Septuagesima Sunday ~ 2026

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Today’s radio broadcast is sponsored in loving memory of Jimmie “Jim” Allen Wasser, in remembrance of his birthday, February 1, by his loving wife, Iris.

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

Today's liturgy is the Divine Service, Setting One, LSB pages 151ff.

904 Blessed Jesus, at Your Word

Text (sts. 1–3): Tobias Clausnitzer, 1619–84; (sts. 1–3): tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827–78, alt.; (st. 4): Geistreiches Gesang-Büchlein, 1707, Berlin; (st. 4): tr. unknown, alt.
Tune: Johann Rudolph Ahle, 1625–73, alt.
Text and 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 151

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.

Kneel/Stand

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

Confession of Sins LSB 151

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.

Absolution LSB 151

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.

Stand

Introit Psalm 18:1–2a, 27, 32, 49; antiphon: vv. 5–6a

The cords of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.
In my distress I called upon the Lord.
From his temple he heard my voice.
I love you, O Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer.
For you save a humble people,
but the haughty eyes you bring down.
[You have] equipped me with strength
and made my way blameless.
For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations,
and sing to your name.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen.
The cords of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.
In my distress I called upon the Lord.
From his temple he heard my voice.

Kyrie LSB 152

Salutation and Collect of the Day

P Let us pray.

O Lord, graciously hear the prayers of Your people that we who justly suffer the consequence of our sin may be mercifully delivered by Your goodness to the glory of Your name; 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 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.

Gradual Psalm 9:9–10, 18–19a

The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
And those who know your name put their trust in you,
for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.
Arise, O Lord!
Let not man prevail.

Epistle 1 Corinthians 9:24—10:5

²⁴Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. ²⁵Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. ²⁶So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. ²⁷But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

¹I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, ²and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, ³and all ate the same spiritual food, ⁴and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. ⁵Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.

A This is the Word of the Lord.

C Thanks be to God.

Stand

Alleluia and Verse (Lent) LSB 157

Holy Gospel Matthew 20:1–16

P The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the twentieth chapter.

¹[Jesus said:] “The kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. ²After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. ³And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, ⁴and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ ⁵So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. ⁶And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ ⁷They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ ⁸And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ ⁹And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. ¹⁰Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. ¹¹And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, ¹²saying, ‘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.’ ¹³But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? ¹⁴Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. ¹⁵Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ ¹⁶So the last will be first, and the first last.”

P This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Sit

555 Salvation unto Us Has Come

Text: Paul Speratus, 1484–1551; tr. The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941, alt.
Tune: Etlich Cristlich lider, 1524, Wittenberg
Text and tune: Public domain

Sermon ~ "Run to Win!" - Rev. Brett E. Cornelius, Pastor

Stand

Nicene Creed

C I believe in one God,

the Father Almighty,

maker of heaven and earth

and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ,

the only-begotten Son of God,

begotten of His Father before all worlds,

God of God, Light of Light,

very God of very God,

begotten, not made,

being of one substance with the Father,

by whom all things were made;

who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven

and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary

and was made man;

and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate.

He suffered and was buried.

And the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures

and ascended into heaven

and sits at the right hand of the Father.

And He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead,

whose kingdom will have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the Lord and giver of life,

who proceeds from the Father and the Son,

who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified,

who spoke by the prophets.

And I believe in one holy Christian and apostolic Church,

I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins,

and I look for the resurrection of the dead

and the life T of the world to come. Amen.

Prayer of the Church

P In peace, let us pray to the Lord:

C Lord, have mercy.

P For joy at those who enter Christ’s salvation, from every nation and in all hours of life, that with them we may praise our Master’s holy generosity, let us pray to the Lord:

C Lord, have mercy.

P For the Church of God, built on Christ and ordered according to His will, that her pastors may know His Holy Word thoroughly, and her people wait patiently on His heavenly provision, let us pray to the Lord:

C Lord, have mercy.

P For all Christian homes and for the endurance that comes from the Holy Spirit; and for husbands and wives, parents and children, that they may be disciplined and self-controlled in their duties, run their course in this life, and continue to the end in the holy Christian faith, ready to receive the imperishable wreath of eternal life, let us pray to the Lord:

C Lord, have mercy.

P For the nations of the world, that our almighty God would suppress evil and injustice in every place and establish His peace, so that the poor would be comforted and suffer no lack, let us pray to the Lord:

C Lord, have mercy.

P For the sick and suffering, [especially _____________,] that our Great Physician would bring them healing, hope and peace at the last, let us pray to the Lord:

C Lord, have mercy.

P For those who commune this day, that though we are entitled to nothing and deserve only wrath, we would be bold to ask for everything by grace in Christ; that God would grant us repentant hearts, trusting faith in His promises and unity of confession; and that we would be strengthened through the forgiveness of sins for a life that abandons sin and idleness and lives in joyful service to our neighbors, let us pray to the Lord:

C Lord, have mercy.

P That we who have come to faith in the later hours of this world may follow the examples of the saints who labored before us, let us pray to the Lord:

C Lord, have mercy.

P That working in faith and hope through love, we may receive with thanksgiving the generous wage from our gracious Master, let us pray to the Lord:

C Lord, have mercy.

P Lord God, heavenly Father, into Your hands we commend all for whom we pray. Grant that we would look to You for every blessing and to Your Son for our salvation. Deliver us from all adversity, and preserve us in faith until the last. To You alone be all glory, honor and worship, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C Amen.

Sit

Holy Cross Choir ~ There is a Name I Love to Hear

Offering

Stand

Offertory LSB 159

Preface LSB 160

Proper 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; for what had been hidden from before the foundation of the world You have made known to the nations in Your Son. In Him, being found in the substance of our mortal nature, You have manifested the fullness of Your glory. 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 161

Lord’s Prayer LSB 162

P Lord, remember us in Your kingdom and teach us to pray:

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 163

Agnus Dei LSB 163

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

555 Salvation unto Us Has Come

Text: Paul Speratus, 1484–1551; tr. The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941, alt.
Tune: Etlich Cristlich lider, 1524, Wittenberg
Text and tune: Public domain

632 O Jesus, Blessed Lord, to Thee

Text: Thomas Hansen Kingo, 1634–1703; tr. Arthur J. Mason, 1851–1928
Tune: Trente quatre Pseaumes de David, 1551, Geneva, ed. Louis Bourgeois
Text and tune: Public domain

Stand

Nunc Dimittis LSB 165

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.

Benediction LSB 166

924 Lord, Dismiss Us with Your Blessing

Text (sts. 1–2): attr. John Fawcett, 1740–1817, alt.; (st. 3): Godfrey Thring, 1823–1903, alt.
Tune: Henry T. Smart, 1813–79
Text and tune: Public domain

Acknowledgments

Divine Service, Setting One 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.