18th Sunday After Trinity ~ 2026

Click here to listen online live at 9:00am Sundays on WPMB.

Today’s broadcast is sponsored for Lutheran Women in Mission Sunday in honor of the Holy Cross Ladies Society.

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

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

Opening Hymn~

646 Church of God, Elect and Glorious

Text: James Edward Seddon, 1915–83
Tune: Cyril V. Taylor, 1907–92
Text: © 1982 The Jubilate Group, admin. Hope Publishing Co. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110001518
Tune: © 1942, renewed 1970 Hope Publishing Co. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110001518

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

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 - Rev. Brett E. Cornelius ~ Holy Cross Lutheran Church

Votum

P The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

C Amen.

Stand

Offertory LSB 192

Sit

Offering

Stand

Prayer of the Church

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 LSB 197

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~

14008 Serve the Lord with Gladness

Text: Prof. Ernest Lewerenz
Tune: Arthur S. Sullivan
Text and tune: Public domain

621 Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence

Text: Liturgy of St. James, 5th cent.; tr. Gerard Moultrie, 1829–85, alt.
Tune: French, 17th cent.
Text and tune: Public domain

549 All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name

5 Sinners, whose love can ne’er forget
    The wormwood and the gall,
Go, spread your trophies at His feet
    And crown Him Lord of all.
Go, spread your trophies at His feet
    And crown Him Lord of all.

6 Let ev’ry kindred, ev’ry tribe,
    On this terrestrial ball
To Him all majesty ascribe
    And crown Him Lord of all.
To Him all majesty ascribe
    And crown Him Lord of all.

7 Oh, that with yonder sacred throng
    We at His feet may fall!
We’ll join the everlasting song
    And crown Him Lord of all.
We’ll join the everlasting song
    And crown Him Lord of all.

Text (sts. 1–5): Edward Perronet, 1726–92, alt.; (sts. 6–7): A Selection of Hymns, 1787, London, alt.
Tune: Oliver Holden, 1765–1844
Text and 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

P The Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you.

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and T give you peace.

Closing Hymn~

666 O Little Flock, Fear Not the Foe

Text: Jacob Fabricius, 1593–1654; tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827–78, alt.
Tune: German, 1534, Nürnberg
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.