18th Sunday After Trinity ~ 2025

 

Today's Service Leader Rev. Brett Cornelius, Pastor, Holy Cross Lutheran Church

 

Today's liturgy is the Divine Service THREE, page 184ff.

 

545 Word of God, Come Down on Earth

Text: James Quinn, 1919–2010
Tune: Johann Rudolph Ahle, 1625–73, alt.
Text: © 1969 OCP Publications. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110001518
Tune: Public domain

 

Stand

 

The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their Baptism.

 

Invocation

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

C Amen.

 

Exhortation LSB 184

P Beloved in the Lord! Let us draw near with a true heart and confess our sins unto God our Father, beseeching Him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to grant us forgiveness.

P Our help is in the name of the Lord,

C who made heaven and earth.

P I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord,

C and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.

 

Kneel/Stand

 

Silence for reflection on God’s Word and for self-examination.

 

Confession of Sins LSB 184

P O almighty God, merciful Father,

C I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You and justly deserved Your temporal and eternal punishment. But I am heartily sorry for them and sincerely repent of them, and I pray You of Your boundless mercy and for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor, sinful being.

 

Absolution LSB 185

P Upon this your confession, I, by virtue of my office, as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God unto all of you, and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C Amen.

 

Stand

 

Introit Psalm 122:1, 6, 8–9; antiphon: Liturgical Text

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

 

Kyrie LSB 186

 

Gloria in Excelsis LSB 187

 

Salutation and Collect of the Day

P 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.

 

Sit

 

Old Testament Reading Deuteronomy 10:12–21

¹²“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, ¹³and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good? ¹⁴Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. ¹⁵Yet the Lord set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day. ¹⁶Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn. ¹⁷For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. ¹⁸He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. ¹⁹Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. ²⁰You shall fear the Lord your God. You shall serve him and hold fast to him, and by his name you shall swear. ²¹He is your praise. He is your God, who has done for you these great and terrifying things that your eyes have seen.”

A This is the Word of the Lord.

C Thanks be to God.

 

Gradual Psalm 122:1, 7

I was glad when they | said to me,*
“Let us go to the house | of the Lord!”
Peace be with- | in your walls*
and security within your | towers!

 

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 LSB 190

 

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.

 

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.

 

Sit

 

694 Thee Will I Love, My Strength, My Tower

Text: Johann Scheffler, 1624–77; tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827–78, alt.
Tune: Harmonischer Lieder-Schatz, 1738, Frankfurt
Text and tune: Public domain

 

Sermon ~ Matthew 22:34-46 - Rev. Brett E. Cornelius, Pastor

 

Stand

 

Offertory LSB 192

 

HCL Choir - Abide with Us Our Savoir

 

Sit

 

Offering

 

Welcome New Members

 

Stand

 

Prayer of the Church

P In peace, let us pray to the Lord:

C Lord, have mercy.

P In thanksgiving for Jesus Christ, David’s Son and Lord, on whose love hangs all the Law and the Prophets and in whose discipline we also make our beginning in love, let us pray to the Lord:

C Lord, have mercy.

P For our congregation, that young and old may be enriched with the testimony about Christ, grow in every spiritual gift, and endure in Christ’s fellowship until the day of His revealing, let us pray to the Lord:

C Lord, have mercy.

P For our sister churches who join us in the Word and Sacraments of Christ, let us give thanks to the Lord; and for their blameless endurance with us until He comes in glory, let us pray to the Lord:

C Lord, have mercy.

P For the sons of our congregations as they serve their families, that they would follow the way of the Son of God, the faithful Bridegroom in His Father’s house who blessed the world by His sacrifice, let us pray to the Lord:

C Lord, have mercy.

P For our republic with its lawmakers and executives, that the common good would be served, and that its justice would accord with our God’s good order and command, let us pray to the Lord:

C Lord, have mercy.

P For [_____________ and] all who are ill or injured or troubled among us, in the name of Christ who is the Son of David and the Lord of all, let us pray to the Lord:

C Lord, have mercy.

P That the peace of the Lord would be with us always, that it may remain with His Church and be given to His world, and that we may receive it here in the blessed Sacrament, let us pray to the Lord:

C Lord, have mercy.

P O Lord, heavenly Father, we gratefully remember the sufferings and death of Your dear Son, Jesus Christ, for our salvation. Rejoicing in His victorious resurrection from the dead, we draw strength from His ascension before You, where He ever stands for us as our own High Priest. Gather us together 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, for to You alone we give all glory, honor and worship, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C Amen.

 

Preface LSB 194

 

Proper Preface

P It is truly meet, 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, who, having created all things, took on human flesh and was born of the virgin Mary. For our sake He died on the cross and rose from the dead to put an end to death, thus fulfilling Your will and gaining for You a holy people. 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 LSB 195

 

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.

 

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.”

 

Pax Domini LSB 197

 

Agnus Dei LSB 198

 

Sit

 

Distribution Hymns

 

628 Your Table I Approach

 

5 O grant, most blessèd Lord,
    That earth and hell combined
May not about this sacrament
    Raise doubt within my mind.

 

6 Oh, may I never fail
    To thank You day and night
For Your true body and true blood,
    O God, my peace and light.

Text: Gerhard Wolter Molanus, 1633–1722; tr. Matthias Loy, 1828–1915, alt.
Tune: Trente quatre Pseaumes de David, 1551, Geneva, ed. Louis Bourgeois
Text and tune: Public domain

 

585 Lord Jesus Christ, with Us Abide

 

5 Restrain, O Lord, the human pride
That seeks to thrust Your truth aside
Or with some man-made thoughts or things
Would dim the words Your Spirit sings.

 

6 Stay with us, Lord, and keep us true;
Preserve our faith our whole life through—
Your Word alone our heart’s defense,
The Church’s glorious confidence.

Text: tr. F. Samuel Janzow, 1913–2001, alt.; (st. 1): Philipp Melanchthon, 1497–1560; (st. 1): German version Geistliche Psalmen, 1611, Nuremberg; (sts. 2–6): Nicolaus Selnecker, 1532–92
Tune: Geistliche Lieder D. Martini Lutheri, 1589, Leipzig
Text: © 1982 Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110001518
Tune: Public domain

 

Stand

 

Nunc Dimittis LSB 199

 

Thanksgiving LSB 200

 

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.

 

Salutation LSB 201

 

Benedicamus LSB 202

 

Benediction LSB 202

 

708 Lord, Thee I Love with All My Heart

Text: Martin Schalling, 1532–1608; tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827–78, alt.
Tune: Zwey Bücher . . . Tabulatur, 1577, Strassburg
Text and tune: Public domain

 

Acknowledgments

Divine Service, Setting Three from Lutheran Service Book

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Created by Lutheran Service Builder © 2025 Concordia Publishing House.