The View from the Middle: Service Outline for Sunday, October 18, 2026

Welcome to worship at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church!

PRELUDE “Sing Praise to God, the Highest Good” Walter Pelz

Confession and Forgiveness

In the name of the Father,

and of the Son,

and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid: cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Let us confess our sin in the presence of God and of one another.

Silence is kept for reflection

Most merciful God,

we confess that we are captive to sin and cannot free ourselves. 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. 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.

In the mercy of almighty God, Jesus Christ was given to die for us, and for his sake God forgives us all our sins. As a called and ordained minister of the church of Christ, and by his authority, I therefore declare to you the entire forgiveness of all your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

HYMN “All My Hope on God is Founded” # 757

All my hope on God is founded

who will all my trust renew,

who through change and chance will guide me,

only good and only true.

God unknown, God alone,

call my heart to be thine own.

Mortal pride and earthly glory,

sword and crown betray our trust;

what with care and toil we fashion,

tow'r and temple, fall to dust.

But thy pow'r, hour by hour,

is my temple and my tow'r.

Great thy goodness, e'er enduring;

deep thy wisdom, passing thought;

splendor, light, and life attend thee,

beauty springing out of naught.

Evermore from thy store

newborn worlds rise and adore.

Still from earth to God eternal

sacrifice of praise be done,

high above all praises praising

for the gift of God's own Son.

Christ doth call one and all:

ye who follow shall not fall.

GREETING

The grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the love of God, and communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

And also with you.

KYRIE

HYMN OF PRAISE

PRAYER OF THE DAY

Children's message

First Reading: Isaiah 45:1-7

¹ Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,
whose right hand I have grasped
to subdue nations before him
and to strip kings of their robes,
to open doors before him—
and the gates shall not be closed:
² I will go before you
and level the mountains;
I will break in pieces the doors of bronze
and cut through the bars of iron;
³ I will give you the treasures of darkness
and riches hidden in secret places,
so that you may know that it is I, the Lord,
the God of Israel, who call you by your name.
⁴ For the sake of my servant Jacob
and Israel my chosen,
I call you by your name;
I give you a title, though you do not know me.
⁵ I am the Lord, and there is no other;
besides me there is no god.
I arm you, though you do not know me,
⁶ so that they may know, from the rising of the sun
and from the west, that there is no one besides me;
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
⁷ I form light and create darkness,
I make weal and create woe;
I the Lord do all these things.

Psalm: Psalm 96:1-9 [10-13]

¹ Sing to the Lord ^| a new song;
sing to the Lord, ^| all the earth.
² Sing to the Lord, bless the name ^| of the Lord;
proclaim God’s salvation from ^| day to day.
³ Declare God’s glory a- ^| mong the nations
and God’s wonders a- ^| mong all peoples.
⁴ For great is the Lord and greatly ^| to be praised,
more to be feared ^| than all gods. R
⁵ As for all the gods of the nations, they ^| are but idols;
but you, O Lord, have ^| made the heavens.
⁶ Majesty and magnificence are ^| in your presence;
power and splendor are in your ^| sanctuary.
⁷ Ascribe to the Lord, you families ^| of the peoples,
ascribe to the Lord hon- ^| or and power.
⁸ Ascribe to the Lord the honor due the ^| holy name;
bring offerings and enter the courts ^| of the Lord. R
⁹ Worship the Lord in the beau- ^| ty of holiness;
tremble before the Lord, ^| all the earth.
¹⁰ Tell it out among the nations: “The ^| Lord is king!
The one who made the world so firm that it cannot be moved will judge the peo- ^| ples with equity.”
¹¹ Let the heavens rejoice, and let the ^| earth be glad;
let the sea thunder and all that is in it; let the field be joyful and all that ^| is therein.
¹² Then shall all the trees of the wood shout for joy at your com- ^| ing, O Lord,
for you come to ^| judge the earth.
¹³ You will judge the ^| world with righteousness
and the peoples ^| with your truth. R

Second Reading: 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

¹ Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace to you and peace.

² We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly ³ remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁴ For we know, brothers and sisters beloved by God, that he has chosen you, ⁵ because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of persons we proved to be among you for your sake. ⁶ And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy from the Holy Spirit, ⁷ so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. ⁸ For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia but in every place your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak about it. ⁹ For they report about us what kind of welcome we had among you and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God ¹⁰ and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

Gospel: Matthew 22:15-22

¹⁵ The Pharisees went and plotted to entrap [Jesus] in what he said. ¹⁶ So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one, for you do not regard people with partiality. ¹⁷ Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” ¹⁸ But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? ¹⁹ Show me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. ²⁰ Then he said to them, “Whose head is this and whose title?” ²¹ They answered, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” ²² When they heard this, they were amazed, and they left him and went away.

SERMON

HYMN “We Give Thee but Thine Own” # 686

APOSTLES CREED

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, God's 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 to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come 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 THE PEOPLE, PEACE, OFFERING, COMMUNION PRAYER

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 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

DISTRIBUTION OF COMMUNION

HYMN “My Faith Looks Up to Thee” #759