.

P	Let us pray.
O God, because without You we are not able to please You, mercifully grant that Your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C	Amen.

Sit

Old Testament Reading	Exodus 17:1–7
	1All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” 3But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” 4So Moses cried to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” 5And the Lord said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

A	This is the Word of the Lord.
C	Thanks be to God.

Epistle	1 Corinthians 1:1–9
	1Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,
	2To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:
	3Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
	4I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, 5that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge—6even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you—7so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

A	This is the Word of the Lord.
C	Thanks be to God.

Stand

Alleluia and Verse	

Holy Gospel	Matthew 22:34–46
P	The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the twenty-second chapter.

	34When the Pharisees heard that [Jesus] had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38This is the great and first commandment. 39And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
	41Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, 42saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” 43He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying,
44“‘The Lord said to my Lord,
Sit at my right hand,
	until I put your enemies under your feet’?
45If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?” 46And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

P	This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Sit

Alleluia! Sing to Jesus

Text and tune: Public domain

Sermon     Pastor Chris Johnson

Stand

Apostles’ Creed
C	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
Let us pray for the whole people of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
After each portion of the prayers:
P	 Lord, in your mercy,
C	 hear our prayer.

The prayers conclude:
P	 Into your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in your mercy; through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
C	Amen

Sit

Offering

Stand

Offertory	

Service of the Sacrament

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	

Prayer of Thanksgiving	LSB 161
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.

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 T 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 T blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

P	As often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
C	Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

P	O Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, in giving us Your body and blood to eat and to drink, You lead us to remember and confess Your holy cross and passion, Your blessed death, Your rest in the tomb, Your resurrection from the dead, Your ascension into heaven, and Your coming for the final judgment. So remember us in Your kingdom and teach us to pray:

Lord’s Prayer
C	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.

Pax Domini	
P	The peace of the Lord be with you always.
C	Amen.

Agnus Dei	

Sit

Communion Distribution
Holy Cross believes that the Lord’s Supper is a gift of Jesus to His church. The apostle Paul wrote, “Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself.” (I Corinthians 11:28-29). Out of loving concern for those that commune and from our understanding of the Bible and the Lutheran Confessions, we request that those who commune here:

1. Be baptized Christians
2. Should have received special instruction on the essence and significance of the Lord’s Supper.
3. Are mature enough to examine themselves,  recognizing their sin and their need for God’s grace through this special means.
4. Profess the “real presence” of Christ in this sacrament, that is, confessing the true presence of Jesus’ body in the bread and His blood in the wine.

We request that all that come to the Lord’s Supper join us in acknowledging the preceding affirmations of our understanding of communion. Non-communing children may join their parents. They are asked to fold their hands for a blessing. If you have any questions, please feel free to speak with the pastor after the service.

If you are unable to drink wine, the inner tray has alcohol free wine. If you are in need of gluten free bread, please speak with one of the pastors.

Stand

P	The body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ strengthen and preserve you in body and soul to life everlasting. Depart T in peace.
C	Amen.

Thank the Lord	

Post-Communion Collect
A	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	

The Lord, My God, Be Praised

Text and tune: Public domain

Words of Departure
P	  Go in peace and serve the Lord!
C	 Thanks be to God!