21ST SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST October 22, 2023

Immanuel Ev. Lutheran Church

Wisconsin Synod

Pastor Rev. Christopher Oehlke Pastor’s Phone: 1-262-909-7827

Organist Karen Davis, Mindy Kane, Church Telephone 763-682-4573

Lorraine Roush Email pastor@myimmanuel.org

WELCOME, VISITORS:     We are glad you could be with us and we welcome you back any time. Please sign our “Welcome” card found in the pew holders or sign the guest book in the narthex/entry.

Prayer Before Worship

Speak, Lord, because your servant is listening. I am your servant. Give me understanding that I may know your testimonies. Incline my heart to the words of your mouth. Speak, Lord, for you have the words of eternal life. Speak to me, to comfort my soul and to purify my life. Speak, that you may receive praise, glory and everlasting honor! Amen.

SERVICE OF THE WORD

HYMN (#481) “O God, Your Hand the Heavens Made”

M: The grace of our Lord (+) Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you.

C: And also with you.

CONFESSION OF SINS

M: We have come into the presence of God, who created us to love and serve him as his dear children. But we have disobeyed him and deserve only his wrath and punishment. Therefore, let us confess our sins to him and plead for his mercy.

C: Merciful Father in heaven, I am altogether sinful from birth. 

In countless ways I have sinned against you and do not deserve to  be called your child. But trusting in Jesus, my Savior, I pray: Have mercy on me according to your unfailing love. Cleanse me from my sin, and take away 

my guilt.

M: God, our heavenly Father, has forgiven all your sins. By the perfect life and innocent death of our Lord Jesus Christ, he has removed your guilt forever. You are his own dear child. May God give you strength to live according to his will.

C: Amen.

PRAYER AND PRAISE

M: In the peace of forgiveness, let us praise the Lord.

C: (Sung) Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good.

Blessed are they who take refuge in him.

Your Word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.

Your faithfulness continues forever.

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good.

Blessed are they who take refuge in him.

PRAYER OF THE DAY

M: Let us pray. O Lord our God, so govern the nations on earth and direct the affairs of this world so that your church may worship you in peace and joy; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C:     (Sung) Amen.

THE WORD

FIRST LESSON Daniel 1:3-21

³ The king told Ashpenaz, the chief of his court officials, to bring some young Israelite men from the royal family or from the nobility. ⁴ He was to choose young men who had no blemish, who were good looking, who had insight into all kinds of wisdom, who possessed knowledge, understanding, and learning, and who were capable of serving in the king’s palace, in order to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. ⁵ The king assigned them daily rations from the special royal food and from the king’s own wine. He ordered that they should be trained for three years. At the end of training they were to serve the king. ⁶ In this group of young men were the Judeans Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. ⁷ The chief of the officials gave them new names. He gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar, Hananiah the name Shadrak, Mishael the name Meshak, and Azariah the name Abednego. ⁸ Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the special food of the king or with the wine that he drank. So he sought permission from the chief official, so that he would not have to defile himself. ⁹ God made the chief of the officials favorable and sympathetic toward Daniel. ¹⁰ Then the chief of the officials said to Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink. Why should he see your faces looking less healthy than those of the other young men who are your age? You put my life at risk before the king.” ¹¹ Daniel said to the superintendent whom the chief of the officials had placed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, ¹² “Please test your servants for ten days. Tell them to give us only vegetables, and we will eat them and drink water. ¹³ Observe our appearance and the appearance of the young men who eat the special royal food. Then deal with your servants based on what you see.” ¹⁴ So he listened to what they said about this and tested them for ten days. ¹⁵ At the end of ten days, their appearance was noticeably better than that of the others. They were healthier than any of the young men who had been eating the special royal food. ¹⁶ So the superintendent permanently took away the special royal food and the wine they were to drink and gave them only vegetables. ¹⁷ As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and insight into all kinds of literature, as well as wisdom. In addition, Daniel also understood every kind of vision and dream. ¹⁸ At the end of the time which the king had set for them to be brought to him, the chief of the officials brought them before Nebuchadnezzar. ¹⁹ The king spoke with them, and none of the others were found to be comparable to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they served the king. ²⁰ In every matter concerning wisdom and understanding that the king sought from them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and spell casters in his entire kingdom. ²¹ So Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.         (EHV) 

M: The Word of the Lord.

C: Thanks be to God.

PSALM OF THE DAY (Sung) Psalm 96 (page 102)

SECOND LESSON Romans 13:1-7

13 Everyone must submit to the governing authorities. For no authority exists except by God, and the authorities that do exist have been established by God. ² Therefore the one who rebels against the authority is opposing God’s institution, and those who oppose will bring judgment on themselves. ³ For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to evil. Would you like to have no fear of the one in authority? Do what is good, and you will receive praise from him, ⁴ because he is God’s servant for your benefit. But if you do 

wrong, be afraid, because he does not carry the sword without reason. He is God’s servant, a punisher to bring wrath on the wrongdoer. ⁵ Therefore it is necessary to submit, not only because of wrath, but also because of conscience. ⁶ For this reason you also pay taxes, because the authorities are God’s ministers, who are employed to do this very thing. ⁷ Pay what you owe to all of them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, and honor to whom honor is owed.        (EHV)

M: The Word of the Lord.

C: Thanks be to God.

VERSE OF THE DAY

M: Alleluia. In Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. Alleluia. (Colossians 2:10)

C: (Sung) Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! 

These words are written that we may believe 

that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. 

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

GOSPEL Matthew 22:15-22

¹⁵ Then the Pharisees went out and plotted together how to trap him in his words. ¹⁶ They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are truthful and teach the way of God in accord with the truth. You are not concerned about gaining anyone’s approval because you are not swayed by appearances. ¹⁷ So tell us, what do you think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” ¹⁸ But Jesus knew their evil purpose and said, “Why are you testing me, hypocrites? ¹⁹ Show me the coin used for the tax.”

They brought him a denarius. ²⁰ He asked them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” ²¹ “Caesar’s,” they replied to him. Then he said to them, “Therefore give 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. Then they left him and went away.                 (EHV)

M: The Gospel of the Lord.

C: (Sung) Praise be to you, O Christ!

HYMN OF THE DAY (#234) “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty”

SERMON TEXT Matthew 22:15-22

SERMON THEME “Living in Two Kingdom”

APOSTLES’ CREED

I believe in God, the Father almighty,

maker of heaven and earth.

I believe 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 is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. 

From there 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 everlasting. Amen.    

THANKSGIVING

OFFERING – Please leave offering in the plate as you depart.

HYMN (#367) “Christ Be My Leader”

PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH

M: Lord God, our maker and preserver, we praise and thank you for all that you give us day after day.

C: We are not worthy of all the mercies you show us.

M: You have given us your precious Word to nourish our souls and to protect us from the temptations of the devil, the world, and our sinful nature.

C: We thank you for those who teach and preach your saving truth at this place and everywhere. Grant them a rich measure of patience, wisdom, and love. 

M: Heavenly Father, we pray that you shield us from every kind of danger: sudden catastrophe, terrors of crime, and the pain of disease. Watch over those who travel by land, sea, and air. Keep our loved ones from whatever perils may threaten them. 

C: Heal those who are sick, cheer those who are sad, calm those who are distressed, and comfort all who are old and infirm.

M: Bless our land, our people, and those who hold offices of high trust. Keep our government and schools upright and strong for the advancement of good citizenship and useful vocations, that we may enjoy your gifts of peace, security, and well-being.

C: Grant your blessing to every nation on earth. Where there are wars, may there be peace. Where there is hatred, let it be healed. Where there is poverty, danger, or disaster, come with your almighty power to help and restore.

Special prayers and intercessions may follow.

M: Hear us, Lord, as we bring you our private petitions.

Silent prayer.

M: We bring these requests before you in the name of Jesus our Lord, and ask you to hear us. Take all that we have, our bodies and minds, our time and skills, our ministries and offerings, and use them to your glory.

C: We give ourselves to you that we may serve you in whatever way is pleasing in your sight. Amen. 

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.

M: O Lord God, our heavenly Father, pour out the Holy Spirit on your faithful people. Keep us strong in your grace and truth, protect and comfort us in all temptation, and bestow on us your saving peace, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C: (Sung) Amen.

M: Brothers and sisters, go in peace. Live in harmony with one another. Serve the Lord with gladness.

The Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you.

The Lord look on you with favor and (+) give you peace. 

C: (Sung) Amen. Amen. Amen.

HYMN (#426) “Yours Forever, God of Love”

21ST SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST October 22, 2023

THE SCHEDULE   

Mon., Oct. 23 7 p.m., Choir

Tues., Oct. 24 7 p.m., Sunday School Teacher’s Meeting

Wed., Oct. 25 6:30 p.m., Catechism

Next Sun., Oct. 29: Greeters: Paul Johnson

Shut-In Visitors for November: Donna Frank and Lila Rancour

OUR FATHER’S BUSINESS

QUARTERLY VOTERS MEETING is scheduled for after the worship service on Oct. 29. Men over 18 years of age who are interested in becoming voting members are encouraged to contact Pastor Oehlke or a council member.

CEMETERY FALL CLEAN-UP: Please remove all flowers and other items from the cemetery by Nov. 1. Thank you.

ATTENDANCE AT THE LORD’S HOUSE: 

Sunday, Oct. 15 60

FOR THE LORD’S WORK:  Oct. 15: General Fund-$1,987 (Minimum Weekly Amount Needed-$2,375), West-$20; Salem-$2; Fishers-$20.