20 Sep Bulletin – Sunday, September20, 2026
WELCOME to MESSIAH & ST. PETER LUTHERAN CHURCHES
Rev. Nancy Brody, Pastor
Greta Wright, Organist
Sunday, September 20, 2026
Seventeenth Sunday After Pentecost
ANNOUNCEMENTS
PRELUDE
CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS
Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God, who pours love into our hearts and healing upon the earth. Amen.
Confident that God justifies us by grace through faith, let us confess our sin. Silence is kept for reflection.
Compassionate God, we confess that we struggle to embody your goodness in the world and in our own hearts. Creation groans from overuse. Jealousy and bitterness strain our relationships. Indifference keeps us from seeking justice. Divisions disrupt your call to show genuine love to others. Turn our hearts back to you. Restore our world and reconcile us to one another. Renew us to live as your holy people, following the way of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Hear this good news: We have peace with God through ☩ Jesus Christ, in whom there is no condemnation, but only forgiveness and the promise of eternal life. Receive freely this healing gift of grace. Amen.
ENTRANCE HYMN
Take My Life, That I May Be #406
KYRIE
🎶In peace let us pray to the Lord.
🎶Lord have mercy.
🎶For the peace from above, and for our salvation, let us pray to the Lord.
🎶Lord have mercy.
🎶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.
🎶Lord have mercy.
🎶For this holy house, and for all who offer here and online their worship and praise, let us pray to the Lord.
🎶Lord have mercy.
🎶Help, save, comfort, and defend us gracious Lord.
🎶Amen.
HYMN OF PRAISE
🎶Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth.
🎶Lord God, heavenly king, almighty God and Father: we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory. Lord Jesus Christ, only son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God: You take away the sin of the world; have mercy on us. You are seated at the right hand of the Father; receive our prayer. For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
🎶The Lord be with you.
🎶And Also with you.
Let us pray:
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Almighty and eternal God, you show perpetual loving-kindness to us your servants. Because we cannot rely on our own abilities, grant us your merciful judgment, and train us to embody the generosity of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
FIRST READING Jonah 3:10—4:11
When God saw what [the people of Ninevah] did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them, and he did not do it. But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. He prayed to the LORD and said, “O Lord! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning, for I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from punishment. And now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” And the Lord said, “Is it right for you to be angry?” Then Jonah went out of the city and sat down east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, waiting to see what would become of the city. The Lord God appointed a bush and made it come up over Jonah, to give shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort, so Jonah was very happy about the bush. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the bush, so that it withered. When the sun rose, God prepared a sultry east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint and asked that he might die. He said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?” And he said, “Yes, angry enough to die.” Then the LORD said, “You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labor and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left and also many animals?”
PSALM READING Psalm 145:1-8
I will exalt you, my God and king, and bless your name forever and ever.
Every day will I bless you and praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised! There is no end to your greatness.
One generation shall praise your works to another and shall declare your power.
I will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty and all your marvelous works.
They shall tell of the might of your wondrous acts, and I will recount your greatness.
They shall publish the remembrance of your great goodness; they shall sing joyfully of your righteousness.
The Lord is gracious and merciful slow, to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
SECOND READING Philippians 1:21-30
For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me, yet I cannot say which I will choose. I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better, but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you. Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in faith, so that, by my presence again with you, your boast might abound in Christ Jesus because of me. Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel and in no way frightened by those opposing you. For them, this is evidence of their destruction but of your salvation. And this is God’s doing. For he has graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing in Christ but of suffering for him as well, since you are having the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
🎶Alleluia, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Alleluia. Alleluia.
The Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew, the 20th chapter.
🎶Glory to you, O Lord.
GOSPEL Matthew 20:1-16
[Jesus said to the disciples:] “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around, and he said to them, ‘Why are you standing here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.’ When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received a denarius. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, 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 the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
🎶Glory to you, O Christ.
SERMON
HYMN OF THE DAY
O Master, Let Me Walk With You #492
PROFESSION of FAITH Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He decended into hell. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life-everlasting. Amen.
PRAYERS of INTERCESSION
Reminded of God’s gracious mercies and abundant love, let us offer our prayers with confidence. A brief silence.
May we the people of your church, rise to the tasks we’ve been given: to willingly share your goodness and be generous to others. By your grace and with your help, let it be so, O God.
Unite the global efforts of scientists, conservationists, researchers and naturalists to address the earth’ crises. Inspire every nation to hold itself accountable. By your grace and with your help, let it be so, O God.
Convince employers of the benefits of diversity, of equitable pay and opportunity. Reconcile conflicts caused by greed. Fill work spaces with camaraderie and end employment disparities. By your grace and with your help, let it be so, O God.
Inspire those who cannot work to contribute in other ways. Encourage them to engage with others and live fully. Provide for those who are injured, ill, or require care from others, especially those on our prayer list. By your grace and with your help, let it be so, O God.
Bless everyone whose time and talents has served the needs of students, families and community members. Reward the time and effort put forth by teachers and volunteers, parents and other caregivers. Continue to inspire our congregations to support meaningful endeavors. By your grace and with your help, let it be so, O God.
Confirm the hopes and promises of loved ones whose desire to be with Jesus has been fulfilled. Keep the dream of resurrection part of our conscious awareness. By your grace and with your help, let it be so, O God.
All blessings are from you; make us generous with what we have. Use our gifts, our abilities, and our hearts in service to you and in love to our neighbors. For whatever we have forgotten to ask or for whatever else you see that we need, we ask these things in Jesus’ name. By your grace and with your help, O God, let it be so.
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 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.
EXCHANGE of PEACE
OFFERING
OFFERTORY
🎶Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with your free Spirit.
BLESSING
CLOSING HYMN
When Peace, Like a River #346
DISMISSAL
POSTLUDE
Revised Common Lectionary copyright © 1992 Consultation on Common Texts. Used by permission. Prayers adapted from Sundays and Seasons, copyright © 2019, Augsburg Fortress. Used with permission. Psalm readings from Lutheran Book of Worship, copyright © 1978. Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual Subscription #SB160715 Other quotations from Scripture from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989, National Council of Churches in Christ in the United States of America. Used with permission. All rights reserved.